punk The Best Punk Bands Of All Time  

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List Rules The definition of "punk" is nebulous - if you don't consider a band punk, feel free to vote em down

The subject of who is the greatest punk band has fueled argument and debate for decades. Punk and punk inspired musical acts are more common than ever but the underground punk acts of the 70s and 80s will always be remembered for creating a culture for rebellion. From 80s punk to today's top punk bands, which are the best punk rock bands of all time and the best punk bands ever?

Good punk bands aren't hard to find, there's plenty of great punk music out there, thanks to the many punk groups on this list. Don't see your favorite punk rockers below? Click Rerank to add your list of your favorite punk bands here or vote up the punk acts you love and help create the definitive list of the greatest famous punk bands of all time.
list ordered by

1
6,547 2,655
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The Clash London Calling, The Clash, Black Market Clash

Punk Bands with the Best Lyrics The Greatest Fighting Games Ever Made

2
5,838 3,029
Ramones is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Ramones Ramones, Rocket to Russia, End of the Century

3
5,991 2,642
Sex Pistols is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, The Great Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle

4
5,233 2,018
Dead Kennedys is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Dead Kennedys Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, Nazi Punks Fuck Off, Bleed for Me

5
3,417 2,448
The Stooges is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
The Stooges Raw Power, Fun House, The Stooges

6
3,648 2,692
Black Flag is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Black Flag Damaged, In My Head, My War

7
3,864 2,845
Misfits is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Misfits Legacy of Brutality, Famous Monsters, Walk Among Us

8
3,526 1,662
Buzzcocks is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Buzzcocks Singles Going Steady, Buzzcocks, Product

9
3,776 1,804
The Damned is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
The Damned Phantasmagoria, The Black Album, Not of This Earth

10
3,692 2,743
Bad Religion is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Bad Religion Recipe for Hate, The Empire Strikes First, Stranger Than Fiction

11
2,936 2,184
Bad Brains is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Bad Brains God of Love, I Against I, Bad Brains

12
5,113 2,144
Stiff Little Fingers is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Stiff Little Fingers Inflammable Material, Now Then…, Nobody's Heroes

13
2,987 2,295
Minor Threat is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Minor Threat Complete Discography, Minor Threat, First Demo Tape

14
4,710 5,019
Green Day is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Green Day American Idiot, Dookie, 21st Century Breakdown

15
3,217 2,784
Rancid is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Rancid …and Out Come the Wolves, Let's Go, Indestructible

Bloody and Vomit-Filled Behind-The-Scenes Stories Of Iggy Pop, The Godfather Of Punk Catchiest Viral Internet Songs of All Time

16
2,832 2,372
Social Distortion is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Social Distortion Social Distortion, White Light White Heat White Trash, Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell

17
3,443 2,678
NOFX is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
NOFX Punk in Drublic, Pump Up the Valuum, The War on Errorism

18
2,725 1,759
Descendents is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Descendents Everything Sucks, Milo Goes to College, I Don't Want to Grow Up

19
3,974 3,519
The Offspring is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
The Offspring Smash, Americana, The Offspring

20
2,535 2,083
Joy Division is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Joy Division Unknown Pleasures, Closer, Substance

21
2,040 1,523
New York Dolls is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
New York Dolls New York Dolls, One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This, Cause I Sez So

22
2,383 1,321
Siouxsie & the Banshees is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Siouxsie & the Banshees 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nocturne, Once Upon a Time: The Singles

23
1,877 1,943
Hüsker Dü is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Hüsker Dü Zen Arcade, Flip Your Wig, Warehouse: Songs and Stories

24
2,041 1,637
Fugazi is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Fugazi The Argument, Repeater, 13 Songs

25
2,278 1,805
Circle Jerks is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Circle Jerks Group Sex, Golden Shower of Hits, Oddities

26
2,101 1,008
The Cramps is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
pigonthewing added The Cramps Stay Sick!, Smell of Female, Flamejob

27
2,023 1,209
The Jam is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
The Jam All Mod Cons, In the City, Setting Sons

28
1,673 1,548
X is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
X Los Angeles, Under the Big Black Sun, Live at the Whisky A Go-Go on the Fabulous Sunset Strip

29
1,994 1,837
Operation Ivy is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Operation Ivy Lint Rides Again, Energy, Plea for Peace

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30
2,070 1,161
The Stranglers is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
VaniadeBie-vernet added The Stranglers No More Heroes, The Stranglers, Aural Sculpture

31
2,153 2,243
Dropkick Murphys is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Dropkick Murphys The Warrior's Code, Unity, The Singles Collection

32
1,693 1,107
The Dead Boys is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
The Dead Boys All This and More, Night of the Living Dead Boys, Younger

33
1,558 1,412
MC5 is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
MC5 Kick Out the Jams, The Big Bang!: Best of the MC5, Back in the USA

34
2,137 1,173
The Exploited is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
The Exploited The Massacre, Beat the Bastards, Horror Epics

35
1,913 1,497
Suicidal Tendencies is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal for Life, The Art of Rebellion, Join the Army

36
2,112 1,171
Sham 69 is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Sham 69 The Adventures of Hersham Boys, The A Files, The Game

37
2,932 3,510
Blink-182 is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Blink-182 Enema of the State, Dude Ranch, blink-182

38
1,593 953
Generation X is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Micksandy added Generation X Generation X, Kiss Me Deadly, Valley of the Dolls

39
1,713 907
Crass is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Crass Merry Crassmas, Acts of Love: Fifty Songs to My Other Self, The Feeding of the 5000

40
1,512 457
Iggy Pop is listed (or ranked) 40 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Corey Watson added Iggy Pop The Idiot, Lust for Life, Zombie Birdhouse

41
1,605 1,188
Blondie is listed (or ranked) 41 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
GeorgeRainey added Blondie Parallel Lines, Heart of Glass, Blondie

42
1,259 1,092
Johnny Thunders & the Heartbre... is listed (or ranked) 42 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers L.A.M.F. The Lost '77 Mixes, So Alone, Down to Kill

43
1,243 1,286
Minutemen is listed (or ranked) 43 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Minutemen Double Nickels on the Dime, My First Bells, Introducing the Minutemen

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44
1,153 1,071
Richard Hell & The Voidoids is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Richard Hell & The Voidoids Destiny Street, Funhunt: Live at CBGB's & Max's, Time

45
1,099 1,021
Television is listed (or ranked) 45 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Television Marquee Moon, Television, Adventure

46
1,528 1,502
Dead Milkmen is listed (or ranked) 46 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Dead Milkmen The King in Yellow, Beelzebubba, Big Lizard in My Backyard

47
1,628 1,032
X-Ray Spex is listed (or ranked) 47 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
X-Ray Spex Germfree Adolescents, Conscious Consumer, Obsessed With You: The Early Years

48
1,379 1,047
The Adicts is listed (or ranked) 48 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
The Adicts Smart Alex, Songs of Praise, Sound of Music

49
2,178 1,903
Pennywise is listed (or ranked) 49 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
Pennywise Land of the Free?, About Time, Home Movies

50
1,344 1,152
Agent Orange is listed (or ranked) 50 on the list The Best Punk Bands Of All Time
jinxiethelucky added Agent Orange Living in Darkness, This Is the Voice, Virtually Indestructible