Soundgarden

Soundgarden is back! Click here for the website.

And the top act of the decade is...

The Dave Matthews Band. Yep.

According to Pollstar, the guys grossed nearly $530 million over the last decade, beating out the Rolling Stones, U2 and Madonna. Congrats, guys, on being the top act of the 2000s.

Here's a list of the top 10 touring artists of the decade (click here for the full story):

1. Dave Matthews Band

2. Celine Dion

3. Kenny Chesney

4. Bruce Springsteen

5. The Rolling Stones
6. U2
7. Madonna

8. Eagles

9. Elton John

10. Jimmy Buffett

Top concerts of 2009

Going to concerts is like paradise to me.

And a lot of other people seem to feel the same. According to Pollstar, the concert business had an up year, and the number of tickets sold in 2009 increased over 2008. Sweeeet!

Here's Pollstar's Top 10 Concerts for 2009 (click here for the Top 50):

1. U2

2. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

3. Elton John / Billy Joel

4. Britney Spears

5. AC/DC

6. Kenny Chesney

7. Jonas Brothers

8. Dave Matthews Band

9. Fleetwood Mac

10. Metallica

Other notables: Nickelback (No. 11), Coldplay (19), No Doubt (24), Motely Crue (39) and Kings of Leon (43).

Avenged Sevenfold drummer found dead

By now you probably know that Avenged Sevenfold drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan was found dead in his southern California home on Monday. My heart goes out to his family and friends. Please keep them in your prayers. More info: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34617808/ns/entertainment-music/

Bands to look out for in 2010

Just for kicks, here are a few new-ish bands to look out for in 2010:

Who: Shaman's Harvest

Song: "Dragonfly"

Sound: Straight-ahead hard rock.

Who: Them Crooked Vultures

Song: "New Fang"

Sound: Dave Grohl + Josh Homme + John Paul Jones = yay

Who: Janus

Song: "Eyesore"

Sound: Epic, melodic alternative/neo-prog.

Linkin Park, Green Day, Seether, Killswitch Engage winners in the 2000s

Rock music of the 2000s: A look back

By Anne Erickson (Originally published in NOISE)

Most any music fan would attest to the fact that while the '90s were all about grunge, hip-hop pretty much dominated the '00s. Still, a plethora of rock genres gained fans in the past decade. Grrr!!

Post-grunge proved popular with the mainstream, as Creed, 3 Doors Down, Seether, Nickelback and the Foo Fighters owned rock airwaves. Post-hardcore bands like Silverstein and Senses Fail won the hearts of young, exuberant music fans, while British Invasion groups Muse, Coldplay and Radiohead hit it big with highbrow listeners.

Metal-core found its way to the masses with groups like Avenged Sevenfold, Killswitch Engage and All that Remains. Hardcore punk from A.F.I. and Rise Against flourished. Pop-punkers Green Day, Blink-182, Jimmy Eat World and Weezer stayed influential throughout the decade, while nu-metal, alternative metal and rap-rock came on strong early with Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Evanescence and Papa Roach.

Emo, no doubt, became massive, via Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance, as did New Wave/synthpop from the Killers, Franz Ferdinand and MGMT. Indie and garage rock broke through the major-label cloud with Kings of Leon, Against Me and Death Cab for Cutie.

And what was the best-selling rock album of the decade? Creed's "Human Clay."

Fave album of the 2000s

The 2000s brought many awe-inspiring albums. Here's my favorite. Surprised? Didn't think so.

• Album pick: "Sing the Sorrow," by A.F.I., 2003

• Why: I'll never forget the first time I heard this album. I felt thrust into an alternative reality and I fell in love. "Sing the Sorrow" marked A.F.I.'s transition from indie record label Nitro to the major-label fanfare of DreamWorks, but the band stuck with their punk-hardcore roots, all the while evolving into a darker, Goth-punk sound. Producers Butch Vig (Nirvana, the Smashing Pumpkins) and Jerry Finn (Rancid, Green Day) surely had something to do with that. Theatrical. Meaningful. Beautiful.