Many albums that turn 20 in 2024 still sound as fresh today as when they were first released two decades ago.
In 2004, rock fans saw some of their favorite bands take significant risks. Frankly, you can’t talk about this year without talking about Green Day. Their seventh studio album, American Idiot, was an absolute triumph, and it helped solidify the band as one of the best bands of their generation. American Idiot was a critical and commercial success. Not only has it sold over 16 million copies worldwide. On top of that, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album, with “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” also winning the Grammy for Record of the Year.
The early aughts saw a new resurgence of the “supergroup.” One of the best to emerge during that time was Velvet Revolver. The band was fronted by Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland. Completing the lineup was rhythm guitarist Dave Kushner and notable Guns N’ Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum. Their debut album, Contraband, would go double platinum in the United States.
The alt. rock world saw three notable debuts in 2004. Arcade Fire released Funeral, while Franz Ferdinand dropped their self-titled LP. The biggest release, however, came from The Killers. Their debut album, Hot Fuss, was released in June, and it features “Somebody Told Me,” “Smile Like You Mean It,” “All These Things That I’ve Done” and “Mr. Brightside.”
The latter track is so ubiquitous that a Dec. 2023 piece published by The New York Times stated, “If boomers gave the masses ‘Don’t Stop Believin’,’ millennials can claim ‘Mr. Brightside’ as the generation’s official entry into that canon: a song that gets everybody at the bar shout-singing along.
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