If music fans wanted to discuss the greatest English rock bands, there would most likely be some consensus about who belongs in the conversation (Beatles, Stones, Who, Clash, Kinks, Sex Pistols, Led Zep, etc.). For American rock bands, it’s a much trickier subject.
Many top U.K. bands were part of two different waves – The British invasion of the ‘60s and punk rock scene of the 1970s. There has been no similar “movement” for American rock bands. Discussions of the best American bands might revolve around metal/hard rock (Metallica, Van Halen, Aerosmith), bands that started on the indie scene (R.E.M., the Replacements, Nirvana), or frontmen with talented backing units (Tom Petty/Heartbreakers or Bruce Springsteen/E. Street). Me, I have no idea who the best American band is. If CCR had a longer career, they might have had both the commercial impact and enough classic material to make a case. Devotees of the Beach Boys or the Byrds or the Allman Brothers could all make an argument. Or, you could select a band that never even had a Top 40 hit like the Velvet Underground or the Stooges or the “brothers” from Forest Hills known as the Ramones.
The Ramones boiled down everything they loved about rock ‘n’ roll to its essence – this is a band that had major fights about whether they could put a guitar solo on a song. The basic punk rock chord structures are now ubiquitous in modern rock, but when the first Ramones album came out, this was music that was deemed both offensive and dangerous. The Ramones knocked down the musical barriers; Billie Joe Armstrong shimmied through the openings to pick up the royalty checks.
So, hey ho, let’s go… gabba gabba …one, two, three, four…one hundred!
1. My Brain is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes to Bitburg)
2. Blitzkrieg Bop
3. Rockaway Beach
4. Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue
5. I Wanna Be Sedated
6. Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World
7. Teenage Lobotomy
8. I Just Want to Have Something to Do
9. Something to Believe In
10. Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)
11. What a Wonderful World (Joey Ramone solo)
12. Ramona
13. Rock ‘n’ Roll High School
14. Beat on the Brat
15. We Want the Airwaves
16. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
17. We’re a Happy Family
18. She’s the One
19. Gimmie Gimmie Shock Treatment
20. I Don’t Wanna Go Down to the Basement
21. I Believe in Miracles
22. Chinese Rock
23. Cretin Hop
24. I’m Not Afraid of Life
25. 53rd and 3rd
26. Carbona Not Glue
27. California Sun
28. Judy is a Punk
29. It’s Not My Place (In the 9 to 5 World)
30. Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
31. Howling at the Moon (Sha La La)
32. The KKK Took My Baby Away
33. Do You Remember Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio?
34. My My Kind of Girl
35. Danny Says
36. I Remember You
37. I Don’t Want to Grow Up
38. Commando
39. Questioningly
40. Pinhead
41. R.A.M.O.N.E.S.
42. Havana Affair
43. Sheena is a Punk Rocker
44. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
45. Psycho Therapy
46. Mama’s Boy
47. Bad Brain
48. Glad to See You Go
49. Touring
50. Dangers of Love
51. It’s a Long Way Back
52. You’re Gonna Kill That Girl
53. 7-11
54. I’m Affected
55. I Wanted Everything
56. Durango 95
57. Suzy is a Headbanger
58. Surf City
59. Pet Sematary
60. The Crusher
61. The Job That Ate My Brain
62. Somebody Put Something in My Drink
63. Palisades Park
64. Chasing the Night
65. In the Park
66. Chain Saw
67. Time Has Come Today
68. Wart Hog
69. Too Tough to Die
70. Don’t Come Close
71. She’s a Sensation
72. Everytime I Eat Vegetables (It Makes Me Think of You)
73. Go Mental
74. The Return of Jackie and Judy
75. Animal Boy
76. Poison Heart
77. Danger Zone
78. Tomorrow She Goes Away
79. Outsider
80. Needles and Pins
81. Do You Wanna Dance
82. 7 and 7 Is
83. I Don’t Want to Live This Life (Anymore)
84. Spider-Man
85. I Wanna Live
86. Little Bit O’ Soul
87. Baby, I Love You
88. Time Bomb
89. Surfin’ Bird
90. Slug
91. Love Kills
92. You Should Never Have Opened That Door
93. Loudmouth
94. My Back Pages
95. Strength to Endure
96. Any Way You Want It
97. I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You
98. I Won’t Let It Happen
99. Substitute
100. She Talks to Rainbows
