Rancid

By leading a charge out of Albany, California, at the vanguard of the '90s punk revival, and adding a hurricane-force injection of energy to clearly identifiable sources (the Clash, the Specials), Rancid has established itself as a neo-punk leviathan. Mainstream breakthrough singles "Time Bomb" (party-ready ska-punk) and "Ruby Soho" (guided by the spirit of Joe Strummer) kick off our selection, followed by 2003's chart-stomper "Fall Back Down," written in the wake of frontman Tim Armstrong's divorce from Distillers vocalist Brody Dalle. From skate-punk to dub via the Clash, Rancid covers all the bases, in Next Steps.

Here's your chance to sample Rancid's roots in Operation Ivy ("Unity," "Sound System") before tracing the band's evolution from the skate-punk/hardcore flourishes of 1993's self-titled debut album, via a swerve in direction towards the heyday of London punk on 1994's Let's Go ("Radio" — cowritten by Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong — is high speed pogo-ammunition for berserkers), right through to driving force Tim Armstrong's 2007 solo debut, A Poet's Life, featuring the breezy, dub-dusted skankin' of "Wake Up."

Politically driven, and notably loyal to indie label Epitaph/Hellcat despite a major-label bidding war ferocious enough to inspire the title of 1995's major success . . . And Out Come the Wolves, Rancid has retained its stature over nearly two decades as a neo-punk giant. Formed in the Bay Area in the early '90s by frontman Tim Armstrong and bassist Matt Freeman, who both served time in ska-punk bands, including Operation Ivy and Dance Hall Crashers, the outfit has delivered a respectfully fierce take on classic punk and 2-Tone ska — right down to guest spots for Lynval Golding, Roddy Byers, and Neville Staples from the Specials on "Hooligans." Enjoy the best of Rancid to date with this combination of seminal cuts, side project tracks (including the Transplants), and solo work.