10 Best Soft Rock Albums Of The 2000s

10. Continuum - John Mayer (2006)

John Mayer's third LP fully solidified his status as a sharp songwriter in the soft rock scene. Rocking the album with commendable guitar work, the popular Bridgeport-born star shows off groovy, catchy riffs in tracks such as Waiting on the World to Change. The likes of Belief and Gravity, meanwhile, highlight his knack for soulful solos.

Infusing his tracks with blues and pop overtones, Mayer concocts his own signature brand of soft rock here. The album ultimately serves as an intriguing fusion of the varying sounds and styles he worked with in prior albums, providing an effective sonic landscape of the artist's varying capabilities.

The eclectic sound is bolstered by a stripped back production style, allowing his voice and strings work to come to the forefront without any audio clutter to worry about.

As is customary with Mayer, the lyrics take an introspective path, seeing the singer-songwriter self-reflecting and walking through themes of romance and loss. Tracks such as Slow Dancing in a Burning Room and Dreaming With a Broken Heart manage to highlight both Mayer's rock and pop strengths, capturing a difficult balance between radio-friendly appeal and more meaningful, confronting lyricism.