Album of the Day

Linkin Park had performed as HYBRID THEORY before using the name as the title for their debut, and the phrase is an apt description of the SoCal quintet's bracing mix of rap and metal. Over driving riffs and rhythms, Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda's tag-team vocals reflected a millennial anxiety that millions identified with, and the album became a huge hit, reaching Diamond sales status on the strength of singles “One Step Closer,” “Papercut,” “Crawling” (a Best Hard Rock Performance Grammy winner)  and Top Ten “In the End.” In addition to his rapping and instrumental work, Shinoda helped create the cover art for HYBRID THEORY, and we'll give the set another look and listen in honor of his birthday.