10 Perfect Albums That Defined The 2000s

When talking about the career trajectory of Radiohead in the '00s, everyone's eager to bring up their masterpiece Kid A that came out right as the decade started. It's not hard to see why either, with the band drawing a line in the sand and letting their audience know not to expect the same guitar driven rock they had always done. Now with a decade under their belt since OK Computer, In Rainbows was Radiohead giving their career a second wind.

While there are definitely some similarities between this album and others in Radiohead's discography, this feels like they took the best of each facet of their career and put it into one glorious package. You still have the focus on electronic soundscapes like the stuttering rhythm of 15 Step, but you also have the guitar tones of something like Nude and Weird Fishes that feel like they could have been leftovers from the '90s. Hell, there are even heavier moments like Bodysnatchers that throw it all the way back to the days of Pablo Honey.

This also changed the way that most bands promoted their music, since Radiohead released the entire album online on a pay what you want scheme...and actually got some profit out of it. The record labels may have still had a hold on the music business, but putting your album into your own hands like this is still one of the biggest power moves that any band has ever done. Especially when it kicks this much ass.