Our list of the top 20 American rock bands of the 2000sshows just howmuch the genre had evolved over theyears while still hewing closely to its roots.
It was a decade that, by and large, found a new crop of bands from various backgrounds and subgenres seizing the mantle. New York’s garage rock revival scene birthed a myriad of buzz bands, namely the Strokes,whose landmark debut albumIs This Itinfluenced several other groups on this list, such as the Killers and Kings of Leon.
On the flip side, pop-punkstalwarts Green Day reached all-new heights with their multi-platinum, politically charged rock operaAmerican Idiot. Apparently inspired by this dramatic reinvention, fellow post-hardcore scenesters My Chemical Romance releasedThe Black Parade, a grandiose concept album inspired by classic rock iconsQueen and David Bowie.
READ MORE: Top 50 American Bands of All Time
Meanwhile, some of the genre’s elder statesmen returned to form, releasing their strongest and most well-received material in years. Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen bothlaunched to the top of the charts, and the latter even headlined the Super Bowl halftime show, adding adistinguished notch to his belt.
And, of course, nobody could forget Foo Fighters and the White Stripes, both of whom ascended to the top of the rock ‘n’ roll mountain and whose respective figureheads, Dave Grohl and Jack White, became ambassadors of a genre that was — at least for a little while longer — still thriving.
Read on to see thetop 20 American rock bands of the 2000s.
Top 20 American Rock Bands of the 2000s
Legends returned to form and a new crop of bands seized the mantle.