Well, it’s a zombie, but it’s a cool topic still.
Having read through the thread, here’re my thoughts:
Smashing Pumpkins are in for several reasons. The guitar work - in terms of both tone and skill - was hugely influential, as was their use of loud-soft dynamics. Such dynamics were obviously successfully done by many before but to my ear there is a fundamental style the Pumpkins brought from clean verses to hugely distorted choruses that really caught on. Lastly, ambition and artistry. The Pumpkins were releasing Siamese Dream the same year In Utero came out. I think Nirvana was the primary influence on rock at this time (hence I won’t be defending their names here) but I think a lot of kids listened to Nirvana and fell for the grunge-don’t-give-a-shit-ugly-low-key aesthetic. What I like about the Pumpkins is that they wanted to rule the world, they wanted to create something profound. Whether they achieved that is up to the listener, but I think this ideal inspired a lot of bright eyed kids listening. It did me, anyway.
I agree that the White Stripes are in, and I will add that at the time they, The Strokes, Interpol, et al. were gaining attention it was the White Stripes who were posited as the leaders of the Garage-Rock Revolution. The Revolution didn’t really come to be (do they ever?) but the remarkable thing is that the White Stripes kept making good music, even after the hype had faded, even after people were over the two-person with a questionable relationship thing, after it all. Jack White may in some views merely be channeling the ghosts of classic rockers and bluesmen, but in doing so he’s exposing these styles to people who would otherwise remain ignorant. He’s one of the last true rock stars out there (here’s him and Meg playing Cannon/John the Revelator live - the breakdown starting ~@:53 is cooler than cool; it’s ice cold) which is a refreshing alternative to touchy-feelys.
Wilco made Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which would be enough to cement them in my book - it’s easily one of the best albums of the 2000s and even if the category is expanded to include the 90s I think it holds up well. Aside from the artistic milestone, as others have noted they designed alt-country in their image. No, they weren’t alone in doing it, but they were the most popular and in my opinion the best.
Looking a bit beyond 2010 (we can just talk about the current scene right? It’s an old thread) I’m curious as to how history will treat the XX. They released an incredible, Mercury Award-winning debut album that was tremendously influential on 2009 and beyond indie rock. The way they used silence and sparsity, sub-bass, and techno-inspired beats - combined with girl/boy vocals - one of those albums that you feel like you’ve already listened to and loved every track on. They’re due to start working on a second one, so we’ll see how that goes. If it is another minimalist masterpiece, they’ll probably be a confident pick.