You gotta stick your neck out and put out a record that isn't safe... that's the Green Day way!
Tre Cool, Green Day
A defining era for American rock, early 2000s American rock bands, especially those with alternative, punk, emo, and indie influences, reached new heights. We can't mention them all, and we'll definitely miss a few of your favorites (shout them out in the comments), but here are 25 American bands across a range of rock genres we think made an impact, each in their own way.
| Band | Genre | Notable Album | Notable Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFI | Alternative Rock / Punk | Sing the Sorrow | Miss Murder |
| Anberlin | Alternative Rock | Never Take Friendship Personal | Paperthin Hymn |
| Avenged Sevenfold | Heavy Metal / Metalcore | City of Evil | Bat Country |
| Brand New | Alternative Rock / Emo | Deja Entendu | The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows |
| Coheed and Cambria | Progressive Rock / Post-Hardcore | In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 | A Favor House Atlantic |
| Dashboard Confessional | Emo / Acoustic Rock | Dusk and Summer | Stolen |
| Fall Out Boy | Pop Punk / Emo | From Under the Cork Tree | Sugar, We're Goin Down |
| Green Day | Punk Rock | American Idiot | Boulevard of Broken Dreams |
| Interpol | Post-Punk Revival | Turn On the Bright Lights | Evil |
| Jimmy Eat World | Alternative Rock / Emo | Bleed American | The Middle |
| Kings of Leon | Alternative Rock / Southern Rock | Only by the Night | Use Somebody |
| Modest Mouse | Indie Rock | Good News for People Who Love Bad News | Float On |
| Motion City Soundtrack | Pop Punk | Commit This to Memory | Everything Is Alright |
| My Chemical Romance | Emo / Alternative Rock | The Black Parade | Welcome to the Black Parade |
| OK Go | Alternative Rock / Power Pop | Oh No | Here It Goes Again |
| Panic! at the Disco | Pop Punk / Emo | A Fever You Can't Sweat Out | I Write Sins Not Tragedies |
| Paramore | Pop Punk / Emo | Riot! | Misery Business |
| Silversun Pickups | Alternative Rock / Shoegaze | Carnavas | Lazy Eye |
| Taking Back Sunday | Emo / Post-Hardcore | Tell All Your Friends | Cute Without the 'E' |
| The Killers | Alternative Rock / Indie Rock | Hot Fuss | Mr. Brightside |
| The Strokes | Garage Rock / Indie Rock | Is This It | Last Nite |
| The Used | Post-Hardcore / Emo | The Used | The Taste of Ink |
| The White Stripes | Garage Rock | Elephant | Seven Nation Army |
| Thrice | Post-Hardcore / Alternative Rock | The Artist in the Ambulance | Stare at the Sun |
| Yeah Yeah Yeahs | Indie Rock / Art Punk | Fever to Tell | Maps |
25. Anberlin
Anberlin is a band from Winter Haven, Florida, whose 2005 album Never Take Friendship Personal was widely acclaimed and featured popular tracks like “Paperthin Hymn” and “A Day Late”. 2007's Cities gained fans of both pop and heavier rock.
24. Motion City Soundtrack
Motion City Soundtrack is a pop-punk band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their debut album I Am the Movie in 2003 wasn't a huge hit, but their follow-up album Commit This to Memory in 2005, which was produced by Blink-182's Mark Hoppus, put them on the map.
Popular tracks include “Everything Is Alright” and “Hole Me Down”.
23. Silversun Pickups
Silversun Pickups is a band from Los Angeles, California. Their dreamy, fuzz-drenched sound brought them a lot of comparisons to Smashing Pumpkins.
Their 2006 debut album, Carnavas, featured the hit "Lazy Eye", which would go on to become an alternative radio staple with its signature mix of shoegaze textures, dynamic shifts, and emotional undercurrents.
22. OK Go
OK Go is a band that is just as well known for its music videos (possibly more so) than its music. While perhaps not one of the best American rock bands ever in most people's estimation, their videos are certainly worth watching.
The band's from Chicago, Illinois, and while the self-titled debut album got some attention, 2005's Oh No with the single "Here It Goes Again" was a hugely viral success thanks to its treadmill choreography.
The video won a Grammy, and the band has continued to make increasingly impressive and outrageous music videos to showcase their music, which is largely a blend of power pop, garage rock, and new wave influences.
