10 Greatest Garage Rock Albums Of The 2000s

Often somewhat dismissively lumped in with the stoner rock label -- likely a hangover from singer/guitarist Josh Homme's Kyuss days -- Queens of the Stone Age were among the biggest garage pioneers of the 2000s, and have built on top of and far beyond the genre as their career has progressed, embracing a variety of star lineups and the sonic divergences such diversity brings to the group's sound.

But of all their records, decade-opener Rated R is still the one to beat. Written and performed primarily by Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri, with the pair trading vocal duties, instruments and lyrics, the album has a singularity to it missing from most rock records of the same era, managing to be expansive and experimental while -- perhaps unusually for a garage album -- feeling like a clear journey from beginning to end.

Released in the summer of 2000, it boasts a heap of garage rock standards, like "Monsters in the Parasol", along with a handful of flirty excursions into other generic territory, like "I Think I Lost My Headache", which digresses towards a jazzy conclusion, horns and all. And the album opens on one of the greatest garage rock anthems of all time: "Feel Good Hit of the Summer".

C-c-c-c-c-co-caine!