There's a fine line between genius and stupid. The Ramones sit happily on that line, huffing the marker used to create it.
Ramones is the debut studio album by American punk rock band The Ramones, released on April 23, 1976, by Sire Records. After Hit Parader editor Lisa Robinson saw the band at a gig in New York City, she wrote about them in an article and contacted Danny Fields, insisting that he be their manager. Fields agreed and convinced Craig Leon to produce Ramones, and the band recorded a demo for prospective record labels. Leon persuaded Sire president Seymour Stein to listen to the band perform, and he later offered the band a recording contract. The Ramones began recording in January 1976, needing only seven days and $6,400 to record the album. The album cover, photographed by Punk magazine's Roberta Bayley, features the four members leaning against a brick wall in New York City. The record company paid only $125 for the front photo, which has since become one of the most imitated album covers of all time. The back cover depicts an eagle belt buckle along with the album's liner notes. After its release, Ramones was promoted with two singles, which failed to chart. The Ramones also began touring to help sell records; these tour dates were mostly based in the United States, though two were booked in Britain. Violence, drug use, relationship issues, humor, and Nazism were prominent in the album's lyrics. The album opens with "Blitzkrieg Bop", which is among the band's most recognized songs. Most of the album's tracks are uptempo, with many songs measuring at well over 160 beats per minute. The songs are also rather short; at two-and-a-half minutes, "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement" is the album's longest track. Ramones contains a cover of the Chris Montez song "Let's Dance". Ramones was unsuccessful commercially, peaking at number 111 on the US Billboard 200, though it received glowing reviews from critics. Many later deemed it a highly influential record, and it has since received many accolades, such as the top spot on Spin magazine's list of the "50 Most Essential Punk Records". Ramones is considered an influential punk album in the US and UK, and had a significant impact on other genres of rock music, such as grunge and heavy metal. The album was ranked at number 33 in Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, maintaining the ranking in a 2012 revision and dropping to number 47 in the 2020 reboot of the list. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2014.
There's a fine line between genius and stupid. The Ramones sit happily on that line, huffing the marker used to create it.
Repetive repetive repetive
The greatest punk album by the greatest punk band. Ever. Full stop. Each track overflows with the sheer, joyful, nihilistic abandon that makes punk so great. Haters gonna hate ... but they're wrong. This is peak punk perfection. Full stop.
I mean, it's all the same song. It honestly is. It's fine enough but you'd be hard-pressed to find a lot of differences.
This album flies by. Most songs are less then 2 minutes long, nothing overs stays it's welcomes. It just punches you in the ears for 30 minutes and then stops. Perfection Blitzkrieg Bop is one of the greatest songs ever.
"Ay, oh, let's go!" A great way to start this 1001 album journey. I like the Ramones; their music has a charming simplicity that I'm sure encouraged countless people to pick up their instruments and play. Everything sounds very DIY--basic drum patterns, power chords, nothing fancy. That's the purest nature of punk rock. As an album, this didn't exactly hold my attention, as it starts to blend together very quickly, but its value is very apparent to me. For a debut album, this does a perfect job establishing a signature sound. Favorite tracks: Blitzkrieg Bop, Beat on the Brat, Let's Dance Album art: Pretty badass band photo. The cover looks surprisingly modern. I could see a band doing an album cover like this in the last decade. Also I have to point out that the Ramone on the far right looks exactly like Coconuthead from Ned's Declassified.
I do declare, the compositions on this phonograph from this band of young miscreants all sound exceedingly similar! Can you imagine the nerve?!? How audacious! Quick, someone fetch me my fainting couch! I do believe I am having the vapors…Oh, my!
That was 14 of exactly the same song for me. If there wasn’t a gap between each song I would have that the album was 1 x 29min 16sec song. 1/5
Gabba gabba hey! The perfect Friday record. Poppy, upbeat, positive and catchy as hell. Try not having a giant smile on your face while listening.
Just one of the best rock records ever. That's all.
pnuk
It is no coincidence that punk can be defined as "worthless" and "trick" because I feel like I am being duped by anyone who praises this album. Obnoxious singing, tedious rhythms, and nothing of value.
I mean, to me, this is another prime example of how punk shines best. It is tight and catchy, but still has rough edges and a lack of polish that really digs in to you.
