So 10 years ago: Do you remember these pop music moments from 2006?

A lot can change in a decade, especially in pop music.

Need proof? Ten years ago, Adele had just graduated from high school, MySpace was the most popular website in America and Virgin Megastores were still in business.

Based on trends toward digital music consumption and the crop of solo artists that rose to the top, 2006 was a year of transition. Here are 14 musical moments you may remember.

1. iTunes sold its billionth download.

About three years after Apple launched the iTunes Music Store it hit 1 billion downloads. A 16-year-old named Alex Ostrovsky from West Bloomfield, Michigan broke the threshold in February 2006 when he purchased Coldplay's "Speed of Sound," according to a press release. And for that, Apple hooked him up with a 20-inch iMac, 10 fifth generation iPods and a $10,000 iTunes gift card. The company also created a scholarship to Juilliard in his honor. Best 99 cents ever spent?

2. Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts was Billboard's No. 1 album of the year.

After becoming the fourth American Idol, the country-pop darling released her debut album, Some Hearts. It came out in November of 2005, but proceeded to dominate the charts the following year. The album's biggest hit "Jesus Take the Wheel," however, was nowhere near the top of Billboard's Hot 100 songs. The most popular tune that year was "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter.

3. Justin Timberlake brought "SexyBack."

Timberlake won over the music-loving masses with his first solo album in 2002 and solidified his bad boy image with a Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction during Super Bowl halftime in 2004. By the time his sophomore effort came out in fall 2006, Timberlake was a bona-fide babe and listeners were thirsty for more tunes. FutureSex/LoveSounds sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and featured singles such as "SexyBack," "What Goes Around" and "Summer Love."

4. Shortly thereafter, the former NSYNC front man gave us a special Christmas package.

It's been 10 years since this infamous Christmas classic, which premiered on Saturday Night Live on Dec. 16, 2006. "Dick in a Box," performed by JT and Andy Samberg, won an Emmy in 2007 for "Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics." Yes, it's still funny.

5. Funk maestro James Brown died.

The Godfather of Soul and master of the dance floor bid this world farewell after a week-long battle with pneumonia that resulted in congestive heart failure. Brown was 73 years old. Fittingly, he rode out in style. The New York Times reported Brown was laid to rest a 24-karat-gold coffin.

6. A young country artist named Taylor Swift made her debut.

It all started with a song about Tim McGraw. Ten years, five albums and several stadium tours later, Swift is the recipient of seven GRAMMYs and 19 American Music Awards among numerous other accolades, as well as the holder of Guinness Book of World Records for fastest selling album by a female country artist (U.S.), fastest selling digital download by female (U.S.), and only artist to in history to debut seven tracks on the Billboard top 100. Phew, that's a mouth full.

7. Microsoft released its first Zune digital music player.

To compete with Apple's growing lineup of digital music players, Microsoft jumped in the game with its own -- the Zune digital media player. The device, which came pre-loaded with several tracks and videos but also required a monthly subscription streaming fee, was eventually beat out by Apple. Actually that was just last month -- Microsoft sunset Zune on Nov. 15, 2015.

8. Kanye West made one of his first appearances as Yeezus on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Though the nickname was yet to come, West posed for the cover of Rolling Stone in a crown of thornes in what photographer David LaChapelle said was an attempt to mirror the DVD cover of The Passion of the Christ. The story was appropriately titled "The Passion of Kanye West." According to the pub, the controversial photo was not the most outrageous to come of the 13-hour shoot. "That honor goes to a shot of West in a gray silk suit standing alongside a topless Pamela Anderson riding a horse bareback while a passed-out circus clown wearing a George W. Bush mask lies on the floor clutching a bottle of Jack Daniel's," it said.

9. Eminem re-married his ex-wife Kim, then re-divorced her.

The saga of Eminem's love life is well chronicled in his discography, but 2006 saw an unusually rough patch for the rapper and his main squeeze and high school sweetheart, Kim Mathers. The couple, which had previously split, re-married in January of that year only to re-divorce less than three months later. Kim has said the relationship almost drove her to suicide.

10. Three 6 Mafia made history as the first hip-hop group to perform at the Oscars.

The group performed its Oscar-nominated track "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp," from Hustle and Flow, but changed words in the chorus to "witches" from "bitches." And when the tune won the award, Three 6 Mafia also made history as the first rap group to garner an Oscar. (Solo artist Eminem had previously won an Academy Award for "Lose Yourself" in 8 Mile.)

11. Paul McCartney turned 64 years old.

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McCartney penned "When I'm Sixty-Four" when he was a teenager and recorded it at age 24, according to the New York Times.

12. Beyoncé had a breakout solo year.

With Destiny's Child officially down and out, Queen Bey put the pedal to metal on her solo career. In 2006, she released her sophomore album, B'Day, one day before her 25th birthday, and landed roles in movies DreamGirls and Pink Panther.

13. OK GO danced on treadmills and it was epic.

Lauded as one of the best music videos of all time, OK GO's "Here It Goes Again" treadmill dance was recorded in one take, but took 17 attempts to get it right. The band performed the routine during the MTV Video Music Awards the same year.

14. The original High School Musical came out

Disney darlings Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens started the revolution that is High School Musical's legacy. The succeeding years lead to more spin-offs than we needed, including two sequels, a concert tour, a stage production, High School Musical on ice, a book series and video games. #phenomenon

Want to flashback another year? See what was hot in pop music in 2005.