The best Green Day songs from all 13 studio albums
Last Updated on: 26th July 2023, 05:28 am
Starting their band in 1987, Green Day has created a whole new meaning of punk rock. Releasing 13 studio albums and over 200 songs it can be difficult to determine which ones are the “best.”
How do you possibly choose from some of the well-known anthems to some of the lesser-known, but out-of-this-world songs that Green Day produces – and trust me when I say, there’s a lot!
Taking all songs into consideration, here is a list of the “best” songs in the album, how they made Green Day who they are, and why they’re the best songs in order.
1. 39/Smooth
With 39/Smooth being Green Day‘s first official album, it doesn’t receive the love and attention it deserves. Out of the 19 songs in the album, it was difficult to figure out which song was the best.
Best Song: I Want To Be Alone
Although being one of the least popular songs in the album, 39/Smooth‘s song I Want To Be Alone would have to be the best one. This song shows the potential Green Day has and how they were able to become what they are today.
This song includes smooth vocals from Mike Dirnt and Billie Joe Armstrong, amazing drumming from John Kiffmeyer, and a brilliant guitar solo by Armstrong, it shows the talents of the band members and gives the best introduction to the future of the band and their career.
This song perfectly shows the style of music Green Day is and makes you wonder what they have coming in the future.
2. Kerplunk
Green Day‘s 1992 album Kerplunk was the first Green Day album to introduce drummer Tre Cool into their band. They allowed Cool to create his own song Dominated Love Slave. Kerplunk was what really started to show the style of music Green Day was going to produce in the future.
Best Song: 2000 Light Years Away
Out of Kerplunk‘s 16 songs, it would be wrong if I said the best song wasn’t 2000 Light Years Away. With the song being one of their first songs to become a big deal, to many, this was the first sign Green Day was gonna go far. This song talking the fantasies of a girl that was “2000 light years away.” It lets the listener imagine either the love or unhealthy obsession with this girl.
This song contains a drumming style that wasn’t shown in Green Day‘s previous album. At the same time containing a good bass solo which allowed Dirnt to show off his style whilst also adding a nice touch that blended in perfectly with the theme of the song.
Overall this song was a change to the music in 39/Smooth and allowed the band to show off their own talents in a new and creative way whilst confirming their place in the world of punk rock.
3. Dookie
Dookie is considered the album that made Green Day who they are. This album took the Punk Rock community by surprise.
Being known as Green Day‘s best album, Dookie includes 15 brilliantly written songs. Over 20 million copies of the album have been sold worldwide and would receive its first RIAA certification of gold on June 14, 1994, and platinum on August 17, 1994. The album has gone platinum 9 times.
You may expect me to say the beloved song Basket Case would be the best. Although it is an incredible song I would have to say Chump and Longview are the best songs in the album.
Best Songs: Chump and Longview
Chump and Longview contain challenging basslines by Dirnt, unbelievable drumming by Cool, along with gorgeous vocals by Armstrong, these songs are instantly recognizable, especially by Dirnt’s bassline in Longview.
You can recognize that iconic bassline anywhere without fail due to how unique it is. Dirnts talent really shows in these songs and shows fans and even none fans how talented Green Day is and what they can offer in a matter of two songs.
With these songs, Green Day figured out how to perfectly transition from that fast-paced ending of Chump to the slow and calm start that Longview has which is a very difficult thing to transition to but The band nailed it.
4. Insomniac
Coming out in 1995, Insomniac is arguably their most underappreciated album. Out of all 14 songs, it is so hard to decide the best song, with all songs having a good tune, a deep and real meaning behind them that millions of people all around the world can relate to, and amazing music videos, there really is no best song for this album.
In the end, I couldn’t choose between two songs. Geek Stink Breath and 86.
Best Song: Geek Stink Breath
Geek Stink Breath talks about the physical effects that addiction can have on people such as, tooth decay, scabbing on the face, and heart issues.
Geek Stink Breath also talks about how an addict can become reliant on substances, how it can take control of someone’s life and how it can cause people to lose sense of who they are without these substances.
This song contains a heavier sound to it whilst still maintaining an eery calm tune to it which fits the lyrics to the song perfectly.
The song also has a close relation to the band’s heartbreaking past with drug abuse which gives the song a sadder meaning… it is something the now happy and recovered band has dealt with firsthand.
Making the song more real and unforced, Green Day has put their struggles with substance abuse into a song which warns about what it can do to them and others who are struggling with the same issue.
Geek Stink Breath‘s music video contains video of a tooth being pulled out, again showing how the constant use of drugs can lead to tooth loss, Whilst getting a tooth out is a relatively calm procedure, the video shows it to be a scary thing to happen to someone.
