The early 2000s were a pivotal year for the world in a lot of ways. The internet was growing, technology was becoming more obtainable for ordinary people, communication was getting easier, social media started to take off with Myspace and Facebook, and most of all it was a big move in the way of music.
Some of the best music comes from this era and in my opinion, is extremely hard to top. Because this was such an amazing time in music, some albums didn’t get the credit they deserved.
Here are some albums that got lost and are some of the most underrated albums of each year in the decade. Maybe these will even give you suggestions on what to listen to this week.
The most underrated albums from the 2000s
2000
Released in 2000, Perhaps, I Suppose is the first album released by the band Rufio. First, they have one of the coolest band names ever. I loved everything about this band.
Although they had a little bit of success with the song "Angel Above Me" off the album, neither the band nor the album got near the attention it deserved or that much at all outside a niche group of kids or listeners. That's why I give this one the most underrated album of this year—the guitars, man, those guitars.
The opening track guitar riff is incredible, and then the drums kick in, going hard. The guitars continue to wail, never stopping, but not the same throughout the whole thing either. They waste no time showing off each band member's talent. However, the next track gets the bass player rolling, of course, joined right after by another great riff in "Still," which is maybe my favorite track off the album.
The songwriting is so solid throughout as well. This album is front-to-back unskippable, but some other notable songs are "She Cries," "Slow Dance," and "Save the World." This album is one of the best. Nearly 24 years later, it's not too late to give it the recognition it deserves.
Most underrated album of 2001
It's weird to think I have an album by Yellowcard on here. Still, it most certainly falls into the underrated category. The album One for the Kids, released on April 3, 2001, was Yellowcard's third studio album, but it was the most underrated of all their releases.
This is the album the band found its sound. How to write great songs and do something no one in the genre would do: play the violin on a pop-punk record. The next album would launch this band into another world but would leave this one virtually undiscovered then. It's another album that goes front to back without any song skips.
Right out the gate, we've got the guitar riffing and catchy melody of "Starstruck." The middle is jam-packed with jams, including some of my favorites, "Sureshot," "Big Apple Heartbreak," and "October Nights," as the end of the album slows it down with a beautiful acoustic song called "Rough Draft."
With a band like this that blew up after the next release and the time we live in, where access to music is so easy, it may be getting some attention now. A listener can follow down the list of songs and get to one on the album, and maybe they look at it in full, but for the time I'm sticking with this as being underrated.
Most under-loved album of 2002
2002 was an excellent year for music. It's easy to get lost in the shuffle this year with massive releases. One of those lost in the mix was On a Wire by The Get Up Kids. It's a little more mellow than a few of their previous releases, but it still creates a similar sound.
This album was important as a gap closer to their most well-known album, Something to Write Home About, and their follow-up to this one, Guilt Show. The album contains some of their best songs. A proper hardcore might know about this, but the average person doesn't realize these songs and this album exist.
Some great songs on here are "Overdue," "High as the Moon," Walking on a Wire," "Campfire Kansas," and closes out with a pretty, mellow song, "Hannah Hold On." The Get Up Kids have been at it for nearly 30 years, having started in 1995, and have managed to keep going almost the whole time without significant breaks.
The Kansas City band continues to release albums, play shows, and create great music. Still, this album right here is the most underrated album of their catalog and the year 2002.
Most underrated record of 2003
One of the most game-changing, emotional, and all-around perfect albums is 2003's Stories and Alibis by Matchbook Romance. I remember hearing that album for the first time, and I was quickly taken away. They just come out swinging right away with the neat drum beat and that little guitar hammer, and then it just goes to rocking out time on the first actual track, “Your Stories, My Alibis.”
I immediately just thought, "There is nothing like this." The emotion in this album is infectious and connecting. Although all these go front-to-back unskippable, this one is loaded even more, if possible.
Some of my favorite songs include the heavy-hitting emotional song “Promise,” a softer acoustic song, “Tiger Lilly,” a speed back up song, “She’ll Never Understand,” and a closing track that is perfectly fitting for the album closer, “The Greatest Fall of All Time.” This band went on to produce another album before breaking up in 2007. They only got back together for some reunion shows and called it quits in 2012.
Occasionally, you can experience a piece of music that hits you and changes everything. You can point to a pivotal part in your life that had a significant impact. This release is one of those for me.
More underrated album of 2004
The year is 2004. I just returned from the mall and opened my new AMP magazine to find the sampler to throw in my CD player. This is where I would find the band Race the Sun with their song “To Icarus with All Sincerity.” I immediately fell in love with this unknown band and had to look for the full-length.
It would be the only one they released, but it was such a good one. The Rest of Our Lives is Tonight was released, and like the song I heard, this album was solid. I loved the unique vocals, the fast guitars, and the music all around. Neither this band nor their album ever really got any light, making it the most underrated album of this year.
