10 Punk Albums You Need To Own

10. New Wave - Against Me!

By the time punk rock reached the late '00s, the radio-friendly side of the genre was starting to wear out its welcome. Though the sounds of pop punk helped acquaint many young rockers with the genre, even bands like Green Day and Blink-182 were flirting with different sounds by the decade's midpoint. Amid all of the changing tides, Against Me! put out one of the most pointed punk rock record of their generation.

While still being rooted in the pop punk ethos, this album has one hell of a punch courtesy of Butch Vig, which makes the band sound more like a turbo charged punk band than a pop punk affair. However, the real star of the show is the lyrics, with Laura Jane Grace's lyrics tackling bold topics of war and discord on tracks like "White People for Peace" and "Americans Abroad."

This album also isn't afraid to take a few chances from time to time either, with songs like "Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart" featuring the mainstream vocals of Tegan Quin in an incredibly tasteful manner. Against Me! may have had even higher aspirations for albums like Transgender Dysphoria Blues, but this was the first time the punk world was treated to what this band could really do.