Last Updated on December 18, 2025 by Black Sunshine Media
Not that anybody is keeping track, but I’ve probably said “rock music died in 1991” at least a dozen times in print and hundreds of times in conversation. I believe that once digital audio software (ProTools), samplers, sequencers, and synthesizers, i.e., computers, became a driving force in music, that’s when the soul of rock n’ roll left its body. This mindset caused me to miss some great rock bands from the 2000s (and beyond).
This is vaguely unfair because tons of great rock records have been made since 1991, many of which count among my all-time favorites. However, I stopped paying attention to alternative and mainstream rock music around 2000–2001, as Nickelback, Creed, Papa Roach, Staind, Limp Bizkit, and Kid Rock dominated the charts.
The problem is only partially based on the development of technology. I’m no troglodyte. My argument stems from the ubiquity and universal accessibility of these tools that changed the face of music forever. In my estimation, once the Average Joe could make a record on his laptop, the dinosaurs of the analog world were doomed.
Great Rock Bands from the 2000s (You Might Have Missed)
Though I stopped caring about and seeking out new rock music in the early Noughts, again, it wasn’t like I was living on another planet. I still heard plenty of rock, especially after I moved overseas in 2008.
Over the years, I’ve deliberately tried to find new rock music I liked. There are a bunch of really good bands out there.
Here’s a selection of 25 unsung rock bands from the 2000s that deserve a second chance.
Deerhoof
Deerhoof unwittingly (and mercifully) hastened my withdrawal from performing live music, and for my entertainment dollar, is the most interesting band of the decade. Fans of Radiohead, the Flaming Lips, and Beck will find plenty to like about this adventurous noise pop band with an avant-garde streak.
The early 2000s were strange because I moved to San Francisco in 1999, and my life changed direction, but many things remained the same. Though I played in a band, went to shows, made friends, and shared practice spaces with other bands, I never truly connected with the local scene. Half of the “biggest” local bands were from Oakland, Sacramento, or Los Angeles. Opening a Tuesday night show at Bottom of the Hill was good fun, but we couldn’t draw flies. By 2004, I was ready to stop performing live and focus on home recording.
I saw Deerhoof at the Great American Music Hall in October 2004, and thought, “If I can’t do it as good as they’re doing it, I don’t want to do it anymore.” My band limped along for two more years, rarely playing shows, until I finally pulled the plug after seeing Deerhoof again in 2006.
Red Fang
I originally got turned on to their videos on YouTube, but it wouldn’t mean shit if the music didn’t hold up, and these stoner metal fuckers hold it up.
Blinker the Star
Technically, the work of a Canadian solo artist named Jordon Zadorozny, Blinker the Star emerged in the mid-1990s and only released one album of solid indie rock in the 2000s (Still in Rome, 2003). However, Blinker’s status and influence grew during his dormant period.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
This is one of the weirdest paragraphs I’ve ever had to write. Hedwig and the Angry Inch was a fictional band from a movie based on a stage play by Steven Trask and John Cameron Mitchell. The main character/frontman, Hedwig, is a gay, transgender East German rock singer who falls in love with a younger man (Tommy Gnosis), only to have the kid steal his songs and become a bigger star.
The soundtrack was recorded by John Cameron Mitchell (lead vocals), Stephen Trask, Miriam Shor, Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü), Ted Liscinski, Perry L. James, Alexis Fleisig, and Eli Janney.
Superdrag
They got lost in the mosh pit of bands with “super” in the name (Superchunk, Supergrass, Super Furry Animals, et. al.), but if you enjoy hard-hitting American power pop, here’s your jam.
Beulah
Frankly, sometimes I dig their brand of mid-fi indie pop and sometimes I don’t. The last time I felt this ambivalent about a band was Hootie and the Blowfish’s second album.
Tapes ‘n Tapes
There was a period in 2005–2006 when I couldn’t open a music publication without seeing a bit about Tapes ‘n Tapes, an experimental rock band from Minneapolis. They were the next big thing in alternative rock, and…suddenly, disappeared from the radar. I don’t know if my listening and reading habits changed, but I didn’t hear a peep about their 2008 sophomore album, Walk It Off.
Tomahawk
I like anything with Mike Patton on vocals. Duane Dennison (The Jesus Lizard) on guitar is a bonus.
Lightning Bolt
A punishing noise rock duo of drums and bass with a relentless attack on every note. This is geared toward fans of experimental rock with a masochistic streak.
Klaxons
This electronic indie dance punk band was, maybe still is, massive in the U.K., sort of an upgrade from the Happy Mondays.
