It took a trio of young, snotty punks from the Bay Area to thrust punk straight into the mainstream and transform the genre into the commercial giant it is today. Green Day was the first American band to take punk snarl and add to it the kind of melodic pop hooks that sounded equally at home in a dingy club as blaring from stadium-sized speakers. The band's huge success paved the way for pop-minded punks like Sum 41, MxPx, Yellowcard, Blink-182, and many others to follow.