Though originally hailed as a trio of punk revivalists, Green Day are now one of rock’s sturdiest institutions, a band known for embracing the three-chords-and-a-head-rush excitement that runs through ’50s rockabilly and ’60s garage, ’80s New Wave and ’90s skate punk. Formed in the late ’80s in San Francisco’s East Bay, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees—singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tré Cool, the latter of whom replaced drummer John Kiffmeyer early on—broke through in 1994 with the landmark <i>Dookie</i>. Singles such as “Basket Case” helped Green Day become one of the preeminent forces in ’90s rock, presaging a wave of artists (including Rancid, NOFX and blink-182) who merged the energy of punk with the affability of pop. From <i>Dookie</i> on, the band have remained remarkably consistent, peppering albums with hints of Beatles-esque pop (“Warning”), churning rock anthems (“Boulevard of Broken Dreams”) and radio-ready ballads (“Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” and “Wake Me Up When September Ends”). Even when Green Day go big (the rock-operatic scope of 2004’s <i>American Idiot</i> and 2009’s <i>21st Century Breakdown</i>) or expand their sound (2020’s peppy, garage-rock-leaning <i>Father of All M***********s</i>), the music is ambitious while staying catchy and concise. Even punk throwbacks such as 2024’s <i>Saviors</i> stick to the same premise: Green Day have always believed that making clever, accessible music is the best way to motivate people politically and emotionally. In other words, the band’s success is a microcosm of alternative music’s migration into the mainstream: instead of erasing arena rock, Green Day reinvented it.