Every Pennywise Album Ranked From Worst To Best

Bro(s), in addition to one live album and two EPs, Pennywise has TWELVE full-length studio albums and has been putting ‘em out since the band’s fan-favorite and groundbreaking self-titled debut LP in 1991. If there was a “Big Five” of Epitaph Records’ ‘90s punk rock bands since the label’s origin in 1981, Pennywise would surely have a place alongside The Offspring, Bad Religion, Rancid, and NOFX. If you disagree about such or the other four groups listed, you’re quite misguided, but let us know in an AOL chat room how bad we gaffed by saying, “Listen up, everyone. There’s something wrong.” If you have nice words to say, you probably won’t do such things on the internet because it is a nasty, nasty place soaked in a cesspool of negativity and shame. Anyway, skate or die, and read our Pennywise album rankings from worst to best below:

12. All or Nothing (2012)

2009-2012 were years of major change for Pennywise and the band’s fans as frontman Jim Lindberg surprisingly quit the group in 2009. The act trudged on and put out just one release with Ignite’s singer Zoli Teglas on the mic. For more information on what led to this, read Jim’s great book “Punk Rock Dad: No Rules, Just Real Life” and then watch the touching and revealing documentary, “The Other F Word.” Anyway, it must be said that “All or Nothing” is a solid LP, and has a large amount of public streams to showcase such, but Pennywise just isn’t Pennywise without Jim Lindberg on vocals. Stand strong, Zoli; Ignite still rules. Still, we wish that the group modified its name to “The Act Formerly Known As Pennywise Featuring Three-Fourths Of The Aforementioned Band With The Dude From Ignite Containing The Name That Often Gets Misspelled” and then all PW fans would be united on eleven LPs. Yeah.

Play it again: “Let Us Hear Your Voice”
Skip it: “We Are The Fallen”

11. Yesterdays (2014)

If this list had just eleven LPs and the prior mention was completely omitted as a true Pennywise entity, “Yesterdays” would most certainly be ranked last in this piece as it feels more like a revisited B-sides-that-weren’t-good-enough-to-utilize-the-first-time compilation than a tried and true full-length album. Happily, the recordings aren’t half bad and it’s Jim’s first record back in the band itself, so we didn’t bitch that much when it was first released.

Play it again: “Violence Never Ending”
Skip it: “Am Oi!”

10. The Fuse (2005)

A wise entity not from a Stephen King novel once told us that, “Good is the enemy of great.” Those six words totally encapsulate 2005’s “The Fuse.” Basically, this one doesn’t stand out or offend, so its low spot on this list makes complete sense. Even mid Pennywise is better than most bands in that world, so we hope that famous and infamous PW guitarist Fletcher Dragge doesn’t kick the shit out of the entire staff at satirical/100% brilliant-and-never-incorrect-critical-take site The Hard Times for the commentary on said record (and the band’s other eleven full-lengths). We love the Pennywise band, we really do! Just look at our cargo shorts and chunky Vans. That should be all the proof you need.

Play it again: “Stand Up”
Skip it: “18 Soldiers”

9. Reason to Believe (2008)

We think the fact that 2008’s “Reason To Believe” was a slight departure from the band’s earlier material made it fail with hardcore fans from the start. The icing on the hater cake is that the record was released on MySpace as a worldwide digital download and in physical form on MySpace Records. Gross to some, but forward-thinking to others. Still, we can’t justify the abhorrence towards this LP and need to publicly say that it has some very high-quality songs. In fact, it’s the first album listed in this piece that we sometimes revisit. After all, we have nothing to lose, trolls.

Play it again: “The Western World”
Skip it: “Affliction”

8. Never Gonna Die (2018)

2018’s “Never Gonna Die,” Pennywise’s most recent LP and singer Jim Lindberg’s second album back with the band after his brief sabbatical truly sounds like a return to form. This most recent batch of new material in the form of fourteen songs truly lives by its album title, as the band aims to stick around post-armageddon. Fuck Armageddon… This is hell. Sorry. If you’re a fan of Pennywise, you know what you’re going to get when you spin a new album, and this one shows that the band won’t give up the fight. We’re still eager for more!

Play it again: “Never Gonna Die”
Skip it: “All The Ways U Can Die”

7. From the Ashes (2003)

Pennywise fans were given seven fresh new albums this century thus far, and this lucky number seven entry known as 2003’s “From the Ashes” is most certainly the band’s second-best release from the past twenty-three years; the four piece’s best from the aughts and beyond is listed below at number six. Still, “From the Ashes” is a catchy and melodic fourteen-song record that may have benefitted from a few song omissions, but we’re also more than fine with the way that it is. What’s your hot take? Don’t answer that.

