The Best of Surf Music

Green Day and More

Turn yourself into a basket case with songs from Green Day, Rancid, Screeching Weasel, The Offspring and more. A good sampler if your idea of surf music leans more toward punk, skate and road-trip noise than ukulele sunsets.

Foo Fighters - The Colour and The Shape

Probably one of the best albums released by the Foo Fighters. Dave Grohl stepped well clear of grunge’s shadow here, with radio-friendly songs that still have plenty of bite, emotion and a slightly mad edge underneath.

The Offspring

The Offspring somehow kept making loud, catchy, fast music after years in the game. This one still has that punk-pop bite, with enough melody to stick in your head and enough energy for a drive to the beach.

Dispatch - Bang Bang

Dispatch were a great band, and this album has that loose, independent, road-trip feeling. Smart lyrics, hypnotic grooves and a relaxed sound that fits well around surf travel, campfires and late afternoons.

Television City Dream - Screeching Weasel

Fast, scrappy pop-punk with plenty of attitude. Not exactly gentle sunset music, but good if your surf soundtrack needs more speed, bad humour and distorted guitars.

The Only Place - Best Coast

Sunny, fuzzy and very California. Best Coast has that beach-town sound that works well when you want something relaxed, slightly nostalgic and not too serious.

So Long, Astoria - The Ataris

A pop-punk album with a big nostalgic streak. Good driving music, especially if your beach runs still need guitars, memories and the odd overdramatic chorus.

Dookie - Green Day

Green Day’s classic album still sounds like restless teenage energy bottled up and thrown at the wall. Good for surf trips when you want noise, speed and no deep thinking.

Brushfire Fairytales - Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson is probably the obvious surf music pick, but fair enough too. Folk, blues and soft acoustic beach songs from a former surfer and film-maker. Calm on the surface, but with enough clever writing underneath to keep it interesting.

Riptide Remixes - Vance Joy

Riptide has that beachy, singalong feel that made it almost impossible to escape for a while. These remixes give it a different spin for people who still have room for one more version.

Dream Your Life Away - Vance Joy

Warm, easy-going indie folk-pop with plenty of beach-road-trip appeal. Good for mellow afternoons when punk rock feels like too much effort.

Don't Tread On Me - 311

311 always had that mix of rock, reggae, funk and sunny American beach energy. Good for a surf playlist if you like your music with a bit of bounce and not too much doom.

X&Y - Coldplay

Not exactly surf punk, but good road-trip music for the softer end of the playlist. Big, polished songs for long drives, airports and waiting for the wind to drop.

In Between Dreams - Jack Johnson

One of Jack Johnson’s most popular albums and probably the soundtrack to a lot of surf shops, cafés and backpacker guesthouses. Easy, acoustic and very beach-friendly.

Hey! Set Sail

A light, upbeat album with a seaside sort of feel. Good background music for travel days, small beach bars and people who like their surf music a bit breezy.

The Sound Of Sunshine - Michael Franti & Spearhead

Pretty hard to argue with the title. Michael Franti and Spearhead bring the warm, upbeat, beach-friendly feel — good for surf trips, sunshine and pretending tomorrow’s forecast is better than it is.

Linkin Park

Linkin Park’s big, polished rock sound was everywhere for a reason. Not traditional surf music, obviously, but it fits the harder surf-video energy: loud, dramatic and good for charging up before doing something questionable.

Blink 182

A different sound from their earlier albums, but still full of hooks, energy and the kind of teenage ridiculousness that somehow works well with surf trips. “Always” and “All of This” are standouts.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers

With Rick Rubin helping shape the sound, the Chili Peppers found the right blend of punk, funk, rock and loose Californian energy. Long album, big songs, and still a good one for surf-road listening.

Jumping at Shadows

This is not your sister’s Fleetwood Mac. Peter Green was not called the “Green God” for nothing. If you like proper blues guitar, this one is worth a listen. Not surf music in the obvious way, but it has plenty of soul.

Rage Against the Machine

Rage is not for the gentle beach playlist. This is heavy, angry, sharp music with big riffs and a lot to say. Good for surf edits, gym sessions and days when mellow acoustic stuff is not going to cut it.

Audioslave

Audioslave brought together members of Rage Against the Machine with Chris Cornell from Soundgarden. Big guitars, big vocals and a heavier sound that still works surprisingly well around surf-video energy.

Nirvana

Nevermind hit like a cannonball. It took underground anger and made it huge, loud and impossible to ignore. Not beachy in the pretty sense, but it belongs in plenty of surf-era playlists.

Stevie Ray Vaughan

A blues-heavy pick, with the nice surf connection of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Pipeline” duet with Dick Dale. Strong guitar, big feel and good music for people who like a bit of bite in their beach soundtrack.

Buena Vista Social Club

A beautiful Cuban album and a good reminder that beach music does not always need guitars and distortion. Warm, relaxed, soulful and very easy to leave playing in the background.

Bob Marley & The Wailers

Even as greatest-hits packages go, Legend is an easy one to own. “No Woman, No Cry,” “Jamming,” “I Shot the Sheriff” and plenty more. Obvious? Yes. Still good? Also yes.

Surf Music Videos Collection

A collection-style pick with music videos from Sugar Ray, Nada Surf, Fountains of Wayne, Remy Zero, Bif Naked, The Living End and more. Good for a bit of late-90s and early-2000s alternative nostalgia.

Music from Thailand

A Thailand music pick for anyone who wants something different from the usual surf-rock playlist. Maybe not traditional surf music, but it fits the Saltwater Dreaming travel side of things.