Linkin Park is an American rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California in 1996. The band was founded by singer and rapper Mike Shinoda and drummer Rob Bourdon. Since 2001, the band has been composed of Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, Joe Hahn, and Mark Wakefield. Linkin Park's first two albums were commercial failures; the band was dropped by its major-label contract and signed to Warner Bros
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Records in 1999. Though they received a co-sign from rock critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, the album failed to generate interest among mainstream audiences. Warner's support of the band waned as Shinoda became involved in a lawsuit against them for "misuse of intellectual property".
The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court and the band continued its career through 2003, achieving success with its third album, Meteora. In 2003, the band released a single from its fourth album, Minutes to Midnight, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in late 2003. Linkin Park has since released four more albums: Minutes to Midnight (2003), A Thousand Suns (2010), Living Things (2011), and The Hunting Party (2014).
In 2012, MTV ranked Linkin Park No. 10 on their list of Best You Ever Looked Based on Their Music Video Looks.