Some artists hit their stride two or three albums in, such as Green Day's third-time-lucky breakthrough "Dookie" (via Britannica). But Linkin Park, the barrier-breaking, Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda-fronted nu metal outfit, had their biggest hit right at the starting line — after only a few short years of name changes and getting the lineup situated, per All Music. This was 2000's "Hybrid Theory," a seismic debut album packed with angsty earworm smashes like "One Step Closer," "Crawling," and "In The End" — all iconic and instantly recognizable rock songs of the decade.
Proving they weren't a one-hit wonder, the band followed this up with equally successful singles from 2003's "Meteora," like "Numb," "Somewhere I Belong," and "Faint." Then, 2007's "Minutes to Midnight" gave us hits like "What I've Done" and "Bleed It Out." Suffice to say, these guys found a winning sound that their peers, such as Korn, had been laying the foundation for, and became possibly the biggest thing to happen to rock in a decade (per Stereogum).
According to Buzzfeed News, the band not only made killer tunes, but also made it okay for angst-ridden and frustrated young people to express their feelings through music, rather than destructively bottling it up. And in doing so, they made an entire generation feel a little less alone.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunB9kG5ucnBkZMGpsYympqysXZ66sbvRrZinrF2nvKS3jJuYp5yjYrynedOhnGZqYGV9tHs%3D