At the turn of the 21st century, as nu-metal neared its peak in mainstream popularity, the next generation of bands began to emerge, influenced by that scene's unhinged anger, pummeling metallic riffs, and hip-hop flourish. Of those groups, Californian crew Linkin Park rose to the top of the pack with their boundary-busting approach to the genre, which they debuted on their first effort, Hybrid Theory. Released in late 2000, the album took the basics of rap-metal fusion, discarded the lug-headed posturing and cartoonish profanity, and expanded its scope to include atmospheric electronics, a pop-savvy attention to hooks, and confessional lyrics that balanced angst with vulnerability. Anchored by the effortless interplay between throat-shredding vocalist Chester Bennington and emcee Mike Shinoda, the sextet also featured the talents of guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, drummer Rob Bourdon, and programmer/DJ Joe Hahn, the behind-the-scenes wizard on the turntables (who has his own moment to shine on "Cure for the Itch"). Together, they crafted a taut set of deviously catchy and relatable anthems that quickly connected them to a legion of fans who craved more emotional depth in their heavy music. On breakthrough single "One Step Closer," a seething Bennington showcased his wide range -- which whips from a pained whisper to a feral roar -- as Hahn wildly scratched and scrubbed on the turntables, mimicking the turmoil and angst in Bennington's lyrics. "By Myself" and "A Place for My Head" operate on a similar level, unleashing Bennington's bloody shrieks upon Shinoda's aggressive rhymes and a band united as a fine-tuned melodic unit. Later, on "Points of Authority," atop Hahn's explosive effects, Bennington's rage hits another peak, confronting the one who sexually abused him as a child. Such heavy lyrical content forms the core of Hybrid Theory, creating a cathartic outlet for those who can relate to struggling with addiction (the Grammy-winning "Crawling"), paranoia ("Papercut"), failed relationships ("Pushing Me Away," "In the End"), and much more. The combination of emotional bloodletting and gifted songwriting resonated with the public, and Hybrid Theory was soon an international, diamond-certified smash, catapulting Linkin Park to worldwide fame. However, before becoming one of the most beloved bands of the 2000s and 2010s, they were a group of hungry unknowns who sought to try something new with their hybrid approach to genre and human emotion.© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo

More than any of his BTS bandmates, Jung Kook has been primed for the greatest crossover potential with his debut solo album, Golden. Unlike the rap showcases of RM, Suga, and J-Hope or the focused genre forays from V, Jin, and Jimin, Golden takes aim at the mainstream sweet spot that swirls together funky beats, catchy melodies, and irresistible choruses. It doesn't hurt his prospects that everything is in English, either. Backed by producers such as BloodPop, Diplo, Andrew Watt, and Cirkut and songwriters like Shawn Mendes and Ed Sheeran, the LP also features rapper Jack Harlow on the bouncy, fun-loving "3D"; Major Lazer on the sensual, throbbing "Closer to You"; DJ Snake on the shimmering electronic dance anthem "Please Don't Change"; and Latto on the chart-conquering, record-breaking sex romp "Seven" (the edited version is also included). While the laundry list of A-list names attached to the project leaves little doubt that this has been custom-designed to make him an even bigger star, everything works so well because of Jung Kook's seasoned vocals and natural allure. Like Justin Timberlake and Harry Styles before him, it's quite clear that Jung Kook has been christened as his boy band's main breakout, and Golden makes a great case for that push.© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo

On 1977's A Farewell to Kings it quickly becomes apparent that Rush had improved their songwriting and strengthened their focus and musical approach. Synthesizers also mark their first prominent appearance on a Rush album, a direction the band would continue to pursue on future releases. With the popular hit single "Closer to the Heart," the trio showed that they could compose concise and traditionally structured songs, while the 11-minute "Xanadu" remains an outstanding accomplishment all these years later (superb musicianship merged with vivid lyrics help create one of Rush's best all-time tracks). The album-opening title track begins with a tasty classical guitar/synth passage, before erupting into a powerful rocker. The underrated "Madrigal" proves to be a delicately beautiful composition, while "Cinderella Man" is one of Rush's few songs to include lyrics penned entirely by Geddy Lee. The ten-minute tale of a dangerous black hole, "Cygnus X-1," closes the album on an unpredictable note, slightly comparable to the two extended songs on 1975's Caress of Steel. A Farewell to Kings successfully built on the promise of their breakthrough 2112, and helped broaden Rush's audience on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.© Greg Prato /TiVo

