Ramones - Ramones (Music CD)

The Ramones' self-titled debut isn't just one of the best albums to come out of the initial New York punk explosion of the mid-'70s, but one of the greatest rock & roll albums of all time. Ramones is one of those rare records where there is not a single weak or out-of-place song. Change-ups like the bubblegummy near-ballad "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" and the uncharacteristically harsh "53rd & 3rd" (an unsentimental song about Dee Dee Ramone's days as a teenage hustler) vary the album's sound and mood more than its detractors maintain. [The 2001 reissue adds eight bonus tracks, most culled from early demos, including two songs, "I Can't Be" and "I Don't Wanna Be Learned/I Don't Wanna Be Tamed," that were never recorded for official release.]