The Best Punk Singers Of All Time Ranked

Punk is an aesthetic and subculture centered around the punk rock movement of 1970s that followed in the footsteps of the Hippie movement. While the Hippies were more about peace, love, and harmony; the Punks were loud, abrasive, acerbic, and went out of their way to do whatever they could to offend members of the status quo. Many preached for anarchism, far-left politics (Punk in the UK was a direct reaction to the Margaret Thatcher-era of politics at the time, which was hardline right-wing, after all), and spitting in the face of the Establishment by rejecting the prevailing capitalist philosophy of the time. Punk has evolved over time to be a symbol of rebellion, whether small-scale (teenager vs parents) or large-scale (pro-anarchism, etc). Not all variants of punk are visually similar to the original 1970s American Punk (such as Steampunk), but contain similar messages about the potential for society’s decline. Aesthetics with the ‘-punk’ suffix generally share an attitude of defiance and/or rejection of mainstream society and, but there are some which are completely unrelated. Here are all of The Best Punk Singers Of All Time ranked.

See more: The Best Guitarists Of All Time Ranked

See more: The Best Rock Singers Of All Time Ranked

20. Brendon Urie (Panic! at the Disco)

“Brendon can sing like an angel. His voice is the best ever in my opinion. It’s such a sweet sound and his vocal range is through the roof! He has incredibly clear pronunciation and that just adds flavor to the songs. He has such an amazing voice! I just wanna listen to him sing all day! He adds emotion and theatrics in his singing, and the lyrics sound genuine and heart felt.”

19. Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy)

“Patrick Stump has a unique, inimitable and really, really GOOD strong voice. My ears get esthetic pleasure when he sings. His vocal is amazing! And his range is top notch. He don’t care what you think as long as it’s about him or Fall out boy.”

18. Tim McIlrath (Rise Against)

“Timothy James “Tim” McIlrath is an American punk rock musician. He is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, songwriter and co-founder of the American punk rock band Rise Against. Tim sings with complete and utter raw emotion that just leaves me breathless every time.”

17. Alex Gaskarth (All Time Low)

“Alex is a great singer, he sounds like the recorded version and just nails every note. He sings confidently and knows how to resonate his voice. His lyrics as well are beautiful. He writes beautiful and inspiring lyrics and has a great voice to sing them.”

16. Joe Strummer (The Clash)

“Joe Strummer is basically, in a sense, the very definition of Punk Music. While the Pistols and Ramones had sparked the revolutionary musical war by lighting the fire, The Clash had not only kept it lit, but most definitely made the genre and punk cause burn the brightest it ever has been.”

15. Davey Havok (AFI)

“The art of drowning may be one of the most under appreciated, raw, brilliant, emotional masterpieces to ever come from their genre. In fact. It may be #1 on the list. Songs like “lost souls”, “ever and a day”, “Morningstar” & of course “THE DAYS OF THE PHOENIX” are songs you almost wish everyone in the world could hear at least once. So they could understand how brilliant young AFI was.”

14. Dexter Holland (The Offspring)

“He has incredible range and can hold notes for prolonged periods of time, as evidenced in the backing vocals in Offspring albums. His ability to sing songs of differing genres showcases the broad range of his ability. He also never disappoints in lyrics that pull on your heart strings, make you chuckle, or make you think. He’s retained much of his ability to hit high notes at live shows, even at 50 years old.”

13. Henry Rollins (Black Flag)

“Henry Lawrence Garfield, better known by his stage name Henry Rollins, is an American musician, actor, writer, television and radio host, and comedian. Not even for his singing ability, just the amount of passion and aggression he puts in his lyrics.”

12. Tom Delonge (Blink-182)

“He is pretty good live, even though he fails some performances, at least he isn’t autotuned and at some point, he made a high note and it sounded really good. He can play the guitar live and his riffs are really catchy and have rhythm to it. He knows how to entertain his crowd unlike many artists by putting out some really funny humor. He is a nice, chill guy in real life, and chatty and talkative as well. I heard Blink’s most recent song, and it was not very good, which just further proves that Tom was really the master behind Blink 182. His song writing skills are amazing and poetic.”

11. Mark Hoppus (Blink-182)

“Mark has an awesome, full voice that really sets him apart. Great range too. He sounds good low and high. Mark has a really nice voice, I used to hate it. But as I started listening to his songs more, he is really good at singing.”

10. Greg Graffin (Bad Religion)

“He is most recognized as the lead vocalist and only constant member of punk rock band Bad Religion, which he co-founded in 1980. Extremely intelligent lyrics, catchy melodies and the perfect edge for a punk band. How many bands say that bad religion was one of their influences?”

9. Milo Aukerman (Descendents)

“His voice is that of a god. His high notes make birds cry for they know they cannot hit such a divine note. His low notes shake the ocean floor. A co-founder of pop punk. Genius a gate way for so many bands. Milo Goes To Collage is still as relevant now as it was 30 odd years ago”

8. Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance)

“his man has done a lot for me. his voice is consistently good all the time! His voice was best in black parade. But whoever got the idea that he is punk is just no listen to their music and you will understand. His vocals are emotional, amazing, addicting and flat out talented. Even if you hate My Chemical Romance, you have to admit Gerard’s got talent.”

7. Glenn Danzig (Misfits)

“His vocals in Misfits are simply amazing. Way over the top in an almost lounge act kind of way, which is a perfect vehicle for showcasing that voice. I’ve been getting his songs stuck in my head a lot lately, which is great, until you realize you’ve been singing out loud about… about stuff you wouldn’t sing about unless the vocals were awesome and raw.”

6. Johnny Rotten (Sex Pistols)

“Johnny Rotten, the King of punk. His lyrics are amazing and his voice is ludicrously powerful! His vocals are actually punishing in a good way. The amount of aggression in his vocals are all too real because Johnny Rotten came from the streets as a poor working class lad. His vocals exhilarate like no other because it’s the perfect dichotomy of raw power and melody.”

5. Sam (Bunkface)

“One of the most charismatic vocalist in Asia, he’s young, talented and has a unique voice and it conveys his feelings very well. A humble and honest musician when it comes to music, songs and lyrics. Very energetic, able to control the crowd to his will and writes extraordinary catchy punk songs.”

4. Iggy Pop (The Stooges)

“With the groundbreaking Stooges, on disc from 1969, Iggy was a hugely magnetic and influential focal point. Here, undoubtedly and unavoidably, was a stage persona that made him one of the quintessential wild men of rock.”

3. Joey Ramone (Ramones)

“Punk is an attitude not a look, and most of these pop rock bands talk about things that punk rock stood against. The Ramones basically created punk- therefore, Joey Ramone is the punkest punk in the history of punk. Jeffrey Ross Hyman, professionally known by Joey Ramone, was an American musician and singer-songwriter, lead vocalist of the punk-rock band The Ramones.”

2. Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys)

“He has a very specific voice. It’s raw and powerful, and it goes along with an amazingly understated technique. Jello’s voice is full of character and passion: crazed, intelligent, indignant, melodic.. This guy wrote the band’s best songs. He had the perfect attitude for the band.”

1. Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day)

“This amazing man has inspired many people, he has helped a lot of people through rough times and teaches us really to not care and do as we please. He is different than other punk singers nowadays which all have the same boring tone to they’re voices. Where as Billie Joe has a huge range and can really sing any song. His voice is getting even better with age. I have a huge amount of respect for Green Day they were the first rock band I listened to and ever got into.”