10 Best Pop-Punk Records

With all of the angst and relationship problems present in pop-punk, there were still bands in the scene with a story to tell. In the middle of the pop-punk explosion in the 2000's, 5 misfits from New Jersey came out of the shadows and delivered one of punk's greatest concept records.

The Black Parade is held as My Chemical Romance's magnum opus and an earnest look at the end of life. Revolving around a one man's slow embrace of death, this record goes for the jugular with its powerful message and stunning instrumentation. While most pop-punk acts never strayed too far from your standard power chords, MCR's guitar work featured licks and solos that were so good they could be mistaken for a Queen production. Add to that Gerard Way's punk powerhouse vocals and this album becomes a recipe for what happens when a pop-punk act grows up and retains their angst.

This record is a fastball lobbed right back at pop-punk's detractors who complain that every band just complains about their relationship problems. While Green Day's American Idiot may have been the first bold pop-punk concept album of the era, The Black Parade is the perfect encapsulation of that pop-punk vision.