Our Best Rock Albums Of 2002 list looks at a year in rock music that stood out much stronger than the previous year. In the shadow of the 9/11 attacks, many artists released some of the strongest albums of their careers. In the wake of tragedy, there is always a call for art to heal the pain and no one answered with as much compassion as Bruce Springsteen did with his album The Rising. 2002 also saw new albums from other legendary rock stars such as Robert Plant, Boston, Neil Young, David Bowie, Rush and George Harrison’s final studio album. 2002 saw the release of debut albums by Maroon 5, Avril Lavigne, Vanessa Carlton and Norah Jones who celebrated a Grammy Award winning album. It was the old guard meets the new guard as 2002 should be remembered as a very strong year in music.
# 50 – One Beat – Sleater-Kinney
# 49 – Be Not Nobody – Vanessa Carlton
# 48 – Highly Evolved – The Vines
# 47 – Steal This Album! – System Of A Down
# 46 – Castaways & Cutouts – The Decemberists
# 45 – The Second Stage Turbine Blade – Coheed and Cambria
# 44 – Hammered – Motorhead
# 43 – Strange Beautiful Music – Joe Satriani
# 42 – Hard Candy – Counting Crows
# 41 – Daybreaker – Beth Orton
# 40 – X – Def Leppard
# 39 – Corporate America – Boston
# 38 – The Naked Ride Home – Jackson Browne
# 37 – Wait for Me – Susan Tedeschi
# 36 – Testify – Phil Collins
# 35 – Busted Stuff – Dave Matthews Band
# 34 – Songs About Jane – Maroon 5
# 33 – In Absentia – Porcupine Tree
# 32 – Sharks – UFO
# 31 – Songs for the Deaf – Queens of the Stone Age
# 30 – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco
# 29 – 1919 Eternal – Black Label Society
# 28 – By The Way – Red Hot Chili Peppers
# 27 – In Violet Light – The Tragically Hip
# 26 – Scarlet’s Walk – Tori Amos
# 25 – Down the Road – Van Morrison
# 24 – My Ride’s Here – Warren Zevon
# 23 – Heathen – David Bowie
# 22 – Silver Lining – Bonnie Raitt
# 21 – Don’t Give Up on Me – Solomon Burke
# 20 – Are You Passionate? – Neil Young & Booker T. & the MGs
# 19 – Let Go – Avril Lavigne
# 18 – Under Rug Swept – Alanis Morissette
# 17 – Dreamland – Robert Plant
# 16 – American IV: The Man Comes Around – Johnny Cash
# 15 – Vapor Trails – Rush
# 14 – Alice – Tom Waits
# 13 – Not 4 Sale – Sammy Hagar
# 12 – When I Was Cruel – Elvis Costello
# 11 – Don’t Worry About Me – Joey Ramone
# 10 – C’mon, C’mon – Sheryl Crow
# 9 – Up – Peter Gabriel
# 8 – Brainwashed – George Harrison
# 7 – Riot Act – Pearl Jam
# 6 -The Last DJ – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
# 5 – Come Away With Me – Norah Jones
# 4 – Blood Money – Tom Waits
# 3 – One By One – Foo Fighters
# 2 -Audioslave – Audioslave
# 1 – The Rising – Bruce Springsteen
The response we all need after 9/11. Bruce Springsteen’s first album with the E Street Band was well worth the wait as the legendary artist delivered one of the finest albums of his career.
Feature Photo: ROY J BARON / Shutterstock.com
Updated April 24, 2025
Best Rock Albums Of 2002 article published on ClassicRockHistory.com© 2025
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