Ranking Green Day’s 13 Albums
There’s a lot of bands responsible for lifting punk (pop-punk) into the mainstream, but perhaps none have been quite as impactful or as successful as Green Day. Through catchy songs and a snotty, yet charismatic attitude, their particular blend of punk was easily digestible and an almost natural evolution from grunge to the generation that proceeded it.
The band first formed in the mid-1980s with singer/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and a couple of other rotating members — most notably drummer John Kiffmeyer who performed on their first album. It wasn’t until 1990 that Tré Cool replaced Kiffmeyer and established the trio that would be Green Day for the following 3 decades.
Despite being known for their more play-by-numbers style, the band has actually evolved significantly throughout their tenure, often experimenting with new sounds and forming separate projects to try out these other genres. Sometimes these directions can be a step backward, but it’s still nice to know that they’re continuing to challenge themselves.
To rank the albums, I listened to them all again several times to try to remove any bias one album may have over the other and in quick succession to grasp the various differences between the records.
Disclaimer: These rankings are not definitive and are largely based on my own personal opinion. Please feel free to comment with your own rankings.
13. ¡Tré! (2012)
Tré! represents the last of the trio of records that Green Day released in 2012. All 3 records sound very similar to each other (production-wise) so ranking them has more to do with which album had collectively the best tracks. Of the 3, ¡Tré! contains the most forgettable tracks and most clearly shows the failure of the idea of releasing over 2 hours of music through 3 records. One thing this record has going for it over the other 2 is there aren’t any particular noticeably bad tracks just, as already stated, forgettable songs. “Dirty Rotten Bastards” is the only standout track (and longest track) as it goes through some interesting tempo and key changes and overall seems to be the only track that doesn’t come across as stale and bored.
Recommended Tracks: Dirty Rotten Bastards, 99 Revolutions, & Missing You
12. ¡Uno! (2012)
The first of the trio is also the one that I listened to the most out of the bunch (and the reason it took me quite a while to get around to the other 2). ¡Uno! is only a small step above ¡Tré! as most of the songs are still just as half-baked and lacking inspiration. Luckily, this record does contain the best song of the trio in “Let Yourself Go”, a truly fantastic and fun song reminiscent of the band’s late 90s era. A few more songs of this caliber could’ve really changed the direction of the album, but unfortunately “Let Yourself Go” is by far the best track. Among the tracklist of mostly okay songs are missteps that could’ve been completely left out such as “Kill the DJ”.
Recommended Tracks: Let Yourself Go, Angel Blue, & Rusty James
11. Father of All Motherfuckers (2020)
Definitely, the oddest Green Day album as it forgoes pretty much any of the pop-punk sound the band was previously known for, instead of replacing it with straight-up rock n’ roll (think The Hives & Franz Ferdinand). Throughout you’ll find plenty of hand-clapping, falsetto singing, and piano accompaniment. While I wasn’t impressed with the singles, the 2nd half of the record is a bit better, and “Sugar Youth” is a legitimately good track. Father of All just barely beats outs ¡Uno! and ¡Tré!, but this is almost solely due to the fact that instead of sounding like a random collection of songs (like the trio), this record at least sounds like one cohesive effort. This isn’t Green Day at their best, but it’s still nice to see that they’re willing to try to be innovative.
Recommended Tracks: Sugar Youth, Stab You in the Heart, & Graffitia
10. ¡Dos! (2012)
Out of the trio, ¡Dos! just barely squeaks by as the best, and this is really only due to having songs that are slightly more salvageable overall than the other 2. The album is still far from being close to the band’s best material, but this album (besides the song “Fuck Time”) can be more or less enjoyed from start to finish. I even enjoyed that they tried something noticeably different for the band with the “Nightlife”, a kind-of dancy offbeat song featuring mostly female vocals. If you haven’t listened to any of this trio of albums yet, I would recommend listening to Demolicious instead which features most of the best tracks, but in a demo form that manages to capture the songs in a more organic light.
Recommended Tracks: Stop When the Red Lights Flash, Ashley, & Nightlife
9. Revolution Radio (2016)
Green Day’s 12th album Revolution Radio certainly has its faults, a few cringey tracks that are a little too “made-for-radio” and lacking substance, but even with the faults, it’s still nice to hear a record from GD that sounds like a record — an album that has structure from beginning to end, rather than a loose array of ideas like the trio albums before it. A lot of the album has a stadium-esque vibe to it with heavy production that almost reminds me of the more recent Anti-Flag albums. Half the record is skippable, but it’s still an overall enjoyable listen.
Recommended Tracks: Revolution Radio, Bouncing off the Wall, & Too Dumb to Die
8. 39/Smooth (1990)
What’s great about 39/Smooth is that even though it’s their debut record, and it’s clearly low-budget, the sound that made the band famous is still clearly there — even from the beginning they knew how to write these instantly catchy melodies with relatable lyrics. Starting with this record, the band kept an upward trend, slightly perfecting and tinkering with the sound they established originally on this album. Songs like “16” show that the band is capable of versatility (something they would experiment with more and more). Notably, this is their only album missing Tré Cool, but the drumming is still serviceable.
