Musical Genres by the Decade: What are the '00's and '10's?

The premise: Why do Adult Contemporary FM radio stations describe the music they play as "from the '80's, '90's and today"?

'Today' certainly wasn't seventeen years ago, was it?

Is the world of 2017 as similar to 2000 as 1987 was to 1970?

Maybe the format blurb is worded like it is because AC stations can't describe the musical trends of the 2000's and 2010's? Or they simply don't play a lot from these most recent decades?

Jimmi Diggin' Cats

Either way, let's try to get the root of what music was/is in the 2000's and 2010's. It's time to categorize the prevailing sounds of mainstream music.

But - for context sake (and because it's fun) - why not start from the beginning of modern commercial radio and the record industry [in the United States]:

*The 1930's had Big Band, Combo Jazz and Showtunes.
*The 1940's had Vocal Jazz and Country Western.
*The 1950's had Rock 'N Roll, Bebop and Blue Eyed Soul.
*The 1960's had Motown, the British Invasion, Roots Rock and Folk Rock.
*The 1970's had Soul, Glam Rock, Southern Rock and Disco.
*The 1980's had Hair Metal, Yacht Rock and New Wave.
*The 1990's had Gangsta Rap, R&B ensembles, Alternative Rock and Teen Pop.

There are lots of grab bags and 180-degree turns every few years, but each decade had some definitive sounds.

Now comes the tricky part: defining the genres since the turn of the 21st century.

Timeless classic for the ages?

*The 2000's had Autotune Urban-Pop and Nu-Metal?
*The 2010's have Dubstep, Bro Country and Trap-Minimalism?

(Did I miss anything? Where do you agree or disagree?)

Maybe it will take some years to find out what has aged well and who can't shake the one hit wonder or novelty tag. Or maybe technology's constantly moving social media cycle left music in an eclectic haze unable to organize itself under any easy-to-sort genre. Is there too much coming from too many directions?

Ease of the access for anyone (YouTube, iTunes) and the disposable nature of pop culture seemingly turned the "flavor of the month" into the "flavor the weekend". The fads of 1984 had legs into 1986, but the fads on New Year's Day 2017 probably didn't make it to Valentine's Day 2017.

Still, I'd like to test a theory someday by giving a pop culture novice a series of songs to listen to and ask when they think each song was released. Would a 2015 hit be mistaken for a 2002 chart topper, or vise versa? There's only one way to find out.

The verdict: Under review.