One of the most classic songs starts out this album that is more than twice as long as David Bowie’s album the same year. By length I do mean tracks because time wise it is ten minutes shorter. I think back to when Freddie Mercury told the executives when pitching Bohemian Rhapsody: “I pity your wife if you think six minutes is long”. Maybe David Bowie taught Freddie, I’m not sure. But the Ramones certainly are of the philosophy “get in and get out”. As much as I am a fan of shorter songs, can a song that is ninety seconds long be considered a song? It is pretty wild to see how far punk rock has come from the Ramones. Loved the cool use of a chainsaw on the song Chain Saw but then the beat goes right back to their last four songs. At least each song ends before I even have a chance to skip it due to their length. Again, these are great songs to have on in the background of a party or a punk rock type gathering but I wouldn’t listen to it otherwise. Now they want to sniff some glue. I did do a quick play through of three or more songs and they all started with the exact same drums and guitar riffs. I could sing Blitzkrieg Bop during each of these songs and my tempo wouldn’t be off at all. Ok I even tried another two songs and it was the same. I’m laughing as I write this because Listen to My Heart starts out different but quickly goes right back to the beat. They became famous from this so who am I to tell them what success looks like.
Stone cold classic. Messy, scrappy and as punk as you like. Fun from start to finish
Fuck yeah the Ramones
hey ho! Let's go! hey ho! Let's go!
Pretty much just the intro track was enjoyable.
It’s hard to not like this band. Great melodies. Easily one of the most influential bands of all time. Idk how much I’d ever listen to them, but they’re undeniable.
Ramones = Ramones
first three (EDIT: four) songs are great and set the template for EVERYTHING else, of course. one of those bands for which you appreciate the influence but don't really want to hear again
I liked the song Ramones off the album Ramones by Ramones where the lead singer said ahh were the Ramones hear us Ramone
This album designates the Ramone's signature sound, fundamental punk rock, nothing fancy. While I enjoyed the listen, all of the songs started meshing. I enjoyed it, but I wish there were more originality instead of doing one sound well 14 times.
I never got around to the Ramones back in my can-I-afford-another-REM-or-Talking-Heads-album days. And it looks like this came out same year as the Clash’s first album which is more compelling to me. But, they inspired some of my favorite bands, U2 and as Sleater-Kinney to name just two… so I will round up to make sure they get the credit they deserve.
I was doing a pilates class a few year s. It' one of things I need to do as an aging man to maintain some sense of mobility. The instructor complimented me on my Ramones t-shirt. "Oh yeah", I said, "I saw them at the Hordern pavilion in 1989" "Cool", he replied. "I was born in 1994." Suddenly I felt really old. But that did nothing to diminish my love of the Ramones or my memory of being 18 years old, in the mosh pit of that 6000 capacity show. They came out and tore through about 45 songs in a blistering set before an adulating crowd. It wasn't until I saw the documentary End Of the Century years later that I realised that this was a much bigger venue and enthusiastic crowd than the Ramones typically played to in the States, where they never really got bigger than the club circuit. That docu also showed how formative the Ramones were on my taste. This is an all time classic album with some all time classic songs on it. It's fast and loud, but the songs are really catchy, funny, but also gritty and serious. This album is both informed by the past (girl group harmonies, Stooges aggression), but also sets the tone for much music to follow. You hear the influences of the Ramones all over music to this day, and their look and iconography is also everywhere. Charles Shaar-Murray went to New York in 1975 and wrote notes on the nascent punk scene for the NME. he rightly identified the Ramones as the best band on the scene, but bemoaned that they would never put out a record. He was right on the first point, but wrong on the second. They ended up being the longest lived of all the CBGBs bands, and probably the most influential, even if commercial success evaded them. I love the Ramones, and especially this first album where they perfectly reveal their whole vision. Of all the records I have listened to from the 1001 albums list, this truly is one of the few that you really must hear. 5 million stars.
I fucking love this album. It took me a while to get into the Ramones, but every song on this album is fun. It must have been so awesome to live in New York in the late 70s, apart from the insane levels of senseless violence 5/5
Now we’re talkin. Love the Ramones. Bring it on baby! I mean Blitzkrieg Bop is legendary.
In elementary school I had learn to play guitar because of guitar hero. I could play up to 6 chords, and did I think I was cool and would get all the girls in high school. In my first year high school, there was a performance night. The music teacher scouted all 4 people in our class who could play an instrument and put them together in a band. There was this nerdy kid who could actually play the guitar, and I was demoted to bass. We’d practice some times after class, and made it actually sound like something. Fast forward to the performance night, in the auditorium, all the parents there. I was so nervous. The first band got up the stage and started playing. Blitzkrieg Bop. I knew the guys, they were 2 years above me and secretly I always thought they were so cool. Swinging guitars around, headbanging, the whole punk performance etcetera. I knew the song because it was in a Tony Hawk game, and thought it was awesome. My first introduction to punk music. However, the nerves got me. After some more acts we were due. I got the bass guitar, and managed to forget the 4 notes I had been rehearsing for weeks. We got up and I was shaking. Our guitarist started playing, unbothered. I fucked up. Didn’t know what the fuck I was doing. Right there I had a realization. I could never play guitar. I could never be in a band. I would never be as cool as the kids playing Blitzkrieg Bop, let alone be as cool as the Ramones. I was forever traumatised by stage fright. And the worst part is, we played You Belong To Me by Taylor fucking Swift, I was demoted to bass, forgot the 4 notes I was supposed to play, and the nerdy guitar kid who’d actually put in the time got all the attention after.
