Consistent. I don't consider it a classic or their best and haven't for years, but I'm surprised that 15 years later that all of it is still pretty good. A lot of early 2000s nu-metal is instantly corny or poorly done, but Hybrid Theory really doesn't have any real dips as far as quality goes. Runaway is a slight step down, and In The End gives me weird 'angry boy band' vibes, but I really am surprised at how well the whole album really is even this far removed from release.
Personal. Being a teenager, I can see how people of the generation in which the album was released could find this album really personal. SO MUCH ANGST. I personally don't relate to the album on a emotional level, but I do enjoy it. I probably relate to MTM the most.
If I were to describe the essence of HT in one word, it would have to be: revolutionary. Hybrid Theory was the album that sky-rocketed LP to success. It utilized a formula that seamlessly combined rock, hip-hop, electronic elements, and even sprinkled some pop. The result: it worked very well. Hybrid Theory can be seen as revolutionary because were it not for its worldwide success and widespread appeal, LP may have never gone on to establish such an incredible catalog of music that continues to evolve to this day. At the end of the day, HT may not have forever changed the way we look at music. What it did do was lay down a rock-solid foundation for a band that is still full of surprises and creative endeavors.
Linkin Park are relevant at all because of Hybrid Theory. But their later albums are the reason they remain relevant.
I don't think you can call Hybrid Theory "revolutionary" simply because the genre and all its elements existed for at least a decade prior to its release. For it to be revolutionary, it would've had to have done something no other album had done before, which isn't true. Bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit, and even Faith No More, to an extent, were first.
Dated. And that was before I joined the thread and saw countless other identical opinions. That said, Papercut still sounds fresh as fuck 15 years later and A Place For My Head is an all time Linkin Park classic.
Just how dated does HT really sound? I've listened to most of its songs many times and they have aged well while even sounding fresh at times. Even the guitar riffs don't sound all that dated, at least when compared to current hard rock bands that use similar riffs and structures.
The number of CDs sold proves nothing in relation to how overrated it is. In fact, it might even be used to further that point. I still say Thriller is MJ's most overrated album, and it's the best-selling album of all time. It's totally overrated because of its hit singles, just like Hybrid Theory. HT is a great, solid album, but really gets more praise than it deserves sometimes a lot of times.
I'm gonna get hate for this but Meteora sounds lightyears ahead of Hybrid Theory based purely on quality of sound. The album has some horrible lyrics and suffers from identity issues, but it sounds a helluva lot less dated in comparison.
I disagree. Meteora sounds horrible, inferior even, when compared to Hybrid Theory. The quality of sound, it's absolutely terrible. The compression on Meteora hurt it in a lot of places. I don't know if there are any sources out there for Meteora being a "loud" album, but it wouldn't surprise me if there were. If you ask me, Meteora was made to be loud, and that hurt the overall quality of the sound itself. Google "loudness war" if you want more information on that.