20 Best Punk Albums of the Decade, 2000-2009

When the Dolls reappeared with their first collection of new material in over 30 years, I was skeptical to say the least. Could the Dolls reassemble their classic, innovative and influential sound? Fortunately, that answer was a resounding “yes,” and the album is full of the trashy glampunk sound they invented, and the resulting live performances were unpretentious rock and roll parties.

Despite the fact that David Johanson and Syl Sylvain are the only remaining members, the band holds true to their original sound, one that laid the foundations for punk rock in the U.S. And with new material, they prove that the sound is still relevant.

Essential Tracks:
"Fishnets & Cigarettes" Listen/Download
"Dance Like A Monkey" Listen/Download

When Toxic Narcotic took a hiatus in 2005, two of their members formed Mouth Sewn Shut, an intense band with an innovative sound - all-out hardcore assaults merged with reggae and ska beats. This bizarre combined sound is a recipe for a great record. It's brutal and aggressive, but you can still tap your toes to it.

With their rhythmic sound, Mouth Sewn Shut is a gateway band to crust and hardcore. Kids looking to explore crust bands would do well to pick up Doomed Future Today, but old-school crust fans are not going to be turned away either.

Essential Tracks:
"Watch Out" Listen/Download
"Doomed Future Today" Listen/Download

Tiger Army’s third and most mature record found the band shedding some of the stereotypes of psychobilly rawness, blending it with punk, blues and country. While at its leather jacket-clad core Ghost Tigers Rise remains true to its roots, it dodges the trappings of psychobilly sameness in a way that redefines the genre without showing any disdain toward it. As a result, Ghost Tigers Rise appeals to both those who love psychobilly's formulaic madness and those who may be mildly put off by it.

Essential Tracks:
"Rose Of The Devil's Garden" Listen/Download
"Through the Darkness" Listen/Download

After the breakup of Fall River, Allison Bellavance and Matt Boylan set off in a new direction with Spark is a Diamond. The new band took their hardcore roots and merged them with dance music a la Death From Above 1979. What could have been an unlistenable train wreck ended up being a surprisingly wonderful, innovative record that also rocks really, really hard.

The hardcore elements are all there -- guttural vocals and thick, heavy guitars -- but it's the added electronica and dance beats that complete the package and elevate this record above both electronic and hardcore albums from the same period.

Essential Tracks:
"Check Your Lease, You're in F**k City" Listen/Download
"Look What You've Done To This Rock & Roll Town" Listen/Download

With a sound and an image awkwardly resting somewhere between The Sex Pistols and Motley Crue, Towers of London blew me away on their debut full-length, and this has continued to be a record I’ve returned to for years.

With a sound that combines '70s punk with trashy arena glam rock, the Towers deliver each track fast and furiously, with buzzsaw guitar riffs, punk rock hooks, gratuitous solos and power chords galore. It's a sound that could easily get kitschy, but because these guys seem so serious about their glam-trash decadence, Blood, Sweat & Towers is simply raw rock decadence that still holds onto a modicum of punk sincerity.

Essential Tracks:
"Beaujolais" Listen/Download
"F**k It Up" Listen/Download

Hailing from Los Angeles, the Briggs play a brand of blue-collar street punk that owes as much of its sound to Boston as it does to L.A., and bears influences of bands from both coasts as well. At times they sound like Rancid or the Distillers, and at times there are elements of the Ducky Boys or Street Dogs. But whichever sound they seem to be emulating, they almost always do it in an infectious way.

On Come All You Madmen, the band bounces back and forth from coast to coast with their sound, delivering powerful fist-pumping crowd-pleasers and an album that's predominantly fun.

Essential Tracks:
"The Ship is Now Sinking" Listen/Download
"Mad Men" Listen/Download

New Tomorrow's debut on Frank Iero's Skeleton Crew Records, We’re Counting On The Youth, is a blast of old school hardcore that tastes like a breath of fresh air. At times, the album produces blasting drumbeats and buzzsaw guitars that evoke old school influences like Circle Jerks, Black Flag and Bad Religion, and when they dig deep, they sound like they're playing heavily revved-up Less Than Jake anthems.

We’re Counting On The Youth is a flawless example of what hardcore has been, and will hopefully continue to be: music that's equally at home in a circle pit or in a stereo.

Essential Tracks:
"The Royal Salute Tastes Like A Smack In The Face" Listen/Download
"There’s A Rumble Behind Admiral Twin Drive-In, 10 O’Clock" Listen/Download

Anti-Flag drew major criticism for this album from fans that feared a major-label release would water down their strong political stance. Those fears were unfounded, and For Blood And Empire remains the band's most musically diverse album without distilling their anger, diminishing their charged political stance, or making them major-label clichés.

The band actually benefited greatly from major label production values that allowed them to create a strong record, and the major-label exposure allowed them to take their message to the masses. For Blood And Empire allowed Anti-Flag to preach to the world, not just their die-hard followers.

Essential Tracks:
"This Is The End (For You My Friend)" Listen/Download
"The Press Corpse" Listen/Download

When this Boston duo was starting out, pianist/vocalist Amanda Palmer attempted to avoid being described as a “gothic” musical group by describing the band’s style as "Brechtian punk cabaret.” An emerging musical movement latched on that moniker and the punk cabaret was born.

Consisting almost exclusively of drums and pianos, the pair plays dramatic, often dark tunes with a twisted black humor, and they're known for the theatrical nature of their performances (which include a wide variety of performance artists) as well as for their frenzied, spastic tunes.

Essential Tracks:
"Girl Anachronism" Listen/Download
"Coin-Operated Boy" Listen/Download

I find it absolutely hilarious that this Canadian hardcore band has attained such critical acclaim, despite having a name that many publications are loathe to publish. Then again, they earned all of the acclaim they've received. Despite the band's controversial name, The Chemistry of Common Life was an artistic masterpiece wrapped up in a hardcore album, full of instrumental experimentation, artfully constructed songs (with as many as 20 tracks per song!) and the requisite gut-wrenching guitars and grating vocals. This is the record that made hardcore an art.

Essential Tracks:
"Son the Father" Listen/Download
"Black Albino Bones" Listen/Download