10 Punk Rock Websites From the 1990s and Early 2000s
Punkmusic
Punkmusic.com, December 1998 - click to enlarge
Punkmusic.com ceased to exist in the mid-2000s, but their influence is still felt. One of the original music news blogs, Punkmusic laid the foundation for sites such as PunkRocks.net, PunkNews.org, AbsolutePunk, and more.
In the late ’90s and into the early ’00s, Punkmusic also hosted the first official websites for several popular punk bands, including AFI and No Use For a Name.
Asian Man Records
Asian Man Records, February 2000 - click to enlarge
Though this screen cap is from early 2000, Asian Man Records launched its website several years prior. I guess Mike Park‘s mom’s garage had a dial-up connection before Wi-Fi came along.
PunkRocks.net
PunkRocks.net, March 2000 - click to enlarge
PunkRocks.net was another pioneer of sorts for music-related news blogs. The site came into existence not long after Punkmusic, and quickly became one of the most popular punk rock websites, even sponsoring a stage at Warped Tour in 2002. However, the site abruptly closed a few years later.
BYOFL
BYOFL, April 2000 - click to enlarge
Published by Maximum Rock ‘N Roll, Book Your Own Fuckin’ Life was the ultimate DIY guide for bands and show promoters looking to book their own tours. It was a thorough, massive, and invaluable resource guide that eventually made its way off the newsprint page and onto the computer screen.
The glut of easily available information online has made BYOFL less of a crucial resource than it once was. However, it still exists online today at byofl.org.
Rancid
RancidRancid.com, December 2000 - click to enlarge
Back in 2000, I was obsessed with the brand new Rancid self-titled album, and I visited their site frequently to find out when the band would be passing through my area. Recently, I revisited RancidRancid.com and realized that I actually prefer the design from more than a decade ago to the site as it appears today.
What other punk rock websites did you visit back in the day? Visit the Wayback Machine to check out old versions of your favorite sites.