10 Rock Bands Who Never Topped Their First Album

One of the first, if not the very first, band out of the gate when it came to the 2000s indie rock sound, The Strokes did with Is This It what every British band with fringes, skinny jeans and treble-heavy electric guitars would spend the next decade trying to achieve.

As iconic as albums come, Is This It originally featured a deliciously risque piece of cover art that saw it banned from various US shops, and 11 tracks of 4 minutes or less, which saw frontman and writer Julian Casablancas set the standard on what popular indie rock should sound like in the new millennium, sporting a live-style production and endearing simplicity. While the record never hit number one on any of the charts, it has come to be recognised as a fundamental entry in the canon of western rock and pop.

The Strokes matured in the years that followed, leaning into more of a garage, riff-driven sound and, more recently, a pop heavy style with shades of electronica, but their songs and albums have become less and less recognisable. Perhaps this is due to the sheer volume of copycats who piggybacked on their early sound, but whatever the reason, they haven't put out a song that the average Joe can name on contact in at least a decade.