Green Day - Dookie
A decade before American Idiot truly launched Green Day into the mainstream, Dookie was the album that began their rise to the top.
Seen as their initial big breakthrough, it was a cripser, more polished album compared to their first two.
It's rightly regarded as one of the greatest punk albums of all time, and still holds up well 17 years later.
Kicking in with 'Burnout', it's pop-punk with an edge, both lyrically and instrumentally.
Billie Joe sings about panic attacks ('Basket Case'), suicide bombers ('Having A Blast') and sexuality ('Coming Clean') on a genre-defining album.
Songs like 'Chump' and 'Welcome To Paradise' have an incredible amount of energy, and its a testament to the band's talent that they still sound timeless.
The album was a commercial success, but avoids many cliches of the pop-punk genre.
As far as Green Day's back catalogue goes, it also showcases some of their biggest hits, including the likes of 'She' and the phenomenal 'When I Come Around'.
The latter still remains one of the trio's best songs, proving that a catchy riff and even catchier chorus is sometimes all you need to make a memorable song.
The albums that followed Dookie saw Green Day experiment, making this their most straight-up punk album to date.
It's a record that, if it was released today, would still feel just as special and innovative.
Dookie stands out in punk history as an incredibly consistent and influential record.
It flows with no weak points, building on the pop-punk leanings of bands like The Ramones to take the genre closer to the mainstream.
Green Day are criticised for "selling out" with this album, but this doesn't necessarily hold true.
'Longview', a song about boredom that provides a few references to masturbation, is not one you'd expect to be a hit, but it became one for the trio.
They provided a nice escape from a musical lanscape beginning to be dominated by grunge and Brit pop, sitting just below the mainstream.
Despite their stylistic shifts and experimental ideas on American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, Dookie still remains their defining and most consistent work, even after all this time.
Female First - Alistair McGeorge
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