Green Day earns biggest rock album title with THIS project

Green Day just came in number one with their album, American Idiot in the Top 40 biggest rock and metal studio albums released in the UK this century as the Official Charts celebrates National Album Day 2025,

Released in 2004, the masterpiece gained more than 2.6 million UK chart units through combined sales and streams.

The album contains Top 10 hit tracks like American Idiot and Wake Me Up When September Ends, a fiery reaction to the post-9/11 political climate in the US.

As the Official Charts Chief Executive Martin Talbot notes, its message of generational disillusionment and discontent remains strikingly relevant today, even after two decades.

Just behind Green Day, Linkin Park’s landmark debut, [Hybrid Theory], lands at Number 2 with over 2 million chart units, marking a defining moment in the rise of nu-metal.

The highest-placed British release is The Darkness’ glam-rock revival debut, Permission to Land (1.45 million units), which takes the Number 3 spot. 

Evanescence’s gothic genre Fallen follows closely behind as it lands at Number 4. And last but not the least at Top 5 is Muse’s expansive 2006 album, Black Holes & Revelations.

The list displays a rather strong steadfast power from several heavy hitters. Muse and Foo Fighters each have claimed four albums in the Top 40, while Nickelback places three.

Meanwhile, My Chemical Romance, whose The Black Parade is placed at the Number 6 spot are heading out on a UK tour in 2026 to celebrate the album's 20th anniversary, highlighting the mega popularity of these 21st-century rock giants.