In this grand melting pot of a decade, we've come to value originality more than ever. The artists we love the most are those who uniquely express themselves, rising above the ever-growing masses to do their own thing.

And when it comes to being original, the most adept artists in popular music over the last quarter of the century are New York City's Beastie Boys.

The trio's scorching debut, Licensed To Ill, was invaluable in shaping the early days of rap. They were snotty bad-boys with a chauvenistic but undeniably catchy rhyming style. Packing an ace hole of Rick Rubin's production, they helped bring the art of rap and sampling into a new era. 1989's Paul's Boutique was a revolution in itself, the Beastie Boys blossoming as artists and maturing into wise and funky chroniclers of pop culture, backed by the mezmerizing sound collages of the Dust Brothers.

But even the genius of their second record couldn't prepare us for Check Your Head, a monolith of style dropped just in time to take hold of the decade's musical direction. Trip-hop and thrash metal, slow jazz and funky raps, sample-heavy mixes and bare-bones musicianship: Check Your Head covers it all. This was a crucial coming of age, not only for the Beastie Boys themselves, but for music in general - tossing and mixing genres never sounded as effortless or as tight.

The band had already become incredibly influential through their masterful and always evolving mic skills. But lest we forget, they were once a straight-up punk band, with Mike D on drums, MCA on bass and Adrock on guitar. For Check Your Head, the Beasties decided to pick up their instruments again, revealing that they actually knew how to play, and damn well at that. Adding the versatile keyboard stylings of Mark Ramos "Money Mark" Nishita, the band effectively dynamited down any doors restraining their creative possibilities. This renaissance is comparable to what the Beatles did with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: all bets were off; predictability went out the window, and we just listened.

At first we were mezmerized. Soon, it was memorized. Not only were the Beasties chronicling pop culture in their lyrics and the eclecticism of their music, they were changing pop culture. They were influencing style from so many angles, the band served as a unifying force for music lovers. The jocks, the hippies, the punks, the nerds, the gangstas, the indie rockers: the Beastie Boys fit everyone. Portions of their complex musical personas represent all these crowds and more.

Check Your Head draws from rock history, but forges new paths miles ahead of its influences. The Beasties sample Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan seamlessly into rap songs. They turn a Sly Stone cover into a thrash metal anthem. In one of rock's most surreal moments, they bring Biz Markie and Ted Nugent together on one track, just to see what might happen.

This boundless urge to experiment resulted in an album that really encapsulates what it means to be a musician in this modern age. Take every possible instrument and device at your disposal, and use them all to express the full range of your innate creativity. In this way, Check Your Head served as inspiration to a generation of musicians. It set forth the most important credo of the era - be yourself. Do whatever it takes. Push the limits of your expression, but stay true to your ideals. And no record or band of the past ten years exemplifies this better.