By the time this blog goes live New Found Glory's Self-Titled album will have officially turned 20 years old on September 26, 2020. This wasn't the album I discovered them on as I like most my age found them on the Sticks & Stones cycle but this album quickly became not just my favourite NFG album but among my favourite albums of all time.
12. Vegas
I'm not sure why Vegas is at the bottom of the list. Maybe it's the lack of instrumentation that sets it apart from the middle of the pack tracks or the lack of lyrics especially the three line chorus that doesn't amount to much.
11. Black And Blue
I've said before I'm a fan of the double chorus and New Found Glory pulls it off here and it's also one of the punkier tracks on the album so it seems like a recipe for success right? Eh not really. The execution isn't as great as it could be.
10. Eyesore
New Found Glory has a history of doing ballads on their records, however on their major label debut this is as close as they get with this mid tempo banger of a track. What holds it back though is it's unoriginality in the chorus.
9. Second To Last
Second To Last is yet another bop that gets held back as a result of following Hit Or Miss in the tracklist especially given the similarities in the opening riff. So although it doesn't hold a candle to the hit track it's still worthy of a place on this great album in the middle section of this list.
8. All About Her
The math might not work out here but I'm considering this the end of the back half of the record. If this was a tier list that's how it would work out so I'm doing it here. All About Her is a catchy hook filled song that is below top tier but still pretty damn good.
7. Boy Crazy
"Some girls are crazy" preach NFG. This was one of the first songs I fell in love with from this album and although it's fallen to the bottom of this tier in years that passed mostly due to the juvenile lyrics and the soft opening.
6. Dressed To Kill
One of only two singles released from this album back in the days when single pushes took months instead of a days or weeks push we see now. Dressed To Kill is a solid tune that gets pushed down the list due to the many gems buried on this list which are all fan favourites to this day.
5. Sucker
This chorus is so so good. Maybe even the best on this record. It's a bouncy fun tune about young romance which as a 31 year old... I can't relate to but it's fun to think back on which is how the band feels I'm sure playing this song 20 years after it was written.
4. Sincerely Me
Ah! From a song about young love to a song about young love breaking up. Sincerely Me is a letter to an ex-lover about the heartbreak of them leaving while still being angry enough to not name them and signing it with a sincerely me.
3. Ballad For The Lost Romantics
Truer words have never been spoken as the opening salvo of this closing track on the self-titled album. "I've grown sick, I've gotten older" screams 2020 even though it was penned in the year 2020. This is also sadly the only song from the top 7 on this list that I haven't seen live.
2. Hit Or Miss
As soon as the circus-like opening riff hits you know you're in for a good time. Hit Or Miss was NFG's breakthrough that got them a fan base, it's also a re-recorded version from their first album and this version nearly makes the original impossible to listen to in comparison.
1. Better Off Dead
This is a thrashy banger of a track with a thumping guitar and bombastic drums leading the song through the punchy verses and the high energy chorus to boot. Track one not only kicks off this album but it also is the best track on this album.
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