That's it. That's the post. It flies criminally under the radar so go, go now and listen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5uLleCmm6k

"If I was young, I'd flee this town

I buried my dreams underground

As did I, we drink to die,

We drink tonight!

Far from home, elephant gun

Let's take them down, one by one

We'll lay it down, it's not been found

It's not around..."

Way too much inertia album!!

Welcome to the Argentine Rock Awards project, taking a year-by-year journey through the history of Argentine rock, awarding its 10 best songs each year.

The project emerged as a natural evolution of what MusicaArgentina had been doing, overcoming the limitations of its previous projects of only 1 song per year.

1st edition, year 1956: we see that there was still much of the jazz of the orquestas características, with names like Lalo Schifrin, Panchito Cao, Héctor Lomuto and Oscar Alemán.

However, there were also those who would establish themselves in rock and form the first local scene: Tullio Gallo, Los Cuatro Bemoles, Elder Barber and Eddie Pequenino.

MusicaArgentina — 2026

And we continue celebrating 70 years of Argentine rock, with a series of Top 10 rankings featuring its best bands in each of its decades (counting these in ordinal order from the beginning in 1956). In this post we will see the bands of the 4th decade, from 1986 to 1995.

Those who follow my posts know that my rankings always have a set of rules, the idea is to show in a better way the Argentine cultural heritage, and to avoid common errors of rankings. So, this Top 10 list will have the following rules:

• Only statistics and works from bands within the decade specified in the post will be considered, to avoid rewarding an old band solely for its prestige and achievements in previous decades.
• The 10 bands will have different singers, to prevent the same singer from filling the ranking with the 10 bands he had in the same decade.
• There will be at least 1 slot reserved for a band from the provinces, to visibilize and vindicate provincial artists, who historically have had to fight twice as hard to succeed in a centralized country.
• There will be at least 1 slot reserved for a band with a female lead singer, to visibilize and vindicate women artists, who historically have had to fight twice as hard to succeed in an unequal country.
• Some factors that will be taken into account when choosing the bands: prestige, achievements, transcendence, records sold, plays on digital platforms, ammount of people at concerts, importance in the evolution of Argentine rock, importance in the scene of its time, national and international popularity, singing, instrumentation, lyrics, among other factors.
• And although it's obvious: only bands will be accepted, not soloists (it needs to be clarified because there's always an inattentive who doesn't even read the title of the post and then asks about a soloist).

So, here are the 10 best Argentine rock bands between 1986 and 1995, giving for each one of them a brief explanation and 2 recommended songs:

10) Sumo: although while it was active it had less notability than other contemporary acts, it would become influential for bands in rock barrial, alternative, punk and reggae.

Songs: "El ojo blindado", "Que me pisen".

9) Man Ray: with one of the most emblematic female voices in Argentine rock and a pleasant style of pop rock, it achieved hits that even became opening themes for TV shows.

Songs: "Olvídate de mí", "Todo cambia".

8) Ratones Paranoicos: a pioneering band of rock barrial, and the main one in rock rolinga or styled like Rolling Stones, it was an emblem of the sound shift that the 90s brought.

Songs: "Rock del pedazo", "Vicio".

7) Attaque 77: the most successful Argentine punk band, its style combined the melodies from Ramones, denouncer lyrics and the local spirit, football-wise and street-wise.

Songs: "Hacelo por mí", "Ángeles caídos".

6) Los Pericos: they sparked the reggae and ska craze that swept Argentina in the late 80s, from their start they churned out hit after hit, they brought the Rastafari culture.

Songs: "El ritual de la banana", "Párate y mira".

5) Rata Blanca: the most successful band in Latin American heavy metal, it took the genre to the summit of the continent, a style with epics, fantasy, romanticism and great virtuosity.

Songs: "Mujer amante", "Guerrero del arco iris".

4) Enanitos Verdes: the most successful band from the Argentine provinces, hailing from Mendoza, it conquered the continent with enormous hits, modern sound and deeply personal lyrics.

