It was the dawn of a new millennium. The Y2K scare had come and gone, Britney was still cute, Florida had its voting problems and boy bands ruled.

Yes, the year 2000 was full of change and anticipation. Would George W. follow in his father's footsteps? Would all of our na-tion's computers suddenly go berserk from the time change? Would *NSYNC's sophomore album be as successful as its first?

After captivating the hearts of millions of teenyboppers worldwide with their first self-titled CD, JC, Justin, Lance, Joey and -- what was his name? Oh yeah, Chris -- finally released their highly anticipated follow-up album No Strings Attached.

For me it was the greatest collection of songs to ever grace one album -- cut me some slack; I was 14. Nevertheless, years later I'm still partial to the a cappella harmonious crooning of "I Thought She Knew," and the very funky, very spunky "Digital Get Down."

For those of you who will admit to being a member of the boy band craze, you'll identify yourself in one of two categories. You were either an *NSYNC or a Backstreet Boy groupie. Personally, I was an *NSYNC kind of girl, and I can recall getting in heated debates with some of my BSB-loving friends about which group was supreme.

Obviously No Strings Attached settled that debate.

I remember it was right around the Christmas season; my sister and I were sitting in our living room listening to the radio when all of the sudden I heard it. Three simple words that would change my view of *NSYNC forever: Bye. Bye. Bye.

I was hooked. I knew this was the song and album I had been waiting for. I learned the dance; I sang along with the radio. Hell, I still know the dance, and I still sing along when it somehow finds its way into my stereo.

Although releases like "Bye Bye Bye" and "This I Promise You" grabbed the nation's attention, it was the lesser-known songs on the album I enjoy the most. For example, where else could you hear J. Timberlake do a pseudo-rap of sorts than in the beginning of "It Makes Me Ill?"

"Digital Get Down" and its cyber-erotic content seemed downright scandalous compared to the other, more Mmboppy boy band jams, and "Space Cowboy (Yippie-Yi-Yay)" showed that hip-hop could peacefully coexist with the pop era thanks to Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes' special rap verse.

No Strings Attached proved to us that puppets could be hot, boy bands could be raunchy -- kind of -- and the band boy phenomenon was here to stay. Well, at least for another year or two.

I got the CD for Christmas in 2000 and played it pretty much nonstop for the next several months. I still keep it close to the stereo at home for my more "special moments," and my roommates and I still bond from time to time while singing the melodies I downloaded on Napster.No Strings Attached reminds me of when my friends and I still thought Friday nights at the mall were cool and eyeliner should be applied as liberally as possible. So go ahead, dig up your old concert T-shirt, put up a poster or two and reminisce about "back-then." Bye. Bye. Bye.