The Downward Spiral positioned Trent Reznor as industrial's own Phil Spector, painting detailed, layered soundscapes from a wide tonal palette. Not only did he fully integrated the crashing metal guitars of Broken, but several newfound elements -- expanded song structures, odd time signatures, shifting arrangements filled with novel sounds, tremendous textural variety -- can be traced to the influence of progressive rock. So can the painstaking attention devoted to pacing and contrast -- The Downward Spiral is full of striking sonic juxtapositions and sudden about-faces in tone, which make for a fascinating listen. More important than craft in turning Reznor into a full-fledged rock star, however, was his brooding persona. Grunge had the mainstream salivating over melodramatic angst, which had always been Reznor's stock in trade. The left-field hit "Closer" made him a postmodern shaman for the '90s, obsessed with exposing the dark side he saw behind even the most innocuous façades. In fact, his theatrics on The Downward Spiral -- all the preening self-absorption and serpentine sexuality -- seemed directly descended from Jim Morrison. Yet Reznor's nihilism often seemed like a reaction against some repressively extreme standard of purity, so the depravity he wallowed in didn't necessarily seem that depraved. That's part of the reason why, in spite of its many virtues, The Downward Spiral falls just short of being the masterpiece it wants to be. For one thing, fascination with texture occasionally dissolves the hooky songwriting that fueled Pretty Hate Machine. But more than that, Reznor's unflinching bleakness was beginning to seem like a carefully calibrated posture; his increasing musical sophistication points up the lyrical holding pattern. Having said that, the album ends on an affecting emotional peak -- "Hurt" mingles drama and introspection in a way Reznor had never quite managed before. It's evidence of depth behind the charisma that deservedly made him a star.© Steve Huey /TiVo

Arriving ten years after the single-disc Rocket Man: The Definitive Hits (known as Rocket Man: Number Ones in North America) and 15 years after the double-disc Greatest Hits 1970-2002, Diamonds ups the game by offering two variations on Elton John's greatest hits: a double-CD version and a limited-edition triple-disc box set. Given John's canon is close to set, it should come as no surprise that Diamonds follows the same path as its predecessors -- indeed, the first ten songs on Diamonds are the same as those on Greatest Hits 1970-2002, with minor rejiggering; ultimately, there is a 26-song overlap -- but within its standard two-disc set, it finds a place for some important hits absent in prior comps. Notably, this has "Little Jeannie," "I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That," and his live duet with George Michael, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," all welcome additions, and as it extends into the present, it also finds space for John's artistic renaissance of the 21st century in the form of "Electricity," "Home Again," and "Looking Up." The third disc on the deluxe version deepens the story further by adding a bunch of hits that could've feasibly been included on the first two discs -- "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "Pinball Wizard," "Mama Can't Buy You Love," "Part-Time Love," "Victim of Love," "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)," "Kiss the Bride," the superstar charity single "That's What Friends Are For" -- and also underscores his enduring stardom and cultural reach by including OK '90s U.K. hits with Kiki Dee, Pavarotti, and LeAnn Rimes, plus his 2012 U.S. dance hit with Pnau, "Good Morning to the Night" (conspicuous in their absence is any duet with Leon Russell). This last disc offers up plenty of hits but it also feels slightly messy because of the leap from "Kiss the Bride" to "Live Like Horses," but that only indicates how John would've been equally well served by a four-disc set. Instead, we get this excellent -- if incomplete -- collection that is equally satisfying in either its double-disc or triple-disc incarnation.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

