10 Albums That Changed Rock History

10. Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine

A lot of people tend to forget how much the alternative revolution opened up the playing field for newer artists. Years before any of the grunge movement started, acts like Jane's Addiction and Faith No More would have been considered left of the dial, and were now seeing mainstream success unlike anything they had seen before. So why not bring in some rap and turn it into one of the biggest smashes of the '90s?

Coming up in the same LA scene that produced people like Ratt and Warrant, Rage Against the Machine were the antithesis to all rock going forward, with guitar solos combined with the furious anger from Zack de la Rocha. Aside from some of the more political bents they would tackle on tracks like Settle for Nothing, the music itself was something to behold, with Tom Morello using digital effects that had most people wondering if they were actually listening to a guitar.

Since most of the alternative stream brought things back to rootsier rock, this was the equivalent of putting every single catchy aspect of rock and roll and using it to try to affect change on the ground level. It's not always the sunniest record to listen to, but never forget that your anger is a gift.