This symbolizes how terrifying the process of tooth decay and tooth loss can be whether they’re medically removed, fall out naturally or just decay until no longer there.
READ MORE: Green Day ‘The Coverups’ take Instagram by storm!
Runner Up: 86
86 is a song about being shut out from a place once called home, losing the sense of comfort that was given from that place and losing the people they once loved and knew as friends. Armstrong wrote this song after he and the rest of Green Day got kicked from 924 Gilman Street after signing a major record label.
Symbolizing the beginning of a new era and finding a new path, Green Day uses the term “86” which is a term used in the restaurant industry to signify that a removal or dismissal is happening. Here Green Day uses it as a way to show them permanently moving on and starting their own path in the music industry.
86 can also be interpreted as a way to show that the band misses how their life was before joining the music industry back in ’87. This can state how there’s no return back to the easy life in ’86 and this is the path they’ve chosen, and they will have to deal with being shut out again and again and again along their journey through music, but they just have to keep going as music is “buried deep with your identity”.
Overall these songs tell a story of the life Green Day had in the form of catchy tunes hiding a dark and heartbreaking past the band has. Giving it a very personal and real feel to the songs, these songs perfectly show what goes on behind the scenes of the band and the struggles you don’t get to see but the band has pushed through to become the dearly loved band they are today.
5. Nimrod
Nimrod was a change from Green Day‘s usually heavy songs. Armstrong noted that this album the band went down “different avenues.”
“Each song has its own character and identity so we wanted to be able to bring that out as much as possible.” Green Day‘s song Nice Guys Finish Last is said to be the song that perfectly transitions from the heavy sound of Insomniac to the calmer but still punk Nimrod.
Nimrod talks more about mental struggle and self-doubt which is a change from previous albums which tend to have a theme of past events and substance abuse
Best Song: Redundant
Out of 18 songs, the song Redundant has a change in theme and stands out against the rest of the album.
Redundant talks about life being a cycle of the same thing over and over again. The song talks about how we are set in a loop of the same thing every day “like a production like going over and over and over”. This can be interpreted as us as humans have been set a cycle of waking up, eating, working and sleeping, only that forever and ever.
On the other hand, this can be seen as the character in the song falling for the same person again but ending up being shut down heartbroken by the same thing and slowly losing hope. Redundant mentions being silenced, this can be taken as either being ignored by someone they love and being turned down, or it can be interpreted as being too scared to express the feelings the character has towards a certain person.
In the Redundant music video, It starts with the band entering the scene and slowly other people enter and repeat the same thing throughout the song, this shows the pattern these people are living on a daily. As the music video progresses, the cycle continues until slowly they stop showing up, symbolizing death.
However, at the end of the music video, Armstrong is seen to pick up a newspaper that a woman has been collecting since the beginning. The woman ends up screaming due to this. This symbolizes how one break in these people’s pattern can destroy the routine keeping everything stable and if you decide to break the pattern you can change things completely and throw off the rhythm for better or for worse.
6. Warning
Warning is known for its change from Green Day‘s punk style to a calmer album incorporating more acoustic, folk and pop elements in the album. Warning talks about more political elements of the life we live, mostly shown in the recognizable songs Warning and Minority. In the album, it’s clear Armstrong experimenting with a mix of the happier elements of day-to-day life mixed with the negatives.
Best Song: Minority
It would be wrong if I didn’t say Minority.
Minority is about standing up for our own beliefs instead of jumping on the bandwagon and fitting in at the extent of our own individuality. This was Green Day‘s first real song standing up to politics. Singer Billie Joe Armstrong wrote the song whilst the 2000s Presidential elections were ramping up in the United States between George W Bush and Al Gore.
Billie states “I think that song is sort of about declaring that you’re stepping out of the line, you’re not part of the sheep, and trying to find your own individualism. It felt like we were diving into something that was more conceptual for sure.”
The song speaks up about going against the “moral majority” and going with what you believe and marching to your own beat. The song also mentions not needing others’ permission to believe what your heart tells you is right and to not let the opinions of others and authority tell you what to believe in as long as you’re not hurting others around you.
Minority has a personal connection to the band, as Billie has stated he identifies as Bisexual and doesn’t sit under any gender labels. Armstrong himself would be a minority and at the time the song was written, homophobia was very common and it was frowned upon to be anything other than the social norm of straight and cisgender. Armstrong has told “fans” who have made negative comments about his sexuality which he first spoke about years ago to “Just get over it and move on” which is also exactly the message people need to get from Minority, to stop caring about what others are doing and get on with your own life.
This can be used as a way to tell the people of the world to not listen to what people say, love who you love, and be who you want to be because, at the end of the day, you’re the one who’s living as you so don’t bother being the majority and just be who you are.
