10 Most Influential Rock Bands

When rock reached its cultural zenith in the mid-70's, the scene had been overstuffed with progressive music. Every band around seemed to be using songs to showcase their playing and songs would stretch into 10-minute exercises without any real point to them. A change was in the air, and that change would come from the leather clad boroughs of New York.

Armed with buzzy guitars and buckets of attitude, the Ramones took the punk fashion and turned it into a real genre of music. Gone were the long stretches of nothingness and in its place were 2-minute ragers that were injected with adrenaline and speed. Are the Ramones the best musicians in the world? Hell no, not even close. However, the band's use of simplistic arrangements woke up every rock band and broke down rock's layers of pretension.

The mentality the Ramones had of playing from the heart had an impact on multiple genres from metal to future off -shoots of punk like alternative and hardcore music. With admirers as different as Bono and Kurt Cobain, the Ramones hit a nerve in the rock scene and showed just how much you can do with three chords and a lot of heart.