21. Brand New
Bran New formed in Long Island, New York, in 2000 and quickly gained popularity among fans of emo, alternative, and post-hardcore.
The debut album, Your Favorite Weapon, released in 2001, had a pop-punk sound, but their 2003 album, Deja Entendu, marked an artistic shift with tracks like "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" and "Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades".
Emo rock is known for its emotional lyrics and raw or dramatic delivery. It originated in 80s hardcore punk and enjoyed a big resurgence in early 2000s.
20. Dashboard Confessional
Dashboard Confessional was formed in 1999 but gained popularity in 2000. It was initially a solo project, but it became a full-band effort.
The 2003 MTV Unplugged 2.0 album made Dashboard Confessional a household name for most alt-rock fans.
The 2006 album Dusk and Summer showcased a more polished, full-band sound, with the track "Stolen" receiving a lot of radio play.
19. The Used
The Used formed in Orem, Utah, in 2001 and became one of the most important post-hardcore bands of the 2000s. Their 2002 self-titled album played a significant role in shaping the emo and screamo sounds of the decade.
Their popular tracks, such as "The Taste of Ink", "Buried Myself Alive", and "Blue and Yellow", garnered a lot of attention from both rock radio and MTV. Their early 00s popularity helped pave the way for other American male rock bands of the 2000s.
18. Thrice
Thrice is a post-hardcore band from Irvine, California. Their 2003 album, The Artist in the Ambulance, is one of the genre's most essential releases, featuring tracks such as "All That's Left" and "Stare at the Sun".
They blended post-hardcore, alternative punk, and experimental rock, evolving their sound through later albums, such as Vheissu (2005), which featured a more ambient and atmospheric style.
17. AFI
AFI (A Fire Inside) is a punk band from Ukiah, California. Although the band formed in the 1990s as a punk band, they shifted to a blend of punk (which was popularized by 1970s American bands), alternative rock, and gothic aesthetics, which resonated with listeners in the 2000s.
Their 2003 album, Sing the Sorrow, has hits like "Girl's Not Grey" and "Silver and Cold." 2006's Decemberunderground featured the platinum-selling single “Miss Murder”.
16. Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday was formed in Long Island, New York, in 1999. One of the most influential American rock bands of the early 2000s emo and post-hardcore scenes, their 2002 debut album Tell All Your Friends included popular tracks like “Cute Without the 'E' (Cut from the Team)” and “You're So Last Summer”.
Their subsequent albums, such as Where You Want to Be (2004) and Louder Now (2006), as well as songs like "MakeDamnSure," continued their earlier success.
15. Coheed and Cambria
Coheed and Cambria, from Nyack, New York, have a unique fusion of progressive rock, punk, and metal that stands out among 2000s American rock bands.
Their breakout album, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 (2003), featured the epic title track and "A Favor House Atlantic". They showed that there was still space for progressive rock in the mainstream.
Indie Rock vs. Post-Hardcore
Indie Rock
- The Strokes, Interpol, Modest Mouse
- Lo-fi, retro-inspired
- NYC-centered
Post-Hardcore
- Thrice, The Used, Brand New
- Emotional intensity
- Screams and melody
14. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were a product of New York City's early-2000s indie rock revival scene. Their blend of art punk, garage rock, and theatrics, combined with the trio's raw energy, offered a much-needed jolt to the genre.
Their 2003 debut album, Fever to Tell, featured the breakout hit "Maps", while their follow-up albums, Show Your Bones (2006) and It's Blitz! (2009) featured dance-punk influences and a more polished sound.
13. Interpol
Interpol is another New York indie rock act from the early 2000s. Their dark, brooding sound had a particular Joy Division feel to it, and though the band formed in 1997, their debut album, Turn On the Bright Lights, in 2002, brought them to the fore with tracks like "Obstacle 1" and "PDA".
The follow-up albums Antics (2004) and Our Love to Admire (2007) have tracks like "Evil" and "The Heinrich Maneuver", which enjoyed good radio play.
12. Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse emerged in the late 1990s, but the Washington-based band broke into the mainstream in the 2000s.
The major-label debut The Moon & Antarctica in 2000 was followed by 2004's Good News for People Who Love Bad News, which made them really famous. The track "Float On" received heavy radio play and a Grammy nomination.
