Social Distortion is the third studio album and major label debut by the American punk rock band of the same name, released on March 27, 1990, through Epic Records.

The album furthered the country-infused experimentation of Prison Bound with songs like "Drug Train" and the radio hit "Ball and Chain".

For the album's musical direction, Deming states "Mike Ness and Dennis Danell's guitars sound lean, sharp, and powerful; Ness's vocals are better controlled than ever before; and Christopher Reece's drums have a tight snap that suits both the thrashier numbers as well as the slower, bluesier tunes."

He also states that it Social Distortion is not a "great roots rock album, but it's a pretty good one, and it's better and more affecting than anything this band had cranked out before.

[6] Thanks to the success of the singles "Let It Be Me", "Ball and Chain", "Story of My Life" and "Ring of Fire", Social Distortion became the band's best-selling album of their recording career, achieving gold sales certification in the United States.