Ramones – Ramones (1976):  The emergence of punk rock in the mid-1970’s was in large part a reaction to progressive rock and also the tamer musical styles of that time.  Punkers felt that rock music had strayed far from its roots and wanted to bring back the energy and excitement of pre-Beatles rock and roll.  The debut album Ramones by Ramones is a landmark punk-rock album released in April 1976 that initially went nowhere, peaking at #111 on the Billboard album charts.  Beginning with the assault of “Blitzkrieg Bop” and its infectious tag line “Hey, Ho, Let’s Go”, Ramones offers simple, short and very fast songs – just one track is over 2:30 – often with inane lyrics and ridiculous themes, like “Beat on the Brat”, “Judy is a Punk”, “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”, “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”, and “I Don’t Wanna Go Down to the Basement”; plus a fine cover of the Chris Montez hit “Let’s Dance”.  In retrospect, all of the ingredients of punk rock were there, and its influence was enormous.  Rolling Stone lists Ramones as #26 on its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”; while in 2002, Spin magazine named them the second-best rock band, behind only the Beatles.  Despite being battered and scratched up by Hurricane Katrina, and having innumerable pops and skips, Ramones still plays remarkably well.