Hybrid Theory

Give me rap-rock or rap-metal crossover albums anytime. Give me a *bit* of nu-metal, even. Give me heavy guitar riffs, true rebellion, sharp politically-minded lyrics. Or, on the contrary, give me brutally sincere descriptions of personal malaise. Anything that finds an artistically relevant way to scream: "I'm alive, this world is fucked up, I suffer, but I'm alive!". Give me Rage Against The Machine, System Of A Down, Deftones, the "Judgment Night" motion picture soundtrack... Even the early Korn albums can work out... But don't give me this overbloated, overproduced turd of a record. Heck, turds have taste at least, or so I hear. :) As you can, I won't mince words about this band (and first album). But I've got my reasons. To me, *Hybrid Theory* is indeed the epitome of blandness--nothing in it *feels* honest or authentic. You might tell me Chester Bennington's lyrics drew from his difficult childhood experience, I just can't find a way to *care* about them. Because the end results here are just plain corny--there's none of the strong imagery delivered by his pal Chino Moreno, for instance, or the latter's intense, dynamic performance throughout Deftones' discography. The so-called "rebellion" or "malaise" in Linkin' Park's lyrics actually amount to pointing at nothing in particular, with vague references about "bad memories" and the likes. And those lyrics are just *one* ingredient among others in a mechanical formula. They just have nothing to say. And they even manage to say it badly. The same goes for the cheesy, dated rapping, or the vocal lines for the choruses and singing parts, which are *always* predictable--unimaginative melodies copied-and-pasted over unimaginative guitar riffs, so slick and clean they actually sound like synths. Because no, the instrumentation is not good either, as competent the performers (or production tools) are. The band does the same thing all over again, mostly, with the same sort of lazy, overdone tricks being applied from start to finish. Guitar saturation is here used to raze everything to the same orderly level, devoid of any true *life*. A paradox of sorts, which owes more to protools shenanigans than any thought-out concept behind the music. Which makes sense, given that saturation is also used here to hide the lack of any shred of meaningful idea. That's probably what's "Hybrid" in the "Theory" here--this thing being *both* lifeless AND brainless. Even the electronic/abstract hip hop asides suck, minus the very short "Cure For The Itch", maybe--but to be fair, this minor track towards the end is nothing but a secondhand attempt at a DJ Shadow-like instrumental... And just as everything in the album--that awful cover, for instance--its inclusion in the tracklisting looks like a decision made by a corporate committee, not one made by a real, genuine band showing personality. And just like everything else, it's a stylistic dead end. *Hybrid Theory* made millions, admittedly (not necessarily a sure sign of quality, but OK). It sold a hold a huge lot. Yet it's a dead-end nonetheless. Void. Sterile. We can just all be glad and grateful that teens or kids these days are not listening to such crap anymore. At least, they'll make *fresh* mistakes of their own... In the light of Bennington's still recent suicide, this personal judgment about what is merely a piece of art here might sound harsh, of course, even exaggerated. May the man rest in peace, God bless his soul, and so on... May people who go through what he had to go through, just like Chris Cornell or Kurt Cobain, or anybody else, find the help they need to survive. To be honest, I wish that this band had at least provided Bennington that catharsis he so direly needed to get better. And this aside obviously goes beyond any personal tastes about music. One could have hoped that years after their first commercial success, Linkin' Park's singer might have found some meaning in his life. But things don't always work out that way, even when you manage to "make it". Friends who knew Bennington seem to say he was a good person. I don't know, I didn't know him. But I just hope that fans who are reading this understand I have nothing against the man. I simply didn't like the artist, and the band he was part in. These things happen... As for the rest, be aware that hope comes in many forms, and that if music, good or bad, can't save you, you can *still* find other ways out--through reaching out to friends or a family genuinely caring for you, or through mental health professionals. Anything that can help you get better. But I'd rather hear about who Chester Bennington was as a person rather than having to listen to his music again. It's not for me. In a way, critics' accusations that the band had "sold out" for 2017's pop-oriented *One More Light*--that they now suddenly sounded "as if they were selected by committee", to be more precise--were totally and absolutely nonsensical to my ears. Because to me, they've *always* been this way. A few yellings and heavy guitar riffs here and there couldn't hide the fact that they've never been the sharpest knife in the drawer, musically speaking. And Bennington's offensive public replies to those misguided critics did not only show how fragile his mental state was, but also how lost he was as to the sort of audience his band had entertained for all these years. And there's probably a good reason for that. Because a) that audience had never been picky for sure. And b) it was dwindling album after album anyway. In all honesty, it's a bit of a mystery *who* this music is aimed at today, in 2022 (both for what it was in 2017 AND what it had been in 2000). And this, also, makes me kinda sad... Not for Bennington, this time, but for the standards generally followed by this list of records. So next, please... Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 887 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 59 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 29 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): 26 (including this one)

