The 25 Greatest Punk Rock Singles of 1977

Earlier this month I posted my list of the top ten punk rock albums of 1977. But since much of the best punk music of '77 was issued only on seven-inch vinyl, I knew this would have to be a two-part project. I mean, come on. You can't talk about the punk music of '77 and not mention X Ray Spex or The Adverts! I was not sure exactly how long I should make this list. Ten selections seemed like way too few; 40 seemed like a little too many. So I settled on a top 25. And here it is:

25. The Killjoys - "Johnny Won't Get To Heaven" b/w "Naive"
24. Eater- "Outside View" b/w "You"
23. Users- "Sick of You" b/w "I'm In Love With Today"
22. Menace- "Screwed Up" b/w "Insane Society"
21. Penetration- "Don't Dictate" b/w "Money Talks"
20. Chelsea- "Right To Work" b/w "The Loner"
19. Lurkers- "Shadow" b/w "Love Story"
18. The Dils- "I Hate The Rich" b/w "You're Not Blank (So Baby We're Through)"
17. The Boys- "I Don't Care" b/w "Soda Pressing"
16. Ramones- "Rockaway Beach" b/w "Locket Love"
15. Generation X - "Your Generation" b/w "Day By Day"
14. The Clash- "Complete Control" b/w "City of the Dead"
13. Buzzcocks- "Orgasm Addict" b/w "Whatever Happened To?"
12. The Jam- "In The City" b/w "Takin' My Love"
11. Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers - "Chinese Rocks" b/w "Born To Lose"
10. Avengers - We Are The One EP
9. Adverts- "One Chord Wonders" b/w "Quick Step"
8. The Damned- Neat Neat Neat EP
7. Dead Boys- "Sonic Reducer" b/w "Down In Flames"
6. Buzzcocks- Spiral Scratch EP
5. Ramones- "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" b/w "I Don't Care"
4. Real Kids- "All Kindsa Girls" b/w "Taxi Boys" 
3. X-Ray Spex- "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" b/w "I Am A Cliché"
2. Sex Pistols- "God Save The Queen" b/w "Did You No Wrong"
1. The Clash- "White Riot" b/w "1977"

If you're keeping score at home, the likes of 999, Slaughter and the Dogs, Crime, Saints, Pagans, Viletones, Weirdos, Zeros, and even my beloved Dictators did not make the cut. This was not an easy call. I hated to leave out so many highly deserving bands. And there's also the dilemma of what does or does not count as "punk". If you want to dock me for excluding Devo or Eddie & the Hot Rods, I will take my punishment without protest.

Perhaps I should have made this a top 40! The quality and the quantity of punk music released in the year 1977 is probably unsurpassed in history. Although some might argue that 1978 proved to be an even better year for punk music. But that's a topic for another time. Hmmm....

-L.R.