20 Favorites By: Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth was a US rock band formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) & Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) are the core band. Sonic Youth emerged from the NYC experimental no wave art music scene before evolving into a more conventional band and becoming a key member of the American noise rock scene. They have been praised for having "redefined what rock guitar could do" using a wide variety of unorthodox guitar tunings with objects like drum sticks and screwdrivers to alter the instruments' timbre. The band was a pivotal influence on the alt and indie rock movements. After gaining a large underground following and critical praise through the late '80s, the band experienced mainstream success thru the '90s and '00s after signing to major label DGC in 1990 and headlining Lollapalooza 1995. In 2011, following the split and subsequent divorce of Gordon & Moore, the band played their final show. How many of these have you heard???