With the exception of a few old school punk bands, most punk rock is an unlistenable cacophany, BUT punk rock is the 'folk music' of today's young people and they're entitled to it. 

UPDATE:

I've always been much more interested in the bands that were often credited as that genre's forefathers. Bands like The Velvet Underground, The MC5, and The Stooges. The original punk rock was...well, of course it was a lot better than The Eagles, Styx, and The Doobie Brothers. The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Buzzcocks, The Ramones: those are solid bands. Still, I am and have always been much more of a Moby Grape, Love, Buffalo Springfield, The Move, 13th Floor Elevators sort.

But I do feel that it has become something of a sacred cow since it's beginning that you dare not criticize with the cognoscenti, and the neo-punk music of the 90's and 2000's is, almost without exception, ...just....unspeakably.... bad. Even worse are some of these whining trendos who say " That's not punk" when the subject is breakfast cereals or frisbees or some other non- punk rock topic. " Richard Hell and Captain Sensible would not have used that toaster. It's not a punk rock toaster."...I'm tempted to reply "It will be when I stick your fucking hand in it, trendo."

I agree with ILikePie (lol cool user name) a lot of new punk bands are such a joke, they don't know what punk truly is. I like bands like minor threat. the casualties is a good example of the modern punk band. they have awesome songs with good lyrics that have good messages and meanings, but they focus too much on their looks, witch I think isn't  punk at all. punk rock isn't about the looks, or even what bands you listen to, it's about the mindset you have.

Probably more of an image than a worthy genre of music, but some punk isn't too bad (Stiff Little Fingers and some Clash, for example), but modern "punk" is absolutely awful...

The mystique of punk has never seemed reasonable to me. I think the attraction is more about that first elicit cigarette or 40 oz malt liquor than the music itself.  It's the nostalgia device for as*holes who had imagined problems and suburban homes.  The music is generally pathetic from a technical standpoint, and lyrically shallow and lacking authenticity.  Each 'evolution' of punk has been worse than the last, and that is the most disturbing thing about it.  Punk today is nothing but noisy-emo made by boys who like boys, or at least present that image.  There are only a handful of interesting bands in the history of punk: Ramones, Suicidal Tendencies, Fields of the Nephilim, and maybe a handful more.

The great punk bands like Iggy and the Stooges, the Ramones, the Pogues, the Clash, and the Buzzcocks, were magnificent.  Like any successful artistic change, a lot of minimal talent hacks jumped on the band wagon and produced the veriest horseshit.

There are modern punk bands that are reasonably good, but there are a lot of corporate punkers, that are about as appealing as listening to the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra play the Stones greatest hits.

Once again, its possible to generalize either way from the specific of bad or good musicians.

Having been 16 years old when the first wave of punk struck I was swept up in the ethos of DIY music making and the rebirth of the rebelliousness of Rock and Roll.  But even at the time, I sensed that there was a lot of style over substance involved.  Sadly the music that calls itself Punk today is completely devoid of substance.

This came along, musically, at the right time, and shook the industry at its foundations. Situated within an economic and political period it was the voice of unrest and political disaffection. Many great and influential bands formed the genre, the greatest being, of course, the Clash.

There were some great bands to come out of punk/new wave's 1st division' in the 70s-early 80s e.g. Clash, Buzzcocks, Stiff Little Fingers, Stranglers, Undertones, Dead Kennedys, Ramones, Ruts and Television. However, the rest werent up to much and as for that fake tosh that passes for American punk - Blink 142, Sum 41, Green Day etc..- less said the better.

While I enjoyed seeing the Ramones in their prime,and had a place in my teenage rebel heart for the Dead Boys,Clash,Sex Pistols etc.,I don't think any of them came close to what proto-punk Iggy & the Stooges did.Todays pseudo-punks who are mostly spoiled brats would get even less stars.That whole whiney genre of Smashing Pumpkins and Green Day is useless.

This isn't rock dudes. They're just some emo punks that think they're doing some serious rock and rolling.

When discussing Punk Im referring to the old stuff from the 70's that started in the Lower East Village with the Ramones and Television. Also Cleveland with the likes of Pere Ubu. I''l even give the Brits credit who otherwise ripped it off. All of this is true Punk Rock. It's full of honest emotion and angst. Today what you have is not punk but corporate emo pop-punk poseur garabage. Punk has been dead since 1985. The music from that era is truly great!

In its prime, the mid to late 70's, it was revolutionary and exhilerating to someone like myself, who despaired at how mediocre and safe and bland rock music had become. Instead of a provocative and progressive force, it had become corporate product, and punk rock was sort of a last defiant gasp before the forces of market-place conformity closed in around and smothered it, like they do with almost any effort at genuine, inspired creativity and passion. Not to suggest that all of the music was great. A lot of hack bands jumped on the punk bandwagon and figured by wearing spiked hair and playing 3-chord junk, they too could secure a record contract. But the recorded work of its most skilled, intense practitioners- The Ramones, The Clash, The Heartbreakers, The Jam, Sham 69, The Sex Pistols, etc.- will assuredly stand the test of time. Still, it's sad nowadays to see how its outward trappings have been appropriated by a vampiric, soulless entertainment industry, while its rampaging heart and guts have been ground down and pasteurized into pop-culture pablum. Take a band like Poison, or No Doubt. They have the look down pat, but their music could be played on elevators with no problem.

It's Ok, I guess. Don't listen to it much...

Oh yeah, Pink Floyd and Kansas are way too good, so lets dumb down rock music so any moron can play it, then we can package it as hip, cool, trendy music for the angsty suburban teens.

(groan) Just when you think its dead, it always comes back.

Punk rock should not be in this catagory..should be in the Garbage catagory.....

Punk roools...figures it would be rated so low on this lame site. I guess they're not too many punkers sitting in front of their computer giving meaningless ratings to junk...they are more likely out destroying things. I quote the Dead Kennedys everyday. You should be listening to them instead of reading this...go on listen...i didn't think you would...am i worng???

Some punk bands are OK, but do they really need their own genre of music, why dont we just classify this as rock and be done with it? Irish punk rocks!

Pretty boring, actually. I have gotten to the point where my music has to either be crushingly heavy or musically odd, like jazz or prog. The rhythms and musicianship in most punk bands are bland. I like some real hardcore stuff, but punk is just something that you like when you're a snotty teenager (which is the last time I liked punk, anyway). I like the energy, but that's all that's there.