The late ’90s and early 2000s were a transformative time for rock music , and a lot of that was based around what was happening in the world. Y2K was looming, Napster changed how music was consumed (for better or for worse) and there was a sense of angst and anger at the people in charge.

And while there was a middle-class comfort economically, an underlying rage built up behind the house and white picket fence. No genre tapped into that angst like nu-metal, which rose to prominence during this time and captured the youth mentality perfectly.

Backwards ballcaps, soul patches, oversized JNCO jeans with wallet chains and screaming your head off for the world to hear were the name of the game, and the genre had a death grip on the world at large for years.

Nu-metal’s impact is still felt to this day, as a lot of the bands and songs on this list have stood the test of time and continue to fill arenas and stadiums.

We have compiled the top nu-metal songs of all time—the ones that perfectly define the genre…