So, it’s no secret that Pop Punk is one of my favorite genres of music for two reasons; I grew up listening to New Found Glory and Good Charlotte and I can actually understand the lyrics both lyrically and audibly. Of course, not to discredit the powerful instrumentation and vocals that can be found in most Pop Punk music as well as the stories and meanings behind the songs themselves. So, here I’m going to list off my top-5 Pop Punk albums. I just want to point out that my all-time favorite band Rise Against kind of straddles the line between Punk Rock and Pop Punk so I’m gonna save Rise Against for another time and focus on pure Pop Punk here. In no particular order, here are my top-5 Pop Punk albums.
1. Sum 41 – All Killer No Filler
There’s a good reason why this 2001 album reached number 13 on the Billboard 200. I remember hearing “Fat Lip” on the radio constantly and loved it. Obviously, I wasn’t the only one because it went Platinum in the US, Canada, and the UK. Just as the title of the album describes, every song on this one is a hit.
2. Green Day – American Idiot
The very first album I bought myself. I didn’t really get into buying music until this came out when I was 16 because I consumed most of my music through the radio on the local Rock station 106.5 The End. What attracted me to this album was what I had mentioned earlier about words being easy to hear and listen to and interpret. An entire Rock opera with a story to tell through 13 songs 3 of which are “Jesus of Suburbia,” “St. Jimmy” and “Homecoming.” Shoutout to “Letterbomb” and “Whatsername.” This album was definitely a product of its time and still has messages that can be heard throughout to this day.
3. Neck Deep – Life’s Not Out to Get You
One of my old roommates actually got me hooked onto this band and I’ve been in love with them ever since. From across the pond in Wales, this Pop Punk band sure knows how to bring everything they got with each album bringing a different sound than the one before it. It seemed a lot of fans were upset when The Peace and the Panic came out because of how vastly different they sounded changing more from a Pop Punk to a Pop sounding album, but how boring would music be if a band played the same exact way for years and years without ever bringing anything fresh to the table?
4. The Story So Far – The Story So Far
The Story So Far’s 2015 self-titled release The Story So Far hits me hard, especially its songs “Heavy Gloom,” “Distaste” and “Nerve.” A powerful album that weaves a fierce tale of heartbreak that you can obviously hear the rage and fury in the lead singer Parker Cannon’s voice. I’ve seen these guys live a few times and they never disappoint!
5. Me Vs Hero – Days That Shape Our Lives
Active from 2007-2015, another band from across the pond, this one from Lancashire, England. Their debut album Days That Shape Our Lives infuses some Heavy Metal and Hardcore Punk into their Pop Punk sound and it mixes very well in this 2009 album. Only releasing 2 studio albums and 2 EPs before splitting up in 2015, I only knew about this band because my local record store had this album for sale. It became an instant favorite of mine and then when my shop had their second album, I’m Completely Fine, for sale not too long after, I had to grab that one as well.
Honorable Mentions:
New Found Glory - Catalyst, Knuckle Puck - Copacetic, The Wonder Years - Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing, Boston Manor - GLUE and Broadside - Old Bones, Trashboat - Nothing I Write You Can Change What You’ve Been Through
Dig this? Check out the full archives of Retro Echo, by Anthony Montalbano, here: https://vwmusicrocks.com/retro-echo-archives/