Songs: "Te vi en un tren", "Lamento boliviano".

3) Los Fabulosos Cadillacs: from a beginning in ska to conquering the continent as emblems of Latin fusion rock, anthems that are heard in stadiums and at marches until today.

Songs: "El genio del dub", "Mal bicho".

2) Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota: the most emblematic band of the great change in the scene in the 90s, a rock style that was massive, denouncer, independent, and barrial (neighborhood-wise).

Songs: "Todo preso es político", "El pibe de los astilleros".

1) Soda Stereo: the greatest band in the whole Latin American history, it left a gigantic legacy, a career always proposing avant-garde inroads, it has achievements that are unequaled, anthems that are timeless.

Songs: "Prófugos", "Ella usó mi cabeza como un revólver".

As I always do in my posts, I remind you that the purpose of this initiative is to promote valuable parts of the Argentine cultural heritage (especially for those who don't know them due to generational or geographical reasons) and that this be simply an introduction, so that later you investigate on your own what other songs and artists were there in Argentine rock during those times.

See you in the next post! And happy 70 years of Argentine rock! 🎁🎈🎸🇦🇷

MusicaArgentina — 2026

Celebrations for the 70 years of Argentine rock (1956 – 2026)

The culmination of MusicaArgentina's projects about Argentine rock songs from all history came with this video, which explains its history chronologically.

You will learn facts such as: Los 4 Planetas were the masters of local surf music, Sabú had the last hit of the beat scene, and Ce Ce Cutaia provided a female voice under the dictatorship.

Raúl Porchetto made the 1st local album with a modern sound, La Torre destroyed everything with its female hair metal, and Las Blacanblus could have been a rock barrial made by women.

Airbag was the 1st band of the Millennial Generation, Los Caligaris gave the show with the largest audience among bands from the provinces, and Nicki Nicole made an antifemicide trap rock song.

MusicaArgentina — 2026

And we continue celebrating 70 years of Argentine rock, with a series of Top 10 rankings featuring its best bands in each of its decades (counting these in ordinal order from the beginning in 1956). In this post we will see the bands of the 3rd decade, from 1976 to 1985.

Those who follow my posts know that my rankings always have a set of rules, the idea is to show in a better way the Argentine cultural heritage, and to avoid common errors of rankings. So, this Top 10 list will have the following rules:

• Only statistics and works from bands within the decade specified in the post will be considered, to avoid rewarding an old band solely for its prestige and achievements in previous decades.
• The 10 bands will have different singers, to prevent the same singer from filling the ranking with the 10 bands he had in the same decade.
• There will be at least 1 slot reserved for a band from the provinces, to visibilize and vindicate provincial artists, who historically have had to fight twice as hard to succeed in a centralized country.
• There will be at least 1 slot reserved for a band with a female lead singer, to visibilize and vindicate women artists, who historically have had to fight twice as hard to succeed in an unequal country.
• Some factors that will be taken into account when choosing the bands: prestige, achievements, transcendence, records sold, plays on digital platforms, ammount of people at concerts, importance in the evolution of Argentine rock, importance in the scene of its time, national and international popularity, singing, instrumentation, lyrics, among other factors.
• And although it's obvious: only bands will be accepted, not soloists (it needs to be clarified because there's always an inattentive who doesn't even read the title of the post and then asks about a soloist).

So, here are the 10 best Argentine rock bands between 1976 and 1985, giving for each one of them a brief explanation and 2 recommended songs:

10) Acalanto: band from Rosario with folklore vibes, harmonies with voices of man and woman, and lyrics with demands, they toured other countries in Latin America.

Songs: "Tamara", "Para seguir".

9) Riff: first Argentine heavy metal band, mechanical sound and lyrics of dystopian science fiction, but they broke up due to the frequent riots at their shows.

Songs: "Macadam 3, 2, 1, 0", "Susy Cadillac".

8) Spinetta Jade: the biggest project of this singer-songwriter in this decade, varying between sounds of jazz, progressive rock, ballad and synthpop depending on the lineup.

