Every Coldplay Album Ranked Worst To Best

As the new millennium came into view, the rock world was immersed in the world of Britpop. Coldplay were fairly late bloomers on the scene, but the impression they made with Parachutes yielded exceptional results.

With their debut, Coldplay wear their influences heavily on their sleeves in places. There is a definite nod to bands like Travis and Radiohead, with Buckland's guitar work being very reminiscent of Jonny Greenwood. While the band does exhibit a lot of the tendencies of their rock peers, their execution of these ideas never fall into mere plagiarism.

This record showed that Chris Martin was already an exceptional pop writer, with songs that leap out of the speakers like "Shiver" and the colossal single "Yellow." However, the ethereal side of the band gives a unique character to songs like "Spies" and "We Never Change." Even the less-than-a-minute title track is completely captivating as it lulls you into its wistful headspace. The band still had a lot to figure out at this juncture, but Parachutes is an album that got the ball rolling for what would become one of rock's most successful groups. A bit rough around the edges, but still an exquisite first step.