Nimrod

After Insomniac the band cancelled a European tour, wrote more than three dozen songs at home, and went back to Cavallo. They recorded at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, staying at the Sunset Marquis Hotel. The sessions took four months. The band wanted something more experimental because it had grown tired of three-chord structures. Armstrong looked to the Clash's London Calling and called it the record he had wanted to make since the band started. They recorded about 30 songs and picked 18.

The album uses instruments new to the band, including strings on Good Riddance (Time of Your Life), a violin from Petra Haden at the start of Hitchin' a Ride, and horns from Gabrial McNair and Stephen Bradley of No Doubt on King for a Day. Last Ride In is a surf-influenced instrumental. Chris Bilheimer's cover shows portraits of men in suits with coloured circles reading nimrod across their faces. Nimrod entered the Billboard 200 at number 10 and was certified double platinum in March 2000. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it three and a half stars and called it an invigorating, if occasionally frustrating, listen. On 11 November 1997 a signing at a Tower Records in Manhattan turned into a riot.