The 20 Most Influential Albums in Punk Music

As you may have noticed, we are gradually setting up photo galleries with coverage from this summer’s Warped Tour (the most recent being these photos of a stellar set from The Street Dogs). Next week, look for a big wrap up as “punk rock summer camp” sends everyone back to school for the year. We’re going to take a break to help you get ready for school with a little bit of education.

On this site, we focus a lot on what’s new in punk rock, but that is in no way intended to discount everything that’s paved the way for the latest artists to be who they are. Without a select few innovative musicians, punk music would not be what it is today. And by that, I mean awesome.

So take a look at my list of the 20 most innovative albums in punk music. Without these bands and albums, we would not have the music scene we have today. On top of that, they’re simply great records, and if you want to say you know about punk music, you should probably own each and every one of them.

After you take a gander at the list, feel free to heap on the abuse in the comments section. Who did I commit egregious offense to by leaving them out?

After you’re done piling on the abuse, it would also be nice if you mentioned any that you’re happy to see as well. Positive feedback tends to make my day.

Cover art courtesy of Kill Rock Stars