Best Punk and New Wave Songs of All Time
77 punk, post-punk and the new-wave that followed — twelve essential songs, each from an album worth owning.
Reviewed by Callum Ashworth, 247 Album Verdict · Last updated · How we rank
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1CL
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2SP
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3RA
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4ST
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5TE
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6BL
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7TH
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8PS
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9DK
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10DA
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11SA
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12SP
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13SP
Anarchy in the U.K.
The four minutes that made everyone feel the world could be restarted.
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14CL
Should I Stay or Should I Go
The pop song The Clash apologised for and everyone loved them for.
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15BU
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16BL
Heart of Glass
The disco crossover that punk was supposed to hate and couldn't resist.
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17TH
Psycho Killer
Bass guitar, French lyrics, and the most creepy chorus in new wave.
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18TE
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19PR
Brass in Pocket
Chrissie Hynde's swagger and the most assured debut single in punk-adjacent rock.
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20EC
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21PO
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22XT
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23GO
Damaged Goods
The funk guitar and the Marxist lyric: post-punk at its most confrontational.
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24WI
Tap the artwork or "Listen" to find the track on Amazon Music; "Watch" opens a YouTube search; the song title or "Album" opens its album page. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases and sign-ups.
Is this list just the 1970s tracks again?
No — this is the full-history version spanning punk's late-1970s origins through new wave's early-1980s commercial peak and into the genre's post-punk and revival offshoots. Our 1970s-specific list narrows in on the founding decade alone.
Why do post-punk bands show up in a punk and new wave list?
Post-punk grew directly out of punk's DIY ethic but pushed toward more experimental, atmospheric territory — critics generally treat it as a direct branch of the same family tree rather than a separate genre, which is why it overlaps heavily with punk and new wave canon lists.
Did new wave replace punk commercially?
In effect, yes — punk's rawness proved commercially limited, and by the early 1980s many former punk musicians and labels shifted toward new wave's more radio- and MTV-friendly sound, which went on to dominate early-1980s charts on both sides of the Atlantic.