For the second straight year, 'N Sync 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, culminating with the overall Lycos Top 50 for 2001.

Our first list: The Web's Top Music Groups. While the two leading boy bands were neck-and-neck in 2000, this year 'N Sync was clearly dominant from the beginning of the year until the end.

The #2 slot goes to the R&B group Destiny's Child, who spent 18 weeks on the Lycos 50 this year thanks to their Survivor album (and the fact that they are three not unattractive young ladies).

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

1. 'N Sync (1)
2. Destiny's Child (9)
3. Backstreet Boys (2)
4. Limp Bizkit (6)
5. The Beatles (7)
6. Blink-182 (5)
7. Metallica (4)
8. Slipknot (8)
9. Tool (-)
10. Linkin Park (-)

11. U2 (-)
12. Dave Matthews Band (13)
13. O-Town (-)
14. Korn (3)
15. Nirvana (10)
16. Staind (-)
17. Incubus (-)
18. Pink Floyd (16)
19. Lifehouse (-)
20. Radiohead (-)

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Linkin Park. Their album Hybrid Theory came out in October 2000 and they gradually built popularity until they made the Lycos 50 for the first time in October 2001. They successfully straddle the fence between the most popular rock genre of 1999-2000, rap-metal, and the increasingly popular rock genre of 2001-2002, spiritually meaningful hard rock.

COMEBACK OF THE YEAR: U2, who just missed the list last year at #21 but were ubiquitous in 2001.

HOT IN 2000, NOT SO HOT IN 2001: Korn, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and above all the comedy-rock group Bloodhound Gang, whose searches fell roughly 85 percent this year.

STRANGELY ABSENT: While most rap stars perform can't perform without a hundred buddies backing them up, hip-hop online is still all about the big single stars. Eminem's posse D12 was hot for about two months before fading. Nelly's posse the St. Lunatics don't even come close to this list, with less searches than deposed teen stars like Hanson and LFO. Rap's top groups, Outkast and Wu-Tang Clan, also get few searches when compared to even third-level rappers like Lil' Romeo.

ONES TO WATCH 2002: This summer brings the second album from Papa Roach, who like Linkin Park straddle the fence between rap-metal and personally reflective lyrics... Girl group Atomic Kitten already gets significant search traffic on Lycos thanks to UK fans, and will release a US album in 2002... "Emo" rock band Jimmy Eat World has seen queries rise in the last month.

ONES TO WATCH 2001: We hit one out of three. Tool had a nice comeback with their album Lateralus, but white-rap duo Insane Clown Posse faded back into the underground, and Outkast fell victim to the disinterest in rap groups.

Tomorrow we'll feature our second list, The Web's Top Men of 2001. Join us, won't you?