In a year of massive pop music turnover, rap-metal combo Linkin Park reigns as the most popular band online according to searches by Lycos users.

Welcome to day one of the Lycos 50's Web's Most Wanted awards. For the next two weeks we'll present nine lists of the year's most-searched-for people, places and things, including the overall Lycos Top 50 for 2002 on Monday, December 9.

Our first list: The Web's Top Music Groups. After three years of ruling this list, the boy bands fell off a cliff in 2002. 'N Sync, top band for two years running, had searches drop 62 percent. Backstreet Boys, who finished in the top three each year, also plummeted.

Things weren't great for rap-metal either, Linkin Park aside. Limp Bizkit, ranked #4 in 2001, doesn't even make the top 40 bands of 2002. If they can stage a comeback in 2003, they'll be better off than Papa Roach, the 2000 stars whose sophomore album flopped this year.

Here are the Top 20, with last year's rank in parentheses:

1. Linkin Park (10)
2. Slipknot (8)
3. The Beatles (5)
4. B2K (-)
5. Incubus (17)
6. Blink-182 (6)
7. Nirvana (15)
8. Tool (9)
9. Metallica (7)
10. Dave Matthews Band (12)

11. System of a Down (-)
12. 'N Sync (1)
13. Korn (14)
14. Pink Floyd (18)
15. Las Ketchup (-)
16. Creed (-)
17. Rolling Stones (-)
18. Backstreet Boys (3)
19. Destiny's Child (2)
20. U2 (11)

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: While most boy bands suffer, at least one is doing well: African-American group B2K, which was just starting out in 2001, finishes as this year's #4 music group with 41 times as many searches as last year.

ALSO BIG IN 2002: Rock bands Good Charlotte (up 200%) and Puddle of Mudd (up 360%), melodic rappers Bone Thugs n' Harmony (up 100%).

HOT IN 2001, NOT SO HOT IN 2002: Limp Bizkit, Staind, Weezer, and every boy band still breathing except for B2K.

FUN FACT: By 2004 you'll forget that Las Ketchup ever existed.

ONES TO WATCH 2003: Russian teenage duo t.A.T.u. will either create a massive controversy with their soft-porn lesbian pop songs and erotic videos, or be dismissed as novelty fluff... Punk rock Canadians Sum 41 were big in early 2002 and just released their second album... Smashing Pumpkins are still popular online, and we're starting to get searches for head Pumpkin Billy Corgan and his new band Zwan.

Tomorrow we'll feature our second list, The Web's Top Men of 2002. Join us, won't you?