Apple’s first iPod went on sale in the United States on 10 November 2001, promising “1,000 songs in your pocket” at a time when most people still carried music on CDs. Its arrival mattered because it made large digital music collections portable and helped reshape how listeners accessed albums and individual tracks.

At $399, the first-generation iPod weighed 184 grams and was roughly deck-of-cards sized. Mary J Blige’s ‘Family Affair’, produced by Dr Dre, was number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, ahead of Jennifer Lopez and Ja Rule’s ‘I’m Real’ and Alicia Keys’ ‘Fallin’; in the UK, Afroman’s novelty hit ‘Because I Got High’ topped the singles chart. The contrast reflected differing chart tastes, while also placing the iPod’s launch amid the growing mainstream influence and variety of R&B and hip-hop.