100 Greatest Rock Bands of the 2000s

The Strokes

The band that started it all — Is This It (2001) revived guitar rock single-handedly, its downtown cool and Julian Casablancas's detached drawl reshaping the entire decade.

The White Stripes

Jack and Meg White stripped rock to blues, drums, and red-and-white mythology — "Seven Nation Army" became the most recognizable riff of the century.

Arctic Monkeys

The MySpace generation's breakout — Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) became the fastest-selling debut in UK history on Alex Turner's razor-sharp wit.

Arcade Fire

The communal grandeur of Funeral (2004) raised the ceiling for indie rock — orchestral, anthemic, and built for arenas they soon filled.

Radiohead

Already legends, they defined the decade's art-rock ambition with Kid A, Amnesiac, and the pay-what-you-want release of In Rainbows that rewrote the rules.

The Killers

Hot Fuss (2004) fused new wave and indie into stadium pop — "Mr. Brightside" became one of the most enduring singles of the era.

Foo Fighters

Dave Grohl's band became the decade's most reliable rock act — One by One and the double album In Your Honor cemented their stadium status.

Linkin Park

The biggest rock band of the early 2000s — Hybrid Theory (2000) fused nu-metal, rap, and electronics into the best-selling debut of the decade.

Coldplay

From Parachutes to the global blockbuster of A Rush of Blood to the Head and X&Y, they became the decade's defining mainstream rock band.

Muse

Prog-rock bombast for the new century — Absolution and Black Holes and Revelations turned Matt Bellamy's falsetto and apocalyptic riffs into arena spectacle.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Karen O's theatrical punk energy and Nick Zinner's jagged guitar — Fever to Tell made them the most thrilling band of the 2003 NYC scene.

Interpol

Post-punk reborn as cinematic noir — Turn on the Bright Lights (2002) was one of the decade's greatest debuts.

Queens of the Stone Age

Josh Homme's desert rock peaked with Songs for the Deaf (2002), widely regarded as the best hard rock album of the decade.

System of a Down

Armenian-American political fury over whiplash time signatures — Toxicity (2001) made them the most original metal band of the era.

Franz Ferdinand

Post-punk revival as danceable precision — their self-titled debut and "Take Me Out" defined art-rock cool in 2004.

Kings of Leon

The Followill family went from Southern garage scrappers to global stars — Only by the Night and "Sex on Fire" closed the decade as arena headliners.

My Chemical Romance

Emo's most theatrical act — The Black Parade (2006) was a rock opera that defined a generation of outsiders.

Green Day

A comeback for the ages — American Idiot (2004) was the punk concept album the Bush era demanded and revived their entire career.

LCD Soundsystem

James Murphy fused punk and disco for people who think too much — Sound of Silver (2007) was the dance-punk decade's masterpiece.

Modest Mouse

Isaac Brock's existential howl crossed over with Good News for People Who Love Bad News and the inescapable "Float On."

Death Cab for Cutie

The emotional heart of indie's mainstream breakthrough — Transatlanticism and Plans made Ben Gibbard's wistful melodies a cultural touchstone.

Bloc Party

Post-punk angularity and emotional urgency — Silent Alarm (2005) captured a specific London anxiety with thrilling precision.

Vampire Weekend

Afropop guitars and Ivy League wit — their 2008 self-titled debut became the blog era's most unlikely and influential breakout.

The National

Matt Berninger's baritone over slow-building, literate indie rock — Boxer (2007) established them as the decade's great late bloomers.

TV on the Radio

Genre-melting Brooklyn art rock — Return to Cookie Mountain and Dear Science fused soul, noise, and electronics like no one else.

Fall Out Boy

Pop-punk's biggest crossover — From Under the Cork Tree and "Sugar, We're Goin Down" took emo into the Billboard top ten.

Paramore

Hayley Williams fronted pop-punk's most dynamic band — Riot! (2007) and "Misery Business" made them genre superstars.

Panic! at the Disco

Baroque emo-pop maximalism — A Fever You Can't Sweat Out and "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" were the decade's most theatrical debut.

Slipknot

Nine masked members and pure aggression — Iowa and Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses made them metal's most extreme mainstream act.

Spoon

Indie rock's most consistent band of the decade — Kill the Moonlight and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga refined a taut, rhythmic precision all their own.

The Shins

Chutes Too Narrow and a Garden State endorsement made James Mercer's jangly melodies the soundtrack of indie's mainstream moment.

Audioslave

The supergroup of Chris Cornell and Rage Against the Machine's instrumentalists — their self-titled debut bridged grunge and hard rock.

Gorillaz

Damon Albarn's virtual band crossed rock, hip-hop, and electronica — Demon Days (2005) and "Feel Good Inc." were genre-bending blockbusters.

The Black Keys

A two-man blues-rock revival — Rubber Factory and Attack & Release set up their decade-ending rise to arena-headlining status.

