By the BBC's Chris Charles

If 1998 was the year of the girl bands, then '99 was the year that the boys fought back.

Westlife led the way by becoming only the second group to go in at number one with their first four singles.

It took soul-less cover versions of I Have A Dream and Seasons In The Sun to earn Ronan Keating's robots the last chart-topper of the century.

The nation didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

After one of the most unexciting years in the history of pop music it seemed somehow fitting that we should be led into the new millennium by a bunch of clean-cut, spot-free kids.

Their mentor and manager Mr Keating didn't fare so badly himself.

His debut solo effort When You Say Nothing At All, which left the cynics among us wishing he hadn't, crashed in at number one, Boyzone picked up two awards while he was hosting the MTV Europe bash in Dublin, and he became the proud father of baby Jack.

Other boys making a name for themselves were the Stereophonics. The three unlikely lads from the valleys enjoyed unprecedented success with the release of their second album Performance And Cocktails, which spawned at least 17 hit singles.

Their only challengers to the title of guitar-rock supremos were Scottish quartet Travis, who wooed the kids with a string of melodic, melancholic anthems from their hugely successful album The Man Who.

A number one was not hard to come by, but staying there for longer than a week was a different ball game, with an astonishing 35 different chart-toppers.

When The Jam went straight in at the top with Going Underground in 1980, it was the first time the feat had been achieved for seven years. In 1999 it was the rule rather than the exception.

One of the few artists to enjoy an extended stay at the summit was teenage temptress Britney Spears, with the infectious Baby One More Time.

Her visit to Britain was postponed due to a knee op, although the tabloids remained convinced surgery took place a little higher up.

But the knockers were put in their place when she swept the board at the MTV Europe and Smash Hits awards.

The Backstreet Boys and Robbie Williams also had to clear a bit of space on the sideboard, whilst Talvin Singh lifted the Mercury Music Prize in yet another puzzling result.

It was a quiet year for the Spice Girls, except for their recent tour, but individually, babies, weddings and solo careers meant there was no stopping them.

Former group member Geri Halliwell won an over-hyped singles battle with Emma Bunton, but was less lucky in love when her romance with Chris Evans was called off no sooner than it had been declared officially on.

Oasis were briefly Oasisn't as first Guigsy and then Bonehead quit the band. The Gallagher brothers vowed to carry on, with Liam's only requirements for the replacements being that they supported Manchester City and had decent haircuts.

Noel opted for two boys who could play a bit instead - Gem from Heavy Stereo and Hurricane #1 star Andy Bell.

Liam's wife Patsy gave birth to a son, Lennon, with Noel due to become a father in the New Year.

Not to be outdone, Damon Albarn from old sparring partners Blur swapped microphone for Pampers and guitarist Graham Coxon will also be hearing the patter of tiny feet shortly.

While the Happy Mondays were dragging themselves back on the road, The Verve and Kula Shaker had clearly had enough and decided to call it a day.

Not so the Rolling Stones, who embarked on yet another tour, despite having a combined age of well over 200. Mick Jagger's fling with a "Brazilian beauty" led to a final parting of the ways from long-suffering Jerry Hall which hit him where it hurt most - in his pocket.

Other old timers gigging in '99 were The Who and Sir Paul McCartney, while Tom Jones sang a duet with just about everybody and Diana Ross became Diana Cross when she found herself in the middle of a plane reaction at Heathrow.

Sir Cliff Richard's Millennium Prayer was "banned" nearly everywhere, but still managed to hog the number one spot for three agonising weeks.

Sporty Spice and George Michael led the ritual slaggings which, if anything, generated a wave of sympathy for the born-again rocker. George certainly had no room to talk after releasing an awful covers album.

On the dance front, The Chemical Brothers led the way with Surrender and Underworld returned in style with Beaucoup Fish.

Basement Jaxx took did the soulful housey disco thang with the brilliant Remedy and Leftfield's Rhythm And Stealth was a successful trip into a land of dub, techno and just about anything else they fancied.

Fatboy Slim had a quiet year by his own recent standards, throwing all his efforts into the climax of the Cook'n'Ball story by marrying Radio 1's late late girl Zoe.

Craze of the year was Latino fever, personified by American heart-throb Ricky Martin and Puff Daddy's love interest Jennifer Lopez.

Country enjoyed a revival thanks to the unstoppable Shania Twain, whose Come On Over was easily the best-selling album of the year and it was the girls who ruled R&B and hip-hop, with Missy Elliot riding high along with the inescapable TLC and Macy Gray. Eminem struck a blow for the boys with the Parental Advisory Slim Shady LP.

On a sadder note, 1999 saw the deaths of Dusty Springfield and Frankie Vaughan, while the villain of the year was disgraced former glam rock star Gary Glitter, who was was jailed for four months after downloading child pornography on the Internet.