Play it again: “Yesterdays”
Skip it: “Rise Up”

6. Land of the Free? (2001)

The 2001 Pennywise record “Land of the Free?” also doubles as a rhetorical question and contains one of the band’s most popular and singalong songs “Fuck Authority.” The album is quite a fun listen from start to finish, and we’re definitely not alone in thinking such. Overall, this is without question the band’s best LP to be released this century, and not-so-coincidentally the remaining five listed below are all from the ‘90s, and nothing pre-2001 has been listed here thus far. Our bad. Time marches on.

Play it again: “Fuck Authority”
Skip it: “WTO”

5. Unknown Road (1993)

Fun fact: Two songs on this thirteen-song LP have the word “burn” in it; shut up, Butt-head. Anyway, 1993’s “Unknown Road” is the first album from the ‘90s to be ranked thus far here, and it is a cult favorite amongst Pennywise fans who are either going to either set this city aflame or smile like an idiot regarding this slot placement; it will very likely lead to urban destruction. Our bad. Regardless, the band put it best in the song “Homesick” where Jim sang, “The city used to be such a beautiful place.” Epitaph Records’ ugly-ass compilation known as 1994’s “Punk-O-Rama,” which spawned NINE sequels, features “Dying to Know,” our favorite song from this album, at track five. The monumental green “Punk-O-Rama” likely exposed many to the group and its kindred spirits in the aforementioned “Big Five.” If not, we’re posers and you aren’t. Mazel.

Play it again: “Dying to Know”
Skip it: “Clear Your Mind”

4. Full Circle (1997)

Here’s where we get sad: 1997’s “Full Circle,” Pennywise’s fourth full-length, is the band’s first post-original bassist Jason Thirsk release since his tragic death in 1996. Because of such, the band re-recorded its most played live and likely requested song “Bro Hymn” from the next album to be mentioned here with references to Thirsk’s life as “Bro Hymn Tribute” in an extremely impassioned and touching manner. “Full Circle” is a hard-hitting tribute to a bandmate who sadly never had the chance to hear the band sing his praises. If you have a shit joke to make on the matter, get a life.

Play it again: “Society”
Skip it: “Did You Really?”

3. Self-Titled (1991)

Sorry, bro(s), even though it truly kicks ass in a non-sardonic way, the band’s 1991 self-titled LP is not the band’s best album, and much like your misguided nostalgic thoughts on the also solid “Unknown Road,” your opinion is sadly outdated and dead fucking wrong; we don’t make the rules here. Still, it’s quite badass that Pennywise opened its groundbreaking debut LP with a song called “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” like fellow South Bay punk-as-fuck act The Beach Boys did 25 years earlier on the 1966 classic “Pet Sounds,” and it’s even cooler that the band still regularly performs this song at shows over thirty-plus years later. Basically, “Pennywise” should be required listening to all new fans of the band and we all can agree on that. Right?

Play it again: “Bro Hymn”
Skip it: “Fun and Games”

2. Straight Ahead (1999)

Listing Pennywise’s last album to come out this century in the silver medal spot may shock both casual and hardcore fans of the band, but this overly slept-upon release deserves much, much more public love. The album’s title “Straight Ahead” is literally exactly such in sonic form, and the track “Alien” is one of the best singles in the band’s expansive catalog of catchy-ass songs. “Greed” is a hell of an opening track as well and perfectly leads the listener into seventeen wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am tunes. The band ended the 20th century with style and sans a digital boy just for you! Read below for our favorite PW LP!

Play it again: “Alien”
Skip it: “Need More”

1. About Time (1995)

Epitaph was on a hot run in both ‘94 and ‘95 with (listed chronologically) The Offspring releasing 1994’s smash “Smash,” NOFX coming out of the gates with the oft-revered “Punk in Drublic,” then-former Epitaph act Bad Religion changing the game with “Stranger Than Fiction” and 2/4 of Operation Ivy opening barricades with 1995’s now-classic “…And Out Come The Wolves.” Just before Tim Armstrong became a household name with the latter, the headliners of this article released “About Time,” a concise and rocking collection of unskippable twelve tracks that doesn’t relent till its end. To put it extremely, extremely mildly, “About Time” is the skate punk release and perfectly encapsulates Warped Tour when Vans was in its title. Up the punx!

Play it again: “Peaceful Day”
Skip it: Nah, don’t. Come on, you have thirty-two minutes and seven seconds to spare for this perfect skate punk LP

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