MusicThe best rock albums of the 21st century (so far) for Rolling Stone USA

THE Rolling Stone USA published a list of the 250 best albums of the 21st century to date. Within this survey, there are more than 50 rock albums — which were separated and highlighted in this article by Rolling Stone Brazil.

In the introduction to the general article, the team of 38 journalists responsible for the ranking states that they considered works released between 2000 and 2024 — although the current century began in 2001. The text shows that music consumption “has become more universal, immediate and accessible than ever”, moving from CD purchases — and piracy — to streaming platforms.

“Such a broad shift in cultural consumption is bound to be a huge mix. Yet through all the technological changes we’ve seen over the last 25 years (CD burning, iPod, file sharing, streaming), the album-centric long-form listening experience has remained at the center of music. At the beginning of this century, the album was supposedly dying at the hands of single-track downloads. Today, a new LP from a beloved artist needs to be significant and good enough to usher in a new Era; so that it is not considered a failure, the album’s release dates are awaited with countdown clocks; and people willingly pay $40 for new ‘vinyl’ of records they already have for free.”

The criteria highlighted by the team involve “showing as much of the scope of this story as possible” and not favoring the inclusion of “several albums by the same artist”.

The highest-ranking rock album in the overall ranking of 250 albums is Kid A (2000), from Radiohead. The English group’s fourth studio album marked a departure from the sound previously practiced to incorporate influences ranging from jazz to classical music. When commenting on the work in question, the journalist Andy Greene stated:

“[…] The 11 tracks that Radiohead put together for their fourth album — using sequencers, drum machines, vintage synthesizers, strings and a brass section — predicted a darker 21st century, marked by fear, loneliness, displacement and technological advances that only divide us further. more. In other words, they knew exactly where we were going.”

In second place on the rock list is Is This It (2001), debut of The Strokes which occupies the tenth position in the general survey. Invited to write about the album which featured songs like “Last Night”, “Hard to Explain” and “Someday”the journalist Jon Dolan declared:

“[…] Is This It doesn’t have a single song that isn’t catchy on its tracklist, which puts it among the best New York guitar records ever made. Is This It played a huge role in kickstarting a whole avalanche of cool rock-is-back bands in the 2000s.”

Among other highlights, there are works by Fiona Apple, The White Stripes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Wilco, The Killers, Paramore and arctic monkeys. The ranking also features albums by veterans such as Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Green Day, Brian Wilsonand a few names linked to metal/hardcore, such as Deftones, system of a Down, Mastodon, Converge and Turnstile.

See below the 56 rock albums mentioned in Rolling Stone’s list of the 250 best albums of the 21st century. The original article, with Beyonce (Lemonade2016) first and comments in English, can be read by clicking here.

• 56th among rock albums alone / 245th in the general list: The 1975 – The 1975
• 54th among rock albums alone / 243rd in the overall list: Pierce the Veil – Collide with the Sky
• 54th among rock albums alone / 238th in the overall list: Kurt Vile – Smoking Ring for My Halo
• 53rd among rock albums alone / 236th in the general list: Turnstile – Glow On
• 52nd among rock albums alone / 227th in the overall list: TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain
• 51st among rock albums alone / 225th in the general list: Avril Lavigne – Let Go
• 50th among rock albums alone / 224th in the general list: REM – Revival
• 49th among rock albums alone / 221st in the general list: The National – High Violet
• 48th among rock albums alone / 217th in the general list: The Black Keys – Brothers
• 47th among rock albums alone / 214th in the general list: Queens of the Stone Age – Rated R
• 46th among rock albums alone / 209th in the overall list: Paul McCartney – Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
• 45th among rock albums alone / 206th in the general list: St. Vincent – ​​St. Vincent
• 44th among rock albums alone / 202nd in the general list: The Libertines – Up the Bracket
• 43rd among rock albums alone / 192nd in the general list: Converge – Jane Doe
• 42nd among rock albums alone / 184th in the general list: Sonic Youth – Sonic Nurse
• 41st among rock albums alone / 182nd in the overall list: Red Hot Chili Peppers – Stadium Arcadium
• 40th among rock albums alone / 181st in the general list: Boygenius – The Record
• 39th among rock albums alone / 179th in the overall list: Paul Simon – So Beautiful, So What
• 38th among rock albums alone / 171st in the general list: Mastodon – Leviathan
• 37th among rock albums alone / 163rd in the overall list: Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls
• 36th among rock albums alone / 162nd in the general list: U2 – All That You Can’t Leave Behind
• 35th among rock albums alone / 161st on the overall list: Drive-By Truckers – Southern Rock Opera
• 34th among rock albums alone / 159th in the overall list: System of a Down – Toxicity
• 33rd among rock albums alone / 153rd in the overall list: Fountains of Wayne – Welcome Interstate Managers
• 32nd among rock albums alone / 149th in the overall list: Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways
• 31st among rock albums alone / 148th in the general list: Tame Impala – Currents
• 30th among rock albums alone / 138th in the general list: Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
• 29th among rock albums alone / 135th in the overall list: Fall Out Boy – From Under the Cork Tree
• 28th among rock albums alone / 117th in the general list: Beck – Sea Change
• 27th among rock albums alone / 116th in the overall list: Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas
• 26th among rock albums alone / 113th in the overall list: My Chemical Romance – The Black Parade
• 25th among rock albums alone / 109th in the general list: Haim – Women in Music Pt. III
• 24th among rock albums alone / 107th in the overall list: Deftones – White Pony
• 23rd among rock albums alone / 105th in the overall list: Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine
• 22nd among rock albums alone / 104th in the overall list: Brian Wilson – Smile
• 21st among rock albums alone / 90th in the general list: Arcade Fire – Funeral
• 20th among rock albums alone / 75th in the overall list: The White Stripes – White Blood Cells
• 19th among rock albums alone / 71st in the overall list: PJ Harvey – Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
• 18th among rock albums alone / 70th in the general list: Interpol – Turn on the Bright Lights
• 17th among rock albums alone / 69th on the overall list: Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
• 16th among rock albums alone / 68th in the overall list: Green Day – American Idiot
• 15th among rock albums alone / 60th on the overall list: Bruce Springsteen – The Rising
• 14th among rock albums alone / 57th in the general list: Arctic Monkeys – AM
• 13th among rock albums alone / 55th in the overall list: Radiohead – In Rainbows
• 12th among rock albums alone / 53rd in the general list: Paramore – Riot!
• 11th among rock albums alone / 46th in the general list: LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
• 10th among rock albums alone / 42nd in the overall list: The Killers – Hot Fuss
• 9th among rock albums alone / 39th in the general list: Olivia Rodrigo – Sour
• 8th among rock albums alone / 30th in the overall list: Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
• 7th among rock albums alone / 27th in the overall list: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell
• 6th among rock albums alone / 24th in the overall list: David Bowie – Blackstar
• 5th among rock albums alone / 19th in the overall list: Bob Dylan – Love and Theft
• 4th among rock albums alone / 14th in the overall list: The White Stripes – Elephant
• 3rd among rock albums alone / 13th on the overall list: Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do
• 2nd among rock albums alone / 10th on the overall list: The Strokes – Is This It
• 1st only among rock albums / 2nd in the general list: Radiohead – Kid A