Green Day!

Why not start this blog off with a bang that many, MANY people will very likely disagree with! Green Day genuinely means a lot to me. American Idiot isn’t just a rock-opera album, it’s a masterpiece in storytelling, mixed beautifully with incredible notation, unforgettable riffs, and lyrics that will always be prevalent in American society, written by some elite musicians. Green Day isn’t just an incredible punk band, but is arguably one of the most important bands of all time.

Getting that out of the way, as with any band that’s been around for 35 years (at the time of writing this) they’ve inevitably released some… not so stellar stuff. Speaking of which:

#14 Father of All Motherfuckers (2020)

This is certainly one of the albums that came out in 2020. Father of All was an interesting subject. It’s (currently) the shortest Green Day album, and features songs that sound, for the most part, really unlike Green Day. Every band has their signature “sound” and it sounded like Father of All was trying to ape other artists, rather than refine the tones that put Green Day on the map in the first place. It’s not ALL bad though. Sugar Youth and Stab You in the Heart are decent tracks that actually sound like something off of a Green Day album; the former’s lyrics resembling Revolution Radio, while the latter sounds closer to something off of, say, Tré.

Overall, however, it’s FAR from perfect. The only applause this album gets comes from the clap track sprinkled throughout nearly every goddamn song.

#13 ¡Dos! (2012)

The very first of my many controversial placings on this list. Dos is one of those albums that’s just kinda… there. A lot of people consider this their favorite album from the trilogy, and don’t get me wrong, it has some bangers. Ashley is great, Lazy Bones is one of my favorite songs off the trilogy, Makeout Party kicks ass, Amy is a lovely tribute to the late Ms. Winehouse after her passing and Stray Heart is the fan favorite… when it’s even there.

For some weird-ass reason, certain vinyl printings of the trilogy just straight up don’t have Stray Heart, and in its place is Drama Queen off Tré. Downgrade of the century, and legitimately bothers me, because Stray Heart is a great song, with a catchy-as-hell bass riff courtesy of Mike Dirnt. That actually plays a bit into why this is so low on the list. When you swap out a genuinely good song for a completely forgettable one, it’s really sad.

But we can’t talk about Dos without bringing up the likes of Fuck Time, Wow That’s Loud, Baby Eyes, Lady Cobra, basically, the entire other half of the album is completely forgettable at absolute best. And at worst? It’s Nightlife.

Yup, I’m going there. Green Day’s worst song they’ve ever written. Lazy guitar, basic drumming that could very easily be replaced by a drum machine, and weird-ass horny lyrics that I don’t think anyone was asking for. It’s SUPER weird listening to this album in its entirety because whenever Nightlife comes on, it’s basically audio whiplash. If Nightlife wasn’t on this album at all, it’d be better. Hell, their discography as a whole would be better if this song never existed. Yes, THAT’S how bad it is.

Overall, Dos is decent at its best, incredibly unmemorable at its least and legitimately hard to listen to at its worst. Would recommend skipping a few of these tracks.

#12 Warning (2000)

I don’t like this album as a whole. Don’t get me wrong, certain songs are absolute classics. Minority, Waiting and the title track are all fantastic. They’re also the only ones that get regularly played by the band when they perform live. The rest of the album isn’t ‘bad’ but it’s far from my cup of tea. I don’t like folk music, never have, so when I first heard Warning I thought it sounded way off, in the same way that Father of All sounded off. Nowadays, Warning has a cult following…

(Dear God please don’t make people nostalgic for Father of All in 20 years)

I can understand why. The songs are written well, they’re pretty catchy and it’s a lot more of a slow-burn “cool” sound for Green Day than the punk-ier other albums. Warning is a fantastic album to throw on and zone out during a nice summer drive, but doesn’t go much deeper than that for me. There are a few songs on this album that I skip every time I listen to it. Fashion Victim and Hold On immediately come to mind; there’s just not a ton of substance with them, to me at least. The rest of the album is perfectly fine, and has some great songs mixed in! It’s just not my sorta thing. I’m well prepared to get absolutely reamed by the “hardcore” Green Day fanbase for putting Warning so low, and that’s okay. Again, I get why people love this album. My best friend adores Warning, and would slap me if he saw how low I put it on this list. Sorry Chris. In conclusion, FAR from a bad album, but I don’t love it as a whole, and it’s a little unmemorable to me.