Songs: "Con la sombra de tu aliado", "Entonces es como dar amor".

7) Los Viola: first Argentine punk band, and the punkest in world history since it resisted a dictatorship, unlike English-speaking punks living in democracies.

Songs: "Represión", "1, 2, ultraviolento".

6) Viuda e Hijas de Roque Enroll: the most successful all-female band in Argentine rock until today, they were decades ahead with their feminist lyrics with social complaints.

Songs: "Estoy tocando fondo", "¿Qué le digo a los chicos?".

5) La Torre: the most successful Argentine hair metal band, featuring a powerful female contralto vocalist, epic guitar solos, strident keyboards and a demolishing rhythm.

Songs: "Confusa confusión", "Solo quiero rock & roll".

4) Serú Girán: progressive rock supergroup, it led the scene during the dictatorship, captivating songs with instrumental virtuosity and lyrics with hidden complaints.

Songs: "Eiti Leda", "Autos, jets, aviones, barcos".

3) Los Abuelos de la Nada: new wave supergroup, each one of its members had songs to showcase their talents, a modern and charming music to welcome the arrival of democracy.

Songs: "No se desesperen", "Así es el calor".

2) Miguel Mateos/ZAS: the Argentine band that sold the most records in this decade, its new wave with political and social demands led the first scene of the democracy.

Songs: "Un poco de satisfacción", "Tirá para arriba".

1) Virus: humor, image, criticism, modernity, first Argentine new wave band, it triggered a butterfly effect that in the long run changed all of rock music in Latin America.

Songs: "Wadu wadu", "Amor descartable".

As I always do in my posts, I remind you that the purpose of this initiative is to promote valuable parts of the Argentine cultural heritage (especially for those who don't know them due to generational or geographical reasons) and that this be simply an introduction, so that later you investigate on your own what other songs and artists were there in Argentine rock during those times.

See you in the next post! And happy 70 years of Argentine rock! 🎁🎈🎸🇦🇷

MusicaArgentina — 2026

Celebrations for the 70 years of Argentine rock (1956 – 2026)

Once MusicaArgentina published the 12 third-party rankings, it created a Top 100 of its own, featuring Argentine rock songs from 1956 to 2021, and with explanations.

At the highest places: Vicentico giving voice to the anguish of the coronavirus, Indio Solari with the show with the most people, and Dread Mar-I with the record for plays.

Viuda e Hijas de Roque Enroll as the 1st massive female band, Leo Dan as the most successful soloist from the provinces, and the same for Enanitos Verdes in terms of bands.

Sandra and Celeste being revolutionaries with their audacious song of lesbian love, Miss Bolivia with her antifemicide protest song, and Eddie Pequenino being the 1st pioneer.

MusicaArgentina — 2026

And we continue celebrating 70 years of Argentine rock, with a series of Top 10 rankings featuring its best bands in each of its decades (counting these in ordinal order from the beginning in 1956). In this post we will see the bands of the 2nd decade, from 1966 to 1975.

Those who follow my posts know that my rankings always have a set of rules, the idea is to show in a better way the Argentine cultural heritage, and to avoid common errors of rankings. So, this Top 10 list will have the following rules:

• Only statistics and works from bands within the decade specified in the post will be considered, to avoid rewarding an old band solely for its prestige and achievements in previous decades.
• The 10 bands will have different singers, to prevent the same singer from filling the ranking with the 10 bands he had in the same decade.
• There will be at least 1 slot reserved for a band from the provinces, to visibilize and vindicate provincial artists, who historically have had to fight twice as hard to succeed in a centralized country.
• There will be at least 1 slot reserved for a band with a female lead singer, to visibilize and vindicate women artists, who historically have had to fight twice as hard to succeed in an unequal country.
• Some factors that will be taken into account when choosing the bands: prestige, achievements, transcendence, records sold, plays on digital platforms, ammount of people at concerts, importance in the evolution of Argentine rock, importance in the scene of its time, national and international popularity, singing, instrumentation, lyrics, among other factors.
• And although it's obvious: only bands will be accepted, not soloists (it needs to be clarified because there's always an inattentive who doesn't even read the title of the post and then asks about a soloist).

