10 Perfect Albums That Defined The 2000s

In just a few short years, Justin Timberlake had come a long way from the boy band sounds of NSYNC. Complete with help from the Neptunes on his first record, it looked like that kid that got his origins on the Mickey Mouse Club was actually going to become a genuine superstar in his own right. Once he hooked up with Timbaland though, JT had his sights on something more than just bangers.

Across every song on Future Sex/Love Sounds, there's a lot more going on than your traditional pop track. Aside from the tracks being unstoppable, they don't really follow the usual pop formula, especially when there is no chorus on a song like SexyBack. Even for a pop record, these songs are insanely long, feeling more like a complete experience from cover to cover as Justin goes through raw sexual aggression or detailing heartache on What Goes Around Comes Around.

Considering both he and Timbaland were at the peak of their powers at this point, this feels like a supergroup working together in the studio, going for weird experimental stuff just because they can get away with it. Does it make sense to make something that's meant for radio with this kind of ambition? Not at all, but since they were on top of the world anyway, just shut up and do it while you can.