#11 39/Smooth & Slappy/1,000 Hours (1990)

Green Day’s debut album(s) and one helluva start! Not quite top 10 material for me, but pretty damn close. Being Green Day’s earliest “album” (they did have demos and released some stuff before, but I’m counting both of these as their debut) means they were just starting to develop their own sound, but were very clearly inspired by the likes of The Ramones and The Clash.

It’s mixed messy and has tons of grungy undertones, but that’s exactly what punk rock fans like, want, and expect in a 1990 punk album. Going to Pasalacqua, Don’t Leave Me, At the Library, 409 In Your Coffeemaker, and Paper Lanterns immediately stick out to me as classics, with songs like Dry Ice and 16 also being quite good. The less memorable songs on this album are still pretty decent, if not a little rough sounding, but you have to contextualize the album’s very existence. It was their FIRST album, and for that, it’s really damn good.

#10 ¡Tré! (2012)

“yOu pUt tRé OvEr WaRnInG?!”

You’re goddamn right I did. I can already hear the sharpening of pitchforks from here, but before you start lighting your torches too, hear me out:

X-Kid.

The best song off the entire trilogy, hands down. The rest of the album ain’t too shabby either! The only songs I’m not a big fan of are Drama Queen, 8th Avenue Serenade, and A Little Boy Named Train, because of the lyrics.

(Motherfucker rhymed ‘been’ with ‘bin’ are you serious lol)

Overall, while it’s not my favorite album from the trilogy, (we’ll get to that one) it’s remarkably solid, and easily my 10th favorite Green Day album!

#9 Insomniac (1995)

Now THIS is the good shit.

We’re getting to the absolute classics now. I’m gonna start having difficulties picking songs I don’t like from these next albums - THAT’S how solid they are!

Insomniac was written to be Green Day’s heaviest album when it was released, leading to an almost pre-numetal 90’s tone. It’s excellent, and while I can see why people are thrown off by it and why it wasn’t loved as heavily as Dookie back in the day, to me it sounds fantastic. It’s got the same appeal as a lot of metal albums have. Not everyone is gonna love Master of Puppets or City of Evil, but those who do, can really synchronize themselves with the music, and feel (likely) how the writers felt when they were originally working on the pieces back in the day!

The raw anger in Panic Song is palpable. The lyrics “the world is a sick machine breeding a mass of shit” goes so unbelievably hard that it’s a genuine shame that a lot of modern Green Day fans skip this album. At least everyone can agree that Brain Stew and Jaded are phenomenal, although my personal favorites are Geek Stink Breath and Walking Contradiction.

If you like heavier punk and you haven’t given Insomniac a listen, you’re doing yourself a genuine disservice. Please, give it a shot.

#8 Kerplunk (1993)

Kerplunk! While this may not have been Green Day’s first rodeo, it was certainly an early blast! 2000 Light Years Away was one incredible way to start an album for sure, but follow that up with One for the Razorbacks, Welcome to Paradise and Christie Road?! Nonstop bangers. Dominated Love Slave and One of My Lies are also absolute classics, and nearing the end you’ve got Who Wrote Holden Caulfield, which is one of my favorite Green Day songs period.

The ONLY thing, (and this is kind of a biggie, and something that will get me into hot water later) is that the mixing is very, VERY poor. 39/Smooth had the excuse of Green Day being pretty much nobodies, but for some reason, every consecutive re-release that Kerplunk has had has sounded marginally worse and worse; culminating with the 2007 “remaster” which muddied the mix even further. I believe this version was the basis for the “MASTER” quality versions on Tidal, but don’t quote me on that, I’m no audio technician. The drums have pretty much zero definition to them, with the kick sounding closer to a shoebox full of blankets getting kicked than a punchy-warm bass drum. That’s doubly insulting because this was Tré’s FIRST Green Day album! You’d think recent remasters would warrant, you know, remastering…?

But honestly, the mixing being poor doesn’t halt this album from plowing full steam ahead into classic territory. A lot of hidden gems here with catchy riffs, memorable lyrics and a timeless overall composition.

#7 ¡Uno! (2012)

You have UNOOOOO you fucking DICKKKK.

My favorite album from the trilogy, bar none. It may not have Stray Heart or X-Kid, but what it does have is sublime. Nuclear Family is one of my absolute favorite album intros that Green Day has ever done. Stay the Night, Let Yourself Go, Sweet 16, and Rusty James are staples and are all fantastic, but one of my favorites is Kill the DJ. It’s more on the pop-y sound of Green Day, but it’s so goddamn catchy, I can’t help but vibe to it.