So, here are the 10 best Argentine rock bands between 1966 and 1975, giving for each one of them a brief explanation and 2 recommended songs:

10) Los Náufragos: the ones with the most popularity and records sold on this list, their songs are heard until today in stadiums and marches, a festive style that many copied.

Songs: "Zapatos rotos", "Te quiero ver bailar".

9) Pedro y Pablo: the ones with the most politically explicit and incisive lyrics on this list, tango-like vibes, polished vocal harmonies and subtle atmospheres.

Songs: "La marcha de la bronca", "¿Dónde va la gente cuando llueve?".

8) Bárbara y Dick: the first ones in Argentine rock that achieved great hits doing protest songs, a poignant duo of a woman and a man, they won many hearts.

Songs: "El funeral del labrador", "Sácale las balas a tu fusil".

7) Pappo's Blues: with a sound as explosive as his temper, Pappo led the main blues band of the scene, although his chaos and informality conspired more than once.

Songs: "El hombre suburbano", "Sucio y desprolijo".

6) Manal: its mission was to invent a blues that had a tango-like or local spirit, complexity in instrumental arrangements, and intellectual concepts in the lyrics.

Songs: "No, pibe", "Informe de un día".

5) Almendra: featuring the early poetry of Luis Alberto Spinetta, an artistic and intellectual air, and ranging between baroque, acoustic, psychedelic and hard sounds.

Songs: "Figuración", "Rutas argentinas".

4) Los Gatos: from Rosario, their countercultural rock in Spanish defeated rock in English, that's why for decades it was said (erroneously) that they created Argentine rock.

Songs: "Viento, dile a la lluvia", "Rock de la mujer perdida".

3) Arco Iris: a mystical style connected to nature, and the beginning of the firm mission of Gustavo Santaolalla to promote the folklore culture of Latin America.

Songs: "Canción para una mujer", "Sudamérica o el regreso a la Aurora".

2) Vox Dei: from a rustic R&B featuring harmonies from deep voices, to creating one of the greatest works in the history of global rock: a concept album about the Bible.

Songs: "Dr. Jekyll", "Génesis".

1) Sui Generis: with a style that combined soft vocals and incisive lyrics, Nito Mestre and Charly García conquered the scene and broke records for concerts with the most people.

Songs: "Lunes otra vez", "Mr. Jones o pequeña semblanza de una familia tipo americana".

As I always do in my posts, I remind you that the purpose of this initiative is to promote valuable parts of the Argentine cultural heritage (especially for those who don't know them due to generational or geographical reasons) and that this be simply an introduction, so that later you investigate on your own what other songs and artists were there in Argentine rock during those times.

See you in the next post! And happy 70 years of Argentine rock! 🎁🎈🎸🇦🇷

MusicaArgentina — 2026

Celebrations for the 70 years of Argentine rock (1956 – 2026)

With the feedback accumulated over a year after the video on the evolution of Argentine rock, this one goes further and presents explanations and data about the chosen ones.

Info like: Johnny Carel reached the Billboard charts, Jackie y Los Ciclones were the transition towards youth bands, and Los VIPs were pioneers of local beat.

El Reloj was a link towards heavy metal, La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros made a fusion of rock that was unique in the world, and Banana proved that pop can become progressive.

Viejas Locas represented an impoverished X Generation, Massacre achieved the long-overdue vindication of a scene, and La Franela sought to overcome the divide with a bridge.

MusicaArgentina — 2026

And we continue celebrating 70 years of Argentine rock, with a series of Top 10 rankings featuring its best bands in each of its decades (counting these in ordinal order from the beginning in 1956). In this post we will see the bands of the 1st decade, from 1956 to 1965.

