 | | The Sex Pistols may have only been together for two years in the late '70s, but they changed the face of popular music. |
 | | The Ramones are the first punk rock band. Other bands, such as the Stooges and the New York Dolls, came before them and set the stage and aesthetic for punk, and bands that immediately followed, such as the Sex Pistols, made the latent violence of the music more explicit, but the Ramones crystallized the musical ideals of the genre. |
 | | The Dead Kennedys merged revolutionary politics with hardcore punk music and, in the process, became one of the defining hardcore bands. |
 | | Formed in 1979 by Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris and Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson, the Circle Jerks combined the rebelliousness of the Sex Pistols and Ramones with the aggressive athletic elements of the surfer/skateboarder crowd from Hermosa Beach. |
 | | In many ways, Black Flag was the definitive Los Angeles hardcore punk band. Although their music flirted with heavy metal and experimental noise and jazz more than that of most hardcore bands, they defined the image and the aesthetic. |
 | | The Sex Pistols may have been the first British punk rock band, but the Clash were the definitive British punk rockers. |
 | | Genuinely shocking or tasteless, campy fun? It was sometimes hard to tell which way the Misfits wanted to be taken, and the immense cult following that has grown up in the years after their actual existence (1977-1983) seems divided in its own assessment. |
 | | Fueled by "rejection, food, coffee, girls, fishing and food," the Descendents sprang up during the halcyon days of the Los Angeles punk scene; fusing the blind rage of hardcore with an unexpectedly wry, self-deprecating wit and a strong melodic sensibility which set them distinctly apart from their West Coast brethren, they gradually emerged as one of the most enduring and adored bands of their time. |
 | | By melding punk with reggae, Bad Brains became one of the definitive American hardcore punk groups of the early '80s. |
 | | With punk's history having entered a new millennium, the impact of the band initially judged "the least likely to" seems to grow ever more each day. |
 | | Conjuring a fiendish witches' brew of primal rockabilly, grease-stained '60s garage rock, vintage monster movies, perverse and glistening sex, and the detritus and effluvia of 50 years of American pop culture, the Cramps are a truly American creation much in the manner of the Cadillac, the White Castle hamburger, the Fender Stratocaster, and Jayne Mansfield. |
 | | Orange County punk veterans the Vandals traced their roots back to the earliest days of their local scene, but didn't really make much of an impact as recording artists until the '90s. |
 | | The enduring L.A. punk band Social Distortion has overcome numerous personnel shifts, the demise of the Los Angeles hardcore scene that spawned them, and the heroin addiction of singer/guitarist/bandleader Mike Ness to achieve a measure mainstream acceptance for their rootsy, hard-hitting punk without compromise. |
 | | Minor Threat was the definitive Washington, D.C., hardcore punk band, setting the style for the straight-edge punk movement of the early '80s. |
 | | Punk to the core, yet with audible influences from early heavy metal and surf rock, Agent Orange formed in Fullerton, California at the end of the '70s, with vocalist/guitarist Mike Palm, bassist James Levesque, and drummer Scott Miller. |
 | | During their heyday in the late '80s, the Dead Milkmen led a crop of college-radio jokesters that also included Mojo Nixon, King Missile, and Too Much Joy, among others. |
 | | There's a reason why many consider Iggy Pop the godfather of punk: every single punk band of the past and present has either knowingly or unknowingly borrowed a thing or two from Pop and his late-'60s/early-'70s band, the Stooges. |
 | | The Exploited are one of the U.K.'s most politically outspoken thrash bands. Based in Edinburgh, the band is led by vocalist Wattie Buchan, whose supporting cast has changed several times since the group's inception around the end of the '70s. |
 | | Living fast and dying young is one of rock's great clichés, but no phrase better describes the reasons for the demise of L. |
 | | One of the cornerstone bands of the '90s punk revival, Rancid's unabashedly classicist sound drew heavily from the Clash's early records, echoing their left-leaning politics and fascination with ska, while adding a bit of post-hardcore crunch. |
