Adolescents
Led by Los Angeles punk legend Rikk Agnew, the Adolescents lived up to their name, bawling out song after angst-ridden song about how much everything--mom, dad, the cops, and, most likely, you--totally sucked. Admittedly, that was nothing special for the scene that spawned them, but Agnew's jaw-dropping array of guitar tricks vaulted the Adolescents near to the top of the heap.  Equal parts Dick Dale, Johnny Thunders, and Chuck Berry, Agnew didn't flaunt virtuoso moves, but the riffs he laid down on classics like "I Hate Children," "Wrecking Crew," and "Section 8" were instrumental in creating America's first mosh pits.--David Sprague