Blink-182's 1997 Album 'Dude Ranch' Named One of the Best Punk Albums Ever

Anyone who grew up in the '90s or '00s has a soft spot for Blink-182. 1999's Enema of the State, 2001's Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, and 2003's self-titled Blink-182 played a pivotal role in ushering in the era of pop-punk, producing smash hits like "All the Small Things," "First Date," and "I Miss You."

Rolling Stonejust named one of Blink-182's albums as one of the greatest punk records of all time - but it's not any of the three mentioned above. The trio's 1997 sophomore album Dude Ranch ranked at No. 83 on the list.

Dude Ranch differs from Blink-182's later albums. For one, it was the last album with the groups original lineup: Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus, and Scott Raynor. Raynor, of course, was replaced with Travis Barker. It also still had a garage rock edge to it, especially compared to the group's later Top 40-friendly material. As Rolling Stone put it, "Dude Ranch is the masterpiece Blink-182 made right before they fully put the pop in pop punk."

Blink rose to prominence during the pop-punk renaissance of the '00s alongside acts like Avril Lavigne, Green Day, and My Chemical Romance, combining hard punk instrumentals evocative of The Ramones and Fugazi with nasally, whiny vocals. DeLonge's singing through his nose with his California skater accent gave the group's songs an unmistakable signature - mainly because his elongated vowels made their songs longer.

While Dude Ranch wasn't a smash like Blink's later albums, it does contain "Dammit," the group's first major hit. It peaked at No. 11 on Billboard's Hot Modern Rock chart and No. 61 on Radio Songs.

"We take music extremely lightly," Raynor told Billboard. "We do get written off as a kiddie band, but I guess that's just because we're kiddies."

Dude Ranch was also the group's first release on a major label, thanks to a merger between their label, Cargo, and MCA. To quote Hoppus in "Dammit," "Well, I guess this is growing up."

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 8:39 PM.