The discography of Social Distortion, a Southern California-based punk rock band formed in 1978 by vocalist/guitarist and founder Mike Ness, contains eight studio albums, one extended play (EP), two compilation albums, twenty-nine singles and fifteen music videos.

After releasing a handful of singles between 1980 and 1982, Social Distortion released their first studio album in 1983, titled Mommy's Little Monster. Five years elapsed before Social Distortion's next major release, Prison Bound. While the band still failed to break into mainstream success at the time of its release, critical praise given to Prison Bound garnered attention from major labels, including Epic Records, with whom Social Distortion would eventually sign in 1989.

In 1990, they released their third album, which is self-titled, with the singles "Let It Be Me", "Ball and Chain", "Ring of Fire", "Sick Boy" and "Story of My Life" bringing the band exposure on the United States charts. This album was followed by 1992's Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, which debuted at number 76 on the Billboard 200 and featured the band's highest charting single "Bad Luck", which reached number 2 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. Four years elapsed before Social Distortion's next studio album, White Light, White Heat, White Trash, which peaked at #27 on the Billboard 200 in 1996, the band's highest chart position to date, and featured their only Billboard Hot 100 single "I Was Wrong". In 1997, Social Distortion terminated their contract with Epic and decided to stay on TimeBomb Recordings, who reissued their first two albums and released the Mainliner compilation two years earlier.

After the release of the White Light, White Heat, White Trash album, Social Distortion took another hiatus and Ness pursued a solo career and released two albums (Cheating at Solitaire and Under the Influences) in 1999. Tragedy struck on February 29, 2000 when their longtime guitarist Dennis Danell died from an apparent brain aneurysm. After debating whether to break up, or to move on with a new guitarist, Ness decided to hire a new guitarist, Jonny "2 Bags" Wickersham, who would stay with the band permanently. Also during that time, a new drummer, Charlie Quintana, was hired. From 2001 to 2004, the band had been touring semi-frequently, playing sold-out shows in the Los Angeles, California area and other cities. In September 2004, Social Distortion issued their long-awaited sixth album Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll, which was their second album to peak in the top 40 of the Billboard 200, at number 31. The album's lead single, "Reach for the Sky", became another one of Social Distortion's biggest hits in the fall of 2004. Prior to the release of that album, longtime bassist John Maurer, who had remained with the band for 20 years, decided to leave Social Distortion and Rancid's Matt Freeman replaced him on tour for a few months and then the band hired their current bassist Brent Harding. Social Distortion released their seventh studio album, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, on January 18, 2011.Out and about: Social Distortion, Sarah Sample, and Ryan Montbleau. Accessed October 6, 2010.

Born to Kill, the band's eighth studio album and their first in fifteen years, was released on May 8, 2026 and was preceded on February 25, 2026 by the album's title track as the first single.

Albums Studio albums Year Album Peak chart positions Certifications(sales thresholds) US USInd. AUT CAN CHE FIN GER NLD SWE UK 1983 Mommy's Little Monster Released: June 10, 1983 Label: 13th Floor (original release), Triple-X (1989 re-release), Time Bomb (1995 re-release) Formats: CD, CS, LP, DI—————————— 1988 Prison Bound Released: January 18, 1988 Label: Restless (original release), Time Bomb (1995 re-release) Formats: CD, CS, LP, DI——————————1990Social Distortion Released: March 27, 1990 Label: Epic Formats: CD, CS, LP, DI128—————————US: Gold1992Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell Released: February 11, 1992 Label: Epic Formats: CD, CS, LP, DI76—————————US: Gold1996White Light, White Heat, White Trash Released: September 17, 1996 Label: Epic Formats: CD, CS, LP, DI27——67——77———2004Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll Released: September 28, 2004 Label: Time Bomb Formats: CD, LP, DI31—————48—29—2011Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes Released: January 18, 2011 Label: Epitaph Formats: CD, LP, DI411419206395111692026Born to Kill Released: May 8, 2026 Label: Epitaph Formats: CD, LP, DI3352—362—13— "—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Live albums Year Album details US1998Live at the Roxy Released: June 30, 1998 Label: Time Bomb Formats: CD, CS, LP, DI121

Compilation albums Year Album details US USInd.1981Hell Comes to Your House Released: 1981 Label: Bemisbrain Records Formats: LP——1995Posh Hits Vol. 1 Released: 1982 Label: Posh Boy Formats: LP——1995Mainliner: Wreckage from the Past Released: July 18, 1995 (recorded in 1981) Label: Time Bomb Formats: CD, LP, DI——2004Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1 Released: April 20, 2004 Label: Fat Wreck Chords Formats: DVD——2007Greatest Hits Released: June 26, 2007 Label: Time Bomb Formats: CD, LP, DI867 "—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Extended plays Year EP details1990Story of My Life...And Other Stories Released: 1990 Label: Epic Formats: CD

Songs Singles Year Title Peak chart positions AlbumUSUSAAAUSAlt.USMain.UK 1981 "Mainliner"/"Playpen" — — — — — non-album track 1982 "1945" — — — — — 1983 "Another State of Mind" — — — — — Mommy's Little Monster 1988 "Prison Bound" — — — — — Prison Bound 1990 "Let It Be Me" — — 11 — — Social Distortion "Ball and Chain" — — 13 — — "Ring of Fire" — — 25 — — "Sick Boys" — — — — — "Story of My Life" — — — — — 1992 "Bad Luck" — — 2 44 — Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell "Born to Lose" — — — — — "Bye Bye Baby" — — — — — "Cold Feelings" — — 11 — — "When She Begins" — — 14 — — 1996 "I Was Wrong" 54 — 4 12 163 White Light, White Heat, White Trash "When the Angels Sing" — — 33 32 — 1997 "Don't Drag Me Down" — — — — — 1998 "Story of My Life" (live) — — — — — Live at the Roxy 2004 "Highway 101" — — — — — Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll "Reach for the Sky" — — 27 — — 2005 "Don't Take Me for Granted" — — — — — "Death or Glory" — — — — — Lords of Dogtown soundtrack 2007 "Far Behind" — — 19 — — Greatest Hits 2010 "Machine Gun Blues" — — 10 —  — Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes 2011 "California (Hustle and Flow)" — — — —  — "Gimme the Sweet and Lowdown" — — — —  — 2013 "Up Around the Bend" — — —  — — Free Birds soundtrack 2026 "Born to Kill" — — 28 17 — Born to Kill "Partners in Crime" — — —  — — "The Way Things Were" — — —  — — "Tonight" — 35 31 31 — "No Way Out" — — —  — — "Walk Away (Don't Look Back)" — — —  — — "—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Videography Video albums Year Title Certifications 2004 Live in Orange County Released: July 27, 2004 Label: Time Bomb Formats: VHS US: Gold

Music videos Year Song Director(s) 1990 "Ball and Chain" Tony Vanden Ende "Story of My Life" 1992 "Bad Luck" Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris "Cold Feelings" R. Ramirez 1993 "When She Begins" Jim Guerinot 1996 "I Was Wrong" Ken Fox 1997 "When the Angels Sing" Nigel Dick 2011 "Machine Gun Blues" Jeremy Alter 2012 "Gimme the Sweet and Lowdown" The Mad Twins 2026 "Born to Kill" Lance Bangs "Partners in Crime" Mike Ness, Josh Roush "The Way Things Were" "Tonight" John Swab "No Way Out" Mike Ness, Josh Roush "Walk Away (Don't Look Back)"

Notes

A. "I Was Wrong" peaked at #54 on the US Radio Songs chart.

References