"brevity is the soul of wit" - B̶i̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶S̶ Ramones every album should contain 14 songs and a sub-30 minute length
This is way too boring to be so popular, what the hell is going on. Blitzkrieg Bop is a decent opener right up until you realize that's the only song on the album. A 29 minute runtime is a grace from God. If I was in the 80s and this was the only album I had, I think I'd not give a fuck about music.
Wow - A Punk staple - although, they really cross the line of Punk and Rock, since they manage to really make an approachable and listenable punk Rock album. (as opposed to PIL or Sex Pistols_)
This is the 150th album I’m rating. I've only listened to I Wanna be Your Boyfriend and that was because of the Avril Lavigne thing. Adding to my Playlist - Blitzkrieg Bop, Beat on the Brat, Judy is a Punk, I Wanna be Your Boyfriend, Chain Saw, Now I Wanna Sniff some Glue, I Don't Wanna go Down to the Basement, Loudmouth, Havana Affair, Listen to my Heart, 53rd & 3rd, Let's Dance, I Don't Wanna Walk Around with You, and Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World. Not Adding to my Playlist - I Wanna be Your Boyfriend - The first time I listened to this I thought this was awful trash a lot worse than Lavigne's song but maybe I've gotten desensitized to punk from this list. All in all I liked 14/14 songs. Annoying like every punk album but in a good way like Germfree Adolescents.
Perfect bopping with no fat and perfect tunes. What a blitzkrieg of an album - end to end.
Absolutnie widzę się 40 lat temu słuchając tego albumu kilka razy dziennie, odkładającego na ramoneskę wszystkie zarobione pieniądze. Utwory co prawda za krótkie, żeby cokolwiek się w nich rozwinęło - jest mocna, szybka perkusja, są elektryki, głośne wokale i całość razem daje zaskakująco pozytywne brzmienie. I to chyba przepis na dobrą płytę, bo dziś też słucham jej już piąty raz, za każdym razem czerpiąc z tego przyjemność. Nie ma co tu kombinować, zasługują na wysoką notę jak mało kto w tym zestawieniu.
One trick ponies sure, but what a trick it is.
My 25th birthday music!!! From Spider-Man was awesome!!
I wasn't excited to see this one come up, but as soon as I listened it was immediately a favorite. Energetic and naughty, humorous and provocative, it fired me up good. I love "I Don't Wanna go Down to the Basement." I love Joey Ramone's articulations.
Pure, unbridled PUNK ROCK This is the most important album in punk easy (not the best mind you, that honour would probably go to the band's third effort Rocket To Russia or London Calling).
Just wow. That energy.
Never really listened to the Ramones before but after listening to this album, I may have to start. I'm a huge fan of punk type music (Blink-182, Green Day, Fall Out Boy, *honorary mention* Lil Peep) but I've also not been a huge fan of Rock music. I know that some of the bands I've listed are also considered to be Punk Rock bands, but I see them more as Punk than Rock. But with this album, you can really call it Punk Rock, and I like it, a lot. As soon as I finished listening to it, I listened to it one more time, and then another. It's a perfect blend of Punk and Rock and you can really feel it. Real rocky instrumentals with that great mix of Punky vocals and lyrics. It makes you wanna smoke a cigarette in class and flip the bird at your bloody teacher. Blitzkrieg Bop is a classic (Shout out Jimmy Neutron) and I really like I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend, Havana Affair, and Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue. It's a very fun album to listen to and it's almost like they're just rumbling when they sing sometimes and at this point, I'm rambling but it's because I'm trying to finish this review up so I can go listen to it again and throw rocks at birds while wearing all black. Oops, almost forgot to tear some holes in my jeans, I guess I'll be going now. ……… Are you still here? BUZZ OFF ASSHOLE *Double middle fingers*!
Los padres del punk rock.
I love this album. It's short and fast and fun. The Ramones are great.
One of the best punk albums of all time
An absolute classic, been jamming to Blitzkrieg Bop since Pro Skater 2
Absolute punk classic, it sounds a bit repetitive, but I appreciate what it has done for the music scene.