Oh FFS... how in the world did this crap make the list? This style/genre/shameful detour of rock music should be forgotten and lost to the sands of time. And this isn't even their "best" album - it's easily the most cheesy representation of this nonsense.

The worst. This album actually made me angry.

Hard-hitting but melodic, this is another album that I think younger me would have really loved. I like it now but it has a ... not juvenile, that seems pejorative, and that's definitely not what I'm going for ... but maybe youthful(?) feel to it that doesn't hold the same appeal as it would have a couple or so decades ago. Still, high marks!

Awful. Unfair but this album/band comprises almost every single thing that I hated about turn-of-the-millenium nu-rock: massive wall of tuned-down guitars so overly compressed and processed within an inch of their lives that sound more like a steel factory than like guitars... and what.is.up with the Cookie Monster vocals - honestly wtf I never understood how that became a thing for a few years. Hard hard nope. I actually kinda get why some people would like this - but I can't get through this overly aggressive unrelenting assault. Did/could not finish. 2/10 1 star.

I bought this album shortly after its release and listened to it for several years, but then it sort of disappeared from my radar. I don’t really have the rage in me that I still managed then. So what’s it like to come back to this almost 20 years later? It’s great! I remembered right away what I love about Linkin Park… they know how to rock but also have great hooks and modulation to hold my interest. I like their lyrics and the personal themes. Great vocals. Really great to hear this again today. “The End” is an awesome song and is kind of the perfection of the Linkin Park formula, but there are lots of other songs I very much like on this album including “Papercut,” “Points of Authority,” “Crawling,” “Runaway,” “Forgotten” and “Pushing Me Away.” Even though the last twenty years have softened my edges, I guess I still have room for some angry, angsty, cathartic hard rock. Linkin Park’s ability to modulate with softer passages is just the right kind of heavy for me.

I was 16 when this album came out and I wasn’t the biggest fan of nu-metal to start with. I was into stuff like Pantera, Sepultura, Faith no More, Alice in Chains, NOFX etc – 90s heavy/alternative but not nu-metal – but I also had an appreciation for bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit and Slipknot. I’d been into metal since about 91 so I had the feel of the genre: Korn basically invented the shit, Limp Bizkit popularised it, and Slipknot made it so fucking unpalatable to your parents that you just had to applaud them. Lots of previously "pure"-metal bands were trying to get in on it. But Korn etc all had one thing in common: their songs were organic, there was a legit “what we’re doing isn’t grunge, it’s not standard metal, but we still want a place” attitude. It never felt (at the time) like they were music school kids, writing from a how-to guide, or anything like that. It was popular in the mainstream, but it seemed it'd stuck its head in by force of sheer popularity, and had kinda beaten the odds in that sense. This was still like 98-99 so it was only a year or two into nu-metal’s mainstream run. Those bands (Korn, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, Deftones etc) really worked for their recognition. Linkin Park’s first album was different. Even as a teenager I picked up on it. When that first “I’m about to break!” song came out I knew it was some kinda changing of the guard moment. It wasn’t nu-metal; it was radio rock pretending to be nu-metal. I remember in 2000 asking my mum to buy me In Flames’ Colony album, and she said “you sure you don’t want maybe Linkin Park instead?”. And that was because Linkin Park had worked out the market: create family-friendly rock with an angsty facade that parents didn’t find threatening. It ticked their boxes and (hopefully) also yours. It was loud, but also commercial as shit, with songs that could've been ANY genre if you'd tweaked them a bit. Most of Hybrid Theory would've made a great Shania Twain record. Not that there’s anything wrong with that (my Slippery When Wet review hopefully explains that) but it was also dishonestly subversive. It pretended to be something it wasn’t. And it’s telling that Linkin Park became the biggest band out of the whole movement, and that radio rock has never really (as of 2022) moved much past their blueprint. Nu-metal is long gone but Linkin Park's style isn't. Sure we’ve dialled back the rap-rock these days, but the core of their song structures, choruses and vague angst remain. That whole “nothin’ but rock” radio movement has been boring and stale ever since. And I blame Linkin Park. Is that a legacy? Probably. But I’m giving it 2/5.

