12 PERFECT Hard Rock Albums With No Bad Songs
5. Rated R - Queens Of The Stone Age
After the dissolution of the stoner rock outfit Kyuss, guitarist Joshua Homme wanted to make a band that had more of an open-door policy. While initially writing the debut album Queens of the Stone Age on his own, the addition of Mark Lanagen and Nick Oliveri for the follow-up made for some of the greatest hard rock to come out of the 2000's.
Many diehard rock fans would bring up Songs For the Deaf as the band's masterpiece, but Rated R is where the band's magic truly started to gel. As soon as you turn the record on, the low throb of "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" puts you in just the right headspace for the off-kilter musical ecstasy that lies ahead.
There are many different styles the band tackles on this record from hard rock on "Monsters in the Parasol" to softer passages like "Lightning Song" to even sludgier material on "Better Living Through Chemistry." There are also tracks like "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" which seem to define everything great about QOTSA. Even with the 8-minute jam and horn freakout on the closer "I Think I Lost My Headache," this record is a no-nonsense rock record with a sound that engulfs you for just over 40 minutes.