5. Insomniac
Insomniac has been described by various critics as Green Day's version of In Utero (or Vitalogy...or OK Computer), turning to a drastically darker sonic palette than what was used on their previous records. But let's not kid ourselves, Insomniac is not strikingly grimmer than Dookie. Sure, some of the songs have a harder edge ("Geek Stink Breath," "Brain Stew"), and a couple others dip their toes into the waters of hard rock ("Panic Song" contains their most epic, hard-charging intro, by far), but it's more about shading around the edges than gutting their sound altogether. If anything, Insomniac is just Green Day playing around with starker contrasts, punching the guitars a little harder and cutting back on the bright cymbal crashes. Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool are more forceful, too, getting multiple chances to step to the forefront. (Which should absolutely happen more frequently on newer records.) Insomniac isn't a dark album, but it
does provide some interesting new layers to a band who had been previously stuffed inside a snarky, pop-punk hole. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNq9gmY_Oz4