BABYMETAL
You’re free to let your eyes do the heavy lifting, but Babymetal’s cartoon-pop-proto-metal (aka Kawaii metal) holds up under repeated listens. When I’m having a tough day, “Gimme Chocolate” is a guaranteed mood lifter.
The Mars Volta
When At the Drive-In split, the creative core of Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals) formed this extraterrestrial progressive post-hardcore math rock jazz fusion group. They released several albums that topped the mainstream charts (The Bedlam in Goliath went to #3 on the Billboard 200 in 2008), but their music doesn’t lend itself to modern rock radio. They were fairly easy to miss if you weren’t looking for ’em.
I consider them the next generation of King Crimson and the sort of band that reinvented itself every few albums. If bands had a “challenge rating” from 1–10, with a score of 1 for the Beatles and 10 for Japanese noise rock goblins, Boredoms, I’d give the Mars Volta a 5.3. Halfway between the Beatles and Boredoms.
Purple Wizard
A one-and-done outfit from Brooklyn with a sound borrowing heavily from rock n’ roll, R&B, ’60s soul, and girl groups. The original material is nice, but I love the unironic covers of The Dixie Cups, early Beatles, and Everly Brothers. Their lone eponymous album was released in 2005.
Russian Circles
I’ve heard more than anybody’s share of instrumental rock bands, but these Russian Circle cats have to be my favorite. If I were in an instrumental band, I’d want to sound like this.
The Von Bondies
The vibe on “C’mon C’mon” is undeniable, and the rest of the album is really good, if you like high-energy garage revival pop post-punk, and I do.
The New Pornographers
This Canadian indie rock band found reasonable success, but they basked in the glow of critical praise, and I don’t think that helped record sales.
Mates of State
The husband-and-wife team of Kori Gardner (vocals, keyboards) and Jason Hammel (vocals, drums) delivered bouncy indie rock with soaring co-lead vocals. Their debut album, My Solo Project (2000), is one of my favorite records of the era.
My band, Henry Miller Sextet, shared a practice space with Kori and Jason during their time in San Francisco.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
The 2005 debut album is a delightful lo-fi mix of Joy Division, Velvet Underground, and Talking Heads.
Jay Reatard
Endearing garage punk from a talented guy who tragically passed away at 29.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Probably more of a 1990s choice, but they released three interesting and noisy neo-psychedelic rock albums in the 2000s.
Animal Collective
This is what happens when kids grow up listening to Pet Sounds and Close to the Edge between episodes of The Ren & Stimpy Show.
The Mountain Goats
Main Mountain Goat, singer-songwriter John Darnielle, is considered one of the greatest lyricists in alternative rock.
TV On The Radio
As I wrote in Year of the Rat: Original Narrative Soundtrack, TV On The Radio’s Return to Cookie Mountain (2006) became a security blanket when I moved to Taipei, Taiwan.
Metric
I don’t know much about this Canadian indie rock band except they’re massive in Canada, and they’ve opened for everybody from the Rolling Stones to Arcade Fire. I stumbled across Fantasies (2009) and kinda fell in love with it, which is odd because I tend to run the other direction from synth-driven indie rock. There’s just enough guitar involved to keep my interest.
Doves
I don’t think most people have the slightest idea how hard it is to play drums and sing simultaneously, which is why I tend to cut Don Henley some slack. The drummer of Doves doesn’t sing lead vocals often, but he’s right there with the backing vocals on almost every cut.
Did you discover any new music? Find one of your favorites? Let us know in the comments!
2 Comments
“My argument stems from the ubiquity and universal accessibility of these tools that changed the face of music forever. In my estimation, once the Average Joe could make a record on his laptop, the dinosaurs of the analog world were doomed.” Why do you think negatively about music becoming more accessible for the common people? did you LIKE when people with money dictated what was played on the radio? I don’t understand how anyone could be against opening avenues for music.
Hi Brigid! Thanks for reading and leaving a comment. I hear you. But perhaps your comment conflates the accessibility to create music with the commodification and distribution of music. People with money continue to dictate what’s played on the radio. That hasn’t changed. My issue is with the “button-pushing” aspect of computer technology, where somebody can quite literally push a few buttons, create a “song”, and say, “Look! I did this!” No, you didn’t. Where’s the creativity? What’s the meaning? What if I started calling myself a chef when all I know how to cook is a frozen burrito in a microwave? That’s the difference between the analog and digital ages of music. Old school music is the burrito you get from your favorite taqueria in the Mission District, and modern music is the El Monterrey frozen burrito you zap in the microwave at home. I greatly prefer a burrito (music) that’s made by people who physically made the burrito from scratch (learned an instrument and expressed themselves organically). We live in a world of button-pushing, and I’m not having it.