E! Online
Originally rejected by more record labels than most current major acts, Linkin Park turned its rap-rockin' debut disc Hybrid Theory into 2001's top seller--while a slew of snobby suits wondered how it all happened. If Linkin had simply been looking for a cash-in with Meteora, the group might have succumbed to disposable pop entrapments, but instead the band elevates its artistic game. Songs like "Don't Stay" and "Somewhere I Belong" offer vastly more confident exchanges between vocalist Chester Bennington and rapper Mike Shinoda, while "Faint" hammers home high-powered rhymes over layers of strings and crisp hip-hop beats.
And through it all, the guys stay just as tight (translation: radio-ready) as ever, offering up tracks in near-perfect three-minute doses. Expect to see Meteora shoot straight for the stars.
