When people talk about the greatest punk bands of all time, more often than not, they think about the late 70s (The Ramones, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, etc.) and 80s (Black Flag, Bad Brains, Dead Kennedys, etc.) bands. That is not where we are going to be focusing. I wanna take a look at my personal favorite; the 90s.
Before we get into the list, as usual, these are just my personal opinions, and that ANY sub-genre of punk music is fair game, specifically, I am not going to be one of those people who talk crap about pop punk. It is just as much a genre of punk music as any other.
Now then, I wanna establish what my ruling is for the definition of a 90s punk band. Bands that I classify here typically either:
Formed in the second half of the 80s or the first half of the 90s
Came into mainstream popularity at some point in the 90s
Put out a significant number of albums, EPs, singles, etc.
One band that I am excluding from this, which I think people would be VERY surprised to see is Bad Religion. The reason I'm doing this is because I felt that they were more closer to an 80s band, having formed in 1980 and putting out just as many albums in the 80s as they did in the 90s. Now that that's out of the way, let's get into the list!
10. AFI
While AFI is probably more well known for their early and mid 2000s success, the band goes all the way back to 1991, and have quite the extensive discography in the decade. AFI distinguishes themselves from their peers with a heavier use of electronic sounds and gothic themes in their lyrics, which soon attributed them to the "goth punk" label. The band members often consider the label inaccurate though and claim that goth punk doesn't even exist. Nevertheless, AFI has come a long way since their early days, showing to be a very progressive and evolving band. Their set to release a new album later this year, and I am strongly looking forward to it.
9. Jimmy Eat World
Much like AFI, Jimmy Eat World came into popularity in the early 2000s, but I'm considering them a 90s band since they formed early on in the 90s and put out their first 3 albums that decade as well. Jimmy Eat World is a band that often blurs the lines of punk rock and emo rock, and the way they do it has both been beautiful and very influential. The band is still going strong today, with 2019's Surviving being my personal favorite album of the year. An album that paid homage to their discography, but also shows how far they've come.
8. Pennywise
Taking their name from the Stephen King character, Pennywise has been a staple in punk music since their self-titled debut back in 1990. With 12 albums under their belts, and a 13th on the way, these southern California punks have quite the extensive backlog of songs, and helped pave the way for skate punk to become one the the most popular sub-genres in punk music.
7. NOFX
For a band that has never been signed to a major record label, NOFX has made quite the impact on the punk community. 1994's Punk in Drublic brought the band a fair amount of mainstream success, and ever since, they've been kicking ass and busting heads of corrupt politics while also just having fun being themselves. On top of that, the band's frontman, Fat Mike, has been a strong supporter of bringing the punk community together with his record label, Fat Wreck Chords, and the Rock Against Bush campaign.
6. Operation Ivy
The 90s would be nothing without the East Bay Punk Scene, and Operation Ivy is often credited as the band that kickstarted that scene. While their time together was short, they were often called nothing short of amazing, blending their brand of east bay punk with a heavy dose of ska. Unfortunately, it sounds like a reunion isn't too likely, but thankfully, we have Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman continuing on the sound they created in another certain band that we might talk about later.
5. Bikini Kill
In the early 90s, a feminist movement called Riot grrrl began that combined feminist ideals with hardcore punk, and Bikini Kill was at the center of it. Lead singer, Kathleen Hanna, had no intention of holding back, telling graphic and sometimes disturbing stories of gender inequalities and domestic abuse as a means to fight for gender equality. Bikini Kill always fought for what they believed in and used the punk scene to show that women should be able to express themselves. The band recently got back together in 2019 after over 20 years of inactivity, and it will be so exciting to see what the future holds for them.
4. Rancid
Remember how I said we might talk about Tim Armstrong & Matt Freeman's band after Operation Ivy, well that band happens to be Rancid. Taking a very similar approach to their sound, Rancid is now seen as one of the greatest ska punk bands of all time, and even though they've had major success, the band has never abandoned their old-school spirit. Much like other bands on this list, Rancid is expected to release a new album soon, and it should be just as promising as it always is.
3. The Offspring
1994 is often regarded as one of the greatest years for punk music, as it was the year that it reached the masses like no other. One of the bands to help fuel that fire was The Offspring. These Orange County punks saw massive mainstream success with 1994's Smash, and then again with 1998's Americana. Since then, they've become one of the most commercially successful punk bands in history, with their tenth album expected to be releasing soon.
2. Blink-182
Once called pop punk's contemporary of The Beatles, Blink-182 distinguished themselves from other 90s punk bands with their heavier pop melodies and excessive toilet humor. Guess it caught on, cause after garnering mainstream attention with 1997's Dude Ranch, they went on to to become possibly the biggest influence of the 2000s wave of punk bands with their following 3 albums: Enema of The State, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, and The Untitled Album. While opinions on the band's more recent music have been more polarizing since Tom DeLonge's 2015 departure, the band is still continuing on and working to be the best they be.
1. Green Day
You probably saw this one coming, but I will say that I didn't put Green Day at #1 just because they're my favorite band. Beyond that, they were the first at-the-core punk band to reach the masses in a way that no other could. The combination of 1994's Dookie and their groundbreaking performance at Woodstock '94 made the band a sensation not just in punk music, but music as a whole. Along with their continued success in the 2000s and an induction to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame their first year of eligibility, it's clear that Green Day even has the potential to rival the punk bands that came before them.
And there you have it. To close things out, I'll add a list of honorable mentions here, but hopefully you enjoyed this dive into my favorite era of punk music.
Honorable Mentions
Jawbreaker
Fugazi
Sublime
Anti-Flag
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