Recommended Tracks: Don’t Leave Me, 16, & I Was There
7. Kerplunk (1991)
Kerplunk is, for all intents and purposes, a better version of 39/Smooth. It takes the formula that was already established and tightens everything up ever so slightly. The lyrics are a bit better, and the melodies are a bit better. On top of that, this record already shows the band unsatisfied with simply playing the same style throughout, mixing it up slightly towards the end of the album. Kerplunk was Green Day’s last record before signing to a major label and thus their last album before needing to live up to anyone’s expectations (label or fans) — something that gave them a more loose feel.
Recommended Tracks: 2000 Light Years Away, Words I Might Have Ate, & Who Wrote Holden Caufield?
6. 21st Century Breakdown (2009)
This is undoubtedly a fascinating album, one that I think a lot of people are divided on. It was the follow-up to the extremely successful American Idiot and it’s pretty clear throughout the album that they not only wanted to continue on the successful path of that album but even outdo it. At nearly 70 minutes, it’s a juggernaut of an album and one that sees the band unloading every trick they have. Again, as the concept in American Idiot was so successful, Green Day tried to once again make a concept album, this one focusing on the characters of Christian and Gloria — which, to be honest, this element of the album never really provided any interest for me. That said, it doesn’t detract from some excellent (and some mediocre) songs. Overall, I’d say this is probably the most ambitious album Green Day has made, and although it doesn’t click everywhere, it’s still a pretty great addition to their catalogue.
Recommended Tracks: Peacemaker, American Eulogy, & ¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl)
5. Warning (2000)
Warning marks the first Green Day album that didn’t outshine the previous one, and while this may sound like an insult to the album, it really isn’t. I think the record gets a lot of criticism for being a change to the band’s established sound at the time, and while that is true, I think the change was done very honestly and enthusiastically. With a focus on acoustic guitar and brighter melodies, Warning is the fun summer-vibes record of Green Day’s catalog, and for that reason alone it will always have a bright spot in my rotation.
Recommended Tracks: Castaway, Misery, & Waiting
4. Dookie (1994)
This is the album that really made and defined Green Day. Although it’s not a huge change from the 2 records before it, it’s still such an impressive record. Every song fits so perfectly that I can only imagine what this would’ve sounded like coming out in 1994 if, even today, it can still sound so refreshing. Although it’s their first record on a major label, the lyrics don’t contain any of the machismo that was popular around at the time. Instead, the lyrics paint a descriptive picture of someone with the same problems most people have in their late teen/early 20s — in suburban America. I think it’s this particular quality that has made the record timeless — either it speaks to you directly (if you’re at the right age) or it brings up nostalgic memories of being younger.
Recommended Tracks: Longview, Burnout, & In the End
3. American Idiot (2004)
This album was really hard to rank. It required me to put aside the annoyance of songs being overplayed and try to hear it again with fresh ears and appreciate it for what it offers. American Idiot is easily the band’s most successful record, with 4 songs from it still getting regular airplay over 15 years later. I appreciate that the band tried something very different for themselves at the time, something that could’ve easily ostracized their original fanbase. Yes, they did lose some of their core group, but they also gained so many more fans. The popularity of this album is not an indicator of its greatness — American Idiot succeeds because, in the midst of catchy songs, there’s still a lot of depth and concept found throughout, enough to make the record an absolute achievement by the band.
Recommended Tracks: Jesus of Suburbia, Holiday, & Homecoming
2. Insomniac (1995)
Although it was a close call, Insomniac ultimately falls into second place. It’s a record that sees the band near the top of their game in songwriting. There isn’t a single weak or skippable track to be found. The lyrics are smart, personal, and showcase the brunt of what made Green Day popular in the first place. If there’s one particular standout or takeaway from the record, it’s the clear influence of psychedelic drugs in the songwriting process. Although drugs & songwriting weren’t new to the band at the time, nowhere else does it seep so clearly into the songs. There are very clear moments throughout that make the listener experience elements of a bad trip. Insomniac is a record I never get tired of and it will always be a highlight of the music made in the 90s, with songs like “86” providing an example of punk rules in the Bay.
Recommended Tracks: Bab’s Uvula Who?, Walking Contradiction, & Brain Stew
1. Nimrod (1997)
Damn, this is one fantastic album. From beginning to end, it’s an extremely complete record that flows together seamlessly. This, I believe, is the last Green Day record where they were truly inspired to improve on the sound that made them famous. After this record, the sound became more motivated into trying new things and ideas in an attempt to keep things fresh, rather than to simply make great music because of natural inspiration. The range of style on Nimrod fit perfectly into what makes Green Day compelling, at least half the tracks fit into pop-punk, while in the midst of those songs you’ve got an instrumental surf-rock intermission, acoustic songs, full-on rock tracks, a little bit of ska influence, and some low-tempo crooners. The production on the album is additionally a noticeable aspect, it’s very close to being overproduced, but never quite falls off that ledge, instead, you just notice a lot of sonic touches that improve everything.
Recommended Tracks: Hitchin’ a Ride, King for a Day, & Nice Guys Finish Last
