Top 10 Rock Albums of 21st Century

The Top Ten
1 Hybrid Theory - Linkin Park

The album sparked a music revolution for rock and reached out to fans in the sub-types of this genre. Everyone knew this band and album due to their defining hits. In the End, One Step Closer, Papercut, By Myself, and Forgotten were all widely listened to.

American Idiot was a great album by a legendary band, but it didn't spark a change as much as HT. Green Day was popular before AI, and nothing new was really brought to the table. Both are great defining albums, but HT takes this one.

No one beats Hybrid Theory. Even Linkin Park cannot make an album like this. This is the BEST album, and it will be the BEST album forever.

2 Meteora - Linkin Park

I love Linkin Park's most successful and brilliant album, Hybrid Theory, and Green Day's masterpiece, American Idiot, but Meteora is my personal top album.

First of all, I adore "Numb," but the whole album is phenomenal!

Meteora is amazing. I might even love it more than Hybrid Theory! I can honestly say that I adore every single track on this album. It's a masterpiece!

This has to be #2, man. Come on, AI is great, but this is LP at its best and by far better than AI. AI is good at #3.

3 American Idiot - Green Day

American Idiot on 3... Meteora and Hybrid Theory are good, but they cannot beat American Idiot. It has a list of superb songs.

And if you want to look at achievements, American Idiot is far ahead of both. American Idiot was the best rock album of the year, winning two Grammys and Kerrang! Awards and many more. American Idiot was ranked #1 on the Billboards, but Hybrid Theory was ranked #2 and Meteora #36, so surely American Idiot is the winner. I would also say it is the best album of our generation.

Linkin Park will forever be my favorite band, and while I do love both Meteora and Hybrid Theory, I must admit that this is THE album. Possibly my favorite album of all time, along with Meteora. This is definitely the greatest of the 21st century.

4 Mesmer Theatre - The Arcana

An amazing album in its complexity.

5 Lemon Freddy Phantom of the Sky - The Arcana
6 Tomorrow is Yesterday - The Arcana
7 Dear Agony - Breaking Benjamin

Very powerful and emotional album. All eleven songs on Dear Agony work together to make the most powerful and beautiful album there is, in my opinion. This album is my favorite along with Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park, but Hybrid Theory is already in 1st place, and Dear Agony deserves to be up there with it. Amazing album.

Linkin Park definitely rules this list. Anything else would be a crime. But Dear Agony really makes you think about what you're going through. Also, this is an album written entirely sober by Breaking Benjamin, which is an achievement all in itself.

8 Is This It - The Strokes

This is when The Strokes grabbed everyone's attention. They're not bona fide lyricists or anything like that, but they're groundbreaking and define indie rock personally. Most of the songs are quite laid-back and probably lazy, yet they can deliberately express a lot with just a line of lyrics. Fascinating.

The Strokes pretty much define 21st-century rock. Their minimalism expertise is pretty much unmatched by anyone except maybe the White Stripes.

Lulz, why is this song only the 8th? It is so amazing. Every song is catchy, and the music is so relaxed and lazy, but still so amazing... This is it!

9 Phobia - Breaking Benjamin

Breaking Benjamin is the BEST band of the 21st century! Every album was consistent and each one unique in itself. Their third album, Phobia, in my opinion, was their best. But not by a lot.

This one would come second on my list, after Breaking Benjamin's Dear Agony, of course.

10 Innocence & Instinct - Red
The Contenders
11 Elephant - The White Stripes

Seven Nation Army is a dead giveaway when deciding which album should be on top of the list. Besides other great creative tracks, Seven Nation Army really sets the bar.

12 Nightmare - Avenged Sevenfold

I said it before, and I'll say it again... It is the second-best album of theirs after Hail to the King, and A7X is third for me. Nightmare is original and it deserves to be high on the list.

Best album ever with the best song ever from the best band ever.

13 American Tragedy - Hollywood Undead
14 Adema - Adema
15 Move Along - The All-American Rejects
16 End of Silence - Red
17 Pastel Painted People in Candy Coloured Crowds - The Arcana

Each of their albums is awesome in its own way, but this one is just totally great. Every song is perfection.

18 In Rainbows - Radiohead

No other band existing past the year 2000 has been able to keep an experimental spirit and still manage to make the music accessible and enjoyable. With In Rainbows, Radiohead created one of the most unique records rock has seen in the new millennium, which still sounds innovative and beautifully immersive today.

Originality. Radiohead is a modern band that sounds unlike the majority of 21st-century bands, and that is because they are original. This is crucial in the making of good music. I thank you, members of Radiohead.

19 Demons & Wizards - Demons and Wizards
20 Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold

Linkin Park is my favorite band, so I see why they are so acclaimed on this list. But this album at least deserves 2nd place.

I love Meteora, but this... This is a piece of art that comes around not very often. A7X, you have made something amazing!

A7X is a great band, but this album is not their best. Check out Nightmare or Hail to the King and see the difference.

21 Comatose - Skillet

One of the best rock albums EVER, definitely best of the 21st century. The only competition is Avenged Sevenfold's self-titled album.

22 Beyond the Red Mirror - Blind Guardian
23 Funeral - Arcade Fire
24 Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys

By far the best Arctic Monkeys album. I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor and When the Sun Goes Down are just a few examples.

25 The Black Parade - My Chemical Romance

Near flawless. A Night at the Opera, The Wall, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band had a punk rock baby with major issues and a spirit as powerful as the best rock and roll has to offer. That's the best way to describe this album. Every song is a masterpiece. Famous Last Words. Mama. Teenagers. Disenchanted. Cancer. I Don't Love You. And of course...

(Hits G note)

Gerard screams, sobs, sneers, and belts his way right into your heart. Ray's soloing is the best of his generation. And Mikey, Bob, and Frank's rhythms give the music a propulsive, purposeful, grungy undercurrent.

Life. Death. War. Pain. Dreams. Music. The Black Parade tackles all of these uniquely and beautifully. It's theatrical, emotional, catchy, and utterly unforgettable.

8Load More
PSearch List