Even almost two decades since the undeniable artistic watershed of their Untitled LP, there remains a strange consensus amongst many fans that there’s something insubstantial about blink-182’s body of work. Perhaps it’s an impression informed by the throwaway façade of their early years (an endless barrage of toilet humour fronting, as it does for so many young men, the well of more complex emotion within) having been mistaken for genuine numbskullery.
Maybe it’s that their stop-start output, numerous side-projects and the changing faces of their line-up have undermined their monumental significance as pop-punk figureheads in some fans’ minds. Original drummer Scott Raynor was replaced by the untouchable Travis Barker in 1998, while once-irreplaceable guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge has been swapped out for Alkaline Trio mainman Matt Skiba for their last two LPs. Bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, however, remains a rocksteady constant.
Dig into their eight albums (nine if, like the band, you wish to count 1994’s Buddha demo), however, and you’ll find an artistic evolution drawn out over three decades that few others in rock can match. With such shifting tones – both sonically and philosophically – different fans from contrasting eras will surely have their own opinions on which sorts of songs belong on a list like this. We’ve done our best, however, to provide a comprehensive overview of the finest milestones on blink’s ever-onward path…