 | | One of the first bands to fuse revivalist ska with the energy and aggression of post-hardcore punk rock (after the Mighty Mighty Bosstones), Operation Ivy were also one of the few ska-punk bands to earn critical acclaim. |
 | | One of Southern California's best-loved hardcore bands, the Adolescents helped establish the blueprint for Orange County punk, along with Agent Orange and Social Distortion. |
 | | Judging from their name, Suicidal Tendencies were never afraid of a little controversy. Formed in Venice, CA, during the early '80s, the group's leader from the beginning was outspoken vocalist Mike Muir. |
 | | Out of all of the Southern Californian hardcore punk bands of the early '80s, Bad Religion stayed around the longest. |
 | | At the dawn of the '80s, New York City was mired in debt and crime, grappling with one of the most trying periods in its history, yet ironically (or perhaps fittingly), its underground music scene was seething with activity like never before. |
 | | In the early years of Los Angeles punk, one of the premiere hardcore bands was T.S.O.L., which stood for True Sounds of Liberty. |
 | | Formed in Berkeley, California, in 1983 and relocating to Los Angeles not long afterwards, NOFX steered clear of major labels and commercial exposure over the course of their career, recording an impressive number of full-length albums plus an assortment of EPs and singles. |
 | | If history is kind to Fugazi, their records won't be overshadowed by their reputation and methods of operation. |
 | | The hardcore punk/Celtic folk outfit Dropkick Murphys formed in South Boston in 1995; vocalist Mike McColgan, guitarist Rick Barton, and bassist Ken Casey comprised the original nucleus of the group, with a series of drummers passing through the lineup before the addition of Matt Kelly in 1997. |
 | | The New York Dolls created punk rock before there was a term for it. Building on the Rolling Stones' dirty rock & roll, Mick Jagger's androgyny, girl group pop, the Stooges' anarchic noise, and the glam rock of David Bowie and T. |
 | | Pennywise were one of the key bands of the punk revival of the '90s. Using California hardcore as a foundation, the group incorporated funk-metal and skatepunk into its sound, developing a something that functioned as edgy, post-punk frat rock -- it was speedy and occasionally stupidly catchy, with heavy, propulsive rhythms and positive, optimistic lyrics that stood in pointed contrast to their grunge-addled peers. |
 | | The Casualties formed in 1990 out of a desire to return to the heyday of punk, an era that hung on into the early '80s and then started to fall by the wayside in favor of the very early grunge movement, as well as hair metal, synth pop, and new wave. |
 | | Making their debut at a local Pittsburgh radio station in 1993, Anti-Flag got together for the sake of responding to their disgust at religion, nationalism, and fascism. |
 | | The hardcore punk outfit the Distillers first came together in late 1998 when Aussie native Brody Armstrong met bassist Kim Chi at work and realized their love for playing. |
 | | The Bouncing Souls started out in 1987 with the intention of playing loud fast three-chord party music around their native New Jersey; besides, it gave them something to do while they were in high school. |
 | | X were far from the first punk rock band in Los Angeles, and they weren't the first to achieve some level of nationwide recognition, but in a very real way, they were the ones who put the L. |
 | | The Los Angeles-based post-grunge seven-piece Flogging Molly are an interesting mix of traditional Irish music and spunky punk rock. |
 | | Punk's premier cover artists, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes are a conglomerate of some of the most recognizable faces in new-school punk. |
 | | A taut, explosive Belfast-based punk band, Stiff Little Fingers (named after a Vibrators song) had the dubious distinction of being referred to as "The Irish Clash. |
 | | The Dead Boys were one of the first punk bands to escalate the level of violence, nihilism, and pure ugliness of punk rock to extreme new levels. |
 | | Chicago's Screeching Weasel generally have a polarizing effect on most punk fans -- either you love their amateurish, tuneful Ramones imitation and singer/guitarist Ben Weasel's smartass suburbanite, often pop culture-oriented lyrics, or you hate them. |
 | | The influential, long-lived punk metal band G.B.H. rose to prominence in England during the early '80s when hardcore punk began inching toward heavy metal. |
 | | Along with Black Flag and the Circle Jerks, Fear helped define the sound and style of L.A. hardcore. |
