American Idiot is Green Day's seventh studio album and first rock opera, and was released in 2004. It is the first #1 album for Green Day on both sides of the Atlantic.

The theme of the album largely deals with the nature of individuality and rebellion. Some allusions to contemporary political issues are included, but the story is focused on the life of a troubled teenager struggling for identity in the midst of an uncaring world. American Idiot was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, and won the Best Rock Album of 2005. The opening track of the album, "American Idiot", won an award for best song in a video game in EA Sports' Madden NFL 2005. Green Day also won seven MTV Video Music Awards for the "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and "American Idiot" videos.

This album marked the end of a commercial slump for Green Day. Many had speculated that they would find it difficult to follow up Warning, which in itself had proved slightly less popular than Nimrod. This is also hinted at with the long gestation time of this album, filled in with a greatest hits album and a B-Sides album (International Superhits! and Shenanigans). This is likely another reason for the band's decision to completely re-invent their style with this conceptual work. All of the album's singles proved very popular, a feat not matched since Dookie. American Idiot has also met with critical acclaim, with critics praising its ambition and politics.

There are five videos from the album, "American Idiot", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", "Holiday", "Wake Me Up When September Ends", and the 9-minute "Jesus of Suburbia".

American Idiot has sold 5.6 million units in the US as of April 2006, excluding that American Idiot has sold 1 million digital albums over the internet, and has been certified as a platinum digital record. It has not yet, however, been certified 5x Platinum for physical CD sales.