The Offspring "Americana:" Late 90's Rock Bliss

When many people think of the 90's, they may actually think more of the early 90's. While the early 90's certainly did create many different types of influential music types and groups, the late 90's was also certainly no exception.

My pick for 90's Influential album is Americana by The Offspring. The album has a little bit of everything for all of your emotions. Commercially it was a huge success, as it reached #2 on the American Billboard 200. It has also sold over 5 million copies in the US alone.

Top picks for songs on the album are:
1. Americana: To me this is a great "pissed-off with life" anthem, and is a great yelling song to help cheer up. Basically a "screw you" kind of song.
2. The End of the Line: A truly heart-felt song. All rockers out there can face it, sometimes ya just need a good song to get out your sadness, if you don't want anything too sappy and feely then it's the song for you.
3. The Kids Aren't Alright: This one kinda hits close to home. It talks about how kids that had major opportunities while young end up dead, on drugs, or with other major problems. I have looked around my neighborhood and seen many instances of kids with lost opportunities. Another great song if your feeling angry, or sad about something.

Other songs on the album are great too, but these three are my favorites. Another song that hit the charts from the album is of course: Pretty Fly (for a White Guy). While I do enjoy this song (and it did get plenty of radio air time) I do not consider it one of the better songs from the album (as, for some strange reason, is often the case with mainstream songs).

The album can still be purchased from various locations and would be a great addition to anyones rock/punk collection. Here are some on-line retail sites to purchase this awesome 90's album:

www.bestbuy.com
www.ebay.com
www.amazon.com
www.fye.com
www.walmart.com

I hope you enjoy the music, and as always: Rock On!