7. Fallout Boy
When Fall Out Boy first sprang from the Illinois suburbs boasting a spirited though unexceptional debut album, they quickly sunk into the soup of the emo scene that dominated the turn of the century. Their songs were brisk but lacked muscle, their lyrics snarky where they needed to be smart. Even follow up From Under The Cork Tree, which plunged into pop punk oblivion with choruses catchier than an sexually transmitted disease, failed to bother anyone for whom Hot Topic and the Warped Tour werent the central pillars of existence. Then something strange happened: they started experimenting. In the blink of an eye, gone were the fresh-faced emo kids with fringes so long they interfered with their fretboards; in were a bunch of tour-hardened twenty-somethings intent on taking things to the next level. Third effort Infinity On High used strings and brass to blend soul and R&B into their trademark melodic rock. Critics lauded this newfound innovation while rock fans began to take them seriously. What came next? Three more gold albums, all experimental yet rooted in ten ton hooks and bolstered by choruses the size of oil tankers, along with acknowledgement that Fallout Boy are one of the most creative and influential bands of their generation.