25 Years Later, the Most Divisive Rock Band's History-Making Album Deserves Another Listen

By the mid-to-late 90s, grunge had been around long enough to inspire a new generation of guitar-driven bands. A wave of post-grunge acts including Creed, 3 Doors Down, Puddle of Mudd, and Fuel captured mass appeal with heavy guitar riffs, radio-friendly hooks and slick production. At the dawn of the new millennium, Hard rock was having a moment and scoring mainstream success, along with pop superstars of the era likeBritney Spears, NSYNC, Backstreet Boys and Christina Aguilera.