The Twenty Albums You Must Hear of the Decade (10-6)

10. Queens of the Stone Age: Songs for the Deaf (2002) - Josh Homme is the king of stoner rock, and Songs for the Deaf is his magnum opus. The heavy Sabbath-esque guitars explode and Nick Oliveri’s screaming vocals pierce throughout the album. Great hooks are scattered throughout on a songs like "No One Knows" and "First it Giveth" and even when the hooks are at their greatest, the music never stops rocking.

9. System of a Down: Toxicity (2001) - Never in history has an Armenian style of music meshed so well with metal - well maybe it did on System’s debut, but lucky for us, that wasn’t released this decade. SOAD is one of those bands, that despite its oddity, strikes a chord with the public. Both Serj’s voice and vocal deliveries are unusual to say the least, but it is those characteristics that make them memorable and have fans begging for more. Their politically charged rock is unwavering, heavy, and all together delicious.

8. Wolfmother: Wolfmother (2005) - When I heard "White Unicorn" on the radio for the first time, I nearly drove off the road in excitement. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a song that I immediately loved as much as Wolfmother’s "White Unicorn". That immediate love at first listen is an accurate description of the entire album. Wolfmother channels their inner classic rocker with a sound that is most easily described as being similar to Led Zeppelin. It’s a riff heavy rocker that brings the 60s and 70s into the 2000s.

7. U2: All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000) - U2's techno dance phase left a lot to be desired in the 90s. All That You Can’t Leave Behind made Pop and Zoopra a distant memory brining back glimpses of their most cherished work from the 80s. With hit after hit piling up on this unforgettable album, U2 hit the mark as well as ever. It’s so rare for bands dating back twenty years to continue releasing quality material, and while it may have seemed like U2 was far gone, they eventually found their home once again.

6. Radiohead: In Rainbows (2007) - Radiohead’s 2007 release garnered more press due to its unorthodox distribution methods than music, but what many were missing was this was more than a pay-what-you-like album, this is one of the top albums of the decade. With some off-kilter time signatures and spacey textures, Radiohead’s In Rainbows was welcomed with open arms for people who were looking for a little more from their music than a simple 4/4 pop tune. It’s a sin to think that people paid nothing for an album this good.

(Disclaimer: There is a one album limit per band.)