I get that this was a genre defining album for the time, but the genre is really bad, so I can't condone these actions.

Just when you thought metal could go no lower, along comes to Linkin Park to add the most annoying elements of several other genres (especially emo) to drill deeper still. The combination of sheer awfulness with utter pomposity is potently toxic to the ears of anyone with any taste at all. How it sold 32 copies, let alone 32 million, boggles the mind, but that's popular taste, innit. See The Onion's Winner's History of Rock and Roll for the imbalance.

I didn't love this. Other than "In the End", I hadn't really heard much by Linkin Park before. Why? Because I get screamed at enough in real life. I mean, I'm the guy who appreciates the Bangles' subtle harmonies, the smooth sounds of Yacht Rock, and the entire catalog of James D. Buffett. What's the opposite of Linkin Park? Jimmy, man. Or Bob Marley - hey angry Linkin Park guys, "Don't worry about a thing, every little thing is gonna be alright". That said, I do understand why people like this (maybe there are supernaturally calm people out there that just want to get their anger on), but I could feel my blood pressure rising the whole time. Neighbors walking by my open garage sped up and gave me the side eye - that must be one angry dude! No man, no. Echo, play Bob Marley Legend....check that. Play Loggins & Messina....

easiest 5 of my life

Dense, formulaic, stylistically hollow. Overly produced sound with annoying rap-to-raging vocals. Unmemorable. Fave Songs: None, really. Favorite quote from a fellow reviewer: "I get screamed at enough in real life."

Trite shit. I thought this was 1001 albums to listen to before you die, not 1001 albums that make you want to die. This belongs at the top of the latter and shouldn't even sniff the former. Fuck this garbage. -Chris

i was hoping this would be another one like the SOAD album where i ignored it in my yoof and now i've listened to it i get it. it wasn't, if anything it was the opposite and now i've actually listened to it i like it less than i was expecting. it's super cheddar. give me limp bizkit over this any day - yeah that's right i really didn't like this.

I'd only ever heard "In the End", and the rest of this is about what I expected. The whole thing comes across as like a 10-year-old's idea of badass music. Chugging alt-metal riffs, angsty lyrics, bad white guy rapping, and production elements that probably seemed dated in the year 2000. It's bad, but it's not even really groundbreaking in any sort of way. They mainly come off as a less fun version of Limp Bizkit. I did not need to hear this before I died, which might be sooner than before I listened to it. 0.5 stars.

They are the reason I got invested into metal (I'm biased)

RIP Chester.

4.5 stars. What a debut album! Every track is solid from start to end. Bennington's singing with Shinodah's rapping blends so well. Album is harder/heavier than I remember. "A Place For My Head" is a microcosm for the album and the band.

IN THE END NOTHING EVEN MATTERS

The cultural impact of this album really can't be overstated. Growing up when it came out, I can tell you this was everywhere. There were at least 4 huge songs off this album. Despite this, Linkin Park has mostly faded into history, and in the end it doesn't even matter.

