2001 Hit Ranked 'the Greatest Pop-Punk Song of the 2000s'

The early 2000s music scene was inundated by pop-punk bands. With so many classic 2000s pop-punk hits, many music lovers may have a difficult time narrowing down the best ones from that era. In November 2025, the publicationCollider took on that task and ranked the top "10 greatest pop-punk songs of the 2000s."

The list included pop-punk hits like 2005's "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" by Panic! at the Disco, Paramore's "Misery Business" released in 2007, The All-American Rejects' 2005 song, "Dirty Little Secret," and "Thnks fr th Mmrs" by Fall Out Boy from 2007.

Collider named blink-182's 2001 song "Stay Together for the Kids," off the band's fourth album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, as the best 2000s pop-punk song. The publication reported that the hit regarding divorce is unexpectedly somber for the somewhat goofy band, consisting of Tom DeLonge, Travis Barker, and Mark Hoppus.

Tom DeLonge Explained What Inspired Him to Write 'Stay Together for the Kids'

In a 2016 interview with Ernie Ball, DeLonge shared his inspiration for writing "Stay Together for the Kids." DeLonge said he was upset by his parents' divorce when he was 18. He shared that on his 18th birthday, his father "moved out" and took all the furniture.

"It was the 20th anniversary of my parents' [marriage]. And all hell broke loose on that day. Like anybody, it would affect you to see your parents to break up like that. I wanted to tackle that in a song," said the musician, now 50.

DeLonge also said he made a purposeful choice for the song to start with a light acoustic sound to turning on "all the pedals" to mirror the emotions adolescents go through during their parents' divorces.

"I think we hit on something that sounded like adolescence lashing out on being caught in the middle of a storm that they had no control of. You know, you grow up thinking that your parents are more powerful than they are. They know a lot more than they do. And as you start to get older, you learn they are just people too," continued DeLonge in the 2016 interview.

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This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 4:07 PM.