The Strokes arrived at exactly the right moment. In a landscape dominated by nu-metal and pop-punk, Julian Casablancas's detached vocals and the interlocking guitars of Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr. offered something that sounded effortlessly cool: garage rock filtered through the Velvet Underground and Television.
Is This It was hailed as a generational statement. Their influence on the 2000s guitar rock revival was immediate and enormous.
Key Albums
The album that reignited guitar rock for a generation. Every track is a hook.
More of the same done just as well. '12:51' and 'Reptilia.'
A mature return to form that earned them their first Grammy.
Why They Matter
The Strokes single-handedly made guitar rock cool again in the early 2000s and launched the garage-rock revival.