Punk Rock Bands – Top 10 List Past & Present

Our list of Top 10 punk rock bands helps celebrate a type of music started in the 7os as a fight against mainstream rock.  The term punk was commonly used by music critics to describe garage bands.  Mega superstar bands that helped fuel the punk rock movement included The Ramones, the Clash and the Sex Pistols.  Current popular punk rock bands include Tiger Army, Rancid, Nekromantix, and Pennywise.

Punk still has made its way on mainstream radio of today with a style of music called Pop Punk.  Pop Punk artists include the likes of Green Day, The Offspring and Blink-182.  However, the punk rock purists do not classify pop punk and punk in the same category.  Classic punk bands on our list include The Ramones, The Clash, the Sex Pistols, Social Distortion, the Misfits and the Stooges.  If you are new to punk music, this is a great list to get your feet wet.  If you think we should add to the list, let us know in the comments section!

Punk Rock Bands

10. Rancid 
Popular Songs: Time Bomb, Ruby Soho, Mother
Years: 1991–present

 
9. Nekromantix
Popular Songs: Horny as a Hearse, Gargoyles Over Copenhagen
Years: 1989–present

 
8. Tiger Army
Popular Songs: Rose of the Devil’s Garden, Forever Fades Away
Years: 1996–present

 
7. Social Distortion
Popular Songs: Story Of My Life, Ball and Chain
Years: 1978–present

 
6. The Misfits
Popular Songs: Saturday Night, Dig Up Her Bones
Years: 1977–1983, 1995–present

 
5. Pennywise
Popular Songs: Bro Hymn, All or Nothing
Years: 1988–present

 
4. Sex Pistols
Popular Songs: God Save The Queen, Did You No Wrong
Years: 1975–1978

 
3. The Clash
Popular Songs: I Fought The Law, Should I Stay or Should I Go
Years: 1976–1986

 
2. The Stooges (with Iggy Pop)
Popular Songs: Sex Appeal, Fun House
Years: 1967–1974,2003–present

 
1. Ramones
Popular Songs: I Want To Be Sedates, Rock ‘n’ Roll High School
Years: 1974-1996

 
Thank you’s to Mindy Mork for helping us assemble this list.