Here are 21 essential nu-metal albums you should own on vinyl.
As with many popular music genres, determining which artists to include can be a challenging task.
There are the obvious ones, like Korn and Limp Bizkit, whose sound never seemed to stray too far from where they were when the popularity of nu-metal first took hold in the ’90s. With each album, both of these nu-metal pioneers (?) mostly stayed true to form.
READ MORE: 11 Essential ’90s Metal Albums You Should Own on Vinyl
Then, there were the names in nu-metal from around that same time that eventually found ways to evolve within their music. Deftones have kept a wall of guitars in most of their albums while also using it as a canvas for adding textures and layers to create something fresh.
Were they ever nu-metal to begin with or did nu-metal evolve with them?
There are metal bands like Slipknot and Disturbed that found success a short time after the ’90s boom that birthed other acts already mentioned in this article. How much of their rise can be credited to the heyday of nu-metal?
Interest in nu-metal has even seen a resurgence in recent years. Both Korn and Limp Bizkit have been festival headliners in recent years. Deftones have been selling out arenas more than 30 years after the release of their debut album.
If you haven’t caught the latest wave of nu-metal popularity, here are 21 essential albums to help get you ready.
Rage Against the Machine, Rage Against the Machine (1992)
rage against the machine rage against the machine
Key tracks: “Killing In the Name,” “Wake Up,” “Know Your Enemy”
Korn, Korn (1994)
Key tracks: “Blind,” “Shoots and Ladders,” “Clown”
Deftones, Adrenaline (1995)
Deftones, ‘Adrenaline’ (1995)
Key tracks: “7 Words,” “Bored,” “Engine No. 9”
Korn, Life is Peachy (1996)
korn life is peachy
Key tracks: “A.D.I.D.A.S,” “Good God,” “Swallow”
Rage Against the Machine, Evil Empire (1996)
rage against the machine evil empire
Key tracks: “Bulls On Parade,” “People of the Sun,” “Down Rodeo”
Deftones, Around the Fur (1997)
Key tracks: “My Own Summer (Shove It),” “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away),” “Mascara”
Korn, Follow the Leader (1998)
Korn, ‘Follow the Leader’ (1998)
Key tracks: “Freak On a Leash,” “Got the Life,” “All in the Family”
System of a Down, System of a Down (1998)
System of a Down, System of a Down’ (1998)
Key tracks: “Sugar,” “Spiders,” “Suite-Pee”
Incubus, Make Yourself (1999)
Epic / Immortal
Key tracks: “Stellar,” “Drive,” “Pardon Me”
Kittie, Spit (1999)
Key tracks: “Brackish,” “Spit,” “Charlotte”
Limp Bizkit, Significant Other (1999)
Flip/Interscope
Key tracks: “Break Stuff,” “Nookie,” “N2 Gether Now,”
Slipknot, Slipknot (1999)
slipknot, slipknot self-titled
Key tracks: “Wait and Bleed,” “Spit It Out,” “Eyeless”
Deftones, White Pony (2000)
Deftones ‘White Pony’ album cover
Key tracks: “Change (In the House of Flies), “Digital Bath,” “Passenger”
Disturbed, The Sickness (2000)
Reprise Records
Key tracks: “Down With the Sickness,” “Stupify,” “Voices”
Limp Bizkit, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water (2000)
limp bizkit chocolate starfish and the hot dog flavored water
Key tracks: “Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle),” “My Way,” “My Generation”
Linkin Park, Hybrid Theory (2000)
linkin park hybrid theory
Key tracks: “In the End,””One Step Closer,” “Crawling”
Papa Roach, Infest (2000)
papa roach, infest
Key tracks: “Last Resort,””Between Angels and Insects,” “Blood Brothers”
Slipknot, Iowa (2001)
Key tracks: “People = Shit,” “Left Behind,” “The Heretic Anthem”
System of a Down, Toxicity (2001)
toxicity album art
Key tracks: “Chop Suey!,” “Toxicity,” “Arials”
Evanescence, Fallen (2003)
Wind-Up Records
Key tracks: “Bring Me To Life,” “Going Under,” “My Immortal”
Linkin Park, Meteora (2003)
Key tracks: “Numb,” “Faint,” “Somewhere I Belong”
Disturbed, Ten Thousand Fists (2005)
Key tracks: “Stricken,” “Land of Confusion,” “Ten Thousand Fists”
Wondering what your favorite nu-metal stars of the late ’90s and early 2000s look like today? You’re probably not. But if you are, you should keep scrolling and look at a bunch of “then and now” photos of nu-metal bands.
20 Big Late ’90s/Early 2000s Nu-Metal Stars Then + Now
Gallery Credit: Rob Carroll