The early 2000s were the golden years of pop punk. There are also quite a few songs that were released by big bands at the time that deserve a lot more love than they got. Let’s take a quick look at four of the most underrated pop punk songs from the 2000s!
Videos by American Songwriter
1. “Runaway” by Cartel
Cartel’s debut album Chroma came out in 2005, and the hit track “Honestly” became one of their most well-known songs. However, the song “Runaway” also deserves some serious love. It’s one of the most underrated pop punk songs out there, complete with notably angsty and powerful lyrics. It’s essential listening for any Cartel fan. And nobody can beat that guitar solo.
2. “Dead On Arrival” by Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy has delivered hit after hit for years. That being said, the song “Dead On Arrival” is one of pop punk’s most underrated tracks. It’s one of Fall Out Boy’s earlier songs that started drawing attention to the band, and the music video is like a walk through pop punk history.
3. “Riot Girl” by Good Charlotte
Any pop punk fan who was around in the early 2000s likely had The Young And The Hopeless on CD in 2002. And one of the more underrated songs on that album has to be “Riot Girl”. Where some (not all!) pop punk outfits settled for poorly-aging misogynistic lyrics, Good Charlotte opted to pen a sweet anthem about having a cool girlfriend who happens to threaten celebrities.
4. “Lights And Sounds” by Yellowcard
“Ocean Avenue” was literally everywhere in the early aughts, so Yellowcard had quite a lot to follow up with. Lights And Sounds followed with noteworthy success, and “Lights And Sounds” was one of the best tracks on the album. The song and the album as a whole showed Yellowcard at their grittiest.