In the decade or so after Green Day's Dookie changed the landscape of alternative music forever, pop-punk had a deluge of successful bands. It feels wild to think of a time when the likes of Sum 41, Good Charlotte, Blink 182, New Found Glory, and their kind owned not only the alt landscape, but pop-punk bands were legitimate mainstream stars in the early 2000s. Don't believe it? AFI picked up a VMA the same night as the famous Britney and Madonna kiss in 2003. It was a very different time.
With brash power chords taking over MTV and movie soundtracks, inevitably, some brilliant bands have been forgotten in the years since. The sound of pop-punk has changed many times, from the more mature take from The Story So Far and The Wonder Years, A Day To bringing metalcore to the party, and Machine Gun Kelly and Neck Deep reviving the good times for the modern era. These are the bands who have remained timeless and deserve to be ed.
10 The Ataris
Formed: 1996
It really doesn't make sense that things didn't explode for The Ataris. As trends began to change in the early 2000s, The Ataris contained the best of pop-punk and commercial emo. They traded in the songs that Jimmy Eat World made household names on their Bleed American album, and "In This Diary" is one of the best pop-punk songs ever written.
So Long, Astoria peaked at number 16 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the band's most commercially successful release.
They even have one of the best covers in pop-punk with their blistering take on Don Henley's "The Boys Of Summer". There will never be a summer that "So Long, Astoria" doesn't hit the spot.
9 Home Grown
Formed: 1994
A flurry of dizzying tempo changes and spunky attitude, Home Grown's 2002 Kings Of Pop album is loaded with quirky energy. Sharing the same bouncy, H2O-influenced hardcore riffing as early New Found Glory, there's a nerdy energy to their vocal delivery that feels like a Weezer fan's dream.
Home Grown played two shows in 2024. These mark their first performances since the band split in 2005.
It's also outrageous behavior to sequence "Kiss Me, Diss Me" and "You're Not Alone" back-to-back. The lyrics haven't aged as well as their other elements, but Home Grown deserve a couple of slots on any pop-punk playlists.
8 We Are The In Crowd
Formed: 2009
Suffering from an awful era where every band felt like they were compared to Paramore, We Are The In Crowd's sound leaned far more into pop than punk, but it was no less infectious. Songs like "Kiss Me Again" and "The Best Thing (That Never Happened)" would have been enormous in the early 2000s, and in Taylor Jardine the band had a frontwoman born with natural charisma.
We Are The In Crowd were originally named The In Crowd, but had to change it because of a '70s reggae band who shared the same name.
They only recorded two albums, but We Are The In Crowd received a hero's welcome when reuniting for When We Were Young festival in 2024 and are still loved to this day.
7 Fenix TX
Formed: 1995
Without hyperbole, Fenix TX's Lechuza might be the best album by any band on this list. It contains more great songs than most bands manage on their Greatest Hits collections, as "Phoebe Cates" gained some attention for its use in American Pie 2, and "Threesome" had a high-budget video.
The estate of deceased actor River Phoenix filed a cease and desist order against Fenix TX, forcing them to change their name from Riverfenix to Fenix TX.
Nevertheless, that's small potatoes compared to what that record deserves. If Patrick Stump had written "Tearjerker", it would be a song everyone knows every word to. 1999's self-titled album doesn't shy away from its primary influences (Green Day, basically), but Fenix TX have a rich catalog of ionate and energetic songs.
6 Hit The Lights
Formed: 2003
Sometimes a phenomenal song can be something of an albatross, and Hit The Lights have one of the best pop-punk songs ever written with "Bodybag". Any pop-punk night there's ever been has played this bouncy and catchy tune that is so good that it sets a bar that Hit The Lights never managed to meet again.
Hit The Lights performed for five straight years on Vans Warped Tour.
This Is A Stick Up...Don't Make It A Murder is stacked with choppy, chugging guitar work and peppy spirit, but its follow-up Skip School, Start Fights had a shinier feel that didn't benefit their sound. They fizzled out with 2015's Summer Bones, but we'll always have "Bodybag".
5 A Loss For Words
Formed: 1999
Having the harder sound that comes with being from MA, A Loss For Words had an irresistibly catchy yet tough approach. Coming after A Day To had brought harder breakdowns to pop-punk with For Those Who Have Heart, 2009's The Kids Can't Lose is a barrage of chunky riffs, sincere melodies, and two-step charm.
The only original member of A Loss For Words is vocalist, Matty Arsenault.
No Sanctuary had a jaunty and varied approach that felt unfocused, but Before It Caves was a return to form with an earnest feel that suited them far better. They've played a few one off shows, but A Loss For Words have largely been inactive since 2017.
4 Motion City Soundtrack
Formed: 1997
Some of these bands were given a raw deal in of public acceptance, but Motion City Soundtrack were probably too quirky for mass acceptance. Their music is a kaleidoscope of wonder where playful keyboards dance around guitars that constantly shift and drums that rarely stay at one tempo.
Motion City Soundtrack have now been active since their 2019 reunion for longer than they were split up, from 2015-2019.
Motion City Soundtrack are like if Fall Out Boy grew up on Smiling Friends, with Commit This To Memory, My Dinosaur Life and Even If It Kills Me all Hall Of Fame worthy albums, how ever they're categorized.
3 Tonight Alive
Formed: 2008
It's not the best start to pitching a band when their biggest hit is a cover of Little Lion Man, but Australia's Tonight Alive had a great run in the early 2010s. Their debut What Are You Scared Of? gained plenty of attention with its spirit and charm, and 2013's The Other Side is Tonight Alive's shining moment.
Tonight Alive's The Edge was featured on the soundtrack to The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
That album was a collection of songs delivered with real fire, which, sadly, was something that never quite materialized again. Still, though, Tonight Alive are best ed for their heart and enthusiasm.
2 +44
Formed: 2005
This may be a controversial take, but it feels people didn't embrace +44 because they were not as good as Box Car Racer. Tom DeLonge's non-Blink 182 side-project is in the conversation to be considered the best side project album of the 21st Century.
+44 are named after the dialing code for the United Kingdom.
As such, the peppy Blink-lite sound of +44 wasn't to everybody's taste, because it was inferior to the projects it is associated with. Judge their 2006 When Your Heart Stops Beating album on its own merits and +44 provide a wave of nostalgic pop-punk that perfectly captures the sound of its era.
1 Eve 6
Formed: 1995
Having had a renaissance for a period due to being really good on Twitter and embracing their status as "the heart in a blender band", Eve 6 are a superb mix of 90's commercial rock and pop-punk energy. Taking the radio-conquering sound of Goo Goo Dolls and Matchbox 20 and turning up the distortion and energy, the first two Eve 6 albums are a treasure trove of memorable, fist-in-the-air anthems.
The ballad "Here's To The Night" and the rip-roaring "Open Road Song" are both superior to "Inside Out" aka "the heart in a blender song", and they still play shows today.