As you're going through the list of 1001 albums to hear before you die, remember to save this for last, preferably for while you're in hospice. Half way through you'll be ready to pull the plug.

This was very popular when I was in middle school, and I was very much into it. That being said, I thought I would hate hearing it again. However, I'm surprised to say I was impressed. The powerful emotions of these songs give them a timelessness, despite some of the sounds (turntable scratching) that date it. The same things that make it easy to knock also make it impactful. I know I just dissed turntable scratching, but "Cure for the Itch" is still a fucking great listen.

I get that this is a big group in 2000s “rock” but it’s not for me. Too many songs sound the same and it lacks soul.

If I listened to this rap metal style when I was much younger I may have fallen for the soft/quiet -> hard/loud -> soft/quiet changes within most of the songs, but now I find it to be cliched and just plain gimmicky. So... nope.

I don’t know if you’ve ever watched the TV Show ALF, but in the credits, there is a list of “Personal Assistants to ALF” and there’s like 4 people listed. Isn’t that wild? ALF must’ve been quite a handful to require four assistants. How many meetings and appointments did ALF have that required 4 people to plan his day to day activities? I can see him having a stylist and someone to keep track of his schedule…but 4? I had no idea ALF was such a diva.

Shut up and clean your room, dude.

Not a record to hear before one dies or ever, but rather a record to make one yearn for the silence of the tomb. And so utterly dated – likely the reason the editors dropped it from latest editions.

"I cannot take this anymore." You and me both, buddy. Something about the guitar and vocal tones of this is physically exhausting.

This is horrible. I thought that things could not get worse than the Limp Bizkit album--but this project proved me wrong. Musically it's just as bad, but it's so whiny and angsty. One of the most grating sounding albums I have ever heard. 1 star because I can't give anything less.

Shit

Why is this on the list

Thought I was too cool for school when this was originally released and gave it a wide berth. By some weird coincidence, I've been listening to this very album for the last two weeks and have living my best angsty-teen life!

Linkin Park's debut album is a classic by any standard, but it took me a long time to get to that point. Chester's trauma is thinly veiled in most songs, but the raw power and fury that drove him is on full display.

Already an album I've known and enjoyed for years

I've really enjoyed this album for a long time. In listening to it again, i certainly heard more Limp Bizkit in it than i remembered, and they certainly took different trajectories. Fred is a bit of an embarrassment while Chester improved with time. There are still enough energetic creative aggressive items on here to make it a home run.

Iconic sound. LP hit a vein of gold and then milked it for all it was worth. This album was for all those angsty teens existing without normalized therapy and proper mental health awareness. Hits like a greatest hits album.

Bland American rock. One of those albums that will only work for folks who grew up with it (for better or worse).

I tried, I really did, but yeah, nah.

Youth in an album

Neck workout

relisten. if you didn't grow up with an older sibling in the 00s you probably don't get it. i feel like every time i listen to this album it's better than i remembered

Hybrid Theory is the debut album by American rock band Linkin Park. This critically acclaimed rap rock / alternative rock album and its four singles launched the band into mainstream popularity - where they have stayed to this day. The four singles remain the band's most successful songs to date, and they are: "One step Closer", "In the End", "Crawling", & "Papercut". The album peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200, is certified 12x platinum (diamond), and is the best-selling rock album of the 21st century. This is the first time that I have listened to Linkin Park's debut album in one sitting (I've heard its singles many times) and I have to say it was pretty awesome! The nostalgia this gave me for the early 2000's is unmatched and listening to this album today made it a great day. Well produced, amazing hooks, and aggressive lyrics shape this album to be a cornerstone of modern rock. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone that hasn't heard at least one of these songs before, but everyone needs to listen to this album.

