Genres: Rock: Classic Alternative & Punk

One of the most eclectic sub-genres in rock music, new wave features the punk-influenced, synth-dominated sound that defined pop music in the early 1980s.

The first wave of punk bands in Britain produced some of the fastest, hardest, and grittiest rock music the world had ever heard. Hold on and get ready for "anarchy in the U.K."

Punk rock was born in New York City, but by the late '70s the genre's infectious primitivism had reached cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, where bands began playing a tougher, thrashier style of punk.

New York City is the birthplace of punk rock, and like the city that birthed it, the punk rock scene in the late 70s was diverse, contentious, noisy and unlike any other in the world. This is the sound of CBGB's and Max's Kansas City.

Hendrix may have said "You'll never hear surf music again," but he was wrong. Surf's reverb and twang has been an essential influence on the punk, new wave and indie eras, not to mention those acts that took surf itself into modern times.

Dance the night away to the stacked jukebox in a steamy dive bar on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Listen to essential songs by Iggy & The Stooges as well as their greatest influences, contemporaries, and followers.

This is the funky, abrasive, and distinctive sound of downtown NYC's various post-punk scenes of the late '70s and early '80s.

Post-punk artists who felt the funk, from both the U.S. (Liquid Liquid) and the U.K. (Gang of Four).

Krautrock is the British label given to the crop of German bands to emerge in the late '60 - the first generation born into post-war Germany. What united these artist wasn't a singular style, but a shared frustration and willingness to experiment.

Motorik, German for "motor skill," is a propulsive 4/4 drum pattern popularized in 1970s Germany by acts like Neu that's perfect for cruising down the Autobahn. This playlist features modern and classic songs built onto of the Motorik rhythm.

Garage rock and other hard-rocking songs from the '60s and early '70s that helped pave the way for The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, and other early punk rock bands.

Developed in the 1980s, Math rock is a guitar-based genre influenced by progressive and experimental rock known for using odd time signatures, interlocking rhythms and complex arrangements.

The greatest 12-inch and club mixes from the 1980s' best new wave, synth-pop, dance and rock artists. Explore the '80s one foot at a time!

Listen to female rockers from the punk era to today's indie girl-crushes who use smarts, speed and sex appeal to get their point across.

For those who spent their university days hanging around the campus radio station during the heyday of college radio. Journey back to the time when all the best music could be found to the left of the dial.

In their 30 years together, R.E.M. helped shape the post-punk musical landscape. From the bands who inspired them to their contemporaries on the college radio scene, explore how the boys from Athens helped change everything

Born from post-punk and new wave influences, college rock describes the brand of alternative rock that dominated college radio playlists in the 1980s, before alternative rock went mainstream with the grunge movement in the 1990s.

Born of the '90s DIY scene in the Pacific Northwest, the riot grrrl movement features bands that combine aggressive vocals and lyrics with thrashing punk instrumentals.

Listen to essential songs by The Clash (and its members' side projects) as well as their greatest influences, contemporaries, and followers.

Bouncy, upbeat songs from classic soul to '80s alternative and today's indie rock. Let this eclectic mix help you get through the mid-afternoon lul.

The history of industrial music, from its pre-punk roots to its first wave pioneers in the post-punk era to its modern-day genre offspring -- this playlist includes EBM, coldwave, industrial rock, power electronics and more.

As the '80s became the '90s, Manchester's lively, drug-fueled music scene smashed together dance music and psychedelia with wild-eyed glee. Recall the acts that peaked during 1989's New Summer of Love, as well as the bands that book-ended the era.

The American punk underground spawned some of the most creative, fiery and fiercely independent bands of the 1980s. Listen to the groups that paved the way for grunge, emo and pop-punk's commercial ascent in the 1990s.

As garish as the decade could often be, the 1980s were also a time of musical sophistication. Especially in the post-punk UK, a suave persona and musical creativity were admirable traits even among DIY indie types.

Fuzzy, noisy, primal rock where passion is paramount has existed almost as long as rock itself. Explore the history of lo-fi from the garage-psych '60s through the post-punk '70s and the DIY '90s until today.

Embracing all things melancholy, these post-punk acts unabashedly reveled in the morbid and the miserable. Return to the time before goth became just another uniform choice for aspiring teenage rebels.

1978-84: new wave, post-punk, synth pop, proto-goth, new romantic, mod revival, ska revival, no disco, no disco, no disco, dance dance dance dance.

Part of the BUST Magazine-reading, DIY crafty set? Looking to sit and chat with the girls and a couple bottles of wine? Put a bird on it with this indie-grrl playlist.

During the 1980s and '90s, D.C. was the place to be for hardcore. Enjoy the finest bands from that time and place, as well as their latter-day incarnations that branched out in different sonic directions.

From Black Flag to Daniel Johnston, this playlist showcases some of the artists who influenced the short but incendiary career of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

After proving their pop sensibilities with the multi-platinum album Rumours, Fleetwood Mac released Tusk, an experimental double album of endless inventiveness. Here are songs from (and inspired by) the era when classic rock was morphing into new wave.

You may have dumped me, but I still have my Moog. Classic '80s synthpop and new wave about the down side to love.

This brooding set of synth-pop features acts ranging from Tubeway Army to LCD Soundsystem.

At the end of the relationship, sometimes you just want to wallow. These classic lost-love ballads from the 1980s are the perfect soundtrack to a good cry.