The Better Life

The Better Life is the debut studio album by American rock band 3 Doors Down, released on February 8, 2000. It has become 7× Platinum since release. This is the only album on which lead singer Brad Arnold played drums. "Kryptonite", "Loser", and "Be Like That" all reached the Billboard Hot 100 charts, peaking at No. 3, No. 55, and No. 24, respectively. The Better Life sold over six million copies worldwide.[5]

This article is about the album by 3 Doors Down. For the Keith Urban song, see Better Life.
The Better Life
Studio album by
3 Doors Down
ReleasedFebruary 8, 2000
Recorded1999, New York City, New York, U.S.
Genre
Length40:43
Label
ProducerPaul Ebersold
3 Doors Down chronology
The Better Life
(2000)		 Away from the Sun
(2002)
Singles from The Better Life
  1. "Kryptonite"
    Released: January 11, 2000
  2. "Loser"
    Released: July 29, 2000
  3. "Duck and Run"
    Released: January 15, 2001
  4. "Be Like That"
    Released: June 11, 2001
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[3]
Robert ChristgauC+[4]

It is the band's best-selling album to date, with sales of over 5,653,000 copies in the United States, as of July 2014.[6]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Brad Arnold.

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Kryptonite"
  • Arnold
  • Roberts
  • Harrell
3:53
2."Loser"
  • Arnold
  • Roberts
  • Harrell
4:24
3."Duck and Run"
  • Arnold
  • Roberts
  • Harrell
  • Henderson
3:52
4."Not Enough"
  • Arnold
  • Roberts
  • Harrell
  • Henderson
3:16
5."Be Like That"
  • Arnold
  • Henderson
4:25
6."Life of My Own"
  • Arnold
  • Harrell
3:59
7."Better Life"
  • Arnold
  • Roberts
  • Harrell
  • Henderson
3:05
8."Down Poison"
  • Arnold
  • Roberts
  • Harrell
4:22
9."By My Side"
  • Arnold
  • Roberts
  • Harrell
3:20
10."Smack"
  • Arnold
  • Roberts
  • Harrell
2:30
11."So I Need You"
  • Arnold
  • Roberts
  • Harrell
  • Henderson
3:51
Total length:40:43
Best Buy edition
No.TitleLength
12."Loser (live)"5:28
13."Life of My Own (live)"4:37
14."Kryptonite (live)"3:49
Total length:54:39

Deluxe edition bonus CD

A deluxe edition with a second disc was released on September 18, 2007, and featured a live performance recorded at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Houston, Texas.

Personnel

Credits adapted from album’s liner notes.[7]

3 Doors Down

  • Brad Arnold – lead vocals, drums
  • Matt Roberts – rhythm and lead guitars
  • Chris Henderson – rhythm and lead guitars
  • Todd Harrell – bass guitar

Additional musicians

  • Kevin Paige – keyboards (tracks 2, 3, 5)

Production

  • Paul Ebersold — producer, engineer
  • Matt Martone — engineer
  • Toby Wright — mixing
  • Mike Butler — mixing assistant
  • Stephen Marcussen — mastering
  • Andrew Garver — digital editing

Singles
  • "Kryptonite" – 2000
    • Reached No. 3 on "U.S. Hot 100"
    • Reached No. 1 on "U.S. Modern Rock" (11 weeks) and "U.S. Mainstream Rock" (nine weeks)
  • "Loser" – July 29, 2000
    • Reached No. 55 on "U.S. Hot 100"
    • Reached No. 2 on "U.S. Modern Rock"
    • Reached No. 1 on "U.S. Mainstream Rock" (21 weeks)
  • "Duck and Run" – 2000
    • Reached No. 11 on "U.S. Modern Rock"
    • Reached No. 1 on "U.S. Mainstream Rock" (three weeks)
  • "Be Like That" – May 20, 2001
    • Reached No. 24 on "U.S. Hot 100"
    • Reached No. 22 on "U.S. Modern Rock"
    • Reached No. 10 on "U.S. Mainstream Rock"

Charts and certifications

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[8] 2× Platinum 200,000^
United States (RIAA)[9] 7× Platinum 5,653,000[6]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Appearances
  • An alternate version of the song "Be Like That" was featured on the American Pie 2 album in 2001.
  • The song "Kryptonite" was featured in the video game Guitar Hero 5 in 2009. It was released as downloadable content for Rock Band in 2009 and Guitar Hero Live in 2016.

References
  1. "The Better Life". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  2. Allmusic review
  3. Entertainment Weekly review
  4. "CG: 3 doors down". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  5. Archived September 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Grein, Paul (June 24, 2014). "USA: Top 20 New Acts Since 2000". Yahoo! Music.
  7. The Better Life (booklet). Republic, Universal Records. 2000.
  8. "Canadian album certifications – 3 Doors Down – The Better Life". Music Canada.
  9. "American album certifications – 3 Doors Down – The Better Life". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 28, 2020. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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