25 Years Ago Today, Legendary Band Released Its No. 1 Album – And It Still Rocks
The legendary pop-punk trio blink-182 might be best known for its album Enema of the State, which helped launch the band into superstardom with iconic hits like "All the Small Things" and "What's My Age Again?" While that album might be the band's best-selling album, earning 5x Platinum certification in the United States, it actually never reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200. However, their next album did.
25 years ago today, blink-182 released its first No. 1 album – Take Off Your Pants And Jacket. And even a decade and a half later, it still rocks.
blink-182
Formed in Southern California in 1992 by Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and original drummer Scott Raynor, blink-182 first gained traction in the region's skate-punk scene. The band released its debut studio album, Cheshire Cat, in 1995 before following it up with Dude Ranch in 1997. The latter earned gold certification and spawned the hit single "Dammit," giving the group its first breakthrough on mainstream radio.
The band's popularity skyrocketed in 1998 when the now-legendary Travis Barker stepped in to replace Raynor. With Barker behind the drums, blink-182 teamed up with producer Jerry Finn to release Enema of the State, an album that transformed the trio into one of the biggest rock acts on the planet and helped push pop-punk firmly into the mainstream. The success continued in 2001 with Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
After releasing their self-titled album in 2003, internal tensions between DeLonge and the rest of the band led to a hiatus in 2005. The group reunited in 2009 after Barker was involved in a tragic plane crash and went on to release Neighborhoods in 2011. However, DeLonge departed once again in 2015. Rather than disband, blink-182 moved forward with Matt Skiba filling his role and released California in 2016 and Nine in 2019.
The band reunited once again in 2022 after Hoppus won a battle with cancer, this time bringing DeLonge back into the fold. Their reunion produced One More Time… in 2023, which was met with strong reviews and commercial success, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Since then, the band has remained active, continuing to tour and even taking the stage as a Coachella headliner.
'Take Off Your Pants And Jacket'
Released on June 12, 2001, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket was blink-182's fourth studio album and the first full effort to capitalize on the massive success of Enema of the State. Once again produced by Finn, the album leaned even harder into the band's goofy, hook-driven sound while sneaking in some of their most personal and serious songwriting to date.
The album's three singles became staples of early-2000s rock radio and MTV. "The Rock Show" served as the lead single and climbed as high as No. 3 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, while "First Date" and "Stay Together for the Kids" followed, with the latter standing out for tackling divorce and broken homes, a noticeably heavier subject for a band that had made its name on lighthearted and often humorous songs.
The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with more than 350,000 copies sold in its first week, making it the first punk-rock album ever to top the chart. Worldwide, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket has sold more than 14 million copies and was certified double platinum by the RIAA.
The record has remained a fan favorite in the decades since, regularly showing up on best-of pop-punk lists alongside Enema of the State and the band's 2003 self-titled follow-up. The band still regularly performs songs from the album, too, with "The Rock Show" and "First Date" among the most-played songs at their concerts.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 6:00 AM.