3 Doors Down

Able to leap tall radio charts with a single song, these coastal Mississippians unleashed crunch-stomper "Kryptonite" to much success, making good on the same heavy-lite formula that made Bush and Stone Temple Pilots the head-bangingest girlfriend-rock on the radio. The band kept fans happy with energetic live shows until the 2002 followup Away From the Sun birthed the lesser hit "When I'm Gone." (LAURA SINAGRA)