We’ve written about Social Distortion a few times before. Fortunately, we were pretty drunk all of those times and don’t remember most of what we said. So, against our better judgment, we have decided to rank every Social D album, which we are doing with a gut full of blue raspberry flavored MD 20/20. Enjoy!
7. Hard Times & Nursery Rhymes (2011)
Now, there’s nothing wrong with this record morally speaking. It didn’t commit any war crimes or serve on the supreme court or have any sort of reprehensible failing like either of those things I just mentioned. Beyond that, there isn’t much positive I can say about this record. It didn’t bomb civilians with nerve gas I guess. At least not literally.
Play it again: …
Skip it: “Writing on the Wall”
6. Prison Bound (1988)
“Prison Bound” is sort of the forgotten Social D album. And with good cause. A lot of these songs are pretty forgettable. Anyone outside of diehard fans is probably safe giving this one a miss, and diehard fans are too busy refurbishing antique jukeboxes to give a shit about it.
Play it again: “It’s the Law”
Skip it: “No Pain No Gain”
5. Sex, Love and Rock ‘n’ Roll (2004)
Before the band really strayed off on Nursery Rhymes, they did a pretty good job on “Sex, Love and Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Lead track “Reach For the Sky” kicks all kinds of ass and as the whole the album stays true to the tried and true sound the band perfected over the years. I wish I could put it higher on this list but… well… we’re about to get into here, folks.
Play it again: “Reach For the Sky”
Skip it: “Winners and Losers”
4. Mommy’s Little Monster (1983)
It really hurt me to have to put this record this low in the ranking. I mean, “Mommy’s Little Monster” is a fucking classic. It’s iconic. But upon revisiting it for this list and being well and truly honest with myself, it’s not great. It’s good, don’t get me wrong. But it’s about as good as any other punk record from the time. Mike Ness Still needed several more years of mainlining Buck Owens before the band would really create something great.
Play it again: “Another State of Mind”
Skip it: “Anti-Fashion”
3. White Light, White Heat, White Trash (1996)
“White Light, White Heat, White Trash” is the tail end of Social D’s golden era. The six or seven years when they were in the right place at the right time with the right sound and just absolutely killing it. It is actually a great record, but now I’m not gonna talk about it anymore ‘cause I wanna get started on the next one already.
Play it again: “When the Angels Sing”
Skip it: “Crown of Thorns”
2. Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell (1992)
This is the album that “Prison Bound” should have been. Finally, the band’s sound caught up to where the content of the songs had been hovering high. It just goes to show that maybe all you need is to be a few years out of rehab before you can really start to unpack all that stuff and form a coherent and memorable masterpiece. Anyways, this is it. This album is sick.
Play it again: “Bad Luck”
Skip it: “Sometimes I Do”
1. Social Distortion (1990)
Oh, come on! You knew this was coming! Seriously, what else was gonna be in the number one spot, “Nursery Rhymes?.” Of course “Social Distortion” is their best. It has every song that everyone knows on it and all the ones that not everyone knows are still fucking phenomenal. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve just finished all of my MD 20/20 and I have a strong urge to go punch my parole officer. Farewell.
Play it again: “Sick Boys”
Skip it: Nothing. Don’t skip anything.