The all-time best Pop-Punk bands

30 November 2024, 18:00

It was one of the biggest genres of the 2000s... and there are plenty of bands from that era still in the business today. From the punk pioneers to the legends of emo, how many of these acts do you remember?

1. Green Day

   Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool had been knocking around since the late 1980s, but they hit the big time with their 1994 album Dookie, which spawned the hits Basket Case and When I Come Around. Their other masterpiece was 2004's politically-charged American Idiot, which was a rant against the post-9/11 United States.

   

2. Fall Out Boy

   

   Hailing from Chicago, Fall Out Boy were kings of the "really-really-totally-long-song-title" movement. Some examples; Tell That Mick He Just Made My List of Things to Do Today, Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued, I'm Like a Lawyer with the Way I'm Always Trying to Get You Off, etc. The duo of Patrick Stump (guitar) and Pete Wentz (bass) front the band. They're back in 2023 with a new album,

3. Panic! At The Disco

   

   Originally startling life as a Blink-182 covers band, Panic! soon became the all-encompassing project of frontman Brendon Urie. Best known for the songs I Write Sins Not Tragedies, But It's Better If You Do and Nine In The Afternoon, in January 2023, Urie called time on the project, saying he was going to spend more time with his family. The last Panic! show is scheduled. for 10th March at Manchester's AO Arena.

4. Sum 41

   

   In To Deep, Sum 41's big hit, soundtracked every fifteen year old's summer in 2001. The Canadian four piece slid in perfectly to that whole American Pie scene; obnoxious, crude, and (kind of) funny. Self-deprecating genius.

5. Blink-182

   

   Blink-182 are the epitome of punk-pop; barre chords, humourous lyrics, and a lock-your-bedroom-door-and-turn-up-the-volume mentality. They hit their commercial peak in 1999 with Enema Of The State and its follow-up Take Off Your Pants And Jacket in 2001, but went on hiatus in 2005. A "dysfunctional" reunion in 2009 lasted five years before Tom DeLonge left the band, leaving Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba to fill in. He's been there ever since.

6. Jimmy Eat World

   

   "It just takes some time..." Yes, we all love punk classic The Middle. But Jimmy Eat World are far from a one hit one wonder. Their tenth studio album - named Surviving, naturally - was released in October 2019.

7. The Offspring

   

   If Sum 41 were reflective of the American Pie generation, then God knows what The Offspring stood for. While 1994's Smash was their breakthrough album, it was 1998's Americana that had the hits: Pretty Fly (For A White Guy), The Kids Aren't Alright and Why Don't You Get A Job.

8. Yellowcard

   

   Yellowcard had a violinist in the band, which is just awesome. Unlike other bands from their genre, they weren't afraid to tackle some of the bigger issues (check out Believe for an example). Debut Ocean Avenue is where the hits lie; with Empty Apartment, View From Heaven and Way Away. It does in places get a tad emotional, but that's exactly what you want when your parents are telling you you're not allowed to go to The Shore with Brad and Casey.

9. My Chemical Romance

   

   My Chemical Romance took the brunt of the "emo" backlash of the Noughties, but as a punk-pop band they pretty much nailed it. Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, which came out in 2004, was packed full of "nobody-understands-me" hits. It was their concept album, Welcome To The Black Parade, that made them household names - the album in which they tell the story of a dying leukaemia patient. Cheery stuff!

10. Bowling For Soup

    

    Girls All The Bad Guys Want - everyone knows that song (as much for the hilarious video as for the track). It was hard to know how seriously Bowling For Soup took themselves.

11. All Time Low

    

    All Time Low were at the softer end of the rock spectrum when they first came on the scene in 2003; being compared to acts like Busted and Mcfly. But after years of hard graft they earned themselves (slightly) more credibility.

12. Paramore

    

    Paramore have gone from strength to strength over the last few years. Although Hayley Williams has made a few forays into the pop world (lending her voice to various dance tracks) it's her punk-pop outfit Paramore that she cares most about. These guys launched in the late noughties and took off with their album Riot!

13. Simple Plan

    

    if there's any song that sums up punk-pop it's Simple Plan's Addicted, in which the lead singer whines "I AM DICK...I'm addicted to you." On a lyrical level they weren't quite up their with Dylan and Lennon, but the kids loved them.

14. Good Charlotte

    

    Good Charlotte frontman Joel Madden became more famous than his band did as the years went by; a tabloid favourite for his relationships with Hilary Duff and Nicole Ritchie. He also took a spot as a judge on The Australian Voice, so he's very much punk-pop's answer to Ricky Wilson. It was the tracks Girls And Boys and Lifestyles Of The Rich And The Famous that made people take notice of these tattoo-clad lads.

15. Alien Ant Farm

    

    Alien Ant Farm were famous for covering the late Michael Jackson's hit Smooth Criminal, which was an absolute smash. They could have retired off the back of that to be honest, but they went on to release more albums.

16. The All American Rejects

    

    This has to be the most punk-pop band name ever conceived. The ALL AMERICAN REJECTS. They probably got a record deal because of the name alone. They also had some tunes though, like Gives You Hell, Dirty Little Secret and Move Along. You probably heard most their back-catalogue playing out of a teenager's phone as they loitered around your local park.