Some notable songs from this release are the opening track “Solo Tonight,” “Paperweights and Coffee Stains,” and “I Hear the Book Was Better.” Solid from front to back, these guys were on to something, but unfortunately, we’ll never get to see it because the band has been disbanded since 2006.
Ridiculously underrated album from 2005
2005 brought an incredible album, The Rocking Chair Years, from the New Jersey band Day at the Fair. This album was overshadowed by the demise of Drive-Thru Records and the countless amazing bands that came through there, but the music style times were also shifting. Bands like Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein, and other Victory Records bands were breaking into the stream.
This album, though, stands the time and still holds up nearly 20 years later. The band would call an indefinite hiatus after the release and wouldn't release anything further until 2017. The mix this album came with has electric guitar-driven songs but a soft, mellow side to it as a whole and on many of the songs.
The collection of songs holds one of my favorite songs from the time: "This is Why We Don't Have Nice Things". Other notable songs from this release on the faster side are "Eastern Homes and Western Hearts" and "And My Name's Dignan, So What?". The album's closer brings it back to mellow with the beautiful song "Monday Morning." It's a shame this one wasn't more discovered.
Underrated album of 2006
In a small venue in Poplar Bluff, MO, the band that had come all the way from North Carolina, Rookie of the Year, would absolutely blow my mind with their set. The band was touring on their released album, The Goodnight Moon. I instantly felt the difference in this music: the two electric guitars, a bass player, a drummer, and the lead singer playing the acoustic guitar.
It was similar to Day at the Fair that I previously mentioned. However, I don’t even know if they knew each other; the style was similar but more emotional singing, more in-depth use of the acoustic and drawn-out guitar solos that set the tone of this album to be completely different than anything else.
The band would find mainstream success on their follow-up, a more pop-driven album that would be released a few years later. Still, this one would live on, and I consider this one of the most underrated albums not only of this period but one of the most underrated albums of any.
Some notable songs on here include “Poison Like Your Own,” “Liars and Battlelines,” and my favorite, “The Blue Roses.” There are so many good songs on this album. The band has made a resurgence and has new music launching any time soon.
Most underrated album of 2007
2007's underrated album hits close to home, literally. The St. Louis area band So They Say was one of my heroes in high school. Coming off a big break album, Antidote for Irony, So They Say released Life in Surveillance on October 9, 2007. This wasn't received as well as expected, and I don't know if that's what happened here, but the band would split in different musical directions following the release.
I can't say that it tops the previous release, but this album was terrific as well, and I have to give it the most underrated of the year. Some notable songs on this album are "Wake Me Up," "Close Range," and "Just Forget My Name." The approach of the dual vocals, the guitar leads and riffs, every piece that goes into making music, these guys were always top-notch. It's a shame that we couldn't get more of this. Guys, if you're reading this, another one?
Underrated album of 2008
Another Drive-Thru/Rushmore Records band that just never got what they deserved or the recognition. I recently found the singer on TikTok doing covers and different videos. As for the rest of the band, I don't know, but I wish it were making music.
The Mile After, another band from North Carolina, dropped their full-length album titled Armada on June 10, 2008. I found this band randomly on Pure Volume years earlier before they released this, and by chance, I walked into a venue where they were playing in St. Louis one time. That was the only time I got to see them, but the three-part harmonies were something else to see live.
I loved this release with the vocals and the piano. It was pop punk, but it was pretty pop punk. The whole album is catchy, well-produced, and well-put-together; why it isn't in most people's record cabinets or even saved music baffles me. The harmonies are done so well here, especially in the song "The Only One." Some other notable songs are "Piano Song," "Worst Offender," and "Money Is Not A Thing." I don't know what happened to the band or why they and the album got the recognition they both deserved, but maybe someone can find them now and enjoy them.
Incredible underrated album of 2009
The first time I heard Cady Groves sing, I almost stopped in my tracks. It was one of the most beautiful voices I had heard. The sweetness to it, with the little bit of twang she added, was just perfect.
My wife on Myspace came across this girl promoting her release. This is a 5 track EP called A Month of Sundays. “A Town Like This,” “Last Straw,” “Refrain,” “Phoenix,” and “You’d Say” make up the full release. The songs were acoustically driven but carried by her voice and the feelings she pours into these songs.
You can feel how she felt. She details a glimpse of her heartache and lostness in these five songs, and even though it’s not a full length, this deserves so much more recognition than she could ever get for it.
She would go on to release a few more albums and EPs, a few pop-driven songs, and, lastly, a more country-style release. Tragically, at the age of 30 years old, the world lost a beautiful voice and, from what those who knew her say, a beautiful person inside and out. I always felt like she should’ve been a giant star on every billboard and every radio station, and sadly, the music never broke through the way it should’ve been, and as tragic as that was before.