7. American Idiot
American Idiot became one of the most anticipated releases of 2004. Fans all over the world were excited for this new album as it signified Green Day‘s official comeback after no releases for 4 years. Charting in 27 countries, reaching for the first time the top spot on the Billboard 200 for Green Day, and hitting number one in 18 other countries, American Idiot was a great comeback for Green Day, and many fans all around the world were thrilled that their favorite band was back in business.
American Idiot has very meaningful messages, telling the story of Armstrong’s past. Songs like Wake Me Up When September Ends, tell the story of Armstrong’s father passing after fighting cancer and how this has affected him over the years, and Jesus of Suburbia tells the story of how Billie grew up and the struggles he faced all through a character called the “Jesus Of Suburbia” this album is very emotional when you dig deep.
Best Song: Jesus Of Suburbia
With this album containing such brilliant songs there is no best, but Jesus Of Suburbia brings this entire album together and tells a very powerful story of the life the wonderful Billie Joe Armstrong once lived, and that part of him that will stick with him forever.
Jesus of Suburbia is a troubled teenager who is coping with the economy and wartime politics with drugs and denial. Over the course of the song, he reveals how he’s slowly starting to hate himself and the people he once loved and how he’s shutting himself out.
The meaningful line “it says “home is where your heart is” but what a shame ’cause everyone’s heart doesn’t beat the same” talks about how home is where your heart makes it not where its told to be because everyone’s heart has a different rhythm and will never be the same as someone else’s, telling us that we should listen to where our heart feels safe, not where anyone else’s does.
At around 5 minutes 30 seconds into the song, the tone of the song completely changes from this upbeat fast tune with singing to a slower tune with practically talking. The lyrics at this part of the song sound as if they are reading a letter talking about how they’re wondering if they can ever get better from the hole that they’ve put themself in and if there really is help out there for them. However at the end of the verse, the tune switches again completely showing that they’re not willing to find that help and they’ve accepted the fact that there’s no hope and there’s nothing he can do except die or leave and in the end, he decides to leave.
At the end of the song it talks about leaving home and running away, saying that he’s going to try to find a new life where he can forget it all, this can be brought into the song’s Holiday/Boulevard Of Broken Dreams and even Homecoming.
Holiday/ Boulevard Of Broken Dreams talks about walking this road with nothing and no one but still praying to find hope but giving up slowly this can be taken in a metaphorical way or a literal way. Homecoming is almost spoken from another perspective begging for them to come home and the effects of their leaving imposed on those around who loved them and how they’re now struggling with it.
Overall Jesus Of Suburbia tells a very deep story about, love, hate, doubt, and failure within someone’s mind and how this can and will end up being too much if left to sit. This song is a great start to a story of a once so innocent character who is hiding and giving a new way to tell Billie Joe Armstrong’s amazing story and shows the dark side of his past that overall made him who he is.
8. 21st Century Breakdown
21st Century Breakdown is one of Green Day‘s most underrated albums. Containing 19 songs, this album was the biggest change in sound that Green Day has had before, it changed from a very punk theme to a more hyper and bouncy rock sound whilst still keeping Green Day‘s important messages in the songs.
There really is no specific way to describe what this album is about apart from its a new way to shout at the American Government without specifically saying it, whilst also getting the message out there in a way that people will actually listen to.
it was extremely difficult to choose one song as each song is unique but one song really stood out to me.
Best Song: Last Night On Earth
Last Night on Earth stood against the rest of the songs. The rest of the songs talk about the struggles of what’s going on in the world and the fact we need help. Last Night on Earth talks about if everything goes wrong in the end they’ll always be there for this other person, who we might think to be “Gloria” as mentioned in two other songs and is possibly the character spoken about in Last of the American Girls.
Themes of love aren’t very common amongst Green Day songs, especially like it is in this song. This song talks about doing anything as long as they can be with this certain person and how no matter what ends up happening, they will always love them.
This is a change from Green Day songs, usually containing a happy tune with a sad meaning. The song had a sadder tune but a happier meaning about love, making it feel uneasy and as if there is a deeper meaning behind this. It lets the listener think about what is happening to them to make them say this. War? Death? Leaving? or even just a cute message to a loved one? The song really lets the listener imagine a whole range of scenarios and create their own story about these lovers, family, friends or even “hated” ones in their life.
9. ¡Uno!
Green Day‘s trilogy of albums are some of the band’s least popular. These albums drive away from the punk rock sound and drive more toward pop rock. Uno mentions more towards happier themes of love and comfort in another. This is a change from other albums.
However, one song completely changes that for this album
Best Song: Let Yourself Go
Let Yourself Go brought this album back to the punk rock vibe. With a good drummer, guitar, and amazing lyrics, this album makes it sound like Green Day once again.
