10 Perfect Rock Albums Of The 2000s

10. Is This It - The Strokes

All of the new ideas coming down the pipeline of rock circa 2000 tended to just feel old and tired. Since the sound of grunge already came and went back in the mid '90s, why the hell were we still dealing with bands like Creed and Nickelback stinking up the charts for no reason? There was no good reason to sift through that kind of mediocrity, so a couple of kids just threw on some guitars and reminded us of a simpler time.

By the time that the public heard Is This It, it really felt like the glory days of '70s rock came back for a little bit, except with a few more twists than you probably expected. Although the Strokes were still fresh faced kids when they broke, you can hear them start to become something amazing on every track, from the Tom Petty rip off Last Nite to going straight up indie rock on The Modern Age.

The lyrics were also a change of pace. Whereas most people were still banging tracks like Nookie and How You Remind Me, this was a more intimate look into the nightlife of New York City and how sexual and ugly things could get at the best of times. It's not necessarily the most pleasing endorsement of the Big Apple to have ever been written, but the sounds of these songs make those dirty dancefloors feel new and exciting again.