I like it because as stated before, there was nothing holding them back. There wasn't any pressure to make a specific kind of music, just pressure to make good music. They had determined, and had to try 110% to make the best music possible just to have a chance at a label.
Anything after is not bad by any means, but I can see where that pre-hybrid theory mentality wasn't the same. It's not "hey, we need to make good music to please millions of fans and make sure we live up to the hype that 10 million copies sold brings", it's "hey, we need to make good music because otherwise we won't get a record deal or money for food and rent."
Two completely valid types of pressure, but also two separate types of pressure. One gives us the produced, professional sound of Meteora; the other presents itself through emotion and the desperation that it might be the last change we get. You don't need to look far to hear it in Mikes voice.