Rolling Stone published their choices for ‘The 200 greatest rock songs of the 21st century so far’ yesterday, October 27th. That diverse list spans across multiple genres that fall out the traditional confines of ‘rock’. It also includes some surprising tracks from the heavier corners of metal and hard rock that are often overlooked by lists of this nature.
Of course there’s various metal and rock staples included, with the likes of Metallica, Black Sabbath, Slipknot, Slayer and more all earning spots. However, the list also includes comparatively lesser known outfits like Converge, Baroness and even Godflesh offshoot Jesu. The depth of that list thus exhibits a bit more depth than fans of heavy music are accustomed to when it comes to mainstream publications.
Some highlights from that list for readers of this site include:
- #197: Mogwai – “2 Rights Make 1 Wrong“
- #196: Incubus – “Circles“
- #189: Baroness – “Isak“
- #187: Slipknot – “People = Shit“
- #185: Velvet Revolver – “Slither“
- #181: YUNGBLUD – “Hello Heaven, Hello“
- #176: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – “Rattlesnake“
- #166: At The Drive-In – “Arcarsenal“
- #161: Metallica – “Spit Out The Bone“
- #153: Foo Fighters – “Best Of You“
- #149: Meshuggah – “Bleed“
- #144: Wolfmother – “Joker & The Thief“
- #140: Arch Enemy – “We Will Rise“
- #134: Rush – “Headlong Flight“
- #127: Audioslave – “Like A Stone“
- #125: Gojira – “Flying Whales“
- #123: Taking Back Sunday – “You’re So Last Summer“
- #121: My Chemical Romance – “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)“
- #117: Nine Inch Nails – “The Hand That Feeds“
- #114: Pearl Jam – “Got Some“
- #111: The Darkness – “I Believe In A Thing Called Love“
- #109: Black Sabbath – “God Is Dead?“
- #103: Linkin Park – “In The End“
- #94: Opeth – “Deliverance“
- #91: Tool – “The Grudge“
- #86: Evanescence – “Bring Me To Life“
- #78: Jesu – “Star“
- #74: Turnstile – “BLACKOUT“
- #67: Converge – “Concubine“
- #60: Mastodon – “Blood And Thunder“
- #50: Red Hot Chili Peppers – “By The Way“
- #47: Deftones – “Change (In The House Of Flies)“
- #40: Slayer – “Disciple“
- #36: Queens Of The Stone Age – “No One Knows“
- #34: System Of A Down – “Chop Suey!“
- #25: Jimmy Eat World – “The Middle“
- #16: My Chemical Romance – “Welcome To The Black Parade“
- #11: Foo Fighters – “Times Like These“
Yeah Yeah Yeahs topped the list with their 2003 track “Maps“, with The White Stripes‘ fellow 2003 anthem “Seven Nation Army” scoring the second position. The Killers‘ 2004 single “Mr. Brightside” landed at #3.
