Ramones is the debut album by the US punk band of the same name. It was first released on April 23, 1976 on the Sire Records label. With its fast, minimalist music, it is considered groundbreaking in the development of punk rock. With their debut album, the band established their reputation as a prototypical “three-chord garage band” with ironic, simply constructed songs played at high tempo. When the album was released, the majority of critics reacted with rejection or incomprehension. Its musical significance has only been recognized since the late 1990s. In 2001 the album was remastered by the record company Rhino Records. Since then, the cult album has been awarded several times with high rankings in music press best lists.