As a midrange millennial, our formative years of high school aligned closely with that of YouTube. Our freshman year of high school was in the fall of 2005; YouTube followed closely on our heels, launching in December of 2005.
Today, YouTube is home to what seems like a gazillion hours of content. It hosts everything from podcasts (have you checked out ours?), how-tos, reviews, and many influencers. But hidden in the dark, depths of time are the YouTube videos that shaped us.
Below are Kendra’s picks for the top 5 videos of the 2000s-2010s:
5. Charlie Bit My Finger (2007)
If every kid you knew wasn’t quoting this movie in their best British accent, they were living under a rock. At the time, this video was the most viewed on YouTube. In May of 2021 the video was sold for $700,000 and set to unlisted. It had received over 886 million views before this. Now, the top video on YouTube, “Baby Shark Dance,” has 10.72 billion views.
Ouch, Charlie.
While the original video has been set to unlisted, you can still find it on YouTube:
4. Muffins (2007)
This video is one of Kendra’s personal favorites. It was uploaded by LiamKyleSullivan in February of 2007 (and it’s not the only video you’ll see in this list).
Kendra’s personal favorite muffin (that she still says): “Fire muffin!”
3. Charlie the Unicorn (2008)
I don’t know why I was so drawn video; maybe it was the chaos, maybe it was the "gore," maybe it was the weird, semi-high-pitched voices. No matter what it was, this video stays with me, and Candy Mountain holds a place in my heart.
This video was uploaded by the independent film company, Film Cow. They are still creating videos and you can find them here.
2. Shoes (2006)
While this video didn't scream out to me as much LiamKyleSyllivan's "Muffins," it is definitely a favorite amongst my friends. And given Scott's blog posts and both of our affinities for shoes, I'd say it's still pretty fitting for us; it's definitely every bit iconic.
PS: Let's get some shoes.
Here’s the full version:
1. Potter Puppet Pals - The Mysterious Ticking Noise (2007)
Sitting solidly at 199 million views (let's get it to the big 200mil people!), is one of the most iconic videos to 2000s nerds. The randomness of the puppets, songs, screaming, and chaos creates everything you want to see in a video. This videos needs a shrine; one bigger than its place in our hearts.
A close runner up is "Wizard Swears", which can be found on the same channel.