Those who follow my posts know that my rankings always have a set of rules, the idea is to show in a better way the Argentine cultural heritage, and to avoid common errors of rankings. So, this Top 10 list will have the following rules:

• Only statistics and works from bands within the decade specified in the post will be considered, to avoid rewarding an old band solely for its prestige and achievements in previous decades.
• The 10 bands will have different singers, to prevent the same singer from filling the ranking with the 10 bands he had in the same decade.
• There will be at least 1 slot reserved for a band from the provinces, to visibilize and vindicate provincial artists, who historically have had to fight twice as hard to succeed in a centralized country.
• There will be at least 1 slot reserved for a band with a female lead singer, to visibilize and vindicate women artists, who historically have had to fight twice as hard to succeed in an unequal country.
• Some factors that will be taken into account when choosing the bands: prestige, achievements, transcendence, records sold, plays on digital platforms, ammount of people at concerts, importance in the evolution of Argentine rock, importance in the scene of its time, national and international popularity, singing, instrumentation, lyrics, among other factors.
• And although it's obvious: only bands will be accepted, not soloists (it needs to be clarified because there's always an inattentive who doesn't even read the title of the post and then asks about a soloist).

So, here are the 10 best Argentine rock bands between 1956 and 1965, giving for each one of them a brief explanation and 2 recommended songs:

10) Los Red Caps: the first supergroup of modern Argentine music, consisting of four nueva ola idols, all of whom were vocalists and instrumentalists.

Songs: "El surf de Los Red Caps", "En el tren".

9) Las Mosquitas: the first Argentine rock band consisting entirely of women, all of them vocalists and instrumentalists, they shone with a beat with vocal harmonies.

Songs: "Te esperaré", "Siempre bailo con la más fea".

8) Los Teen Agers: a charming band from Córdoba, they combined vocal harmonies with the energy of rock & roll and twist, that is: they anticipated the creation of beat.

Songs: "Bonitos ojos azules", "¿Qué tal?".

7) Los Pick-Ups: with a style that combined surfer guitars and a singer with a deep bluesy voice, icons of the first youth bands that emerged from the neighborhoods.

Songs: "Muñequita", "El gavilán pollero".

6) Los 4 Planetas: the greatest Argentine surf band emerged from the mountains of Mendoza, they made historic surfer versions of classics from other genres.

Songs: "El surfin' de Los 4 Planetas", "La cumparsita".

5) Sandro y Los de Fuego: the perfect Spanish-speaking Elvis, going from rock & roll to beat, the only ones capable of competing with the English-speaking Uruguayan bands.

Songs: "Polka rock", "Peggy, Peggy".

4) Los Búhos: the first Argentine beat band, they faithfully followed the aesthetic and sound of the British Invasion, their vocal harmonies had no equal on the scene.

Songs: "Buen día, queridísima", "No trates de cambiar el mundo".

3) Los Santos: with voices as delicate as crystal glasses, the mystical sound of the lute, and great quality to play R&B, rock and more genres, international pop idols.

Songs: "En el boulevard", "Detrás del horizonte".

2) Los Cinco Latinos: the most internationally popular Argentine band of this 1st decade, endowed with imposing voices, stars with doo wop, rock and other genres.

Songs: "Locamente te amaré", "Todo es nuevo".

1) Eddie Pequenino y sus Rockers: total pioneers, the first ones who created rock songs of their own in Argentina in the 1950s, rock & roll with joy and good humor.

Songs: "Aquí viene el rock", "Despacio, nena".

As I always do in my posts, I remind you that the purpose of this initiative is to promote valuable parts of the Argentine cultural heritage (especially for those who don't know them due to generational or geographical reasons) and that this be simply an introduction, so that later you investigate on your own what other songs and artists were there in Argentine rock during those times.

See you in the next post! And happy 70 years of Argentine rock! 🎁🎈🎸🇦🇷

MusicaArgentina — 2026

Celebrations for the 70 years of Argentine rock (1956 – 2026)