Hot take? Nostalgia coming into play?

In my opinion, the brightest spot in Billy Corgan's entire discography is during that period when the Smashing Pumpkins broke up, and he released a power pop album with Zwan (Mary Star Of The Sea, 2003), released his first solo album (TheFutureEmbrace, 2005), reformed with the Pumpkins to release the powerhouse of an album that was Zeitgeist (2007), and then Vol 1. Songs For A Sailor (2010) through the Teargarden by Kaleidyscope project. If the entire duration of his career had been just from 2000 until 2010, I think he'd still be a strong contender as one of the highest quality creators of alternative rock from the aughts.

Regardless of the cultural impact of their first few albums, and even with as much of a masterpiece as (parts of, tbh) Mellon Collie are, I still maintain that Zeitgeist is a peak.

I feel very similarly about The Cure's 4:13 Dream.