Who are the best modern pop-punk bands, exactly? It’s a question with hundreds of answers as the genre continues to evolve beyond its late-’70s roots. Buzzcocks, Ramones, and Descendents laid the framework, blending buoyant melodies with punk’s raucous edge. Then there was its mainstream outbreak, guided by the major-label success of Dookie, Smash, and Enema of the State. Its golden era in the 2000s followed, blasting throughout every mall in the U.S. and becoming unescapable on MTV. The 2010s brought in players like Neck Deep, State Champs, and Hot Mulligan, whereas the 2020s have presented a revival of sorts, bringing forth a new crop of artists unafraid to nod to their elders. With the topic on our minds, we asked readers to vote on the best modern pop-punk bands. Find the top fan picks ranked below.
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5. The Wonder Years
The Wonder Years have gotten older and wiser, but they haven’t outgrown the anxiety, depression, and disillusionment that made their early work hit hard. Pop punk can be a juvenile place, but the Wonder Years brought depth to the genre, becoming a life raft for people dealing with grief, insecurity, and parenthood. Each album seems dead set on reckoning with personal growth, guided by Dan Campbell’s literary songwriting. Whether you got rocked by The Greatest Generation or felt seen by The Hum Goes On Forever, the Wonder Years continue to foster a community all their own.
4. The Story So Far
The Story So Far brought a lot of grit to the pop-punk world when they unleashed their 2011 debut album, Under Soil and Dirt. They’ve built on that formula superbly, blending hardcore aggression with soaring, wounded melodies. These days, Parker Cannon has been busy fronting No Pressure, returning to the 200-cap rooms that he bounced around in during the Story So Far’s come-up, but they broke their six-year absence with 2024’s I Want to Disappear. Featuring an elevated mix of explosive pit starters (“Big Blind,” “You’re Still In My Way”) and mature numbers (“White Shores” captures the grief of losing a parent), it’s no wonder readers think they’re still one of pop punk’s best.
3. The Paradox
The Paradox made a pretty compelling debut last year, going viral with “Do Me Like That” after mere months of being a band. The Atlanta pop-punk quartet have only continued to rack up co-signs, including Billie Joe Armstrong and Jack White (both of whom invited the band to open for them), plus a rowdy collaboration with Travis Barker after growing up listening to blink-182. It’s been one thing after another for the Paradox, a testament to their love of bouncy melodies, enthusiastic attitude, and steadfast ambition. It’s made them a quick-rising band within pop punk, something that’ll become even more apparent when they open for All Time Low later this year and into the next.
2. State Champs
2013 was quite the year for pop punk. State Champs’ debut album, The Finer Things, established them as rambunctious newcomers, unafraid to bellow massive choruses that blended sweetness and grit. Since then, they’ve only been going up, balancing moshy anthems with touches of melancholy. Their 2022 LP, Kings of the New Age, positioned the Albany pop-punk lifers as leaders just as a new iteration of the genre began to surface. “[The title is] almost a little jab. What we’re really saying is, ‘There’s a new age, but we’ll show you how to do this shit,’” Derek DiScanio said at the time. Having released their self-titled album last year, it seems clear that these guys will be kicking around for a long time.
1. Neck Deep
You can’t be surprised by this result. Neck Deep dominated the pop-punk space throughout the 2010s, shooting out of their native Wrexham with their Rain in July EP. Songs like “A Part of Me” and “Over and Over” were just emotionally raw, catchy, and high-energy enough to be reposted on Tumblr hundreds of times. After signing with Hopeless and releasing every album on the label since, the band broke big with 2015’s Life’s Not Out To Get You, which positioned them as genre leaders. No one else owned 2010s pop punk like them, and they remain pivotal to the genre, playing at 2024’s When We Were Young, paying homage to the OGs, and putting out a self-titled album last year.