Start here · no exam
"Firsts" are contested; landmarks are entry points
Who invented metal or punk is not settled. Landmarks give you a dated track to start the argument from.
Ask a metal fan who started metal and you get Sabbath's tritone, earlier underground noise, or a blues bend. Everyone has a candidate. Same fight exists for punk and plenty of other tags.
Rock "firsts" are rarely clean patents. They are moments when a sound becomes hard to ignore in public, so later bands have to react.
On band pages, the Landmark card means: start here. Not "only truth," but a useful hinge—year, impact, genres it opens. On genre pages, pioneer acts are early relatives of the style, not exclusive inventors.
We keep landmarks next to stories on purpose. A separate "museum of firsts" turns into ranking fights. Next to why-it-matters copy, a debut track is something you can actually play.
Argue the genealogy later if you want. First press play on the hinge track. Then see who answered it.