A classic of my preteens. Full of angst and alienation that I can still relate to. Love the aesthetic of the cover. I don't think I've paid super close attention to what the guitar does before. I know this album pretty well tho. Or at least the hits. Some of this stuff gets kinda heavy tbh. Riffs are more Nu Metal-y than I recall — which should be obvs because this was one of THE nu metal albums of that era. This album feels like the soundtrack to dissociating over angst and abuse and inner pain. The band does way more interesting stuff instrumentally on the non-singles. The Mr. Hahn track (Cure for the Itch) was pretty sick, ngl. This band's instrumentals are kinda fun. Pushing Me Away feels like a blueprint for Numb, similar vibe, similar simple guitars over melodic synth/electronic with simple guitar chords coming in for the chorus. It's youthful and earnest as an album, and I see why it's one of the best selling rock albums of all time. LP wrote some good pop, riffs, melodies, compositions, raps, lyrics, etc. here. Feels pretty focused ngl.

Loved it, not my usual listening material, familiar with alot of this but was never my genre... Great to listen to something that I wouldn't normally choose... Felt like a step back to the noughties...

so good, brings me back to my teenage years! top songs: obvs In The End, and Pushing Me Away

No. 297/1001 Papercut 4/5 One Step Closer 3/5 With You 4/5 Points of Authority 3/5 Crawling 3/5 Runaway 4/5 By Myself 3/5 In the End 5/5 A Place for My Head 3/5 Forgotten 3/5 Cure for the Itch 3/5 Pushing Me Away 4/5 Average: 3,5 At times really good, at times a bit repetitive.

во первых, почему сайт опять прикольнулся и подкинул ЛП после новости о камбэке, как былло с оазис?) во вторых, я конечно этот альбом пиздюком гонял как сумасшедший, но как подрос то перестал это слушать. и не слушал ЛП уже много лет. сейчас вот переслушал и чисто ностальгически кайфанул. а некоторые трэки прям сладкие. но в целом засчёт того, что ЛП от меня отлепились естественным образом поставлю не пятерку. а ещё идите нахуй хуесосы кто говорит что это музло для школьников, не тру роцк. это идеальная точка входа в рок, а уже потом из этих детей вылупятся снобы говноеды типа вас мудачков )))

Hell yeah

I get why they were popular but they sound very dated already.

Reasonably well mixed album. That said the lyrical content leans more on the side of edgy cringe than genuine angst. The sound is hard and heavy, but the punch pulling softens the overall appeal.

A classic nümetal album. However, even if it's very well known today, perhaps the most well known, it was not really genre defining at the time and does have its weak points.

An amazing album to hear as a pre-teen. All that pent up child/teenage angst released with a nice bit of rap/rock/nu-metal. Then a few years later I turned 16 and never played it again. Listening back as an adult I'm torn between hearing the songs as I heard them then and loving it and hearing it afresh now and realising it's pretty naff. 4* and 2* respectively for those two versions of me.

"The best-selling rock album of the 21st century". What if that said more about the state of rock than it being an endorsement of this?

I was prepared to give this a go, but I just do not like it. Nu-Metal crossed with bad rap. I can appreciate some of the creativity, but I won't be spinning this one again.

linkin park has not aged well. still fun despite its corniness but the hits on this thing still hit. you're better off just listening to the top songs of this n skipping the rest

Like bits of this, but similar to a lot of nu-metal it can feel a bit plastic to me. Not sure what itis, maybe over production, too much compression...not sure, but everything feels like it has a sheen, like it's somehow restrained and lacking depth. Lyrically, the overuse of first person moaning about relationships can get tiring, there is a lot of 'tell' and not much 'show' going one, with lyrics telling us how the singer feels, but not giving much story / context.

Glad it's only 37 minutes long. But even then still couldn't get through it. That voice is so whiny. No thanks.

