21st Century Rocks! The 10 Best Songs
Great bands have made their mark this century. Narrowing it down to a Top 10 proved difficult but not impossible.
Here are the Top 10 Rock songs (so far) for the 21st century.
#10. Heaven Knows – The Pretty Reckless: 2013
Written by frontwoman Taylor Momsen and Ben Phillips, the song from the “Going To Hell” album was the band’s first single to top the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.
The song has been described as “Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You” with Joan Jett vocals” and a “full-on Glam (stomp) about troubled teens.”
#9. Welcome To The Black Parade – My Chemical Romance : 2006
It was viewed as an important song in Emo culture, even considered an “Emo anthem” One critic described it as one of the “biggest, best and most important Rock songs of the 21st century,” and a “rallying cry for all who feel the world’s dealt them a cruel hand.”
#8. Kryptonite – 3 Doors Down: 2000
“It’s really just kind of like asking a question.,” offered drummer/vocalist Brad Arnold. “It’s easy to be there for someone when they’re down. But it’s not always easy to be there for somebody when they’re doing good. “(The song) is asking, “If I’m down, will you still be there for me?” but at the same time, “If I’m alive and well, will you be there holding my hand?”
#7. Dilemma- Green Day: 2023
Inspired by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong’s struggles with alcoholism and how after five years of sobriety, he gradually began to drink excessively again. Battling loneliness, he was feeling unable to receive help due to being a celebrity. Armstrong said he wrote the song while drinking and called it one of the most honest songs he had ever written.
#6. So Far Away – AX7: 2011
Guitarist Synyster originally started writing the song in honor of his grandfather, but it morphed into a tribute to the band’s original drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan, who died in his sleep on December 28th, 2009.
It reached #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart becoming the band’s first chart topping single.
#5. Talk Sick – Corey Taylor: 2023
“That sick guitar at the beginning, I played that through a speaker about the size of a coffee cup,” said Taylor, also fronts the Slipknot. “It made it sound violent; you feel like you’re being stung by bees who are playing along to the Sex Pistols.”
#4. Freak Like Me – Halestorm: 2012
Called “a celebration of self-expression and “a fierce and empowering anthem” The song is about embracing who you are, including all your eccentricities and unique aspects, and learning to love and own them. The lyrics challenge anyone who judges or ridicules a person for their differences.
#3. Holiday – Green Day: 2005
Armstrong felt that Republican politicians were “strategic” in alienating one group of people in order to buy the votes of another. He later characterized the song as an outspoken “fuck you” to then-President George W. Bush. He has added that the song is “not anti-American, it’s anti-war.”
#2. In the End – Linkin Park: 2001
Chester Bennington, the band’s lead vocalist, initially disliked the song and did not want it to be included on “Hybrid Theory” album.
“In The End” became the first Nu Metal song to surpass one billion streams on Spotify. The track has garnered over 2 billion streams and has been certified Diamond (10× Platinum). It has become the band’s most recognizable track and is considered their signature song.
#1. Seven Nation Army – White Stripes: 2003
Frontman Jack White wanted to release “Seven Nation Army” as a single but faced opposition from the band’s record label, who wanted to release the song “There’s No Home For You Here.” White won out and “Seven Nation Army” topped Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart.
Interestingly, the bass line that drives the song was actually created by playing a guitar through a pitch shift effect.
###