Best rock albums of the 2000's

Rock music has, quite frankly, been shit for the entire millenium. I can freely admit that this was the decade when I became old enough that the only music video channel I can bear to watch any more is VH1 Classic. A man can only endure so many 30 Seconds to Mars, Coldplay and Green Day videos before he despairs of life completely. More on this topic later. Don't even get me started on Finnish music either.

It wasn't all bad, though. In the insipid musical darkness of the past ten years there were some bright spots, and even some legitimately good stuff. As my next list of the decade, here are the three best rock albums of the 2000's.

3. Electric Six - Señor Smoke



This Detroit-based band burst onto the Internet scene with "Gay Bar" in 2003. What most people don't know is that the album, Fire, was pretty good in its own right. They followed it up in 2005 with their sophomore effort, Señor Smoke. I recall it got some bad press because there wasn't anything as obviously funny and meme-y as "Gay Bar" on it, but the fact is that it's a great rock album. Sure, there are a couple of sleepy tracks and a pointless Queen cover, but overall it's funny, it rocks, it will surprise you and it will delight you. Sadly, the follow-ups haven't been nearly as good, although they have some brilliant tracks as well. Given how little exposure this got, it's easily the most underrated rock album of the decade.

Check out: Jimmy Carter. A ballad about, well, everything from the title to the Backstreet Boys. You'll have to listen to it. Pure genius.

2. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising



What can I possibly say about this? The Boss is back. A thoroughly solid album that takes you to a lot of places before taking on the big one in the title song. Bruce Springsteen may be the only person who was capable of doing this song, and so he created the definitive musical expression of perhaps the most traumatic event in American history. It's so intense that I still can't listen to "The Rising" without feeling deeply moved. I'm not ashamed to say I cried the first time I heard it. Whatever your feelings on the subject matter, this album is the Boss at his very best, and music just doesn't get much better than that.

Check out: Worlds Apart. Slightly oddball on the album, but an excellent song.

1. The Killers - Sam's Town



At the end of the day, the reason I rank Sam's Town above The Rising is that the Boss is, well, the Boss. A great Bruce Springsteen record isn't exactly unheard of. On the other hand, with the exception of the superb Somebody Told Me, the Killers were forgettable before Sam's Town and have been completely rubbish since. Their "hits" sound like insipid parodies of themselves. It's a terrible shame, because unless you're insane, which I mean in the sense once excellently defined by Jeremy Clarkson as waking up in the morning and thinking that you are an onion, there's no question that they also produced one of the best rock albums of the 2000's. The fact that it was effectively a one-off makes it an exceptional album as well, and in my opinion, this combination makes it the best rock album of the entire decade. Sam's Town is innovative, energetic and very impressive.

Check out: Uncle Jonny. The singles are great in their own right, but this is my favorite song from the album.