Hybrid Theory For the first 2 seconds of Papercut I thought this might not be as poor as I expected, but then that annoying little guitar figure appears, then the ‘heavy’ riffing starts and then the terrible sing/rapping kicks in and it is truly awful. Obviously I’m not at all predisposed to metal or nu-metal, and despite having a soft spot for a couple of not very good Limp Bizkit songs, I was always going to struggle with this. But it is truly awful. It’s very, very dated, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it sounds so bad, the guitars, despite their ‘metalness’ are insipid and limp, his vocals, whether singing or rapping, have a really irritating tinniness and thinness, the lyrics are the worst kind of moody adolescent crap, total I’m 14 And This Is Deep vibes. Forgotten’s ‘in the middle of my thoughts’ is pure Lonely Island There aren’t even any sort of enjoyably silly moments, it’s all run through with hollow, pompous self seriousness, completely lacking in any sense of light or shade, self awareness or any glimpse of humour. And all combined with such a safe amount of metal edge - despite not being keen on the metal we’ve had at least with most of it there was a kind of sense of them meaning it, whereas this sounds so self importantly calculated and cynical. One listen is enough. Woeful. 🛝 Playlist submission: Honestly who gives a shit?

In middle school I had a best friend, I'll call her Veronica. We were two parallel yet distinct flavors of edgy, and we were for a time inseparable (and I am pretty confident no one I met from school ever understood me more than she did) but we were also still middle school girls at our emotional nadir. And eventually this would cause a rift between us until we stopped speaking to each other in 8th grade and never spoke again since. What actually happened is that she stopped talking to me, just as the rest of our friend group started to wane from me around the same time (I'm sure because of something I did, I was a real asshole to be around at that age.) And not wanting to accept the reality of being rejected again, because around that tender time the only family that was regularly around was my single mom who was always at work and wasn't really able to be around outside of that, I wrote Veronica a long letter of why I didn't want to be friends with her anymore even though she clearly made the decision first. Anyway. Her favorite bands were Green Day and Linkin Park. I was obsessed with Björk and Radiohead. We both thought we were tortured souls that no one understood and wanted for someone else to notice how tortured we were. She wore fingerless gloves and wore her hair over her eyes and I dressed normal but I would cut my hair short, or would face my iPod conspicuously when a younger and more hip-looking substitute teacher would be in proximity in the hopes I could talk to them about Elliott Smith and they could tell me I had very good music taste for my age. The reason why I tell this story is so you can understand why I gave this record a 1. It's not because it's bad or too edgy or juvenile, it's because when I was 12, it was very important to me that the world understood that I wasn't *this* kind of edgy, I was a *very specific and different* kind of edgy, so god please, somebody notice. Just like it was for Veronica.

To be fair its not a bad song, but did they have to record it so many times?

I dont like this band

Not sure if there is another band with a bigger delta between how well liked they are and how little I understand the appeal. This is Korn for people who are scared by actual menacing heavy metal. Rap for people who need their music to sound bland and white. Rock for Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC fans who want to think they are bad asses. The production is overwrought and heavy handed. The lyrics are like what you would find in a high schoolers diary. The songwriting and structure are predictable, sloppy and cheesy. I can usually find redeeming qualities in the most saccharine of pop music confections and popular wide appealing music, but this feels like heavy metal done by a committee and focus groups to provide the widest appeal possible. This is in here because it sold a lot of records, not for quality.

Is this the oldest album to get the hook from the book? I didn't realise they'd gone back as far as 2000 to make room. Happy with that though, there's nothing particularly special about this band, they should go back further to pick out the duds or stuff that time hasn't been kind to, instead of removing one of the 3 records they pick for later years as if no important music happend after 2015. Fact I'm talking about the book rather than the album tells it's own story. One Step Closer was fun at the time ( and isn't now), I have almost no time for anything else here. Every song is almost exactly the same - one listen to the second and third singles was enough to realise Oh, right, they're just going to do this exact thing again and again - hence I never felt compelled to listen to the album before and was instead listening to the few good nu metal bands, and ska punk instead. I should have been target audience still, being 21, but this was obviously shit to my ears, so oh well, onto the next thing. One million clones of this irritating, uninteresting, overproduced music sprang up following this album, and soundtracked the entire WWE Attitude Era. Which is definitely the only acceptable context for them. Background wallpaper for fighty acting and athletic exploits. For which it worked pretty well. I was waiting for this to end from the very first track. Thank the lord Jesus Christ and all the other fictional sky lobsters that this CD-era album is a reasonable length. At least Wikipedia hasn't labelled this as metal, metal showing up as one of my worst genres is quite funny as a metal fan, but almost all the metal choices in this book are an abomination.

