# Black Flag — Every Record We Rank

Black Flag appears 3 times in our Hardcore Punk and The Eighties lists, placing as high as No. 1. Hand-curated, with a reason for every pick.

- **Ranked entries:** 3
- **Appears on:** Hardcore Punk and The Eighties
- **Years:** 1978–1981
- **Highest placing:** No. 1 in Hardcore Punk
- **Updated:** 2026-08-31
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/artist/black-flag/

## Appears on

### [Rise Above](https://waxonia.com/track/black-flag--rise-above/)

*1981 · SST · No. 1 in [Hardcore Punk](https://waxonia.com/genre/hardcore-punk/)*

Henry Rollins's first record with the band, and the closest hardcore came to an anthem it could admit to. Greg Ginn's guitar is atonal and completely deliberate about it.

Also on: [The Eighties](https://waxonia.com/theme/the-eighties/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Black%20Flag%20Rise%20Above) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=wDUYCyajDcs)

### [Nervous Breakdown](https://waxonia.com/track/black-flag--nervous-breakdown/)

*1978 · SST · No. 4 in [Hardcore Punk](https://waxonia.com/genre/hardcore-punk/)*

Two years early and already fully formed. Keith Morris sounds genuinely unwell, which is the performance rather than the affliction.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Black%20Flag%20Nervous%20Breakdown) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ctUiBVT142Y)

### [Rise Above](https://waxonia.com/track/black-flag--rise-above/)

*1981 · SST · Picked by [The Eighties](https://waxonia.com/theme/the-eighties/)*

Greg Ginn ran SST out of his own electronics business and put out the records nobody would touch. American hardcore did not get signed; it built a distribution network out of vans and mail order, and this is the record at the front of it.

Also on: [Hardcore Punk](https://waxonia.com/genre/hardcore-punk/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Black%20Flag%20Rise%20Above) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=wDUYCyajDcs)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.