Punk Bands

Ash — Northern Ireland's teenage punk-pop Britpop band whose 1977 delivered Goldfinger and Girl from Mars.

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.

Elastica — Justine Frischmann's angular post-punk Britpop band whose tight debut became the genre's best-selling US export.

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.

Manic Street Preachers — the politically fierce Welsh band whose Holy Bible and Everything Must Go bookend Britpop's most serious artistic statement.

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.

Berkeley ska-punk pioneers whose two-year existence and sole album Energy helped define the entire genre.

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.

Sleater-Kinney — the Olympia punk trio whose interlocking guitars and confrontational energy made them one of indie rock's most vital acts.

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.

The Jam band page — Paul Weller's mod-punk icons. Discography, gear, similar artists, and Spotify player.

The Misfits — the horror punk band from Lodi, New Jersey whose Crimson Ghost skull, melodic aggression, and six-year career influenced everyone from Metallica to My Chemical Romance.

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