 | | Formed in the early '80s, the hardcore punk band 7 Seconds has been among the longest lived of any group from the first wave of Cali punk (forming in Reno, NV, and eventually relocating to Sacramento), though frontman Kevin Seconds has proved to be the only consistent member; changes during the mid-'80s moved guitarist Bobby Adams, drummer Troy Mowat, and bassist Steve Youth (Seconds' brother) into the lineup. |
 | | Deep in the heart of California's Inland Empire, the Hispanic-tinged ska-punk band Voodoo Glow Skulls formed in the late '80s. |
 | | Huntington Beach, CA-based punks Guttermouth formed in 1989, comprised of vocalist Mark "Mercury" Adkins, guitarists Derek Davis and Scott Sheldon, bassist Stever Rapp (who replaced original bassist Clint Weinrich), and drummer Captain James T. |
 | | Sometimes they are mistaken for a queercore band like labelmates Pansy Division, but one listen to the Queers' adolescent-boy-who-never-grew-up lyrics ("she got no tit," "I'm really goo-goo over you/I'm mentally retarded too," "she's my Burger King Queen," etc. |
 | | The Adicts are a British punk rock quartet founded in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, in the late '70s by lead singer Monkey (Keith Warren), guitarist Pete Davidson, bassist Mel Ellis, and drummer Kid Dee (Michael Davison). |
 | | Hüsker Dü and R.E.M. were the two American post-punk bands of the '80s that changed the direction of rock & roll. |
 | | Although many mistake alterna-ska punkers the Suicide Machines as being from California, where most of the genre's bands come from, they're in fact Detroit natives. |
![Trade Test Transmissions [UK Bonus Tracks] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/182086/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Trade Test Transmissions [UK Bonus Tracks] Album Cover")
![A Different Kind of Tension [Bonus Disc] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/1383152/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "A Different Kind of Tension [Bonus Disc] Album Cover")
![Ever Fallen in Love?: Buzzcocks Finest [EMI Gold] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/182073/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Ever Fallen in Love?: Buzzcocks Finest [EMI Gold] Album Cover")
![Another Music in a Different Kitchen [Bonus Disc] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/1383153/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Another Music in a Different Kitchen [Bonus Disc] Album Cover")
![Inventory [Singles Box Set] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/182081/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Inventory [Singles Box Set] Album Cover")
![Singles Going Steady [UK Bonus Tracks] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/182072/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Singles Going Steady [UK Bonus Tracks] Album Cover")
![Different Kind of Tension [Bonus CD] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/4447621/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Different Kind of Tension [Bonus CD] Album Cover")
![Love Bites [Bonus CD] [Bonus Tracks] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/4448638/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Love Bites [Bonus CD] [Bonus Tracks] Album Cover")
![Another Music in a Different Kitchen [Bonus Tracks] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/182071/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Another Music in a Different Kitchen [Bonus Tracks] Album Cover")
![Love Bites [Bonus Tracks] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/182069/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Love Bites [Bonus Tracks] Album Cover")
![Another Music in a Different Kitchen [Bonus Disc] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/1578694/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Another Music in a Different Kitchen [Bonus Disc] Album Cover")
![Different Kind of Tension [Bonus Disc] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/1578695/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Different Kind of Tension [Bonus Disc] Album Cover")
![Love Bites [Bonus Disc] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/1578693/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Love Bites [Bonus Disc] Album Cover")
![Love Bites [2-CD] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/1383154/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Love Bites [2-CD] Album Cover")
![Auf Wiedersehen [Video/DVD] Album Cover](http://images.slacker.com/isv1/album/v1/5045646/aol/1/center/5,0/70.jpg "Auf Wiedersehen [Video/DVD] Album Cover")
