10 Greatest Punk Bands Of All Time
5. Green Day
There's usually a pretty split opinion on Green Day in punk circles: either they finally brought punk to the mainstream or they represent a cheap mockery of the punk ideals. For as much success as the band has gotten over the years, it has definitely been a bumpy ride. Even if you don't necessarily see them as punk though, Green Day's mindset has always been about as pure as any punk could hope for.
When the band was formed in the late '80s by Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt, they seemed content to just live the punk lifestyle, as they toured the California Bay Area without a penny to their name. Once they finally exploded with Dookie, the entire punk landscape was changed. Instead of pure anger, most of the songs were musically sophisticated, almost as if the band had made the perfect pop song into a punk rager.
Even when they were in the spotlight, the band took the unconventional route every chance they could, from putting out folk-centric songs on Warning to releasing a multi-part rock opera with American Idiot alongside the other pop-punk acts they helped inspire. Green Day might not be the heaviest punk band out there, but they are responsible for getting every other suburban kid interested in punk and rock as a whole.