3 Doors Down

How do you top a single as massive on the crossover market as "Kryptonite"? After all, it was easily one of the most memorable modern rock tracks of the new millennium, thanks to 3 Doors Down's effortless blend of gently strummed guitars and grunge-schooled soft/loud dynamics. "Loser" was a good start, drawing listeners in with chainsaw riffs and melodies meant for humming just minutes later. And then there were the songs that helped the band's second album sell four million copies in the U.S.: the string-soaked and solemn "Here Without You," the pensive, mid-tempo blues of "When I'm Gone," and the extra-crunchy chords of "The Road I'm On."

In other words, 3 Doors Down quickly proved they weren't going anywhere after their chart-crashing debut. Our Next Steps pulls the finest selections from the band's four full-lengths and a handful of EPs.

Thanks to the raw power of songs like "Live For Today," "Not Enough," and "That Smell," steamy synths and wistful, mildly psychedelic riffs aren't the first thing you'd probably expect to hear on a 3 Doors Down album. Yet here they are, carrying the wide-open spaces of "She Don't Want the World." But that's the thing about these Southern boys — they manage to surprise their fans with every release, from slight Skynyrd nods (the country-fried "Father's Son") to post-alt-rock anthems that seem hell-bent on conquering nothing but the biggest arenas ("The Real Life," "Behind Those Eyes," "Changes").

Sparking your career with three consecutive platinum-plus albums is one thing, but 3 Doors Down did so beginning in the tiny, laid-back confines of their Deep South hometown, Escatawpa, Mississippi. In other words, they've earned every ounce of their success, including the more than 15 million albums they've sold since 2000's The Better Life. How do they do it? Easy: Instead of following a shred-first-and-ask-questions-later formula, 3 Doors Down latches painfully honest lyrics onto a staggering grasp of hooks and harmonies. Remember that Superman song? Good, because 3 Doors Down wrote it and a hefty stack of other brain-burrowing pop-rock favorites, from the rugged grooves of "It's Not My Time" to the Armed Forces anthem, "Citizen/Soldier."