Top 20 Greatest L.A. Punk Albums of All Time: The Complete List
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17. Social Distortion
Mommy's Little Monster
OC will cry foul - we don't care, we're borrowing Social D. Both a love letter and a character study of the '70s-'80s SoCal punk scene, this album tells stories about angry people getting thrashed and boldly trashed. Even though the titular Mommy's Little Monster now shops at Target for Ramones T-shirts, her kids will still get the point. Punky frustration gives way to more twang and less musical anger as the record closes, hinting at the band's evolution toward punk-a-billy. --Paul Bradley
16. NOFX
Punk in Drublic
Where would we be without the skinhead WeHo Hebrew thugs' anti-Swastika tattoos terrorizing goyim from "The 'Brews," Rabelais-esque "Reeko" parties or Jeff (from "Jeff Wears Birkenstocks") and his tie-dyed Rancid shirt? Holding a shit-specked funhouse mirror to the entire scene, Punk in Drublic flashes the hilarious images of stinky scenesters and post-adolescent frustrations that were crucial to '90s punk. Their hook-heavy pop and ska-based tunes left an entire generation of happy-go-lucky poseurs in their wake. --Paul Bradley
15. The Nerves
One Way Ticket
You can't discount the impact that The Nerves' Paul Collins, Peter Case, and Jack Lee had upon L.A. punk. The best EP in their paper thin catalogue, One Way Ticket is four tracks of perfect power pop. The Nerves take four-chord punk and add sharp melodies, harmonic choruses and a touch of pop sensibilities. One can hear One Way Ticket's influence on current L.A. acts like Pangea, White Fence and Hunx & His Punx, all of whom contributed to Volar Record's recent tribute to the trio, Under the Covers Vol. 2. --Kai Flanders
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