The best rock albums are able to concisely capture what it feels like to live in a particular culture, while embellishing the mundane aspects of reality with inspired instrumentation. Think "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by The Beatles, "OK Computer" by Radiohead or "Michigan" by Sufjan Stevens. Every decade a new band that uses the sounds of their predecessors to further a genre emerges from their local music scene and onto a much larger stage by making a modern classic album. For the millennial generation that band is Arctic Monkeys.

Arctic Monkeys began a modest career in the early years of the 21st century by releasing their songs on Myspace. This new way of distributing music allowed the band to immediately connect with their intended audience and develop a loyal following in their hometown of Sheffield, England. The idea to self promote through social media seems obvious now, but at the time it was a totally new way for a band to present themselves. By embracing the platform most widely used by young people at the time, Arctic Monkeys inadvertently found themselves at the forefront of modern music marketing.

With 2006's mouthful of a debut album "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not", they rode the word of mouth momentum that had been building since their start to the top of the UK Album Charts. The album became, and remains, the fastest selling debut for any British band. Bolstered by lead single I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor, a wry commentary on seedy club shenanigans, Arctic Monkeys achieved classic album status right out of the gate. While their internet savvy methods of promotion are partially responsible for the early success, the strength of the songs themselves are what sealed their reputation and now legacy.

In 2006 there was no lack of rock music recorded to express young adult life at the time. The Strokes' "Is This It" became a massive hit in America by telling slurred stories about drunken nights out in New York City and the phony relationships created during those nights. And in Arctic Monkeys' homeland Blur, Oasis and The Libertines all had paved the way for the brand of tightly wound punkish pop tunes that the band had become so adept at playing. However, there was a difference in the way that Arctic Monkeys presented their subject matter, which helped set them apart from their predecessors and contemporaries.

On the surface, "Whatever People Say I Am..." is an album about going out on the town for a weekend and wandering back home on a Sunday. Alex Turner (lyricist/singer/guitarist) uses that cliche' setup to slyly deconstruct the supposed fun nature of these outings with a lyrical wit that is still unmatched in the present British music scene. In the process of writing about his take on the typical adolescent lifestyle, Turner crafts a love letter to his home based around the fact that we all have to grow up and leave home at some point.

The first half of the album is loaded with uptempo numbers. The band has you bobbing your head in excitement as they offer up lyrical representations of young adult life such as, "Anticipation has the habit to set you up for disappointment in evening entertainment", "But what do you know? Oh, you know nothing. Yeah, but I'll still take you home" and "'Cause when it comes to acting up, I'm sure I could write the book."

The brilliance in this approach is that, by hooking you from the start with fun songs, they are then able to change things up and alter the mood of the album. The latter half is still fairly fast and fun, but the energy is no longer naive. The change occurs in the song Riot Van, which has this to say about what comes after the party, "Thrown in the riot van. And all the coppers kicked him in. And there was no way he could win. Just had to take it on the chin." From here Turner gives us a maturing commentary on the streets he grew up on. This includes getting in squabbles with his girlfriend (Mardy Bum), avoiding prostitutes (When The Sun Goes Down) and facing his past actions in the harsh light of day (From The Ritz To The Rubble).

The entire story culminates with the nostalgic closer A Certain Romance . This one song is a microcosm for everything the album stands for as well as a succinct display of what many millennials are feeling as they go to college, find jobs and begin moving to new places. It opens with the rollicking nature of the early songs before quickly transitioning into a mellow view of growing into adulthood. Turner ends A Certain Romance with the verse, "But over there there's friends of mine. What can I say, I've known them for a long, long time. And they might overstep the line, but you just cannot get angry in the same way."

And with that one verse the band's early career comes full circle by ending on emotional note that offers millennials something more to relate to than just going to a party.

What album do you think best represents the millennial generation?