Top 10 Pop Punk Albums
The idea for this blog came from two places. One place was over break when my my friends and I had a debate on the best Pop Punk albums in the current era (nothing before blink?). I have been thinking about this question for awhile and when one of my friends posted a top 10 list on her blog, I decided I could do the same for Pop Punk albums.
My list is a combination of accounting for the major bands who defined this music, who’s albums were awesome and elevated them to a major band in the genre, and really just what I think. There is no criteria for list. Just straight opinion. Without further adieu, I give you my list:
(EP’s were not included in this list)
Honorable Mentions (no order): Tigers Jaw (Tigers Jaw), All I have To Offer Is My Own Confusion (Fireworks!), Tell All Your Friends (Taking Back Sunday), Take Off Your Pants And Jacket (Blink 182), Get Stoked On It (The Wonder Years)
10. Under Soil and Dirt - The Story So Far The Story So Far just took off with this album. This is their first album and It is relatively new, so it is difficult to tell how it will be looked at in the future. I saw them play a couple weeks ago and they were awesome. I have a feeling (as do a lot of other Pop Punk fans) that this band is will be around for awhile. Favorite Song - Roam
9. Your Favorite Weapon - Brand New I am not 100% sure that Brand New is classified as Pop Punk, but they were on wikipedia so I decided it was ok to include them. Overall, Brand New is a good band and a lot of their other albums are decent but their first album is by far their best. Ranging from the sing alongs in Soco Amaretto Lime, to the relaxing feel in Logan to Government Center to the screamed emo lines in Jude Law and a Semester Abroad, this album has all the qualities of a top emoish pop punk album (or would it be a pop punkish emo album? I don’t know). Favorite Song - Seventy Times 7
8. Rise Or Die Trying - Four Year Strong Similar to Brand New, I am not really sure if Four Year Strong can be labeled as Pop Punk, but for me, this album deserves a spot in these rankings as much as anyone. This album was the album that got me into this music, and although I do not listen to it much anymore, it is still phenomenal. It should be noted that the reason I do not listen to this album that much is because I would listen to it on repeat time after time after time. And I would listen to every line with attention from “Start the take over!” to “Rise or die, here at the top of the world!”. Favorite song- Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die
7. The Kids Can’t Lose - A Loss For Words Being from a boston suburb and following Boston Pop Punk relatively closely, I needed to include the an album from a Boston Pop Punk band. There is no better band that exemplifies what Boston Pop Punk and Pop Punk in general is all about than A Loss For Words. The Kids Can’t Lose has an abundance of gang vocals and great, uplifting lyrics (not easy to find uplifting lyrics in Pop Punk). Also lead singer Matt Arsenault is just the man and a wicked friendly guy to all his fans and deserves a shout out. It is really just a fun album to listen to, there’s just no other way to describe it. This album is Boston Pop Punk. Favorite Song - Stamp of Approval
6. The Upsides - The Wonder Years The album opens with “I’m not sad anymore” and this theme seems to carry throughout the album in a weird way. Not many of the songs scream “Hey, I’m happy!” with cheesy lyrics. Better yet, the album screams “Hey, life sucks but you just have to say fuck it and make the most of it!”. Soupy tells many personal stories assuming you know his pals Matt and Molly and although the lyrics are very personal, listeners can still get his message. Like most of these albums, there is such a range of types of songs and this album is arranged in a way which seems to tell a story. The album closes with 5 lead singers from other bands all joining Soupy which is really cool. Favorite Song - Melrose Diner
5. Take This To Your Grave - Fall Out Boy Most bands’ best albums are often their first. This cannot be more true for Fall Out Boy. Most people here Fall Out Boy and immediately think “OMG! Dance, Dance and Thanks For The Memories!” however their first album, which is practically unknown to the mainstream world, is the best. Take This To Your Gave is a phenomenal Pop Punk album that helped establish modern day Pop Punk. Following this album, Fall Out Boy changed. No disrespect to them or anything, I mean they did their thing and became famous but their music changed. The song Our Lawyers Made Us Change The Name To This Song So We Wouldn’t Get Sued from their second album opens with “Brothers and sisters put this record down. Take my advice cause we are bad news” which shows that the bad itself knew they were changing for the worse. Take This To Your Grave is a classic Pop Punk Album from a not so classic Pop Punk band. (O Yea and Sugar, We’re Going Down, which is off their second album, is catchy as fuck I don’t care). Favorite Song - The Patron Saint Of Liars And Fakes
4. New Found Glory - New Found Glory In a lot of ways I consider New Found Glory the most classic Modern Pop Punk Band. I know Blink and Sum 41 are more popular but something about New Found Glory just seems more like a typical Pop Punk band who happened to explode and get really popular. Like they just headlined a tour titled Pop Punk’s Not Dead! This album is just full of a ton of catchy songs, and is in my opinion, their best ahead of Catalyst. Oh and Chad Gilbert dated Hayley Williams <3333! Favorite Song - Better Off Dead
3. Mutiny - Set Your Goals Mutiny is Pop Punk. There is no other way to describe it. Everything about this album screams Pop Punk. Two wild vocalists, fast songs, gang vocals, cheesy yet beautiful lyrics, and poppy breakdowns. This was the first real Pop Punk album I truly got into and the first pure Pop Punk band I saw. I saw them for the first time in awhile this winter and they still played songs off this album and are still awesome live. Also, although Goonies Never Say Die is not on this album, it might be the best representation of what Pop Punk Song is. Favorite Song - Mutiny
2. Enema Of The State - Blink 182 You cannot make a Pop Punk list and not include Blink. You just can’t do it. My favorite album from them is Enema Of The State which probably shows that I am not a die hard Blink fan. A serious fan would probably choose one of their earlier albums like Dude Ranch, but I personally like this album the best. Many people agree as this was the album that got them mainstream. Almost every song on this album is considered a classic. Without this band and even without this album, I question where Pop Punk would be today. Favorite Song - Going Away To College
1. The Last Thing You Forget - Title Fight Title Fight is weird. They are not really Pop Punk yet they are not really Hardcore. They are Title Fight and they are my favorite band from this genre. This choice seems weird for #1 but like I said, this is all my opinion. When Brendan, Cam and I somehow made it to Wakefield to see Title Fight, we knew that was going to be the best show we would ever see. And we were right. I have listened to this album all the way through an unreal amount of times. From the two stepping beats to the interludes to the unbelievable lyrics, this album just has everything. Out of all the Pop Punk I have ever listened to, something about this band was just different for me which makes this album #1. Favorite Song - Memorial Field
Thank you for viewing my top 10! If you are a Pop Punk fan I would love to hear your thoughts and possibly you’re own top 10.
