10 Rock Albums You Constantly Have To Defend Loving

10. Green Day: American Idiot (2004)

This was the triumphant return for Green Day. After several years trying to figure out what direction to go in - after the lukewarm reception of Warning (2000) - they came back with a new look and and new sound. At first all the guy-liner and checkerboard-print ties encouraged accusations of selling out. If moving to a major label in the early '90s hadn't been enough, then presenting a contrived 'punk' look to the world was the final straw.

But once you got into the meat and bones of Green Day's seventh studio album, you could ignore all the superficial visuals. This stuff had substance. Billie Joe Armstrong's scathing take down of American life was nothing if not inspired. American Idiot and Holiday reflected the feeling of unease and frustration at America's Middle Eastern policy; Jesus of Suburbia became the new anthem for the disenfranchised America youth; and Boulevard of Broken dreams struck a chord no matter what country you were from. What's more their new, heavier sound had enough energy to stir up excitement for a band who had been thought obsolete.

There wasn't many people around in the 2000s who didn't give this album some attention, and if your still fighting the urge to enjoy it, do yourself a favour and indulge.