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Best Punk & 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.

  1. 1
    CL

    London Calling

    The Clash · from London Calling (1979)

    An apocalyptic call-to-arms.

  2. 2
    SP

    Anarchy in the U.K.

    Sex Pistols · from Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols (1977)

    The snarl that detonated UK punk.

  3. 3
    RA

    Blitzkrieg Bop

    Ramones · from Ramones (1976)

    Two minutes, all hook, year zero for punk.

  4. 4
    ST

    Search and Destroy

    The Stooges · from Raw Power (1973)

    Proto-punk at its most dangerous.

  5. 5
    TE

    Marquee Moon

    Television · from Marquee Moon (1977)

    Ten minutes of twin-guitar art-punk.

  6. 6
    BL

    Heart of Glass

    Blondie · from Parallel Lines (1978)

    New wave meets the dancefloor.

  7. 7
    TH

    Psycho Killer

    Talking Heads · from Talking Heads: 77 (1977)

    Nervy, arty and unforgettable.

  8. 8
    PS

    Gloria

    Patti Smith · from Horses (1975)

    Poetry and punk collide.

  9. 9
    DK

    Holiday in Cambodia

    Dead Kennedys · from Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980)

    Savage satire at breakneck speed.

  10. 10
    DA

    New Rose

    The Damned · from Damned Damned Damned (1977)

    Often called the first UK punk single.

  11. 11
    SA

    Spellbound

    Siouxsie and the Banshees · from Juju (1981)

    Swirling, influential proto-goth.

  12. 12
    SP

    A Message to You, Rudy

    The Specials · from The Specials (1979)

    2-tone ska with a social conscience.

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