Linkin Park is an American rock (rock music) band from Agoura Hills (Agoura Hills, California), California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond (RIAA certification#List of certifications) by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) in 2005 and multi-platinum (Music recording sales certification) in several other countries. Its following studio album, Meteora (Meteora (album)), continued the bands success, topping the Billboard 200?s album charts in 2003, and was followed by extensive touring and charity work around the world. In 2003, MTV2 named Linkin Park the sixth greatest band of the music video era and the third best of the new millennium behind Oasis (Oasis (band)) and Coldplay.

Having adapted the nu metal and rap metal genres to a radio-friendly yet densely-layered style in Hybrid Theory and Meteora, the band explored other genres in their next studio album, Minutes to Midnight (Minutes to Midnight (album)), which was released in 2007. The album topped the Billboard charts and had the third best debut week of any album that year. The band has collaborated with several other artists, most notably with rapper Jay-Z in their mashup (Mashup (music)) album Collision Course (Collision Course (album)), and many others on Reanimation. Linkin Park has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and won two Grammy Awards.