Avenged Sevenfold

Metalcore turned mainstream metal — City of Evil and their self-titled album made them one of the decade's biggest heavy bands.

Disturbed

Alt-metal radio dominance — The Sickness and "Down with the Sickness" made David Draiman's vocal tics inescapable on rock radio.

Mastodon

Progressive metal's critical darlings — Leviathan and Blood Mountain proved heavy music could be ambitious and acclaimed.

The Libertines

Pete Doherty and Carl Barât's chaotic, romantic garage rock — Up the Bracket (2002) defined the UK's scrappy post-Strokes scene.

Snow Patrol

Earnest anthem-rock that conquered radio — Final Straw and "Chasing Cars" became one of the decade's biggest ballads.

Three Days Grace

Post-grunge radio staples — One-X and "Animal I Have Become" made them a fixture of late-2000s alternative rock charts.

Jimmy Eat World

Emo's great melodicists — Bleed American (2001) and "The Middle" turned heartfelt earnestness into a mainstream radio triumph.

Brand New

Emo's most literate and ambitious band — Deja Entendu and The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me earned cult devotion.

Taking Back Sunday

Emo's dueling-vocal pioneers — Tell All Your Friends (2002) became a foundational document of the scene.

Nickelback

Love them or not, the decade's best-selling rock band — Silver Side Up and "How You Remind Me" defined post-grunge ubiquity.

Wolfmother

Retro hard rock revival — their Grammy-winning self-titled debut channeled Led Zeppelin and Sabbath for a new generation.

The Raconteurs

Jack White's power-pop side project with Brendan Benson — Broken Boy Soldiers and "Steady, as She Goes" were instant classics.

The Hives

Swedish garage-rock showmen in matching suits — Veni Vidi Vicious and "Hate to Say I Told You So" rode the 2001 revival wave.

Phoenix

French indie-pop perfection — Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009) and "1901" closed the decade as a crossover triumph.

Jet

Australian garage-rock revivalists — Get Born and "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" became one of the era's biggest rock singles.

Band of Horses

Reverb-soaked Pacific Northwest indie — Everything All the Time and "The Funeral" defined a strain of yearning, anthemic rock.

Fleet Foxes

Baroque folk harmonies over Pacific Northwest imagery — their 2008 self-titled debut arrived as an instant indie classic.

Animal Collective

Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009) arrived as the internet era's defining psychedelic statement.

MGMT

Psych-pop that dominated the back half of the decade — Oracular Spectacular spawned "Kids," "Time to Pretend," and "Electric Feel."

Broken Social Scene

The sprawling collective that made Canadian indie an international force — You Forgot It in People was a critical landmark.

Kaiser Chiefs

Spiky Britpop-revival energy — Employment and "I Predict a Riot" made them one of the UK's biggest mid-decade bands.

Editors

Brooding post-punk in Interpol's lineage — The Back Room and An End Has a Start made them UK arena draws.

The Used

Post-hardcore intensity — their self-titled debut and In Love and Death made them a screamo-era cornerstone.

Thursday

Post-hardcore's critical favorites — Full Collapse (2001) helped define the emo and screamo wave of the early decade.

AFI

Horror-punk gone mainstream goth — Sing the Sorrow and "Miss Murder" from Decemberunderground made them platinum stars.

Dashboard Confessional

Chris Carrabba turned acoustic emo confession into a movement — The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most defined sing-along catharsis.

Keane

Piano-driven anthem rock with no guitars — Hopes and Fears and "Somewhere Only We Know" were a global success.

We Are Scientists

Dance-punk wit — With Love and Squalor and "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt" were staples of the mid-decade indie scene.

The Rapture

Dance-punk pioneers — Echoes and "House of Jealous Lovers" helped launch the DFA-led NYC dance-rock crossover.

Hot Hot Heat

New-wave revival bounce — Make Up the Breakdown and "Bandages" were early highlights of the post-punk dance wave.

The Walkmen

Reverb-drenched NYC indie — Bows + Arrows and "The Rat" delivered one of the decade's great cathartic singles.

Wilco

Country rock evolving into avant-pop — Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) was one of the decade's most acclaimed American albums.

My Morning Jacket

Reverb-soaked Southern psych — Z (2005) expanded their reach and made them one of the era's great live bands.

Deftones

Nu-metal transcended into atmospheric heaviness — White Pony (2000) and Diamond Eyes proved metal could be beautiful.

Mars Volta

Prog-punk maximalism from At the Drive-In's ashes — De-Loused in the Comatorium was a wildly ambitious debut.

At the Drive-In

Post-hardcore's most explosive act — Relationship of Command (2000) and "One Armed Scissor" left a huge imprint before they split.

Thrice

Post-hardcore that grew restlessly ambitious — The Artist in the Ambulance and the experimental Alchemy Index won critical respect.

Coheed and Cambria

Prog-rock concept-album obsessives — Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV built an elaborate sci-fi saga across the decade.

Rise Against

Melodic hardcore with a conscience — Siren Song of the Counter Culture and The Sufferer & the Witness made punk politics chart.

