10 Perfect Rock Albums That No One Saw Coming
2. Kid A - Radiohead
If everything that Radiohead did for the rock community stopped right at their debut, they would hardly even be a footnote in the history of rock music. Once the '90s started to expand though, the way out of being a one hit wonder started to seem possible, with OK Computer becoming one of the last landmark albums of the decade, being a celebration of guitar centered rock while also reminding us of the dangers that could come with the onslaught of technology. For all of the celebration of guitars, it turned out to be a swan song once the band entered their next phase.
As the rest of the world carefully waited for the next U2 style record from Radiohead, Kid A seemed to go beyond what rock and roll had in mind, with the band going minimalistic and trading in their guitars for different digitized sounds, from the ominous keyboards on Everything In Its Right Place to the kind of samples that come and go out of the song Idioteque. While it was hard to really pinpoint what they were getting at in the moment, Kid A was the shape of rock to come without anyone knowing it.
Taking it into different territory, the rock scene seemed to split off into different directions, either trying to capture the same kind of spirit that they heard in the old days or spreading their wings into different sonic landscapes, using the studio as an instrument along with your guitar. You can try to follow the trends in rock, but it's always better to serve yourself, and Radiohead has had our ear for decades at this point just through following their muse.