California: Green Day, Avenged Sevenfold, RHCP
New York: The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol
Midwest: Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack
South: Kings of Leon, Paramore
11. Jimmy Eat World
Jimmy Eat World was formed in Mesa, Arizona, in the early 1990s but found fame in the 2000s with the 2001 album Bleed American, featuring tracks like "The Middle", "Sweetness", and "Bleed American".
10. Panic! at the Disco
Panic! At the Disco is an emo, pop-punk, and baroque punk band from Las Vegas, Nevada. The band's debut album, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, was hugely popular thanks to its genre-defying sound and the breakout single “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”.
9. Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold is a metalcore band from Huntington Beach, California. Although the band was formed in 1999, their breakthrough album, City of Evil, in 2005 shifted their metalcore sound to a more traditional heavy metal style. Tracks like "Bat Country" and "Beast and the Harlot" showcased radio-friendly tracks that retained their metal edge.
8. Paramore
Paramore, from Franklin, Tennessee, quickly became one of the defining voices of American alternative rock and pop-punk, with the powerful vocals of Hayley Williams and emo-pop hooks, punk energy, and emotional lyrics.
The 2007 album Riot! with hits like “Misery Business”, “crushcrushcrush”, and “That's What You Get” went platinum, launching Paramore into the mainstream.
Later work would bring on more pop and new wave influences, but the band's work in the 2000s is popular with fans of pop-punk and emo.
7. Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon is a band from Nashville, Tennessee, that brought a mix of Southern rock, garage rock, and indie to the 2000s American rock landscape.
This family band (three brothers and a cousin) started out with a retro look that would have fit right in among the best American bands of the 60s and 70s and early albums like Youth and Young Manhood (2003) and Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004) had tracks like “Molly's Chambers” and “The Bucket”.
However, it was 2008's Only by the Night that made them global superstars with hits like "Use Somebody" and "Sex on Fire". This album won Grammy Awards, adding to its already huge commercial success and critical acclaim.
6. Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy formed in 2001 and went on to become a defining voice of the alternative rock and emo-pop movement during the 2000s.
Their 2003 album, Take This to Your Grave, was an underground success, but 2005's From Under the Cork Tree featured hits like "Sugar, We're Goin Down" and "Dance Dance".
From there, the band leaned even further into pop-rock with Infinity on High in 2007, with standout tracks like "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" and "Thnks fr th Mmrs".
5. My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance is a band from New Jersey that quickly became the cornerstone of the emo and alternative rock scene at the time.
Their breakthrough album was 2004's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, with tracks like "Helena", "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)", and "The Ghost of You".
After that, they followed up with 2006's The Black Parade with iconic songs like “Welcome to the Black Parade” and “Famous Last Words”.
4. The Killers
The Killers are an American indie rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, who found fame with their incredible debut album Hot Fuss with iconic tracks like “Mr. Brightside”, “Somebody Told Me”, and “All These Things That I've Done”.
Their glitzy Vegas energy and influences that could have come straight from the best bands of the 80s has made them hugely popular both on the radio and in live performances, with massive shows and chart-topping tracks.
3. The Strokes
The Strokes, from New York City, helped revive the garage rock scene, popularized by some of the best bands of the 70s. Their debut album Is This It and tracks like "Last Nite", "Someday", and "Hard to Explain". Later albums, such as Room on Fire and First Impressions of Earth, still included hits but didn't capture the outrageous success of the debut album.
2. The White Stripes
The White Stripes were formed in Detroit, Michigan, by Jack and Meg White. This minimalist rock duo of guitar and drums had found some success with the albums White Blood Cells in 2001 and songs like “Fell in Love with a Girl” and “Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground”.
However, it was their 2003 album, Elephant, with the global anthem "Seven Nation Army", that was hugely popular at the time and then became even more popular years later when adopted by sports fans as a stadium chant.
They could easily be considered one of the best American rock bands ever as well as one of the finest of the decade.
1. Green Day
We're putting Green Day here, though they could have easily been included as one of the best American rock bands of the 90s, simply because of their meteoric and landscape changing success in the 2000s and the credit that belongs to the audacious 2004 punk rock opera album American Idiot, which had the title track “American Idiot”, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, and “Holiday”.
Green Day was formed in California and was a huge part of the Bay Area punk scene, as well as one of the biggest bands in the 90s. Still, American Idiot was both a commercial and critical success and its follow-up, 21st Century Breakdown, continued the narrative format from the previous album with an evolving sound and a strong punk message.
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