Top 25 Turning 25 (in 2026)

Burned CDs, cryptic AIM away messages, and the emotional damage of a perfectly screamed chorus. Somehow, songs, bands, and albums that taught us how to feel everything all at once—are turning 25. Here's a look back into the beautifully chaotic, eyeliner-smudged world where alternative music wasn’t just something you listened to—it was who you were. So lace up your worn-out Vans, queue up that angst, and let’s revisit the top 25 moments in music from 2001.

Newly Formed Bands

• Senses Fail

  

• Fall Out Boy

  

• The Killers

  

• My Chemical Romance

  

• The Postal Service

Songs

• Jimmy Eat World - "The Middle"

• Blink-182 - "The Rock Show"

• Dashboard Confessional - "Screaming Infidelities"

• Thursday - "Understanding in a Car Crash"

• Sum 41 - "Fat Lip"

Top Albums

• The White Stripes - White Blood Cells

• The Smashing Pumpkins - Rotten Apples

• Tool - Lateralus

• Incubus - Morning View

• Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American

Debut Albums

• Sum 41 - All Killer No Filler

• The Shins - Oh, Inverted World

• Gym Class Heroes - …For The Kids

• Further Seems Forever - The Moon Is Down

• The Strokes - Is This It

Festivals

• Family Values Tour: Stone Temple Pilots with Linkin Park, Staind, and Static-X

• Vans Warped Tour: 311, Rancid, AFI, Alien Ant Farm, Good Charlotte, and Less Than Jake

• Ozzfest: Tool, Slipknot, Papa Roach, and Linkin Park

• Area2 Festival: Moby, New Order, and Outkast

• Coachella: Jane's Addicition, Weezer, and the Orb