It was 15 years ago yesterday (May 25th, 1996) that the world lost the great musician and true visionary Bradley Nowell just as his band Sublime started to get national attention. No one before had blended the genres of reggae, punk, ska, and rock in the way that he did. To remember him, I decided to list my 5 favorite song by his band Sublime.

Though the surviving members of Sublime continue to make music with new frontman Rome Ramirez, there is only one Bradley Nowell. His sound was so original and still to this day inspires tons of musicians in all genres. What better way to honor his memory than to take a look back at his life's work; his music.

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Granted everybody loves Santeria, What I got, Smoke Two Joints, etc. I think those are all great songs but the ones I chose are a little deeper in the catalog. Bear in mind that this list is in no specific order, they are all great songs.

#5. Boss D.J. from 1994's Robbin' the Hood
This song is actually a mash-up of different covers from Bob Marley and Aswad, Bradley truly makes this his own in this fun acoustic number that highlights his versatility as an artist.

#4. Date Rape from 1992's 40 Oz. to Freedom
This is great genre blender as well as it has a mostly ska feel with a dose of rock mixed in, especially in the kick ass guitar solo. The lyrics are hilarious as well.

#3. Badfish from 1992's 40 Oz. to Freedom
One of the absolute best songs from the band shows their ability to transition from funny songs about rape (never thought I'd string those words together in a sentence) to timeless classics.

#2. Pawn Shop from 1996's Sublime
I have always been an electric guitar dude. Something about this not to difficult riff has always drawn me in, very cool track.

#1. Pool Shark (acoustic) from 1994's Robbin' the Hood

There are a couple of things Layne Staley and Bradley Nowell have in common; they were both taken before their time because of their heroin addiction, and some of their best material came from their personal struggles with substance abuse. The sadly prophetic lyric "one day I'm gonna lose the war" still gives me the chills to this day. RIP Bradley Nowell.

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