10 Best Experimental Rock Albums Of All Time

It looked like Radiohead were going to be the next kings of rock by the time the '90s wrapped up. After releasing OK Computer and pioneering a new sonic sheen for rock and roll, they had left a fat exclamation mark on the final years of the decade and would be preaching their good word for years to come. The only problem was...they had absolutely no interest in going back and doing it again.

Once everyone got back together for the sessions of what would become Kid A, Thom Yorke was looking to run away from the glittery guitar band that he had gotten himself into, instead choosing to focus more on the rhythmic aspect of the music. What we ended up getting on this record was something a lot more clinical than before, with songs that felt like they were almost robotic like Everything In Its Right Place and The National Anthem.

As much as this might have seemed like career suicide at the time, this is the moment where Radiohead got their second wind. Aside from the strange detours on the album, the offputting feeling became the album's greatest strength, as if we're hearing the band at arm's lengths desperately trying to hold on to their own sanity. Since every major rock band that has come out later has taken notes from it, Kid A is the kind of experimental that transcended every genre boundary around it.