All-Time, Top 10 Punk Albums
Like most people, punk was a gateway into other genres and art forms outside the mainstream. Yes, I still love some punk music, but much like the 80s and 90s alternative I love so much, I’ve moved on. Other than #1, these are in no particular order:
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols - The Sex Pistols
I’ve written about this one a ton, so I’ll be brief, but you can make all the arguments you want about proto-punk or tell me The Damned’s “New Rose” came out first. This record defined punk as a genre. No disrespect to The Damned or anyone else, but this is the best punk record ever made and a top 10 rock record. You can disagree with me, but you’re wrong.
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables - The Dead Kennedys
This record still sounds great and it is still relevant. Top notch musicianship and definitely the first American punk band to write melodic and energetic music with a message. Johnny Rotten’s intellect is under-appreciated, Jello’s is maybe over-appreciated (especially by him) but he proved that anger didn’t mean there wasn’t intelligence behind it.
Vicious Circle - The Zero Boys
Paul knows I’m a fan, but here’s everything I think that I won’t say to him for fear of looking like a fan boy: This is the pinnacle of midwestern punk and most certainly a top ten punk record. The Replacements, Husker Du, they all went on to grow in ways the Zero Boys never got to, but this record dwarfs those other guys’ punk records. Great players, especially Tufty on the bass, well-crafted, dare I say, pop songs and Paul’s energy and lyrics are beyond his years at the time. I’ve always appreciated the way he was able to shine a light on things going on in the world without sounding like a preacher (a line Jello sometimes crossed). This record should be more famous than, as Paul calls them, “a third tier punk band” and Tufty’s bass playing is more influential than he’s given credit for.
Milo Goes to College - The Descendents
In contrast, when I worked with Bill Stevenson, I probably came off like a fan boy, but that’s okay, there’s a lot of Descendents/ALL fan boys out there. Without this record there is no pop punk. Green Day, Blink-182, Good Charlotte, New Found Glory… hell, even Ariana Grande sounds different.
Complete Discography - Minor Threat
I know, not technically an album, but whereas the Pistols and Kennedys turned their lens outward, Minor Threat wanted you to turn inward. The band that gave birth to Straight Edge (unintentionally), a movement that preaches abstinence from alcohol, drugs, casual sex, and other forms of destructive behavior. Ian said, “Play it faster” and they did and they took it all over the country and later the world before going their separate ways (but not before also starting, perhaps the first, successful indie punk label with Dischord Records).
London Calling - The Clash
I’ll be honest, I don’t think the Clash were a punk band, but they’re undeniably linked with punk. I’ll also say I always found Joe Strummer to be obnoxious, but have always appreciated Mick Jones’ sensibilities and this record is an artistic statement that is part of the reason punk is a gateway for so many. We don’t stop there, we go back to Roxy Music, The Stooges, Bowie, then onto other dusty corners of the record shop. Because, we should. Because we can. Because we’re never just one thing.
…And Out Come the Wolves - Rancid
The only album of my generation listed here really (yes, Energy, technically, but that was a previous epoch of punk music). When I first met Brett Gurewitz, before I told him “Sorrow” was one of my favorite songs, I said, “Man, I’m so honored to meet the guy who produced And Out Come the Wolves.” This record showed the world that Tim Armstrong was a songwriter to be reckoned with. It showed that punk, at least in spirit, was not dead. They gave the finger to the major labels (though wisely used their distribution network) and stayed on Epitaph. Where their friends worked. Because punk was meant to be a brotherhood. “He’s a different color, but we’re the same kid, I treat him like a brother, he treats me like his”. And you stay true to family. Nothing but love and respect for these fellas.
Los Angeles - X
Another band hard to pigeon hole as a punk band, but they sure as hell don’t fit any other labels either. Punks and hippies always have had a conflicted relationship in spite of obvious commonalities and personalities, but they had no issue covering “Soul Kitchen” and having Ray Manzarek produce the record. It’s gasoline poetry spewed on you by Exene and John with DJ and Billy giving the thing the match to light it. The epitome of the American art school element of punk that sprung out of late 1970s Hollywood.
The Ramones - The Ramones
The record that led a hundred thousand kids to say, “let start a band!” The band that said, music should be fun. You don’t have to be a poet, you don’t have to write about social unrest. It’s okay to just say, I’m bored, let’s sniff some glue (nobody go sniff glue, okay, just making a point). Start here, learn to write songs and play your instruments and you might end up being Dave Grohl.
Energy - Operation Ivy
This was one of those records I’d heard about, but in the early 90s, I bought before I actually heard it. The first thing I thought was, “I have never heard anything like this.” Sure, they wore their influences on their sleeve. Many great artists do. However, this particular thing was the unique product of Tim (Lint), Matt, Jesse and Dave. Couldn’t have happened at any other time or any other place than the East Bay in the late 1980s. This band is why Lookout! Records and 924 Gilman Street became what they did and therefore, American punk rock became what it did.
Honorable Mentions: Zen Arcade Husker Du, Young, Loud & Snotty The Dead Boys, Songs the Lord Taught Us The Cramps