Coldplay

Indeed Coldplay's sound — dulcet, largely mid-tempo, melodic, and very dramatic — bore plenty of similarity to mid-1990s Radiohead. Indeed, when Coldplay issued its debut, Parachutes (Number 51, 2000), the success of the album's easeful sound was widely chalked up to the group's having stepped into the breach Radiohead had left with the release of the experimental Kid A. But Coldplay's penchant for melodic hooks and ability to pull heartstrings proved them no flash in the pan as they became one of the most commercially successful acts of the new millennium.

Coldplay formed at the University College of London in 1998 by guitarists Chris Martin, a pianist from childhood and also a singer, and Jon Buckland; they were later joined by drummer Will Champion and bassist Guy Berryman. (Tim Rice-Oxley was asked to join on keyboards, but was too busy with his own group, Keane.) They played their first shows as "the Coldplay," and in 1998 self-issued an EP, Safety; the following year, U.K. indie Fierce Panda released the Brothers and Sisters EP, the group performed its first sessions for the BBC Radio 1 presenter Steve Lamacq, played Glastonbury, and signed to Parlophone.

Though Parachutes' lead single, "Shiver," didn't make much impact, the follow-up, "Yellow" (Number 48, 2001), was omnipresent on radio and one of the first power-ballad hits of the new decade. The group's follow-up, A Rush of Blood to the Head (Number 5, 2002), consolidated Coldplay's position as the go-to band for melodically sturdy guitar-rock weepers, as it spun off a fistful of big hits: "In My Place" (Number 17 Modern Rock, 2002); "The Scientist" (Number 18 Modern Rock, 2003); the piano-driven "Clocks" (Number 29, 2003), which won the 2004 Grammy Award for Record of the Year; and "God Put a Smile on Your Face."

In Rush's wake, Martin became an outspoken advocate of fair trade (he appeared with the phrase "Make Trade Fair" written on his hand on a magazine cover) and spoke in favor of John Kerry's presidential bid, though Martin doesn't have an American vote. (His wife, the Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, does.) The band gives ten percent of its profits to charity.

Those profits went way up in 2005, when Coldplay released its third album, X & Y, which went straight to Number One in 22 countries, including the U.S. and U.K. Despite critical pans (including a high-profile drubbing in the New York Times), the album spun off the radio tracks "Speed of Sound" (Number Eight, 2005), "Fix You" (Number 59, 2005), "Talk" (Number 86, 2006), and "The Hardest Part" (Number 37 Adult Contemporary, 2006). Martin became a tabloid fixture thanks to his marriage, but his appeal, and his band's, remained relatively down to earth.

On 2008's Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends (Number One, Top 200) Coldplay's sound became more overtly experimental and political as the band worked with boundary-pushing producers like Brian Eno who helped bring the band both critical and commercial acclaim.