I am sorry but I simply cannot take this music seriously

Whiny voices and indecipherable guitars to be "edgy" , utterly unlistenable and probably in the worst 5 albums on this list.

Trash

This is embarrassing to listen to. Lyrics that the kid failing school because he didn't try but blamed the school relates to and record scratches that puts Jet Set Radio to shame, there is nothing here that I enjoy. The fact that System of a Down is lumped in with this whiney rap-rock bullshit because the era of nu-metal just happened to be going on is awful. Everything here just sounds the same, and the best part here is that it is relatively short compared to most other albums on here.

An album of angry anthemic fight songs. Was never a fan of the punk, pop era. Chester's thrash metal vocals sound forced (to me) and the constant rapping over the top just doesn't appeal, but each to their own, probably a generational thing and I'm too old for it. It's like nine inch nails origins, but hungry for commercial success has made it niche, conceited and inauthentic. Glad it's only short. Sad about Chester though, rest in peace.

I’ve always had a problem with Linkin Park The singer sounds too much like James Hetfield and their songs just all run together

I don’t think they were the first of the Nu-metal bands or even if that’s how they would be categorized. Having had the chance to listen to this within days of limp bizkit it shows how much above LP is/ was above the others. To have this as their debut album is something. They were not a group I listened to when they came out and only got in through the Jay-Z mashup album and moved backwards, but I think they were the top of the genre at the time. It would have been interesting to see how they would have evolved if Bennington had survived. Not only at the top of the sound at the time but still a great album to this day.

It's a bit weird reviewing albums I know really, really well and I try to listen to them with fresh ears. Linkin Park isn't (wasn't?) the best band out there - I haven't listened to the new stuff - but the music is catchy and emotional, and every single track on this album is consistently good, even years later. It felt a bit "one note" in theme but I can't hold that against them. Due to the sheer number of good tracks, I'm going to rate this album a 5.

OMFGGGG FAVORTITE OF ALLL TIMEEEE ALBUMMMMM HOLY SHIOTTTTT

A lonumental album to my youth. Admittedly, I think its sounds cornier the older I get, and the lyrics were always pretty cringe, but this is the best Nu metal ever sounded, in my opinion. It's aggressive, industrial, and does lots of cool things with it's beats and instruments. My favorite, that isn't Crawling or In The End, is probably Points of Authority. I like the hammer sound in the background and the jagged guitars. I still love this album and it brings a sound that only SOAD has touched on this list so far.

Banger

I can't count how many times I listed to this CD in middle school. So many great songs. Favorite song: Points of Authority

Excellent. 5/5

OMG. My heart SOARED when I saw which album I got. Breathtaking. Amazing. Beautiful. Miracle. No skips, obviously. LOVEEEEE

Please Babak don't give a 1

the first time i actually felt compelled to listen to one of the songs on these albums. also blind channel wants to be these guys so bad

How have I never got round to actually listening to this, and why did I always listen to the hipster brain telling me it wasn't cool and alternative enough to acknowledge that LP slapped?

Means the world to me!

Chester will always be a Top 10 rock singer for me! Is this rating based on nostalgia? Probably. I’d give a 4.5 (but I’m going to give a 5 solely based on complete listen-ability).

FUCK YOU MOM I DONT WANNA GO TO SCHOOL ass album (Banger)

No notes needed

Hybrid Theory is the sound of lightning captured in a bottle. Linkin Park would cement themselves not only in the record books but into the psyche of millions of music fans that persists to this day with this immediate approach to rap, rock and all things in-between. No wonder why Hybrid Theory continues to rack up adoration and accolades close to a quarter century after its release.