Let Yourself Go sounds like a personal attack on someone. Talking about how they should just finally keep their mouth shut because all they ever really do is complain and they need to get a knockback to reality.
There isn’t really much to be said about this song, however this song makes you wonder if this is a personal message to someone rather than a general message to anyone who cant get the words out themselves.
The song is very different from the other songs as the other songs in the albums are about wanting to be with someone and to stay with them so this song really is a shock to the album compared to the others.
10. ¡Dos!
Coming out not even two months after Uno, Dos doesn’t have a set theme to talk about and overall isn’t a very enjoyable album to listen to due to its lack of theme.
Although this doesn’t mean it’s a bad album, it definitely has its qualities. It has songs that do improve how it sounds and give it something new, such as Nightlife with the introduction of a female voice which is definitely a change for the male punk rock band.
On the other hand this can be very confusing for listeners as this album is completely different from other albums and completely drives away from punk rock.
Best Song: Makeout Party
Makeout Party revives the punk rock feels of this album and gives it a very special feel to it if you’ve been listening to the entire album, it gives you a shock as it perfectly brings back the Green Day feel to it.
With its screams from Billie and amazing solos by Billie and Jason mixed with Tres drumming and Mike’s bass line it really brings you back to the 90s when Green Day was screaming and bouncy.
There’s not much to say about this song also as it fits one theme and doesn’t give many messages but it’s still the best in the album because of how it really brings Green Day back to what it used to be.
11. ¡Tré!
Tre is by far the best album out of the trilogy, it doesn’t have a theme but all of the songs have a relatively similar sound while keeping it unique. This stops it from being overwhelming whilst also stopping it from being plain. Throughout the album, it mostly talks about love and the past. With songs like Missing You and X-Kid supporting that.
Best Song: The Forgotten
It’s easy to question The Forgotten due to its inclusion in The Breaking Dawn Pt.2 soundtrack. But it’s a really nice turn away from Green Day‘s usual tone without sounding dull or fake. This song really showcases Billie’s voice in a way not seen before in Green Day‘s Music.
This song also shows different things that Green Day can do without being chaotic or boring. The Forgotten is a loving calm song with a sadder but still lovely meaning behind it. Keeping the band’s solos in and sounding with a different tone makes it sound unreal but not faked or forced which is such a nice touch to the band.
12. Revolution Radio
No words can describe how powerful the messages in Revolution Radio are, This album’s entire message is to call out the awful things the American Government and Authorities are doing to the people it’s supposed to protect. The lyrics in this album are not at all trying to hide what they’re saying, they’re directly calling it out without sugarcoating anything.
There’s no doubt what song has the biggest message in it.
Best Song: Troubled Times
Directly talking about the privileges of being the social norm and how unfair society is on those who aren’t white males, Troubled Times is one of Green Day‘s most powerful songs.
Green Day really wasn’t worried about their message for this album being subtle. In other albums, Green Day has tried to cover their messages in their songs but this time they went all out.
In the music video, Green Day showed people in history who were hurt and killed and those who had to fight for their rights to even exist.
In this song, Green Day mentions how “what part of history we learn, if it’s repeated” talking about how we are just making the same mistakes we did all of these years ago when people had to fight and die for the right to just exist as who they where born as and to have the same rights as everyone else.
This song is a really powerful move for Green Day and gets a strong message out to the world in a way that people will actually listen to instead of just ignoring it. Green Day used their powers as famous musicians to get this message out and it’s a great thing for the band and the Punk rock Community to show their support to people who have been affected by racism, sexism, homophobia etc.
13. Father Of All Motherfuckers
Last but not definitely not least, Father Of All Motherfuckers. This album gives an overall rundown of Green Day‘s past with music, but one song does that better than the rest
Best Song: Sugar Youth
Containing references from songs all throughout Green Day‘s past, Sugar Youth is a great way to show what Green Day can do. The start of the song starts with a line referencing back to troubled times “What are the symptoms of our happiness and civil way?” and “I’ve got a fever, a none believer, and it’s killing me” referencing Peacemaker.
This song describes the author feeling stuck in a world with no escape and how it’s slowly eating him from the inside about not being able to fix it “like a high school loser that will never ever ever ever fuck the prom queen”. Because of this the author uses drugs to escape the reality of it “I’ve got a feeling and I need a rush” whilst still remaining in the situation.
“All hell is breaking loose and heaven only knows” admits that the author is not willing to sacrifice himself in order to save the situation because he “don’t wanna be a Romeo” because he knows the situation will turn out bad as it did in Romeo and Juliet.
Whilst still telling a meaningful story about harm drugs can do and the issues of the world, The band has found a perfect way to wrap up what’s happened in the past with their band and make us excited for what’s to come in the future.
