Before You Were Punk is a compilation album released in 1997 by Vagrant Records. It consists of a number of mid-1990s punk rock bands (most of them from southern California) covering songs that were popularised during the 1980s "new wave" musical movement. It was an ambitious release for the label, which was still in its early stages, and proved to be a success by selling over 70,000 copies. It was followed by an equally successful sequel, Before You Were Punk 2, in 1999.