Another album that's hard to be critical of since I loved it so much as a teenager. To me it still holds up pretty well though, and I like the mix of influences from metal, rap and electronic music. I do prefer Meteora but Hybrid Theory is still fantastic

the album that transformed my 6/7 year old brain into knowing about other music that could be hard and fast. growing up was 90s hiphop and spanish music, this is how I learned about music. this album is a pillar in defining the early 00s with their nu-metal sound. sure there was Korn and the like, but this was the first that truly went to #1 with their innovative orchestra of strings, beats and guitar riffs. Chester you will forever be missed. R.I.P.

honestly, i forgot how good this album was. Despite a consistent motif throughout both sonically and lyrically, it continues to strike at the heart of loneliness, sadness, despair, heartbreak and yearning for something greater. Chester's vocals embody the theme, and the lyrics of Mike really build out the message before slamming home that beautiful nu metal sound.

One of my favorites from high school

One of the best debuts ever. Solid from start to finish. Chester and Mike really make each other shine on vocals.

Thoroughly enjoy this album start to finish. Quite interesting how divisive the album is. Whether you absolutely love this album and listen to it often, or find it to be overdone, lazy,and late to the scene; you have to admit this is an absolutely unique album. Deserving of it's place on this list.

Loved this one! Definitely rocked to it in the car!! Will add to rotation. "In the end" is a timeless rock classic

Hard for me to be objective here; while listening to this I found that I still knew all the words to the songs that never even made it to the radio. That said, this album holds up really well. Yeah, it's tainted a bit by the nu-metal of its time, but I still enjoyed the heck out of a re-listen in 2024. I forgot what a great song "A Place for My Head" is. I know there's a line in one of their songs that "rock and hip-hop have collaborated for years" but I still feel like Linkin Park lead that charge in the 21st century. I'm not going to write a treatise comparing the influences of Run DMC and Linkin Park here; I'll just say that this album felt novel at the time and it's still fucking great. I wasn't expecting to see this one on the list, but I'm very glad it is. 4.9

I was a little tardy to the party on Linkin Park. Being fresh off the initial rap/rock boys club that is Limp Bizkit I needed a break and didn't give LP the attention that they deserve.

This one might be my most listened album this year, ever since I started listening to it on February I just kept coming back to it one way or another, mainly because of how it's such a good and consistent listen all the way through, all the songs are just incredibly well crafted and produced, they are catchy but also still have edge to them, the lyrics are so earnest that yeah it can be a bit much but personally I completely feel the emotions within them and even relate to them. It's weird to explain why I like it, especially with how maligned this album was in the past and the endless memes, but looking beyond that there is an honest to god great album that really showed that Nu Metal might be as disposable as people say it was. I don't know, I like this album a lot

One of the best

"The sound of your voice Painted on my memories, even if you're not with me I'm with you"

Somehow still know all the words to all the songs. This album is my youth encapsulated.

I saw a bit more discourse and dislike for this album than I expected to see here. My opinion: let the haters hate, this album is special and deserves to be here. Linkin Park did not create nu-metal nor rap metal -- those movements were already fully in swing when this album came out. That said, this album arrived during the turn of the millennium and really seemed to open these genres up to a whole new generation of people. It ensnared and primed that new generation of angsty music lovers before emo really took off. This album didn't rehash these genres, Linkin Park found a completely new way forward in mastering these genres. Chester Bennington goes all the way and leaves EVERYTHING on the floor in EVERY track on this album with unique, raw, and tormented vocals that cut right to the listener, the likes of which had not really been seen since Kurt Cobain. Following that Nirvana comparison, it bears mentioning that Mike Shinoda and the rest of the Linkin Park band have outstanding interplay with Bennington as well as a strong overall band synergy as well, creating very catchy and memorable hooks, mixes, and riffs. As a result, nearly everyone has their favorite tracks from this album that speak the loudest to them, but there is simply not a weak song or a skippable song to be found here. This is another album where it is just remarkable to witness what a band was able to conceive of and release right out of the gate with their first album. What a legacy they started! This album is a high enough 4 for me and revisiting the entire album for me was a lot of fun, so I feel inspired to round up.

so much better than i remembered. dated but still aged like fine wine, somehow