Back in 2007, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke claimed to have invented the concept of giving away digital music for free. Of course, as many of us now know, Jeff Rosenstock had already come up with the idea on a slightly larger scale two years earlier. His donation-based digital label, Quote Unquote Records, was the first of its kind. Rosenstock’s gambit was notably braver considering he wasn’t a multi-millionaire like Yorke at the time. Consisting of Rosenstock and a revolving door of supporting members, the label’s flagship band, Bomb the Music Industry! would go on to challenge the standard record label ethos over the course of their nine-year run. Arguably creating and defining modern DIY punk along the way.

Without further ado, we’ve ranked the widely beloved band’s records in a way that certainly won’t piss anyone off, but will surely help us sell more ad space. Even artists have to eat.

7. To Leave or Die In Long Island (2005)

While we can generally applaud the haphazard production style of Rosenstock’s early days, ‘To Leave or Die In Long Island’ sounds particularly rushed. It’s also the second shortest record in the band’s discography, suggesting even the guy making it was tired of the sophomore album before it was even completed. While there are certainly some classics here to accompany your next shower beer, the majority of this one sounds like discarded tracks from the debut album that was released within the same year.

Play It Again: “Stand There Until You’re Sober”
Skip It: “Bomb the Music Industry! (and Action Action) (and Refused) (and Born Against) Are Fucking Dead”

6. Album Minus Band (2005)

Not long after the dissolution of Rosenstock’s former band, the Arrogant Sons of Bitches, BtMI!’s debut record, ‘Album Minus Band,’ was born. Forged from a need to cope with the seemingly less-than-amicable split of the previous group and a month-long flirtation with sobriety, the record features Rosenstock programming drum tracks and playing most of the instrumentation himself. While serving as an undisputed modern-day DIY classic, the record ultimately suffers from a lack of cohesion as Rosenstock throws all the paint he has at his likely overheated PowerBook.

Play It Again: “I’m a Panic Bomb, Baby!”
Skip It: “I’m Too Coooool For Music” is a good song but you already know gatekeeping is dumb, so the point of it is a bit moot.

5. Vacation (2011)

If anyone needed a vacation in 2011, it was Rosenstock and company. Marking their seventh album in as many years, ‘Vacation’ finds the BtMI! train understandably losing steam. This record would prove to be the band’s final full-length, and it relies heavily on experimentation with different permutations of the band’s classic sound. While a bit of this tinkering provided great results, much would be executed with greater success on Rosenstock’s solo works. Fans often call this era of the band ‘Proto-Roso.’ Just kidding, no one has ever said that.

Play It Again: “Why, Oh Why, Oh Why, (Oh, Oh, Oh)” for the Springsteen vibes.
Skip It: “Campaign For A Better Weekend” because of the ‘sad dad’ vibes

4. Goodbye Cool World (2006)

The last true album of Rosenstock’s iPod days, ‘Goodbye Cool World’ finds him tightening up his production skills while pushing his predilection for synth-heavy material up in the mix. Lyrically, the album shows a more reflective side to the songwriter as he struggles with rising notoriety while living in financial destitution. In addition to that, he even manages to make a dub track that primarily features saxophone not sound annoying as fuck. This one could have very well ranked higher, but Rosenstock has admitted to mixing some of the album on a cheap pair of earbuds, which… no.

Play It Again: “Sorry, Brooklyn, Dancing Won’t Solve Anything”
Skip It: “Fuck the Fans” has significantly less bite now that Rosenstock can merely burp and land on multiple year-end lists from national publications.

3. Scrambles (2009)

Packed with dizzying heights, crushing lows, and a fuckton more reverb than other BtMI! releases, ‘Scrambles’ might be the band’s most colossal album. It’s the second record to feature a full band, and the first to have an honest-to-god music video in the form of a brilliantly directed clip for the excellent ‘Wednesday Night Drinkball.’ Historically, this is one of the most important records of Rosenstock’s career as it marks the crosspoint between his early obscurity and future success. While some of the group’s finest work exists within its runtime, there’s a self-admitted Peter Pan Syndrome throughout that ultimately undercuts some of the record’s more serious moments. It’s sort of like that friend of yours who keeps telling you Crocs are trendy now to avoid wearing real shoes.

Play It Again: “Wednesday Night Drinkball” because you need the eye opener.
Skip It: “25!” because you’re probably 35

2. Adults!!!: Smart!!! Shithammered!!! And Excited by Nothing!!!!!!! (2010)

If you’re anything like us, you probably thought this was an EP. We can all be forgiven here considering the seven-song tracklisting. Still, this could have been a disaster. Had our earlier assumptions been correct, they would have knocked one of BtMI!’s best releases out of this ranking entirely. You would have never known that we think “All Ages Shows” is one of the band’s best songs. Nor would you have learned how much better we believe ‘Adults!!!’ would have served as a final record than ‘Vacation’ did. Fortunately, Rosenstock considers this one to be a full-length studio album so you can reread the previous two sentences to see how we feel about it.

Play It Again: Yes
Skip It: They already took the bad songs out and passed the savings onto you!

1. Get Warmer (2007)

If there is a better coming-of-age DIY punk album about moving to Athens, Georgia with all of your friends that happen to be in your moderately successful band, we don’t want to fucking hear about it. This one is perfect and we’re done missing our youth for the day. Dealing with the trials and tribulations of chasing artistic endeavors in an increasingly oppressive capitalist society, ‘Get Warmer’ sounds like ‘a fucking party to celebrate that you are fucked,’ to steal a quote from Rosenstock. If you were ever lucky enough to catch the band live, chances are you’ve never danced your ass off to a song with subject matter as bleak as ‘Depression Is No Fun’ since. Despite being one of the messiest-sounding Bomb records, it is leaps and bounds ahead of the rest in terms of scope and cohesion. Give this one a spin and you’ll surely be pleasantly reminded of that time your band played two cities an hour away from your hometown and called it a ‘tour.’

Play It Again: Repeatedly
Skip It: If you do, punk will be officially dead and it will be entirely your fault.