Sum 41

Pop-punk pranksters turned heavier — All Killer No Filler and "In Too Deep" were early-decade MTV staples.

Yellowcard

Pop-punk with a violin — Ocean Avenue (2003) and its title track became a defining radio hit of the era.

Good Charlotte

Mall-punk superstars — The Young and the Hopeless and "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous" defined early-2000s MTV pop-punk.

The All-American Rejects

Power-pop punk hitmakers — "Swing, Swing," "Dirty Little Secret," and "Gives You Hell" were inescapable radio singles.

Evanescence

Gothic symphonic metal's breakout — Fallen (2003) and "Bring Me to Life" made Amy Lee a generational rock voice.

Shinedown

Post-grunge radio mainstays — Leave a Whisper and The Sound of Madness produced a long run of rock-chart hits.

Seether

South African post-grunge — Disclaimer and "Broken" made them a fixture of mid-decade alternative radio.

Breaking Benjamin

Hard-edged post-grunge — We Are Not Alone and Phobia delivered a steady stream of rock-radio singles.

Trivium

Metalcore's new wave — Ascendancy (2005) made them one of the decade's most promising young metal bands.

Killswitch Engage

Metalcore standard-bearers — The End of Heartache helped define the genre's melodic-heavy template.

Lamb of God

Groove-metal leaders of the new wave of American heavy metal — Ashes of the Wake and Sacrament made them genre giants.

Drive-By Truckers

Southern rock storytellers — Southern Rock Opera and Decoration Day revived narrative-driven Americana for the decade.

Kasabian

Swaggering psych-rock and electronics — their self-titled debut and Empire made them UK festival headliners.

The Cribs

Scrappy, fiercely independent Yorkshire indie — Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever became a cult favorite of the scene.

Maximo Park

Art-punk energy and clever wordplay — A Certain Trigger and "Apply Some Pressure" were highlights of the UK post-punk revival.

The Wombats

Bright, witty indie-pop — A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation and "Let's Dance to Joy Division" defined indie-disco fun.

Two Door Cinema Club

Bright, danceable indie — Tourist History (2010) capped a late-decade rise built on jittery, hook-laden guitar pop.

Friendly Fires

Dance-rock euphoria — their self-titled debut fused indie guitars with Balearic rhythm at the end of the decade.

Glasvegas

Wall-of-sound Scottish heartbreak — their 2008 self-titled debut earned a Mercury Prize nomination and huge acclaim.

The Subways

Raw garage-rock energy — Young for Eternity and "Rock & Roll Queen" gave the UK revival a youthful jolt.

Hard-Fi

Working-class indie-rock — Stars of CCTV and "Hard to Beat" captured suburban English restlessness mid-decade.

The Fratellis

Rollicking pub-rock revival — Costello Music and "Chelsea Dagger" became one of the decade's great singalong anthems.

Cold War Kids

Bluesy, piano-driven indie — Robbers & Cowards and "Hang Me Up to Dry" defined a gritty mid-decade American sound.

Cage the Elephant

Garage-rock energy with a Southern edge — their 2008 self-titled debut and "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" closed the decade strong.

Silversun Pickups

Shoegaze-tinged alt-rock — Carnavas and "Lazy Eye" carried 90s influences into the late-2000s mainstream.

Stereophonics

Welsh rock built for arenas — Just Enough Education to Perform and "Dakota" kept them at the top of the UK charts.

Razorlight

Britpop-revival swagger — Up All Night and "America" made them one of the mid-decade UK indie scene's biggest names.

What was the best rock band of the 2000s?

The Strokes are most often cited as the defining rock band of the 2000s — their 2001 debut Is This It revived guitar rock and set the template for the decade. The White Stripes, Arctic Monkeys, and Arcade Fire are the usual contenders for the crown.

What defined rock music in the 2000s?

The 2000s were defined by the garage and post-punk revival of 2001, indie rock's commercial breakthrough, the emo and post-hardcore wave, nu-metal's peak and rapid decline, and post-grunge radio dominance. It was rock's last decade as a dominant force in mainstream pop culture.

What is the 2001 rock revival or "indie sleaze"?

The 2001 rock revival was a wave of garage and post-punk bands — The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Hives, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Interpol — who brought guitars back to the center of culture. "Indie sleaze" later became a nostalgic label for that scene's scrappy, fashion-forward aesthetic.

What were the biggest rock bands of the 2000s?

By sales and chart dominance, Linkin Park, Coldplay, Nickelback, Green Day, and Foo Fighters were among the biggest rock bands of the decade. Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory was the best-selling debut album of the 2000s.

What happened to rock in the 2000s?

Rock fragmented into many simultaneous scenes — indie, emo, nu-metal, post-grunge, and dance-punk — and remained commercially huge through the mid-2000s. By the end of the decade, hip-hop and pop began overtaking rock's mainstream dominance, making the 2000s rock's last era at the cultural center.