Green Day

Their snarling mugs spat out slacker-isms back in '94; a decade later they took on -isms of a political kind. On 2009's 21st Century Breakdown, Green Day again chronicle modern America -- its disillusioned youth and working class heroes -- translating what many digital-age minions ponder into an eloquent three-act epic. Revolving around the story of Christian and Gloria, the set nods to Tommy as much as Never Mind the Bollocks, weaving Oi! punk, '80s metal, classic rock and acoustic balladry into one of the most relevant, fun and cohesive albums of the decade.

Since Green Day were the Nineties punk brats nobody expected to grow up, everything
they do comes as a surprise. What's more bizarre: the fact that they sound so ambitious and
audacious on their eighth album, or the fact that they even made an eighth album? Either
way, the losercore mutts who crashed the radio in 1994 chanting "I got no motivation," with
Billie Joe Armstrong wasted on his mom's couch — they've ended up the last ban... More >