See also: 2001 in music, other events of 2002, 2003 in music and the list of 'years in music'.
Albums Released
- O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits - Aerosmith
- Audioslave - Audioslave
- The Process Of Belief - Bad Religion
- Sea Change - Beck
- Bounce - Bon Jovi
- Corporate America - Boston
- The Naked Ride Home - Jackson Browne
- Cigarettes & Carrot Juice: The Santa Cruz Years - Camper Van Beethoven
- Tusk - Camper Van Beethoven
- Purple Onion - Les Claypool
- Testify - Phil Collins
- Hard Candy - Counting Crows
- Darkhorse - Crazy Town
- Home - Dixie Chicks
- Eminem Show - Eminem
- Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips
- One By One - Foo Fighters
- Up - Peter Gabriel
- Red 13 - Journey
- Untouchables - Korn
- Let Go - Avril Lavigne
- Nellyville - Nelly
- Century Child - Nightwish
- No Secrets - No Secrets
- Heathen Chemistry - Oasis
- lovehatetragedy - Papa Roach
- Riot Act - Pearl Jam
- Round Room - Phish
- Songs For Deaf - Queens Of The Stone Age
- By The Way - Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Forty Licks - The Rolling Stones
- Vapor Trails - Rush
- Does This Look Infected? - Sum 41
- Steal This Album - System of a Down
- Away From The Sun - 3 Doors Down
- Up! - Shania Twain
- Erase The Past - UP SyNDROME
- Maladroit - Weezer
Top Hits
- "Lose Yourself" - Eminem
- "Defy You" - The Offspring
- "Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" - Las Ketchup
- "Complicated" - Avril Lavigne
- "Landslide" - Dixie Chicks
- "Hot in Herre" - Nelly
- "Hey Ma" - Cam'ron
- "By The Way" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
- "The Zephyr Song" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
- "Still Waiting" - Sum 41
- "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!" - Shania Twain
Top 10 Selling Albums of the Year
- The Eminem Show - Eminem
- Nellyville - Nelly
- Let Go - Avril Lavigne
- Home - Dixie Chicks
- 8 Mile - Soundtrack
- Missundaztood - Pink
- Ashanti - Ashanti
- Drive - Alan Jackson
- Up! - Shania Twain
- O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Soundtrack
Events
- Peter Garrett leaves Midnight Oil on December 2
- Megadeth disband
- Glastonbury festival, June 28 to 30. Headline acts: Coldplay, Garbage, Stereophonics, Orbital, Roger Waters, Rod Stewart, Air
- Takahiro Nishikawa leaves Dreams Come True on March 24 [1]
Births
Deaths
- January 21 - Peggy Lee, Jazz performer, most famous for song Fever ("You give me fever...")
- February 1 - Hildegard Knef (76), actress, singer, writer
- April 25 - Lisa Lopes, member of TLC
- June 27 - John Entwistle (57), bassist for The Who
- July 2 - Ray Brown (75), jazz bassist
- August 14 - Dave Williams, member of Drowning Pool
- August 31 - Lionel Hampton (94), vibraphone virtuoso
- October 30 - Jam Master Jay, member of Run DMC
- November 3 - Lonnie Donegan, musician
- December 9 - Mary Hansen, member of Stereolab
- December 22 - Joe Strummer, member of The Clash
Awards
- The following artists are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Isaac Hayes, Brenda Lee, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Gene Pitney, Ramones and the Talking Heads
- Inductees of the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame include Pat Boone, and Amy Grant