10 Definitive Rock Albums Of The 2000s

After the ‘90s, rock and roll really had run its course being the biggest genre in the world. In the aftermath of the grunge revolution, most fans were getting burnt out on songs with loud guitars about being a misfit, and the next phase of popular music saw hip hop and electronica becoming the next biggest things in the world. In the era just before the boy bands dried up though, the age of loud guitars started to come back for a little while.

Though none of these records can claim to have the same kind of weight as something like Zeppelin records did back in the ‘70s, that’s just because they haven’t had the test of time working for them just yet. With a few more years under their belt, these records will be looked at as the new age of what rock and roll stood for, from bands that were willing to bring it back down to basics to carving a new path in rock and roll that no one had ever heard of before.

Even though this might not have been the dominant force by any stretch, these were the records that made rock feel like it actually meant something, along with having new ways for listeners to experience the music in the age of Napster and the digital downloads. Those rock gods of ages past may have still been kicking around, but this was not a genre for dinosaurs. The next generation had something to say, and we were going to blast it as loud as we could.

In between the rise of pop music and hip hop coming into its own, there was still some room for rock and roll on the charts. Even though people like Britney Spears were some of the biggest draws at the time, artists like Queens of the Stone Age were still all over MTV, and even the old guard like U2 found some hits in the next decade as well like Vertigo. Dave Grohl may have taken Foo Fighters to the arenas at this point, but he had something more on his mind than just loud rock and roll.

Working both sides of the musical spectrum, In Your Honor might be the most ambitious Foo Fighters project ever made, looking to make a double album of both the light and the dark side of the group. Although the first disc is the most memorable for its knockout choruses on songs like Best Of You, the second side is where things get interesting, with Dave switching to acoustic guitar and things getting a lot more lowkey on songs like Still or Another Round.

Since it's a lot more intimate with an unplugged setting, Dave also gives us some of his most vulnerable songs here as well, like singing about Kurt Cobain on Friend of a Friend or diving into the world of jazzy harmony on the song Virginia Moon. This era of rock may have been about the more dangerous side of life, but Dave taught us that there was no shame in letting your guard down every once in a while.