10 Best Rock Albums Of The 2000s

Once My Chemical Romance had made a name for themselves on Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, the public was divided, with some calling them a bold new reinvention in rock and some slagging them off as emo prettyboys looking to profit off teenage angst. As the band went into their next record, fans were met with one of the greatest concept records of the modern age.

Reflecting on the last days of a dying cancer patient, the album is immersed in a style that sounds like if Green Day had been injected with Queen's musicianship and The Cure's goth cynicism. The album has a perfect flow to it, with tracks that fluctuate from mournful laments like on "Cancer" to the shot of life on "Welcome to the Black Parade." While riding the wave of musical styles, the band tie the story together perfectly with lyrics that express the frustration, sadness, and eventual acceptance of one's demise.

Leaving all the naysayers in awe, The Black Parade is one of the most transcendent records of the pop-punk genre with a sound that encapsulates both adrenaline and dread in equal measure. Simply put, this is an album that is centered around death, but instead becomes a musical plea for life.