Everybody remembers their first.
The first album you bought for yourself with money you worked for has a way of sticking with you, no matter how dated it may later sound.
For me, that first album was The Offspring's Smash, released in 1994. I still remember going and buying the cassette with the radioactive skeleton on the front while at the mall with my cousins from out of town.
I played that tape until my junky old Walkman finally mangled it beyond saving.
Smash went six times platinum, became the best-selling independent label release of all time and make the California punk band international stars.
With so many good tracks to chose from, it's hard to pick just one. Bad Habit and Come Out and Play (Keep 'em Separated) are both great songs, featuring The Offspring's signature hard-driving beats and social commentary.
But the reason I bought the album was Self Esteem. It's a great, grungy punk anthem that holds up well -much like the best of the grunge rock of the mid-1990s.
It resonated with my 15-year-old self enough to spend my hard-earned cash on the album, and still sounds good 20 years later.
Watch the low-budget official music video online here: http://bit.ly/1jMMKt5.
