Album · Green Day
21st Century Breakdown by Green Day
21st Century Breakdown is an album by Green Day, released in 2009. 4 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 91 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “21 Guns”, on 34 lists with a best position of #3.
21st Century Breakdown, Green Day's eighth album, landed on Reprise on May 15, 2009, and it's the sound of a band that had tasted rock-opera glory with American Idiot and decided to go even bigger. Billie Joe Armstrong started on it in 2006 and had a pile of forty-five songs by late 2007; with Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool he finally hit the studio in 2008, and Butch Vig, the man behind Nevermind, produced.
It's another concept record, a sprawling attempt to make sense of an era of lies and manipulation, shot through with alienation and political fury. "Know Your Enemy" charges like a riot, "21 Guns" swells to stadium size, and "East Jesus Nowhere" snarls and stomps. It gave the band the best chart run of their career, number one in America and Britain, and took the Grammy for Best Rock Album. Fans have only warmed to it since.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from 21st Century Breakdown on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 Guns | 34 | #3 | – | 2009–2010 | |
| 2 | Know Your Enemy | 31 | #3 | – | 2009–2020 | |
| 3 | East Jesus Nowhere | 17 | #27 | – | 2009–2010 | |
| 4 | Last of the American Girls | 9 | #22 | – | 2009–2010 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.