# The 9 Best Punk Tracks of All Time Two years in which rock was stripped back to speed, volume and refusal, and the barrier to making a record collapsed. Musically narrow on purpose; its consequences are the widest of anything on this map. - **Origin:** New York and London, 1976 - **Tempo:** 140–200 BPM - **Also known as:** punk rock, proto-punk, 77 punk - **Tracks:** 9 - **Updated:** 2026-08-30 - **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/genre/punk/ ## The list ### 1. [Sex Pistols](https://waxonia.com/artist/sex-pistols/) — [Anarchy in the U.K.](https://waxonia.com/track/sex-pistols--anarchy-in-the-u-k/) *1976 · EMI* A rolled R, a guitar sound like sheet metal, and a record its own label withdrew within weeks. Whatever was manufactured about the band, this is not a manufactured performance. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Sex%20Pistols%20Anarchy%20in%20the%20U.K.) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=cBojbjoMttI) ### 2. [Ramones](https://waxonia.com/artist/ramones/) — [Blitzkrieg Bop](https://waxonia.com/track/ramones--blitzkrieg-bop/) *1976 · Sire* Four downstrokes, a count-in and a chant. The Ramones removed everything that was not essential and discovered that what remained was enough for a career and a genre. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Ramones%20Blitzkrieg%20Bop) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=skdE0KAFCEA) ### 3. [The Clash](https://waxonia.com/artist/the-clash/) — [White Riot](https://waxonia.com/track/the-clash--white-riot/) *1977 · CBS* Ninety-nine seconds, written after Strummer and Simonon were at Notting Hill Carnival. A song about wanting to be as serious as somebody else's politics, which is a stranger idea than it first sounds. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Clash%20White%20Riot) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=IvG3is7Bm1w) ### 4. [Richard Hell & The Voidoids](https://waxonia.com/artist/richard-hell-and-the-voidoids/) — [Blank Generation](https://waxonia.com/track/richard-hell-and-the-voidoids--blank-generation/) *1977 · Sire* Hell wrote the look and half the attitude, and Robert Quine plays a solo that has no business on a punk record. The most musically interesting thing here by a distance. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Richard%20Hell%20%26%20The%20Voidoids%20Blank%20Generation) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=v9FkQLjOSZ8) ### 5. [X-Ray Spex](https://waxonia.com/artist/x-ray-spex/) — [Oh Bondage! Up Yours!](https://waxonia.com/track/x-ray-spex--oh-bondage-up-yours/) *1977 · Virgin* Poly Styrene opens by saying little girls are supposed to be seen and not heard, then a saxophone arrives. Funnier, smarter and angrier than most of its neighbours. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/X-Ray%20Spex%20Oh%20Bondage!%20Up%20Yours!) · [Search YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/search?q=X-Ray%20Spex%20Oh%20Bondage!%20Up%20Yours!) ### 6. [Buzzcocks](https://waxonia.com/artist/buzzcocks/) — [Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)](https://waxonia.com/track/buzzcocks--ever-fallen-in-love-with-someone-you-shouldntve/) *1978 · United Artists* Manchester works out that the speed and the distortion also suit a pop song about humiliation. Pete Shelley's melodies are the reason punk had anywhere to go afterwards. Also on: [Sung to Someone](https://waxonia.com/theme/sung-to-someone/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Buzzcocks%20Ever%20Fallen%20in%20Love%20(With%20Someone%20You%20Shouldn't've)) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=51OB2YoC4sg) ### 7. [The Stooges](https://waxonia.com/artist/the-stooges/) — [Search and Destroy](https://waxonia.com/track/the-stooges--search-and-destroy/) *1973 · Columbia* Three years early, mixed by Bowie into a thin, trebly mess that turned out to be exactly right. Everyone on this list heard it and most of them admitted it. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Stooges%20Search%20and%20Destroy) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=LC9km8qnbOY) ### 8. [Patti Smith](https://waxonia.com/artist/patti-smith/) — [Piss Factory](https://waxonia.com/track/patti-smith--piss-factory/) *1974 · Mer* Self-released, spoken rather than sung, about a summer job. Proof that the form was a permission structure before it was a sound. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Patti%20Smith%20Piss%20Factory) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=y6aUbrZYjYE) ### 9. [Stiff Little Fingers](https://waxonia.com/artist/stiff-little-fingers/) — [Alternative Ulster](https://waxonia.com/track/stiff-little-fingers--alternative-ulster/) *1978 · Rough Trade* Belfast, where the boredom being complained about had rather higher stakes. The most convincing anger on this list, and the least stylised. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Stiff%20Little%20Fingers%20Alternative%20Ulster) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=PlGmYetiCjA) --- Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.