If you’re anything like me, you love a good throwback playlist.
However, when I heard that these albums were actually 20 years old, I only slightly felt like a dinosaur. The next time you’re rocking out to your favorite hits – maybe check out the year they came out to feel just like me! Or don’t and just check these ones out.
1) All We Know Is Falling – Paramore
Wild right? This is actually the iconic pop-punk bands debut album, so for it being 20 we can’t complain too much. Well, others can because this album is highly subjective to most fans. It’s either wildly loved, or hated, but truly I think it’s Paramore in their rawest form. It really brings you back to the days of middle school belting out their ballads in your bedroom (or reposting them on Tumblr.)
2) From Under The Cork Tree – Fall Out Boy
This is the second studio album by Fall Out Boy, but easily the most recognizable. Not only was it their first ever top ten charting album, it had the songs ‘Dance Dance’ and ‘Sugar We’re Going Down’ – which were easily some of their most iconic (or overplayed) works. Pete Wentz made this album with all of his blood, sweat, and tears – and it paid off due to the outstanding commercial success it had. The impact this album left on fans still resonates, with lyrics that still hit hard today.
3) All The Right Reasons – Nickelback
You have 3..2..1… okay we get it you hate Nickelback. Or you don’t because you’re not a LIAR. We get that it can be cringe to think about from time to time, but Chad and his crew really redefined a genre at the time. To be fair, they weren’t hated for being bad, they were hated for being inescapable at the time (just like Creed!) This album in particular though really had banger after banger. ‘Far Away’? ‘Rockstar’? The ever so meme-able ‘Photograph’? Admit it, you’re going to listen to the Spotify link above.
4) Some Hearts – Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood hit the ground running in 2005 with her debut album after an American Idol win against Bo Bice, and was the second woman to win since the the iconic Kelly Clarkson took it home in season one. This album was the mother of ‘Before He Cheats’ and ‘Jesus Take The Wheel’ which when you think about that now, is such a beautiful parallel of Christianity and being so angry you key a man’s car. Regardless, to this day she’s an artist loved by some, but not by all and that really does sum up American Idol to a tee so? Maybe it’s just fate.
5) Move Along – The All American Rejects
Moving along from the subject of one American Idol to the next, is none other than Move Along by The All American Rejects. This is their second album, but one that spawned a massive uprising in 2025 because of their guerilla marketing tactic – house party tours featuring live performances by them, celebrating 20 years of this incredible album. ‘Dirty Little Secret’ was a decade defining hit, that people still use today to talk about their fling, ‘It Ends Tonight’ still makes me cry. This is a pop-punk album that lingered, because their next album didn’t hit airwaves until 2008…so be grateful ‘Gives You Hell’ was such a good song!
6) A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out – Panic! At The Disco
Another debut album, another band you wish could just pull themselves together…or at least just Brendan. Ryan Ross was at his prime as a songwriter, and I’ve grown to like it more over time. The cabaret aesthetic was like no other being most ambitious albums from that time as well, with genuinely no skips. The record would go on to reach four-time platinum status, and an ever so fame-crazed band, looking to make their next hit (ala Pretty Odd.) How will Brendan celebrate 20 years? Of course, by playing it in its entirety at When We Were Young Fest 2025 in their hometown of Las Vegas – without the original bandmates.
7) Mezmerize – System of a Down
Upon release, this heavy metal album was an instant success – which was saying a lot considering it outsold the iconic Toxicity by 200,000 units. This was the first born of a double album sequence, with Hypnotize hitting shelves just six months later. With a dash of political scrutiny, and vocals like no other System of a Down is one of the few bands that can create popular music that’s both relevant and great. The lyrics are tongue-in-cheek, but that’s really what makes them stand out, because they sound good doing it. To this day, there isn’t a rock band that has hit the mark like them.
8) Monkey Business – The Black Eyed Peas
How can one album have so many good songs back to back you might ask? Well, The Black Eyed Peas delivered. ‘Pump It’ to ‘Don’t Phunk with My Heart’ back to back? We don’t get albums like this in 2025. ‘My Style’ is still that bop, and Justin Timberlake proves to be incapable of missing on his collaborations. This sold over nine million copies worldwide, and debuted at No.2 on Billboard 200 – solidifying the fact Fergie really did make the band better. The group had planned a 2025 Las Vegas residency but announced in January that their shows at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino’s PH Live were cancelled.
9) How To Save A Life – The Fray
Before you roll your eyes, yes, The Fray was everywhere in 2005, and not just because of one song. This debut album was pure emotional piano-rock energy from start to finish. ‘Over My Head (Cable Car)’ gave us one of the most quietly devastating choruses of the decade, and ‘Look After You’ still makes people cry in the car if they’re not careful. Sure, the title track became the unofficial soundtrack to every tearful TV montage in existence (Grey’s Anatomy, Scrubs, One Tree Hill, take your pick), but the rest of the album had depth, heart, and a kind of melancholy sincerity that’s hard to fake. It’s the kind of record that made you want to journal about feelings you didn’t even have yet and honestly, 20 years later, it still hits just as hard.
10) X&Y – Coldplay
X&Y was 2005 Chris Martin at peak earnestness, the kind of album that made you believe staring at the night sky could solve all your problems. It was their third studio album, but it felt huge, both sonically and commercially, becoming the best-selling album of the year worldwide. ‘Speed of Sound’ was basically Clocks 2.0, ‘Fix You’ still has the power to emotionally sucker-punch you in the ribs, and ‘Talk’ proved that you can sample Kraftwerk and still make something that belongs in a rom-com trailer. Love them or not, Coldplay locked in their stadium-anthem status here, and 20 years later, it’s still the soundtrack to both graduation slideshows and existential crises.