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Genre
protopunk
Parent Genre: rock

Protopunk is a music genre that emerged in the mid-1960s and early 1970s, characterized by its raw and aggressive sound, rebellious lyrics, and anti-establishment attitude. It is considered a precursor to punk rock and often features distorted guitars, driving rhythms, and confrontational vocals. Protopunk bands often rejected the polished production values of mainstream rock and instead embraced a more stripped-down, DIY approach. The genre was influential in shaping the sound of punk and post-punk music that followed.


Top artists of protopunk genre

The Kinks
Alice Cooper
The Animals
Iggy Pop
The Velvet Underground
T. Rex
Patti Smith
The Stranglers
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protopunk music timeline

Explore protopunk history by listening to songs from every decade. Click on the decade to view songs.

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s

Similar Genres to protopunk

Discover more related genres to protopunk genre. This list is ordered by similarity from left to right.

psychedelic rock classic garage rock freakbeat pub rock folk rock punk punk blues art rock post-punk dance rock classic rock experimental blues rock rock bubblegum pop alternative rock country rock merseybeat power pop classic uk pop
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protopunk playlist created by Chosic

Enjoy this playlist of popular protopunk music. We made this playlist using an algorithm created by our team.

Play on spotify

List of protopunk artists

Here is a list of protopunk artists on Spotify, ranked based on popularity, who exemplifies the protopunk genre. You can find out what protopunk genre sounds like where you can preview artists or sort them the way you want, just click the headers to sort.

#namePopularity instrumentalnessdanceabilityenergyacousticnessHappinesstempofollowers
1
The Kinks
66 3 53 69 29 67 123 2398220
2
Alice Cooper
64 5 46 72 14 47 126 3427426
3
The Animals
64 5 46 61 25 52 122 2222071
4
Iggy Pop
62 12 50 78 11 56 126 1486413
5
The Velvet Underground
62 17 49 50 37 56 118 1723724
6
T. Rex
61 11 50 73 28 70 129 954062
7
Patti Smith
57 3 49 59 28 43 119 1005350
8
The Stranglers
57 28 56 73 6 76 131 510625
9
Faces
57 10 50 68 37 64 120 383013
10
The Runaways
54 8 44 80 5 54 137 358365
11
Them
52 3 52 71 19 62 127 121527
12
The Spencer Davis Group
52 5 55 74 19 65 129 269415
13
The Stooges
51 27 39 87 5 45 133 568640
14
Mott The Hoople
47 5 42 74 10 57 126 204947
15
Small Faces
45 7 48 66 22 52 120 308252
16
Television
45 17 55 64 16 61 119 335445
17
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
44 8 56 63 40 68 117 184911
18
The Sonics
44 0 47 82 38 74 117 122451
19
The Trashmen
42 6 53 88 5 78 113 44327
20
Jonathan Richman
42 1 66 37 77 65 121 83477
21
New York Dolls
42 2 41 84 6 58 143 256628
22
The Pretty Things
42 11 47 56 21 56 127 114299
23
The Easybeats
41 4 48 78 24 73 114 86403
24
Dr. Feelgood
40 10 65 69 5 87 140 101075
25
Paul Revere & The Raiders
40 0 56 64 22 73 121 198629
26
Hawkwind
40 19 39 75 12 40 137 112442
27
13th Floor Elevators
40 16 46 72 17 63 132 125303
28
Death
39 17 43 76 15 31 98 76808
29
Count Five
39 5 55 59 3 73 137 31775
30
? & The Mysterians
39 0 60 58 18 74 114 46251
31
MC5
38 4 50 76 22 71 121 172951
32
The Only Ones
36 2 39 74 9 54 145 40174
33
Flamin' Groovies
36 7 49 78 17 64 121 54420
34
The Electric Prunes
36 14 44 52 42 47 124 73360
35
NEU!
35 80 52 76 15 41 134 115311
36
Richard Hell
35 1 51 84 20 74 139 87361
37
The Saints
34 20 36 91 0 66 131 55640
38
Roky Erickson
34 8 50 81 8 69 138 52581
39
Johnny Thunders
34 6 41 52 46 36 138 87701
40
The Seeds
33 3 55 51 20 72 123 69260
41
The Amboy Dukes
33 24 39 75 8 57 124 24783
42
Blue Cheer
33 29 45 65 23 62 122 64599
43
Pere Ubu
32 24 45 61 15 46 128 62132
44
Captain Beefheart
32 13 52 60 35 69 116 53437
45
The Standells
31 0 54 82 14 77 153 29177
46
The Move
31 3 45 73 7 55 110 63899
47
Radio Birdman
30 26 39 94 0 51 117 36051
48
The Creation
29 1 43 76 20 49 109 12769
49
The Blues Magoos
28 5 38 81 28 68 150 24653
50
Kingsmen
28 0 45 62 17 38 121 3838
51
Kim Fowley
28 3 54 71 29 85 120 8907
52
The Dictators
28 4 41 90 7 48 137 41881
53
The Shadows Of Knight
28 9 50 62 12 68 124 21447
54
The Monks
27 3 60 78 40 63 128 27489
55
The Fugs
26 1 51 57 41 67 121 21543
56
Peter Hammill
24 13 39 62 17 24 120 33191
57
The 101ers
23 2 49 85 6 90 152 13861
58
The Litter
23 5 32 72 8 54 135 12467
59
The Pink Fairies
22 31 42 89 9 52 132 14106
60
The Gizmos
20 25 53 85 34 84 155 4809
61
The Real Kids
20 21 35 74 2 72 141 15022
62
Rocket From The Tombs
18 20 49 72 25 49 95 8478
63
Sonic's Rendezvous Band
18 8 17 93 0 33 130 10202
64
The Barbarians
17 0 51 63 28 77 125 8021
65
David Peel and The Lower East Side
16 0 67 81 21 92 133 4584
66
Tomorrow
16 1 40 60 3 58 124 5802
67
Doctors Of Madness
14 5 34 73 13 38 113 1204
68
The Deviants
13 9 53 39 31 46 118 8128
69
Destroy All Monsters
12 4 44 83 11 48 93 6954
70
John's Children
10 2 40 62 57 45 111 4516
71
Ty Wagner
8 0 0 0 0 0 0 289
72
Electric Eels
8 0 21 94 65 15 145 4369
73
Simply Saucer
7 33 49 88 24 67 111 2531
74
The Godz
5 1 29 37 41 23 129 2108
75
Crushed Butler
4 0 43 77 2 56 99 821
76
The Zakary Thaks
1 0 50 84 5 63 110 297