When Closer was released on July 18th, 1980 Ian Curtis had already been six feet under for two months. At just 23 years old, the singer of Joy Division – who committed suicide – would never get a share of the laurels that this second and last studio album was about to receive for the years and decades to come… In such grim circumstances, this opus was of course bound to become a sort of testament. With Closer, rock music (that in this case doesn’t roll so much) got the most beautiful soundtrack to its angst. As always with Joy Division, the groove is viscerally martial, guitars are excessively shrill, the vocals are wrapped up in a straightjacket, rhythmic patterns smell sweetly of cataclysm, while the lyrics evoke claustrophobia: no doubt about it, post punk now has its Tables of Law. A rulebook and lifestyle directly inherited from early Velvet Underground, Bowie in his Berlin days, the Doors and German Krautrock. With Closer, Ian Curtis still remains here among us. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

The Downward Spiral positioned Trent Reznor as industrial's own Phil Spector, painting detailed, layered soundscapes from a wide tonal palette. Not only did he fully integrated the crashing metal guitars of Broken, but several newfound elements -- expanded song structures, odd time signatures, shifting arrangements filled with novel sounds, tremendous textural variety -- can be traced to the influence of progressive rock. So can the painstaking attention devoted to pacing and contrast -- The Downward Spiral is full of striking sonic juxtapositions and sudden about-faces in tone, which make for a fascinating listen. More important than craft in turning Reznor into a full-fledged rock star, however, was his brooding persona. Grunge had the mainstream salivating over melodramatic angst, which had always been Reznor's stock in trade. The left-field hit "Closer" made him a postmodern shaman for the '90s, obsessed with exposing the dark side he saw behind even the most innocuous façades. In fact, his theatrics on The Downward Spiral -- all the preening self-absorption and serpentine sexuality -- seemed directly descended from Jim Morrison. Yet Reznor's nihilism often seemed like a reaction against some repressively extreme standard of purity, so the depravity he wallowed in didn't necessarily seem that depraved. That's part of the reason why, in spite of its many virtues, The Downward Spiral falls just short of being the masterpiece it wants to be. For one thing, fascination with texture occasionally dissolves the hooky songwriting that fueled Pretty Hate Machine. But more than that, Reznor's unflinching bleakness was beginning to seem like a carefully calibrated posture; his increasing musical sophistication points up the lyrical holding pattern. Having said that, the album ends on an affecting emotional peak -- "Hurt" mingles drama and introspection in a way Reznor had never quite managed before. It's evidence of depth behind the charisma that deservedly made him a star.© Steve Huey /TiVo

This is Bonobo’s most awaited album. First of all because, since his first try Animal Magic on the Tru Thoughts label in 2000, the English producer, now signed to Ninja Tune (the label led by Coldcut) had never taken so long to release an album, five years since Migration. And secondly because since then, Simon Green has had three Grammy nominations (for Migration, Bambro Koyo Ganda in 2017 and Linked in 2019) and has therefore seen his fanbase grow. It’s been a tough start for Bonobo, who’s been hit by family tragedy. He eventually found his way back to the studio with Lara Somogyi, an American musician who’s reinvented the harp with fx pedals. While exploring the sound of modular synthesizers, he began to imagine a world through sessions with all-rounder Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (Flying Lotus, Dr. Dre, Thundercat etc.). But it was Jamila Woods, the new star of Chicago's New School, who gave him the key by singing the track Tides, which was the "focal point" of the album according to Green. The Los Angeles based producer, who went off into the wild to recharge his batteries between two lockdowns, lets his desire to get back to DJing shine through with a series of Detroit house style dancefloor bangers like Shadows, Rosewood, Otomo and Counterpart. The latter being one of the prettiest tracks on the album, both silky and intoxicating, like this Fragments which is more coherent than it seems. © Smaël Bouaici/Qobuz

