Someone on the radio noted that
Rolling Stone once declared Sleater-Kinney to be the greatest American punk band of all time. 'Okay' I thought, 'I like Sleater-Kinney as much as the next guy, but let's not go crazy here...' So then of course I started thinking, 'Alright, then, who
is the greatest American punk band?'
"Holiday in Cambodia" (1980) by Dead Kennedys
"I Turned into a Martian" (1982) by The Misfits
"Kerosene" (1986) by Big Black
...are just a few of my favorites.
If I made a short (20-song) playlist of American punk as an introduction to someone unfamiliar with the genre, I'd also want to include Circle Jerks, Fear, Poison Idea, The Gits, Bikini Kill, Hole, Butthole Surfers, Fugazi, Richard Hell, The Descendents, Bad Brains, and The Jesus Lizard, to name just a handful.
But I think my off-the-cuff pick for Best American Punk Band of All Time is also the first: