10 Best Rock Power Trios
6. Green Day
Starting out as the typical punk outfit, Green Day's rapid ascent in the mid 90's pioneered a new genre of music virtually overnight. The songwriting of guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong was certainly punk-inspired with its power-chord simplicity, but the tunefulness also owed a lot to classic power pop acts like the Beatles, Cheap Trick, and the Jam.
With the release of their breakthrough release Dookie, the band invented what is now known as pop-punk, with the insistent bratty vocals of Armstrong and the ear worm hooks of every melody. This was never intended to be just Armstrong's outfit though, as bassist Mike Dirnt's nimble fretwork made him one of the greatest bass players in punk. Rounding out the magic was Tre Cool's drums, which were always strong yet playful like a modern Keith Moon.
Even when the band was being counted out at the start of the 2000's, the band took a huge creative risk when their concept record American Idiot became a massive success. These pop-punk brats could have easily been forgotten once the glow of the 90's faded, but their knowledge of a great hook and immaculate pop arrangements turned them into one of the premier rock acts of the modern age.