Established in 1977 by guitarist Greg Ginn, SST Records stands as one of the most important and influential independent labels in American music history. Emerging from the Southern California underground, SST became the catalyst for a national movement, redefining punk and hardcore while laying the groundwork for alternative music in the decades that followed.

Throughout the 1980s, SST was home to a roster of pioneering artists whose work would shape the cultural and sonic landscape of modern music. Key releases from Black Flag, Minutemen, Hüsker Dü, Descendents, Saint Vitus, Saccharine Trust, and Screaming Trees pushed far beyond the boundaries of punk—embracing dissonance, experimentation, and an uncompromising DIY ethic.

SST's impact was not just musical but philosophical. It championed self-reliance, toured relentlessly outside traditional circuits, and released records that defied commercial expectations. The label became a beacon for the American underground, influencing generations of independent musicians, labels, and scenes across the country and around the world.

Today, SST Records remains a vital historical force, its catalogue a testament to the raw energy, innovation, and resistance that defined an era.