New Wave by Against Me!

New Wave, released on July 10, 2007, was Against Me!'s fourth album and their first for Sire, and the Gainesville punks handed the controls to Butch Vig, the man behind the boards on Nevermind. A jump to a major could have sanded them down; instead Vig gives Laura Jane Grace's hoarse, hollering vocals and the band's rattling guitars a big, clean punch without pulling the teeth.

Grace and James Bowman on guitars, Andrew Seward on bass and Warren Oakes on drums play like they have something to prove, all shout-along choruses and wiry riffs. "White People for Peace" led the way in May, "Thrash Unreal" followed in July, and "Stop!" found its own spot on the countdowns. It reached number 57 on the Billboard 200, and the critics were won over: one major music magazine crowned it album of the year, and another ranked it number 9 among the best of 2007.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.