Happy Birthday Punk. Literally. So what if all the tracks sound the same? It's punk innit. Fack off you prog dinosaur wanker.
Good shit.
The Ramones!!! I know every word (not that there are that many). Jesse Covington took me to see them at the Masquerade. I think it was their last tour, though we didn’t know it at the time. Drivin n Cryin opened. I was 15 or 16, it was summery sunny but not hot. Jesse Covington was in love with me and we could not get enough of that three-chord noise. When I think about how special it was to grow up in Atlanta, this day comes to mind. I would have told you at the time, it was one of the best days of my life.
Nr. 29/1001 Blitzkrieg Bop 4/5 Beat on the Brat 3/5 Judy is a Punk 4/5 I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend 4/5 Chain Saw 3/5 Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue 3/5 I Don't Wann Go Down to the Basement 3/5 Loudmouth 2/5 Havana Affair 3/5 Listen to my Heart 3/5 53rd & 3rd 3/5 Let's Dance 3/5 I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You 3/5 Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World 3/5 Average: 3,14 A bit repetitive, but still enjoyable
ту ту ру тутут быстренько
“Have the Rolling Stones killed” “But sir, those aren’t…” “Do as I say!”
Repetitive
Come on. What was that
I mean, if you really, really, really like Blitzkrieg Bop this is great. Because it’s literally just 30 minutes of the same inane song. No amount of attitude and cool leather jackets can change the fact, that Ramones is one of the most overrated bands to ever release a record. Best: Blitzkrieg Bop Worst: Blitzkrieg Bop (the next 13 times)
Hate Punk
thoughts: for what they intended this to be, it’s perfect. they had their sound down from this debut. very fun, very bouncy, very influential. today your love, tomorrow the world, indeed. songs: "blitzkrieg bop", “judy is a punk”, “i don’t wanna go down to the basement” rating: 9.1/10
10/10 Let's not make this more complicated than it is. This bands one song is the best song ever written, which is why they just keep playing it over and over again. 7-28-2025
Debate the origins of punk all you want, but the Ramomes codified it sonically and visually. 50s and 60s rock and roll sped up and distorted, barked more than sang, with a nihilistic twist, and still catchy and singable as hell. Leather jackets, jeans, and jacked up haircuts. Attitude over musical proficiency. Direct and relentless. And you can still hear it ringing today.
i'll start off by saying, i don't really associate the ramones with punk entirely. the fact that it seems like they have a mid-60s pop song on every one of their albums makes it seem to me like they are aggressive pop rock. that being said, this shit rules, man. every song is short, sweet, and to the point. maybe the point is about sniffing glue or hitting someone with a baseball bat or kids losing their minds. but the album is fun as hell to listen to. the hooks are great and it just sort of oozes cool to me. i also sort of reject the idea of this album being "repetitive" because oh my god it's 29 minutes long. if you can't stomach this for less than a half hour, i don't know how you can stomach anything.
Absolutely iconic. No student of popular music can deny this album's role in the evolution of rock. I always like to think of the Ramones as a very disaffected, surly, east-coast version of The Beach Boys.
Pure rock n roll
I love this album and listen to it quite often. A great punk album that brought punk into the mainstream
A classic, bad enough to be good, was listening to it while sniffing my glue
65/1001. Repetitive. Repetitive. Repetitive. And the punk who I stole this line from, and gave a 1 couldn't even spell, so I must be right.
"The Ramones" is the debut studio album by American punk rock band the Ramones. Punk rock is the lone listed genre appropriately enough. The album received glowing reviews and is considered one of the greatest and most influential punk albums of all time and also influencing grunge rock and heavy metal. The album was produced by Craig Leon and has lyrical themes of violence, drug use, relationships, humor and Nazism. The bandmembers were Joey Ramone (lead vocals), Johnny Ramone (guitar), Dee Dee Ramone (bass, backing vocals) and Tommy Ramone (drums, backing vocals). The album was commercially unsuccessful on its release only reaching #111 in the US. In 2012, the album was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for its artistic significance. "Blitzkrieg Bop" kicks things off literally with a fast beat and that blazing, simple guitar riff. "He, Ho, Let's Go!" It's about a young audience at a rock concert. Melodic, fast and beautiful. Joey's vocals are in the forefront in "Beat on the Bat." The lyrics are based on Joey's experience watching a mother going after her kid in his apartment building. Who knew "Beat on the Brat" could be a catchy chorus? The second and final single "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" finds the Ramones slowing it down. In an homage to the love songs of the 1950's/1960's, Joey is actually singing and Johnny fuzzed up his guitar tone. "Now I Want to Sniff Some Glue" opens with a driving start then slows down and then stops. They do that dynamic a few times and there's also a mini-guitar solo in this 1:34 song. I guess options were limited growing up in the 1950's/1960's. Things go a tad dark in "53rd & 3rd." It's a song that Dee Dee wrote and has co-lead vocal duties. A grinding-sounding song describing a male prostitute who kills his customer to prove his masculinity. Umm, I don't want to know if this is based on personal experience. What's not to like about an album with 14 fast, catchy and melodic songs that last 29 minutes? A driving, charging guitar and bass and pounding drums. Similar and simple beats and guitar riffs with various noises added like chain saws and handclaps. The vocal choruses are sometimes chanted, sometimes sung and never boring. The lyrics can be humorous, sophomoric and even serious. "They" say that there are no completely original songs and that all songs come from somewhere. I agree with that and also that this album has to be in a ton of musical genetic trees from music from the last 49 years. A true musical classic and a great album.
