Punk Bands

Bad Brains — D.C. hardcore legends whose superhuman speed and reggae-punk fusion shattered every boundary punk had set.

Black Flag — hardcore punk's founding band whose DIY ethic, SST Records label, and Greg Ginn's abrasive guitar built the American underground.

Dead Kennedys — politically razor-sharp punk whose East Bay Ray's surf-inflected guitar and Jello Biafra's satirical fury redefined the genre.

Fugazi — post-hardcore pioneers whose angular twin-guitar attack and uncompromising DIY ethic redefined punk's possibilities.

Iggy Pop artist profile — proto-punk godfather whose Stooges weaponized Les Paul distortion, Marshall volume, and raw fuzz into the blueprint for punk rock.

Mannequin Pussy artist profile — Philadelphia punk band known for extreme dynamic shifts between vulnerability and ferocious intensity.

Metz — Canadian noise-rock power trio whose punishing volume and precision aggression carry the genre into the present.

Ramones — the founding fathers of punk rock whose buzzsaw guitars and two-minute anthems launched a musical revolution.

Sex Pistols — punk's most incendiary band whose brief, explosive career rewrote the rules of rock music and British culture.

The Clash — punk's most ambitious band, fusing raw energy with reggae, ska, and rock into politically charged anthems that transcended genre.

The Damned — punk pioneers who released the genre's first UK single and album, then helped invent gothic rock.

Wire — minimalist punk pioneers whose three rapid-fire albums invented post-punk and influenced generations of guitar music.