Matchbox Twenty Exile On Mainstream

Upon the release of their debut album, "Yourself or Someone Like You", in fall 1996, Matchbox Twenty was pigeonholed as one of the legions of post-grunge guitar bands that roamed the American pop scene in the middle of that decade. At no time did the record top the charts, but it was always around, a staple of modern rock, adult alternative, and Top 40 radio alike. Matchbox Twenty was omnipresent because they managed to blend the structure and sentiment of '70s arena rock with '90s hard rock, thereby winning a large audience by seeming simultaneously classicist and modern. They were a little more classicist than modern, but that's the reason why they became America's most popular rock band of the late '90s – even if nobody quite realized they had achieved that status. "The Matchbox Twenty Collection" is the full band's discography released as digital box set in 2013.