Ten records that helped give birth to punk, according to Far Out Magazine

They called it “proto-punk”. That is, the kind of rock that already carried the seeds of the future punk explosion. Digging into this genre, the online magazine Far Out has selected ten essential albums for the future birth of punk. “By the late Seventies punk was the movement everyone desperately needed – Tim Coffman recalls in the introduction – The long era of great rock stars had given us extraordinary records, but classic rock was becoming increasingly bloated and self-referential. What was needed were bands capable of stripping everything back to the essentials, and groups like Velvet Underground reminded everyone that a handful of ideas, plenty of personality and a provocative attitude were all it took to leave a mark. None of the artists behind these albums thought they were creating a new genre, yet each of them helped lay the groundwork for what would become punk. You didn't need abrasive guitars or a raspy voice: often it was enough to suggest that anything was permitted to push someone else to pick up a guitar and try writing their own songs. Of course, punk never had just one shape. Some of these records gave rise to genuine offshoots of the genre: the more melodic artists paved the way for power pop, while the rougher ones built the bridge between punk and new wave, accompanying rock's evolution into the Eighties. Whatever their starting point – Far Out concludes – all these albums took punk's original spirit and shaped it into the genre we know today. If Ramones and Sex Pistols became the face of the movement, these records represent its deepest roots and the way punk was meant to be lived and listened to”.

So here are the ten albums that helped punk come into being, according to Far Out Magazine (full feature here)

10. Ramones – “Ramones” (1976)
9. The Who – “My Generation” (1965)
8. Bikini Kill – “The Singles” (1998)
7. Blue Cheer – “Vincebus Eruptum” (1968)
6. The Monks – “Black Monk Time” (1966)
5. David Bowie – “Aladdin Sane” (1973)
4. MC5 – “Kick Out The Jams” (1969)
3. Patti Smith – “Horses” (1975)
2. The Stooges – “The Stooges” (1969)
1. The Velvet Underground – “The Velvet Underground & Nico” (1967)

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