Rock music was created in the 1950s. Chuck Berry and Little Richard led to the legend that is Elvis Presley. The King gave way to the Beatles and British rock in the 1960s. Heavier acts such as Led Zeppelin led the way in the 1970s. The 80s were dominated by the likes of Metallica and Van Halen. In the 1990s, Nirvana and grunge took over from a predictable genre. Then came the 2000s. In this decade, the world began to change as the internet became part of our daily lives. It also meant that rock music changed. With so many bands out there and new ways to listen to them emerging, it became harder for new acts to become huge successes. These days, it's a struggle to come up with one big current rock band. The genre didn't go down without a fight though. In the 2000s, rock and roll had its last great decade.
'Kid A' - Radiohead (2000)
2000 was officially the future and nothing sounded like the future quite like Radiohead. 1997's OK Computer moved the band away from the traditional guitar and drum sound. With their follow-up, Kid A, they continued to experiment in ways that took them in the opposite direction of "Creep." This transition away from the formulaic didn't result in the group losing popularity. Instead, with Kid A, Radiohead had their first ever number one album in the United States.
Kid A is haunting, like an alien-made album of impossible sounds. It envelops the listener, pulling them into a bizarre world where anything is possible. The synthesizers and cool tone of Thom Yorke's vocals for "Everything in Its Right Place" are hypnotic, while "Idioteque" thumps. Every song is like nothing ever heard before. Radiohead was rewarded for their effort with a Best Album of the Year Grammy nomination.
'Is This It' - The Strokes (2001)
In 2001, rock was in a time of change. The nu metal fad was starting to fade away as it became too overproduced and predictable. Fans wanted a return to old school, raw passion. Enter garage rock, with minimal flare and a sound that harkened back to another century. The early 2000s saw an explosion of bands that started with "The." The White Stripes, The Hives, The Vines, the list goes on and on. It all started with New York City's The Strokes and their debut album Is This It?
With 11 songs over 36 minutes, Is This It? doesn't take its time. It's an album of immediacy, made right before 9/11 and released right after. When nothing made sense, The Strokes' tribute to the bygone was a relief. Is This It? is refreshing for its simplicity. There are no tricks. It's just a group of young friends playing raw, gritty rock for the fun of it. "Last Nite" gets your body moving and "Take It Or Leave It" is a frenzy, all with the unique vocals of Julian Casablancas.
'Songs for the Deaf' - Queens of the Stone Age (2002)
Garage rock might have been all the rage in the early 2000s, but this didn't mean old-fashioned hard rock went away. Queens of the Stone Age had already made two albums by 2002. With Songs for the Deaf they created their masterpiece. The concept takes the listener for a literal ride, like you're on a road trip just listening to the radio of old. And this time around, the band had the one and only Dave Grohl behind the drums.
There are several masterminds behind Queens of the Stone Age. Josh Homme is a traditional frontman, all confidence and energy. Mark Lanegan of the Screaming Trees, with his husky voice, sings on several songs, as does bassist Nick Oliveri in his last outing for the band. Grohl is there pounding away, but he's not the singer this time. Songs for the Deaf isn't about him. With songs like the ear-blasting "No One Knows" and the cool "God Is on the Radio," he's just happy to be along for the ride.
'Meteora' - Linkin Park (2003)
Nu metal was a love it or hate it genre for most fans. By 2003, over it was the consensus. Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock began to fade away and Korn, while still going strong, wasn't as big as they had been. Linkin Park had no such troubles. After the success of their debut, Hybrid Theory, they only got bigger and better with their sophomore effort, Meteora.
Meteora, as with their debut, packs a one-two punch of vocals. Mike Shinoda takes the hip-hop approach, while Chester Bennington's screams are a gift from the heavy metal gods. On Meteora, Linkin Park broke free from the restraints of the nu-metal tag and became a rock band who could create whatever kind of song they wanted. Deep, emotional lyrics cut deep on everything from "Braking the Habit" to "Somewhere I Belong." Linkin Park was never better than in 2003.
'Funeral' - Arcade Fire (2004)
In 2004, Arcade Fire broke out with a stunner of a debut album, Funeral. The Canadian band found life with a 48-minute epic about death and loss. Although classified at the time as indie rock, their sound was not at all minimal. With a sweeping orchestra behind the likes of Will Butler and Regine Chassagne, and other instruments like a piano, organ, and synthesizer thrown in, Funeral was the perfect introduction to the next great rock band.
Funeral is the anthem for millennials in a post-9/11 world. As America marched to war with two countries at the same time, the youth of the nation were confused and weary. Funeral speaks to that fear. It takes a familiar early 2000s sound and adds melodies of emotion. The album opener, "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" is what gets your attention. The best track, however, is "Lies," a song so great that Bono of U2 compared it to other legendary songs that "change everything" like "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit." You can't get a better review than that.
'Mezmerize' - System of a Down (2005)
If Arcade Fire was melodic, indie rock emotion, System of a Down was heavy metal, free-for-all chaos. By 2005, the Armenian-American band already had four albums under their belt. They were a force to be reckoned with and the closest thing we had to a powerhouse political rock band in the wake of Rage Against the Machine's breakup. In 2005, System of a Down said goodbye as well with two albums, Mezmerize and Hypnotize.
You can take your pick on which of the two albums is better, but we'll go with the first, Mezmerize, released in March 2006, eight months before the second half. Mezmerize is blistering energy. "B.Y.O.B." is so infectious that its music video has half a billion views on YouTube. Screams of "Why do we always send the poor?!" over a machine gun tempo says it all. In just 36 minutes, System of a Down used rock, nu-metal, and ska to deliver a much-needed message to America's leaders.
'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not' - Arctic Monkeys (2006)
Brit rock made a big return in the mid 2000s thanks to bands such as the Arctic Monkeys. In 2006, they released their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. The band, which is still going strong today, is built on consistency, with the four piece having the same lineup for two decades. They found fame thanks to their The Strokes meets punk sound, with Alex Turner's vocal flare putting them over the top.
"I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor" is the monster hit from the first album. With its youthful beat, it's easy to see why. The Arctic Monkeys countered the sadness of other popular bands of the era with a more lively feel. It's one memorable hook after another on an album that never slows down or takes a misstep. It's fun pop when we needed it the most.
'In Rainbows' - Radiohead (2007)
In the 2000s, Radiohead could do no wrong. They were the elite band, with no one able to match their brilliance. After the success of Kid A, Amnesiac, and Hail to the Thief, they returned after four years with album number seven, In Rainbows. Released by the band on their own as a downloadable album, In Rainbows is more than a gimmick. It's a return to a past sound which had initially made them so famous.
In Rainbows was Radiohead's best album since Kid A. After playing the same type of sound for so long, experimental started to feel like handcuffs. This time, it's back to guitar and drums, with electric meeting acoustic. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood is a master and its no wonder that he's also composed movie scores for the likes of The Master and One Battle After Another. On songs such as "Nude" and "All I Need," Thom Yorke's vocals continues to hypnotize.
'Vampire Weekend' - Vampire Weekend (2008)
By 2008, technology continued to evolve, and social media brought us together and separated us more than ever. With no one band taking over anything anymore, it allowed for smaller groups to break out. This year, it was Vampire Weekend with their self-titled debut. Formed at Columbia University, the band sounds like 2000s college rock. It's more than just indie simplicity, however. With tributes to New Wave and Afrobeats, and exquisite lyrics, Vampire Weekend expanded on the familiar.
Vampire Weekend is music to dance the night away to. It's pop rock pleasure. The trio is led by Ezra Koenig, whose catchy guitars and vocals set the pace. Chris Baio on bass and Chris Tomson on drums are more than the backup. They are the life behind the music. "A Punk" has a phenomenal guitar riff, while "Oxford Comma" and its lyrics are smart without being overbearing. Two decades later, the weekend hasn't ended, but this is where it started.
'Black Gives Way to Blue' - Alice in Chains (2009)
In the early 90s, Alice in Chains was right there with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden as the sound of the grunge movement. As great as they were, however, they were also troubled. Lead singer Layne Staley had an iconic voice that was silenced by drug addiction. After disappearing for years, he died of an overdose in 2002. The band should have been dead too. In 2009, they attempted a comeback with Black Gives Way to Blue. Instead of it being a failure, the new version of the group was better than ever.
Adding William DuVall to Alice in Chains was controversial. Would they dare try to replace Staley with a new lead singer who sounded like him? They didn't. This time around, it's guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell's band, with DuVall mostly as the backing vocalist. He's an added dimension, not the star. Fourteen years after their last album, Alice in Chains hadn't lost a step in Black Gives Way to Blue. They sound like we remember, yet are not a parody. With slower songs meeting heavy metal, the album is the band doing what they love. Bonus points for landing Elton John on the title track, which pays tribute to Staley.
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