Oh Love is the most popular song from this album, and probably the trilogy in general. It’s a pretty great track, but I prefer the demo version better.

Yeah, around early 2014, Green Day released Demolicious which was a compilation album full of demos from the trilogy era. The mixing is a bit rougher and the guitars are a little louder, and I honestly prefer them VASTLY to the original sound of the trilogy. It is a compilation, hence it’s not being included here, but if you’re a fan of the trilogy, but want the OG Green Day sound back, give Demolicious a shot!

I suppose I should talk about what the trilogy actually is. Essentially, Green Day decided to release three albums during the course of 2012, which was super ambitious for the time. In hindsight, probably wasn’t the greatest idea in terms of quality control, as evident by Dos being a really subpar album… but hey Uno is fantastic!

#6 Nimrod (1997)

“Hey wait! You said you weren’t a fan of the more folky Green Day songs!”

While Warning might be too soft and acoustic-y for my Green Day preference, Nimrod still strikes a nice balance between folk and punk that I think works out a little better than Warning. There also are some legitimate punk rock songs on this album that sound pretty similar in tone to Insomniac, which you may remember, I thought quite highly of because of its more anger-infused punk sound. Nice Guys Finish Last, the duology of Jinx and Haushinka, and Platypus bring the heavier rock sound, while Last Ride In and Good Riddance chill things out JUUUUST enough where it’s not quite whiplash, but catches you off guard on first listen- in a good way!

The rest of the album is a fusion between the chill and heavy. Hitchin’ a Ride has the whole Brain Stew thing going on with its chord progression, Worry Rock is always a good time and King for a Day is a great example of how versatile Green Day can be with instrumentation! Of course the album’s penultimate track is Good Riddance (aka Time of Your Life.) This was Green Day’s most famous/infamous song for a very long time, and was the tune to many highschool and college graduations, I’m sure. Here’s the hilarious thing about it though:

It's meant to be sarcastic.

Billie wrote it as a “fuck you” to his girlfriend at the time who had upped and moved to Ecuador without saying their proper goodbyes. That’s why it’s titled “Good Riddance.” It’s absolutely freaking hilarious that people use the song unironically to say goodbye or celebrate periods of their life when that is completely opposite to the original song’s intentions in every single way. but, I’m not one to judge. Whatever people can take away from music is up to them, I’m just happy people are listening to Green Day.

#5 Saviors (2024)

Calling all saviors tonight!

Green Day’s newest album! At the time of writing this, Saviors is just under a month old, so it’s tricky to predict how it’ll age, but I’m willing to bet it will be looked upon incredibly fondly in the coming years. There are simply zero weak tracks on the album! It’s got a much more “classic rock-y” feel to it, rather than punk in a few areas. Corvette Summer immediately comes to mind; something that wouldn’t feel out of place at all in between a song from Chicago and Pat Benetar on your local classic rock station. (Do people still listen to the radio anymore?)

The title track is great, American Dream is Killing me hits hard, Dilemma is a fan favorite, One Eyed Bastard is the catchiest goddamn thing ever written, Father to a Son is an uplifting and sweet sequel to Wake Me Up When September Ends, 1981 is incredible… I could go on and on. Saviors is proof that punk ain’t dead in 2024! I love the tone of the guitars, the punchiness of the bass and the drums, and the lack of noticeable vocal effects… it’s clean, but still…raw? It sounds like a true modern Green Day album!

Billie’s voice has also noticeably matured over the years. You could hear it a bit on Father of All, but it was covered in distortion and he was doing falsetto the whole time, however. It’s much clearer in Saviors, and it’s not bad! His range has improved, his vocals deeper than they used to be in general, but he sounds like he's in control of his tone far more.

Every time I listen to Saviors, I like it a little bit more, so it genuinely could move up higher on the list! Only time will tell. Calling all saviors, make us all believers tonight.

#4 Revolution Radio (2016)

This genuinely might be the most underrated album ever, in my opinion. When’s the last time you’ve ever heard someone mention this album in any capacity? Aside from Still Breathing, I don’t think Green Day themselves even regularly play any singles from this album live anymore. That’s incredibly depressing! Revolution Radio is an incredible album of truly kick-ass songs that don’t deserve to be forgotten the way that they’ve been. Bang Bang was the first single they released on this album, and although some believe that it sounds a little too similar to the first half of St Jimmy off American Idiot, I personally really like it. The title track that follows it, Say Goodbye, Outlaws, and of course, Still Breathing make an incredible first-half that varies in sound, but all still sounds familiarly “Green Day.” Forever Now and Ordinary World are a fantastic way to cap off what is, in my opinion, an incredible Green Day album.

