AP’s Summer School Listening Refresher Course: Ten Summer-Jam Albums Worth Learning About

Warped Tour began last week, signaling the official start of summer. For most of you, this season means time away from classes, homework and (gag) required reading. However, AP once suffered through summer school, so we know that for some of you, the learning hasn’t ended with the final bell. But learning doesn’t have to be a chore. In fact, it’s why we made this list of ten summer-jam albums—so you have at least one lesson you won’t mind putting effort into before the fall. Read on to find out what made the cut—and keep in mind that each of these albums are best played at top volume with your car windows rolled all the way down.

Story By: Evan Lucy

Jack’s Mannequin
Everything In Transit (Maverick)
Despite the heart-wrenching personal drama Andrew McMahon endured following the release of his first album under the Jack’s Mannequin moniker, Everything In Transit is awash in sunny Southern California charm. From the opening strains of “Holiday From Real” (complete with seagull sound effects) to the closing crescendo of “Into The Airwaves,” McMahon paints the disc with broad beach-town brushstrokes, creating a disc that lasts long after a summer day sets.

Blink-182
Enema Of The State
Even though Dude Ranch brought Blink-182 their first mainstream attention, 1999’s Enema Of The Stateis what launched the trio to a whole new level. Big, brash and boisterous, Enema is home to some of the biggest band’s hits, and Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge’s rebellious lyricism spoke to suburban kids around the world. It’s also the album that netted them their first summer amphitheater tour, a tradition that’s stuck for more than a decade.

The Beach Boys
Pet Sounds
The godfathers of summer tunes, the Beach Boys struck solid gold with their 11th album. A giant leap forward from the band’s patented surf-rock sound, Pet Sounds incorporated elements of psychedelic and baroque pop to create one of the most legendary and emulated sets ever. If you’ve never been exposed to the charm and legacy of this ’60s classic, it’s time to raid your parents’ record cabinets for a long-overdue history lesson.

Death Cab For Cutie
Transatlanticism
Its opening track might reference January 1, but Death Cab For Cutie’s last independent full-length is tailor-made for steamy summer evenings. Long after the pop-punk playlist has ended, few things in life beat a long, aimless night drive or late-night star-gazing session accompanied by songs like “Passenger Seat,” “Title And Registration” and the title track.

Saves The Day
Stay What You Are
On 2001’s Stay What You Are New Jersey scene mainstays Saves The Day traded their buzzsaw riffs and buoyant pop-punk snarl for a more streamlined sound, favoring emo and indie-rock tendencies. The result is arguably their best record to date, juxtaposing bright, stomping arrangements (“Cars And Calories,” “Certain Tragedy”) with Chris Conley’s macabre wordplay (“As Your Ghost Takes Flight,” “At Your Funeral”), thus making it a go-to disc day or night.

Yellowcard
Ocean Avenue
From an album cover that just screams summer to some of the most beloved pop-punk anthems the genre has ever encountered, Yellowcard’s major-label debut took both the scene and mainstream by storm, making the quintet one of the biggest success stories of the early 2000s. Boasting plenty of beach imagery as well as heartfelt tales of young love and summer romance, Ocean Avenue is still the recently reunited band’s best-loved record, and for good reason.

The Format
Dog Problems
The Format were only ours for a brief few years, but the band’s legacy lives on in their much-adored sophomore full-length, 2006’s Dog Problems. Their finest work, the disc is filled with jubilant indie-pop that's bursting with horns, strings, and sun-kissed harmonies recalling all the excess and excitement of ’70s pop. The sound might have been retro, but the group led the roots revival with one hell of a swan song.

New Found Glory
Sticks And Stones
The ultimate summer band, New Found Glory’s second major-label disc scored them their biggest hit to date (“My Friends Over You”), but virtually any of the disc’s 12 tracks would have been perfect for widespread FM radio play. Packed with pogo-ready anthems (“Something I Call Personality,” “Singled Out”) and mid-tempo introspection (“Sonny,” “Head On Collision), if Sticks And Stones isn’t burning up your ear buds this summer, you’re definitely doing something wrong.

Rancid
…And Out Come The Wolves
One of the biggest stepping-stones for punk’s unbridled mainstream success, Rancid’s third album found the quartet melding fast and furious punk-rock attitudes with bristling ska upstrokes. Even after 15 years, tunes like “Ruby Soho” and “Time Bomb” still find a welcome place as the soundtrack to an afternoon at the skate park or a sweaty Warped Tour mosh pit.

Good Charlotte
The Young And The Hopeless
In an amusing twist of fate, “Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous,” the lead single from Good Charlotte’s second album, made the Maryland quartet, well, rich and famous. But before the Los Angeles mansions and tabloid romances, the band were still entrenched in the us-against-the-world mentality, acting as the voice for a new generation of disenfranchised youths. Take songs like “Story Of My Old Man,” “Riot Girl,” and “Girls & Boys” on a windows-down road trip, and relive a little slice of middle-school bliss that’s stood up surprisingly well.