10 Most Underrated Albums In Rock Music History
3. 21st Century Breakdown - Green Day
Green Day may be one of the few bands who can claim to have reshaped the rock landscape that were in twice. After becoming the mainstream superstars on the back of Dookie, American Idiot went even more ambitious a decade later by giving us the first proper pop punk opera to reach the mainstream. And since it worked so well the first time, you can't fault them for wanting to just do it over again on 21st Century Breakdown.
For the more cynical fans, this is basically a blatant retread of what they already did on American Idiot, only with different songs and giving the characters different names. There's a lot more to unpack than just the songs on here though. If you consider yourself more of a fan of classic rock, this is the Green Day album for you, as they play with different soundscapes that bring to mind acts like the Who and the Beatles, while also sprinkling in weird detours like Peacemaker and the showstopper Restless Heart Syndrome.
Even with all the changeups though, you never stop feeling like this is a punk album at the end of the day, with Billie Joe Armstrong's voice getting all the more vicious on some of the more sinister tracks like East Jesus Nowhere. American Idiot already showed that pop punk could grow up, so it was only natural that we get what those grown ups sound like on this record.