#WP20 perspective (“popular” #WordPress plugin debuts).
2003- WP
2005- Akismet
2006- WP Super Cache
2007- Yoast SEO, All In One SEO, NextGEN Gallery
2008- Duplicate Post
2009- Events Calendar
2010- ACF, UpDraftPlus
2011- Jetpack, Google Analytics for WP
2012- Easy Digital Downloads
2013- WPRocket
2016- Elementor, WPForms
I left off plugins already mentioned in past posts. Faved older plugins.
Popular approx by downloads/installs. ChatGPT used a bit for this. Acqusitions, names updated, etc.