14 songs, 29:16. Perfect. Three chords and the truth is all you need for a great song, and The Ramones did it first and best.
My Ramones era was mostly dominated by the various compilation albums - Mania and All the Stuff and More albums - which included every song on this album. It's big and dumb and I love it. In 1992 the Ramones were on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno playing Censorshit (I think). Around that time, I wanted to go see them in concert with Motorhead at the Newport Music Hall which was only a 1500 person club - amazing in retrospect when you think of how legendary those bands have become since then. My grandmother was for some reason watching the Tonight Show with me and after she saw the Ramones, she said "I'll pay you not to go see them." Good memory. I did not see them, because no chaperone type figure was interested in taking me to Ramones and Motorhead. All of our loss.
so fun. Also reminded of my teenage LA days and how all my schoolmates’ parents were ex successful punk rockers and we’d get into all kinds of shows for free when we had no freaking idea what was going on.
😍
Love 70s punk. Great band and album
The perfect pop record
This is one of the most important albums of all time!!
Classic in every way. The Ramones are fun.
Short but awesome. A stone cold classic.
Quality songwriting? Nope. Brilliant musicianship? Nope. Deep themes? Nope. Diversity of sounds? Nope. Just 29 minutes of a band doing exactly what they do exquisitely. And changing the trajectory of music and culture while they are at it.
One sound, one note, one feeling. Who cares? It’s the Ramones! You can feel why they started a whole genre - I’d imagine this blowing people away back in the day.
A classic.
PERFECTO!!!
5 out of 5. Some may be tired of three chord punk but The Ramones do it well. Like it or not it set a standard.
The punkest of all punk.
A few timeless classics and fun deep tracks, 5⭐
Such a great record. No notes
An all time classic, takes me back to jr high. Simple and basic as it comes
Punx not dead!
OBRA MAESTRA
“bUt iT aLL sOuNdS ThE SaMe!!!” thats the POINT you stupid assholes!
29 minutes to set a template for the next 50 years of pop punk, for better or worse but this is great dumb fun that's so reductive that it borders in genius.
Fast and heavy riffs, cool lyrics. All time classic probably the greatest punk album ever in that it spawned a generation of others
Hard to rate this less than a five just based on influence, but it's also a really fun album. 5.0/5.0: Iconic
Perfect album
Rating: 5/5 Short Review: Raw, relentless, and basically allergic to overthinking. Ramones is like if a band tried to punch minimalism in the face and ended up creating a genre instead. It’s all downstrokes and no subtlety, and it works because it means it. Favorite Track: “Judy Is a Punk” Because it’s 90 seconds of perfect chaos, and it somehow manages to insult fascists and name-drop Berlin with the energy of a sugar-high raccoon on roller skates.
Iconic New York punk. This and Rocket to Russia are really great. Banger after banger, even if they are short songs.
No time to get bored!
WWII, horror movies, leather, 60s garage and surf rock aping, the Ramones took some really disparate ideas and started a whole new genre and movement. It's easy, breezy, fast, and fun. It's form over substance. It's a classic.
When the [Ramones] hit the street in 1976 with their self-titled first album, the rock scene, in general, had become somewhat bloated and narcissistic. The Ramones got back to basics: simple, speedy, stripped-down rock and roll songs. Voice, guitar, bass, drums. No makeup, no egos, no light shows, no nonsense. And though the subject matter was sometimes dark, emanating from a sullen adolescent basement of the mind, the group also brought cartoonish fun and high-energy excitement back to rock and roll.
HEY! HO! LET’S GO! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
influencers of my poetry with quick, buzzy and dumb. could i write poetry to this? y
Impossible to give this anything but five stars.
2 minute songs about stupid stuff? Yes, please!