10 Best Punk Rock Albums Of The 1980s
7. Minor Threat - Out Of Step
Ian MacKaye was the beating heart of punk in the 1980s. The fiercely principled frontman lived and breathed a DIY ethos and made music for the people, playing all-age shows with strictly limited ticket prices. He’s been involved in myriad bands, but for pure punk power, there’s no beating Minor Threat’s one and only album.
Out Of Step is distilled hardcore at its best, writing the blueprint for the movement and remaining a touchstone to this day, 21 minutes and change that tells you everything you need to know. There are personal tracks, like the relatively melodic “Look Back And Laugh”, principled stands like “Out Of Step” (in which MacKaye espouses his philosophy in a non-judgemental manner at great pace), and cynical sneering tunes like “Cashing In”.
These are concise and breakneck tracks, but each has an outlook, hooks, and a great deal of personality from the extremely charismatic band. It’s really all you need to know about the genre.