10 Perfect Rock Albums Of The 2000s
3. Audioslave - Audioslave (2002)
When Audioslave first released this record, critics kind of tore them a new one, branding it as unoriginal. But, what did they expect when you stick the lead singer of Soundgarden in front of Rage Against the Machine? A jazz record?!
Rick Rubin's hands were all over the album, and critics didn’t like that either - complaining that the sound was over produced and over polished - but fans disagreed. The record was eventually granted 3x platinum status.
The album kicked off with Cochise, a blood-bumping, Tom Morello-driven track that was full of Rage Against the Machine attitude. But, before fans could recover from the excitement of the opening number, they were hit with Show Me How to Live, which contained another equally, in-your-face guitar riff that again was so reminiscent of early Rage.
This album wasn't just full of pure head bangers, though. With Like a Stone and I Am the Highway in particular, fans got a taste of what happens when the Rage Against the Machine guys pulled it back and slowed it down, allowing Chris Cornell to deliver some of the best vocal performances of his career.