Pop-punk is one of the many great foundational genres we have in the grand tapestry of this history we know as music. While it might be most commonly known for being part of the era of MTV, Vans sneakers, Tony Hawk-inspired skateboarding, and plenty of eyeliner and hair gel, punk with a splash of pop's inviting melody began much earlier in time. Bands like the Ramones and the Buzzcocks helped usher in pop-punk in the '70s and were steadily followed by influential acts like Bad Religion, the Descendants, and The Misfits.

Groups that came along with a pop-punk twist only grew in notoriety with the approach of the present day, shaking up the status quo on the way to the mainstream with Green Day, Blink-182, Fall Out Boy, Avril Lavigne, Jimmy Eat World, and Paramore. But what about those hidden gems of the pop-punk slate? The groups that came and went, only to leave behind a single album testament to the creativity they wanted to along to those lucky enough to listen to it? There is no lack of diamonds in this expansive rough.

8 Isles & Glaciers

The Hearts Of Lonely People (2010)

Comprised of from other bands like Pierce the Veil, Cinematic Sunrise, Dance Gavin Dance, and Emarosa, Isles & Glaciers was the equivalent of an emo rock-leaning pop-punk supergroup when they released The Heart of Lonely People in 2010. More in the form of a long EP, these seven tracks feel like a rapidly shifting weight of effective emotions buoyed under the weight of multiple vocalists handling lyrical duties.

All the genre trademarks are here, between building guitars, frenetic drums, and the nasal creak of vocals in tracks like "Empty Sighs and Wine" and "Viola Lion." Though there are moments of welcomed levity in the quieter moments, like the interlude of "Oceans for Backyards" and the stellar slow build of closer "Cemetery Weather." of Isles & Glaciers have confirmed this was a one-off side project, and it makes for a fine appetizer for those in the mood for the rock-ironed side of pop-punk.

7 Box Car Racer

Box Car Racer (2002)

Box Car Racer released their first and only album (also titled Box Car Racer) back in 2002. The project was conceived by Blink-182 vocalist Tom DeLonge along with Blink drummer Travis Barker and bassist David Kennedy during a time that the band was on a break from touring. While there are some inevitable relatives to the Blink-182 sound on Box Car Racer, there's also an effective, deeper, and darker undertone to the songs that are moodily compelling and may have come from DeLonge's mindset at the time.

Recovering from a lengthy back issue, DeLonge reportedly found the narrative thread of Box Car Racer treading a more grim, conceptually world-ending sense of philosophy due to the persistent pain he was in. And in listening to Box Car Racer, there is a meaner edge to DeLonge's traditional style with tracks like "All Systems Go," "Letters to God," "Sorrow," and "The End with You."

The project reportedly caused issues with fellow Blink-182 vocalist Mark Hoppus (who wasn't included in the endeavor) and may have contributed to Blink breaking up for a time. While Box Car Racer ultimately dissolved in 2003.

6 +44

When Your Heart Stops Beating (2006)

Just a few years after the release of Tom DeLonge's side project album, Box Car Racer, fellow Blink-182 vocalist Mark Hoppus got his own chance for a solo project in 2006 called +44. The group's lone album, entitled When Your Heart Stops Beating, came out the year after Blink-182 went on an "indefinite hiatus." The record also featured Travis Barker on the drums as well as Shane Gallagher, Craig Farbaugh, and Carol Heller with a mix of vocals and guitar.

Unlike DeLonge and Box Car Racer, Hoppus' +44 sounds closer to the pop-punk sound fans of Blink-182 know so well, but with more of a pop and rock-heavier glaze that can almost recall a light Red Hot Chili Peppers at times. When Your Heart Stops Beating is a strong LP built around tracks like "Weatherman," "155," and "Baby Come On," that shows Hoppus could aptly approach solo work as well. Plans for a second +44 album were scrapped a few years later after Blink-182 got back together.

5 Misser

Every Day I Tell Myself I'm Going To Be A Better Person (2012)

The emo-pop-punk band Misser got their start as a solo project for Tim Landers, formerly of the band Transit. With Landers on guitar and vocals, along with Brad Wiseman (formerly of the group This Time Next Year) on vocals as well, Misser released their first and only full-length album, Every Day I Tell Myself I'm Going To Be A Better Person, in 2012. And while the group didn't necessarily move the needle into any unexpected places on this LP, they made a great record of the genre fusion.

Pulsing with an added rocker edge with tracks like "Bridges," "Just Say It," "Bad News," and closer "The Waits," Misser hits the best of the heights and also has time to inject sensibility into the lows of their sound here. And while Misser was finished after the death of Landers in 2019, the fun of Every Day I Tell Myself I'm Going To Be A Better Person is worth a persistent play.

4 The Exploding Hearts

Guitar Romantic (2003)

Portland, Oregon, area rockers The Exploding Hearts were a brilliant throwback to early purveyors of the pop-punk movement such as the Buzzcocks, Ramones, and a young Elvis Costello with the release of their 2003 album Guitar Romantic. Tracks like the stellar "Modern Kicks," "Sleeping Aides and Razor Blades," "Boulevard Trash," and closer "Still Crazy" were a warm and friendly reminder of the influences that started firing up the pop-punk movement and just why it worked so well.

Tragically, shortly after the release of Guitar Romantic, several of The Exploding Hearts would be killed in a car accident and would immediately disband as a result. Listening to Guitar Romantic will only make you wonder what might have been had circumstances not ended so sadly, but it maintains its status as a highly underrated gem.

3 Crooks UK

Are We All The Same Distance Apart (2015)

Crooks UK were an English group that hit all the right basics of the rising highs and depressive sleeping lows of emotion on their only album release, Are We All The Same Distance Apart. While songs like "Above Me" and "Harmony Falls" might seem to quickly and easily paint Crooks UK as another punk-leaning band in the pop vein, it's the songs between the lines that tell the emotional depth of their story.

The slower moments on "May Be" and "Windy Little Town" show off some of that demeanor befitting Crooks UK's home gray English countryside, and it wins the listener over more and more with each listen. Crooks UK has seemingly disbanded since this 2015 release, but like all great music, this leaves a fine record behind of the best of this band's high marks.

2 Chumped

Teenage Retirement (2014)

Brooklyn, NY-based pop punkers Chumped have been on an indefinite hiatus for quite some time, but during their brief stint together they came up with a delightful 2014 LP, Teenage Retirement. The record is the perfect mix of humorous wit and six-stringed slackerdom that has given the pop-punk rock genre so much of its charm.

Led by the wry sneer of vocalist Anika Pyle, tracks like "December is the Longest Month," "Anywhere But Here," "Long Division," "Coffee," and "Old and Tired" are just a few examples of songs by a band that should have been on the rise. Gone but not forgotten, Chumped really made pop-punk proud with Teenage Retirement.

1 Student Rick

Soundtrack For A Generation (2001)

Former emo rockers out of South Bend, Indiana, Student Rick were a band that fell through the cracks a bit when it came to the rise of pop-punk in the early 2000s. Their only studio album was called Soundtrack For A Generation in 2001, which had a minor hit in the form of "Falling For You."

Soundtrack For A Generation feels very aptly named, as just listening to it feels like the sensation of living out younger days, driving in the car while hungry for an adventure with friends or family, taking in all the sights the world had to offer. "Monday Morning," "I Wish," "Falling For You," and "South Of Blackford" were just a handful of tracks that, much like Chumped with Teenage Retirement, felt like a band with something more special to offer ahead. But at least we get to appreciate what we have right here.