Some albums have a way of sticking around long after their original release dates, finding new listeners and giving longtime fans another reason to revisit the music. Sometimes, the years between a release and its latest chart appearance only make that staying power more interesting.
Two records released more than two decades ago are still making lots of noise on the charts. One sits at No. 2, while the other follows closely behind at No. 3 on Apple’s Hard Rock Albums chart. That’s nice company for albums that first arrived in 2000 and 2003.
Rock Band’s Early Albums Continue to Find Listeners
The band behind those two chart entries is Linkin Park, which formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. High school friends Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson and Rob Bourdon originally started the group under the name Xero. Joe Hahn, Dave Farrell and original vocalist Mark Wakefield later joined the lineup.
The group went through some important changes before becoming the band millions of fans would eventually know. After Wakefield departed in 1999, Chester Bennington joined as lead vocalist, and the group briefly used the name Hybrid Theory. In 2000, the musicians settled on Linkin Park, a play on Santa Monica’s Lincoln Park, just before releasing their breakthrough debut album.
That debut, Hybrid Theory, arrived on Oct. 24, 2000, and now sits at No. 2 on Apple’s Hard Rock Albums chart. Its follow-up, Meteora, released in 2003, isn’t far behind, holding the No. 3 position. It’s hard to deny the staying power of these two albums, and they certainly hold a unique place in this reporter’s heart.
‘Hybrid Theory’ and ‘Meteora’ Keep Their Chart Momentum
Having two albums occupy the second and third spots on a hard rock chart more than 20 years after their respective releases is quite a feat. It also gives listeners a reminder of just how much music from the early 2000s continues to find an audience.
For Linkin Park, these aren’t simply two old records sitting in the background of a successful career. They’re the albums that helped establish the band’s identity, with Hybrid Theory serving as its breakthrough debut and Meteora following in 2003.
The fact that both are still appearing so high on Apple’s Hard Rock Albums chart is a nice reminder that great records don’t necessarily lose their appeal as the years go by. Sometimes, listeners just aren’t ready to move on.
