29 Punk Rock Essentials for Your Collection

Pinning down where, when and by whom punk rock started is a tricky thing best left alone. Along the way punk rock gave us some incredible music, way too much to choose from. Still, we've all got opinions (as one of the best songs by one of the best punk bands goes) and I think I would probably not be disagreed with wholeheartedly and completely by providing you with a list of twenty-nine of the most essential songs if you aren't yet acquainted with punk's legacy.

For the purposes of introducing as broad a range of artists as possible, I'm only going to choose one song per artist. There are some who will say that a list of twenty-nine essential punk songs should be made up at least halfway by all the songs on the Sex Pistols' pioneering album Never Mind the Bollocks…. And they've got a point. But to do that would limit by ability to include as many great punk artists as possible and, besides, I said twenty-nine OF the most essential songs. Not necessarily the twenty-nine most essential songs.

In no particular order, may I present twenty-nine essential punk rock songs.

1)Anarchy in the UK, the Sex Pistols. Yes, probably this is the MOST essential song for understanding punk rock. It may not be the Pistols' best, but it was certainly their most vociferous call to action. Anarchy in the UK begins with lead singer Johnny Rotten claiming to be the antichrist. I don't really think Johnny Rotten will turn out to be the antichrist, but when he says "we mean it, man!" you cannot help but believe him. You believe that Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols really did mean to bring everything down and start over from scratch. (Looking at how things have turned out since then, maybe he was onto something.) Punk rock is often accused of nihilism, about not caring about anything. If that were true, nobody would ever have recorded a punk song.