10 Best Rock Music Album Openers Of The 2000s
1. American Idiot - American Idiot (Green Day)
It's one of the biggest songs on one of the biggest albums of the entire decade. Of course it was going to be number one.
Green Day were popular in 2004, but they weren't heralded as the new guardians of punk just yet. That would all change when they put out the era-defining American Idiot.
Inspired by the band's fatigue from living in modern America, the album is defined by the story of Jesus of Suburbia, the main character of its loose plot. Before all that kicks in, there's one of the greatest rock anthems of the 21st Century to get through.
The title track goes hard on the band's native land as Billie Joe Armstrong calls out the "redneck agenda" and the "age of paranoia", whilst also using some language that is far too spicy for this article.
Green Day weren't just bringing back the satirical nature of punk, they had also resurrected its short, snappy musical stylings. Although, thankfully, they were actually playing in tune.
American Idiot is one hell of a song on its own and the fact that it serves as the opening salvo to one of the most seminal records of the time is the cherry on top.