The sound itself is something comparable to American Idiot; not as hard as Insomniac, but not as bizarrely mixed and iffy as the trilogy. You could add Revolution Radio songs to an American Idiot and Nimrod playlist and I don’t think anyone would bat an eye. Lyrically, the songs in Revolution Radio are all timeless anthems that, like American Idiot, mix in political commentary and modern day issues with the trademark “Green Day punk rock” sound that we’ve all grown to know over the years.

The only reason this isn’t higher on the list is because there’s no plot to the album. American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown both have clear narratives to them, and it’s strange that, despite going for a similar sound to those albums, Revolution Radio doesn’t have any narrative whatsoever. A little sad, but that doesn’t change the fact that this album is incredibly underrated and deserves a listen. If you like Green Day, or shit, punk or rock in general, give Revolution Radio a spin.

#3 Dookie (1994)

Yup. I’m putting Dookie at #3. Old-school punk rock fans are currently sharpening their spears and knives as I type this. In all seriousness, you know this album. You know Dookie, I know Dookie, we all know Dookie. Whether it’s Welcome to Paradise, When I Come Around, Coming Clean, Longview, or Basket Case (which is nearing one billion streams on Spotify, goddamn) you’ve certainly heard at least a few songs from this album. Don’t lie to me, you have. Do I really need to explain why this album is so important? After years of traditional grunge sounding punk conquering the airwaves, Dookie brought a new more refined angle to the genre that propelled them to fame, while also giving 90’s kids timeless anthems that still hold up lyrically and instrumentally to this day.

Notice how I only brought up lyrically and instrumentally? Here’s the thing. Dookie’s mixing is, at times, awful. Certain songs have FAR too heavy of an emphasis on the instrumental itself, and as such, Billie’s voice gets lost in the mix. She and the second half of FOD are both examples of this. It’s almost hard to make out what’s being sung because of the mixing, and like Kerplunk, despite various rereleases, none have ever corrected the mixing issues that this album introduced back in 1994. It’s a sign of the times, because I remember Smash by The Offspring also having a rough vocal EQ in it’s mixing as well, but at least the 2008 remaster of that album bumped them up in volume a little.

Regardless, Dookie is timeless, incredible, and a true classic in every meaning of the word. The lyrics are perfectly written, the guitar riffs are distinctive and identifiable from a country mile away, Mike’s bass lines are legendary and the overall sound is what put Green Day on the map, and reshaped the sound of punk rock as we know it. I’d argue that Dookie is not only the most important Green Day album, but also the most important rock album of the 90’s in general.

#2 21st Century Breakdown (2009)

This album is one hell of a ride. Not only are the songs catchy as hell, but the narrative is also incredible (and kind of depressing). It follows two characters named Christian and Gloria navigating through a war-torn, but hopeful America after the Bush administration. The album touches on the topics of love, religion, war, rebellion, disillusionment and loss in a creative and tasteful way. It’s one of those albums that you really shouldn’t just listen to out of context. I know radio stations back in the day couldn’t get enough of 21 Guns, but in order to really enjoy it, you really need to listen to it in order with the other songs. It’s the kind of album that’s best experienced on vinyl where you can listen to it uninterrupted, in order to really grasp the struggles that Christian and Gloria deal with along their lives in this hellish nation, slowly rebuilding from the struggles in prior years.

That was all just the plot, instrumentally, the album is pretty much flawless. The guitars in songs like Know Your Enemy, Horseshoes and Handgrenades and East Jesus Nowhere are punchy, Mike’s bass is still audible and acts as a skeleton for Billie’s vocals and Tré’s excellent drumming to set on top of. The catchiest songs are the ones that got the radio plays like 21 Guns and Know Your Enemy, but there are a TON of hidden gems here. Viva La Gloria (both of them) Last of the American Girls, Peacemaker, Restless Heart Syndrome, the title track and of course American Eulogy are all incredible anthems that have earned their place as true Green Day classics. I’d love to play Last Night on Earth at either my wedding, or funeral, depending which comes first (joking).

If I could ask one thing of you, dear reader, please give this album a shot in full. It’s worth a listen from cover to cover to hear the story and enjoy the notation and poignant lyrics that are still indicative of society today. My second favorite Green Day album, bar none, and I’d pop this on any day. Easily. But none can compare to....