10 Perfect Rock Albums Of The 2000s
3. In Rainbows - Radiohead
If Radiohead wanted to, they could have probably retired after they put out Hail To The Thief in the mid '00s. With no record label breathing down their neck anymore and having reinvented rock a few times over with albums like OK Computer and Kid A, it would have been totally fine if they decided to say all they wanted to say. Then we get a random album come out just out of the blue.
In one of the biggest power moves in recent history, Radiohead released In Rainbows on their own for a pay what you want fee, almost confirming themselves as being too big to be taken down by anyone. It would have been one thing if this were a throwaway release for the fans. The fact that it's on par with something like OK Computer was just icing on the cake.
Almost a decade after their magnum opus, Radiohead still had the chops to make beautiful material, even unearthing fan favorite tracks like Nude and turning them into some of the most celebrated songs of their later period. This is not just a one-note collection of odds and ends though, with every track speaking to the other in its own unique way, from the trip hop sounds of Reckoner to the slow crescendo of Jigsaw Falling Into Place. For any band looking to work past their big hit, this is the handbook on how to grow up gracefully.