The Used is the debut studio album by American rock band The Used, released on June 25, 2002, through Reprise Records.

[1] Jeph Howard and Branden Steineckert played in a local act that performed shows with another band, which featured Bert McCracken.

[5] Allman said the group listened back to the demos "over and over, getting stoked talking about what we wanted to do with them".

[6] The group eventually gave a copy to John Feldmann of Goldfinger,[5] "but he would tell us they totally sucked", Allman added.

[6] The band subsequently honed their sound[6] before Feldmann flew the group out to Los Angeles, where they played label showcases without any success initially.

[7] The Used was recorded at Foxy Studios in Marina del Rey, California with Feldmann as the producer.

[4] "A Box Full of Sharp Objects" was inspired in part by McCracken's past experiences with drugs.

[18] Despite never having been released as a single, "A Box Full of Sharp Objects" received airplay starting in July, and a band-directed music video was in rotation at TV stations.

In October and November, the band supported Box Car Racer on their headlining tour of the US.

[21] In January 2003, the band went on a headlining West Coast tour of the US with support from Taking Back Sunday, New Transit Direction and the Blood Brothers.

[24] The video was directed by Ami & Kinkski,[19] and features McCracken "play[ing] with fire while the band wreaks havoc", according to Kludge.

[24] The Used embarked on a headlining tour of the US East Coast in February 2003 with support from Finch, the Movielife and My Chemical Romance.

The CD included live versions of "Maybe Memories", "Say Days Ago", "A Box Full of Sharp Objects" and "On My Own", Japanese-exclusive bonus track "Just a Little", a demo of "Bulimic", and "Sometimes I Just Go for It", a track that had been recorded during the piano sessions in London.

[9] Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from critics, with praise being directed primarily to the instrumentation.

[11] Many bands such as Escape the Fate, Crown the Empire and A Static Lullaby have cited the album as a major influence on their sounds.