In 2002, five years after Echo, which was already serving as a reboot to their career, the Brandt Brauer Frick entered a new era of their electroacoustic project, this time taking a somewhat artsy turn. First came their interactive Dance Selector clip, with a troupe of contemporary dancers, then the Multi Faith Prayer Room installation at Art Basel Miami, which gave its name to this album. The BBFs asked people around the world about their idea of ​​the future in order “to encourage, in our own way, a positive reflection on the future, far from the rise of populism”. Their answers haunt the interludes (notably FUTURE, with the Catalan singer Marina Herlop) of a record resolutely aimed at the dancefloor.A somewhat retro dancefloor, which would reach its peak in the 90s, as evidenced by titles like This Feeling (feat. Sophie Hunger), the very acid house Dotted Line, the single Act One, showcasing an incredible adventure between acid, rave and mixes performed by Mykki Blanco, or Closer to You, on which the Germans have fun inviting Duane Harden, one of the legends of the house, and the voice of the cult song You Don't Know Me by Armand Van Helden. The rest is pretty much the same, almost as if the Berliners wanted to drown the dystopia in dance. And it worked well. © Smaël Bouaici/Qobuz

With 2007's Because of the Times, Kings of Leon ventured out of the garage and into the arena. Tracks like "Black Thumbnail" and "Camaro" were bold, anthemic rock songs that built upon the barnyard stomp of Youth & Young Manhood, and Because of the Times topped the U.K. charts upon its debut, officially crowning the Kings as rock & roll royalty in the process. Only by the Night arrived one year later, marking the band's fastest turnaround between albums; it also furthered the epic sound that Times introduced, flaunting a set of ringing guitars and radio-ready melodies that pushed the band away from the Allman Brothers' camp. If anything, much of the album took up residence in U2's cathedral, particularly during the one-two-three punch of "Sex on Fire," "Use Somebody," and "Manhattan." Appropriately, Only by the Night became a U2-sized smash on both sides of the Atlantic, selling some six million copies worldwide while firmly pushing the band into the mainstream.Like many big-sounding albums, Only by the Night is a polarizing piece of work, one that targets new fans at the expense of those who wish Kings of Leon had never shaved their beards or discovered post-'70s rock. To rope in the skeptics, the strongest tracks are pushed toward the album's first half. "Crawl" flexes the band's rock & roll muscle, melding Led Zeppelin-styled crunch with the experimental guitar buzz of U2's Achtung Baby, while "Sex on Fire" makes up for its goofy title with a meteoric chorus tailored to Caleb's voice. (He sounds fantastic throughout the record, even if his vocals continue to be garbled by some untraceable accent, as if he's auditioning for the Jodie Foster role in a Broadway adaptation of Nell.) Rounding out the hit-filled segment are "Use Somebody" and "Manhattan," where Matthew Followill cloaks his guitar riffs in reverb and bassist Jared Followill takes the spotlight sporadically, popping up for quick melodic fills before ducking back into the mix. While past Kings of Leon albums concerned themselves with alcohol, women, and other hedonistic themes, those two songs are nothing but pop/rock grandeur, and Caleb howls their hopeful lyrics like Bono's American-born cousin. Only by the Night focuses on textures and experimentation during the album's latter half, but most songs still deliver some sort of Technicolor melody, from "Notion" (one of the only tracks featuring piano) to the unexpected chorus of "Be Somebody." Taken as a whole, Only by the Night targets the audience that approved Kings of Leon's sonic shift in 2007, leaving older fans free to damn these tracks for their consciously grand approach. Yes, the album is often cheesy. Yes, some of the more popular songs lost their luster after endless months of radioplay. But Only by the Night remains a potent Kings of Leon record, and the guys have never defined their ambition so clearly.© Andrew Leahey /TiVo

This marriage of four players with impressive pedigrees proved to be the success story of 1982 when Asia's debut lodged itself at the top of the U.S. album charts for two months. The album spawned a massive number four single in "Heat of the Moment," a follow-up Top 20 hit in the sweeping "Only Time Will Tell," and a handful of other tracks that received heavy radio play despite going against the grain of the new wave styling of the day. Produced by Mike Stone, Asia's strengths were the powerful vocals of John Wetton, the nimble, classically tinged guitar work of Steve Howe, Geoffrey Downes' majestic keyboard playing, and anchoring the band, Carl Palmer's propulsive drumming. The lyrics are overwrought at moments, but there's no denying the epic grandeur of the music, which provided some much-needed muscle to radio at the time, and did so with style.© Tom Demalon /TiVo