Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols existed for barely two and a half years and released one studio album, but their impact on music and culture was seismic. Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols remains one of the most explosive debut albums ever recorded — Steve Jones's overdubbed guitar wall, a churning mass of power chords played through cranked Fender Twins, gave the record a heaviness that belied punk's lo-fi reputation. Johnny Rotten's sneering, confrontational vocals turned songs like Anarchy in the U.K., God Save the Queen, and Pretty Vacant into cultural grenades. Managed by Malcolm McLaren with calculated outrage, the Pistols became a media phenomenon that terrified the British establishment and galvanized a generation. Their brief existence — from formation through the chaos of Sid Vicious replacing Glen Matlock to their final show in San Francisco — became rock's most compressed and consequential narrative. Every punk, post-punk, and alternative band that followed exists in their wake.