Mine was Crawling. I think I was in 5th grade when I first bought a copy of Hybrid Theory. I used to listen to it on my walkman all the time. HAHA. I didn't really get hardcore into LP until about 2004 though.
One Step Closer was the first Linkin Park song in early to mid summer 2000. Technically, the first song from the band was in the summer of 1999 when they were still known as Hybrid Theory. I was in a chat room for Korn, I think, and some guy sent me a link and was all "check out my band." I remembered hearing the song "Carousel." I didn't put two and two together that the band Hybrid Theory was Linkin Park until I started researching Linkin Park after One Step Closer came out. The guy said he was Mike, but, really, who knows if he was or not?
Papercut - A friend of mine sent the song to me via ICQ(Yes, ICQ!) and said "You have to check this shit out!". Went and bought Hybrid Theory the next day at a Wal-Mart.
"Crawling" when I was in the 7th Grade. Borrowed Hybrid Theory from a friend and was hooked from that point on.
One Step Closer, but I didnt know who wrote the song. So, In the End is my actual entry point into the fandom.
Haha, same here. Though I'm not sure if it's Numb, Faint, or In The End (I heard the three of them at almost the same time), but it was definitely a polyphonic ringtone. xD The year: 2003 or early 2004.
In the End and i wrote out the lyrics and memorized them** i loved Mikes part: the rap part. lol i was in 8th. grade year 2000 in the spring.
It was one of three: PoA, With You, or In the End. It's been so many years, I just can't remember. But it was definitely one of those three.
It might not have been Mike, but the story about being in KoRn chat rooms is accurate. The band used to go in chat rooms of popular rock bands, and spam their mp3.com links out to the world to get noticed.
I knew a guy who hung out and drunk with a pre-fame Linkin Park, supposedly Mike and Joe are the coolest out of all of them while Brad and Rob are boring. I first heard One Step Closer when MTV and MuchMusic where playing it nonstop.