10 Hard Rock Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

5. Ramones - Ramones

Rock was getting a bad case of the bloat once the mid '70s rolled around. While many at the time didn't want to admit it, the huge influx of prog rock bands were making rock sound like hard work, almost as if it was out of reach for the casual music fan. Even though plenty of acts were reaching far beyond the traditional rock and roll structure, a few fictitious brothers from the bowels of New York City helped re-energize people's love in rock all over again.

Recorded on a shoestring budget, the Ramones debut was a slice of life for everyone that heard it. Long before the Sex Pistols and the Clash started to make waves, this was one of the first records that announced the concept of punk music in the mainstream, with songs that were fast, raw, and uninhibited. Instead of hearing about tales of dragons and wizards, these tunes were much more relatable for a street urchin, from talking about sniffing glue to falling in love with your girlfriend.

More than that, it's gone down in history that nearly every person who heard this album started a band, with everyone from Sonic Youth to Anthrax to The Clash citing them as an influence. The Ramones may not have planned to be one of the biggest bands in the world, and yet this disenfranchised attitude ended up winning over legions of fans all the same.

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