15 Nostalgic Sounds That Will Transport You Straight Back To The Early ’00s

The early ’00s were a simpler time: the internet was in the family room and not in our hands, we learnt about sex from a doctor in a magazine, and cereal boxes had toys inside (plus we were still at school and didn’t have to worry about paying rent or the cost of broccoli).

But the ’00s were also bloody noisy.

Every handheld electronic device alerted you of its importance with a sound: your Tamagotchi sung for attention, your phone keypad beeped each time you pressed its numeric keypad (that’s seven beeps to type ‘hey’), and your ringtone defined who you were.

If that wasn’t enough, the internet connected with the sound from hell and searching for a song had its own soundtrack.

Alongside the electronic beeps and sirens, the ’00s brought us some analog sounds that defined the decade. While clothing and music from the Y2K era are back in fashion, most of these sounds have luckily gone to their graves.

I’m taking you on an audible journey back to the ’00s, so close your flip phone and listen up. I won’t open the sealed section for you – read on to find the goss yourself.

15 nostalgic sounds that will transport you straight back to the early ’00s:

1. MSN sounds

Logging in after school and hearing the three toned ‘your crush is online’ sound brings early teen memories flooding back.

2. Cracking open a Yowie toy case

The best part of this chocolate was hands down the toy. Opening the toy case gave a satisfying pop as the endangered animal inside was revealed – saving Australian wildlife one piece of plastic at a time.

3. Ringtones

Literally any ringtone, from polyphonic tunes (at around $5 a pop) and ‘Crazy Frog’, to pop hits and eventually a standard (one of five) iPhone options. Ringtones used to define our personalities and share them with the world, but somewhere around 2010 we all agreed to keep our phones on silent, never to be heard again.

4. ‘You Wouldn’t Steal a Car’ piracy commercial

We all heard it as children/teens growing up, but it didn’t stop us from downloading content. No, we wouldn’t steal a car – we didn’t even know how to drive.

5. Mac photobooth countdown

Whether hiding in the back of the classroom or all dressed up in your bedroom, the photobooth countdown captured countless iconic teen moments.

6. Opening the sealed section of a Dolly magazine

You can’t hear it on YouTube, but the tearing open of the sealed section built anticipation for teenage girls across the country. It’s a shame these answers are now just a Google away.

7. iPod wheel scroll

For those cool (or rich) enough to own an iPod, this classic sound captured the journey of finding the perfect track – searching wasn’t a click away back then.

8. Dial-up internet connection

I almost didn’t want to put this in here because the people who remember it really remember it but those who don’t think we’re really old. If you’re too young, skip ahead.

Truly an early ’00s family home wasn’t complete without this sound and someone yelling “I need to use the phoneeee!”

9. Recorders

Sure, they still exist, but unless you’re a primary school teacher, recorders are probably not part of your daily life. Hot cross buns on a recorder will forever be burned in our minds.

10. Ratings advice ads

The ratings advice was a regular VHS rental inclusion premiering in the ’90s and sticking around for the early ’00s — these ads were classic. Hopefully we all listened to the advice but zoned out by the final rating, introduced by the dad with the line: “Movies rated R are restricted to adults, 18 years and over. Rrrr!”

Cringe.

11. Wii Sport

Another one for the cool kids up the back. A friend of mine was lucky enough to have Wii and we spent far too long perfecting our Wii tennis arm over the summer of 2008.

12. Speaker interference when you were about to get a text

The distinct (and extremely irritating) morse code like interference heard when your best friend messaged is thankfully a thing of the past.

13. Rage theme song

Waking up at 6am on Saturday was always worth it for the tunes on Rage. This theme song signalled the start of a great weekend.

14. Tamagotchis

I didn’t own a digital pet, however the sounds were in the background of my playground days. I remember classmates were forced to store their Tamagotchis in their backpacks all day, leaving them beeping for attention.

15. The sound of a flip phone closing

This sound made you feel like the main character of a movie as you said “okay, byeee” and flipped the phone shut, even if you were only talking to your mum.