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21st Century Breakdown Image
Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 391 Ratings

  • Summary: The eighth studio album for the band was produced by Butch Vig.

Top Track

21 Guns
Do you know what's worth fighting for When it's not worth dying for? Does it take your breath away And you feel yourself suffocating? Does the pain... See the rest of the song lyrics
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 30
  2. Negative: 1 out of 30
  1. 21st Century Breakdown is even better, so masterful and confident it makes Idiot seem like a warm-up.
  2. Green Day took small steps out of its comfort zone on American Idiot, but Breakdown finds the band going bolder, mixing in elements of mariachi ('Peacemaker') and klezmer ('¡Viva La Gloria!'). Still, the band members never spend too much time away from their bread and butter: heavily melodic punk.
  3. It's a state of the union address, an apocalyptic protest album. It also sounds phenomenal.
  4. While the disc does get bogged down with a little too much force-feeding of the Christian and Gloria characters (just like Idiot's Jimmy and Whatshername), it's a safe bet that the listener will come out the other end having largely enjoyed the last 70 minutes and 18 tracks.
  5. 60
    Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tré Cool push Idiot's conceits even further on 21st Century Breakdown, a slick, class-obsessed, 70-minute, 18-song, three-act cycle that trades Bush-era indignation for Obama-era resignation.
  6. Such quality care is evident throughout most of Breakdown, and, as such, individual moments positively glisten, even if the widescreen view of Breakdown feels a bit muddled and confused, the whole actually being less than the sum of its parts.
  7. Mostly, the overkill of professionalism just makes me yearn for the early Green Day material I grew up with: sloppy, abrasive, and most importantly, aware of what they can and can't pull off.

See all 30 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 89 out of 111
  2. Negative: 9 out of 111
  1. Stefano
    Aug 29, 2009
    10
    Great album for one major's rock band in the world!!!!
  2. Nov 6, 2012
    10
    Why? Can some one explain to me why this album is considered bad? And don't give me "because its not as a good as American Idiot" or "justWhy? Can some one explain to me why this album is considered bad? And don't give me "because its not as a good as American Idiot" or "just because it is" crap that doesn't make sense! On its own merits, 21st Century Breakdown is a well produced, smart, and heavily re-playable album. As well, Green Day despite 5 years since American Idiot sound just as good if not better when it comes to playing the actual music. So for all of the people claiming its bad, go listen to a pretentious indie or dubstep album. I however am going to be listening to good music that takes talent to play thank you very much. Expand
  3. Jul 29, 2011
    10
    Waaayyyy better than American Idiot! The songs all have a very different sound to them (aside from 21st Century Breakdown and See the Light,Waaayyyy better than American Idiot! The songs all have a very different sound to them (aside from 21st Century Breakdown and See the Light, obviously); it feels like every song on here should be a hit single. The solos come in at a perfect time, and the lyrics are genius, although it feels like the album's subject of war and paranoia is a bit less relatable than the subjects of loneliness and boredom in Dookie. That one's still my favorite Green Day album, but, needless to say, this one's pretty dang good, too, just in different ways. Expand
  4. Jun 7, 2022
    9
    Definitely underrated, maybe not as good as American Idiot, but still provides good music and an entertaining experience
  5. Aug 27, 2020
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Um dos álbuns essenciais pra se começar a ouvir a banda e criar um gosto favorável pela mesma. Foi o 1º álbum que ouvi da banda e me apaixonei por grande parte das músicas.
    A minha favorita é sem dúvidas Last Night On Earth, que além de harmoniosa é a música mais linda que a banda compôs desde Good Riddance(Time of Your Life) do álbum Nimrod.
    Expand
  6. Aug 29, 2019
    7
    An American Idiot clone? Yes, I can agree with that. Bloated in places? Yes, definitely. But still a pretty good listen? Yes. The highs ofAn American Idiot clone? Yes, I can agree with that. Bloated in places? Yes, definitely. But still a pretty good listen? Yes. The highs of this album are really high, and I mean, on par with songs from the album’s predecessor. But the lows are just dreadful. Not to mention all the filler in the album. Also, the story of Christian and Gloria isn’t really all that interesting. Nimrod proved that an eighteen-song album could be done well by the trio, and this album just doesn’t show that as well. Still, it has a lot of great moments.
    Favourites: Restless Heart Syndrome, East Jesus Nowhere, Last Night on Earth, ¿Viva la Gloria?.
    Least Favourites: American Eulogy, Know Your Enemy, See the Light
    Expand
  7. MichaelC
    May 16, 2009
    0
    Green Day has lost complete focus and direction. This isn't even Green Day. They need to drop the make up, and the demographic of 12 Green Day has lost complete focus and direction. This isn't even Green Day. They need to drop the make up, and the demographic of 12 year old rich girls who are angry at their parents. Furthermore, rolling stone gave this a 90 and Merriweather post pavilion only got a 70 from them? Total faith lost in rolling stone. Collapse

See all 111 User Reviews