During the mid-'70s, Germany's Kraftwerk established the sonic blueprint followed by an extraordinary number of artists in the decades to come.

From the British New Romantic movement to hip-hop to techno, the group's self-described "robot pop" — hypnotically minimal, obliquely rhythmic music performed solely via electronic means — resonates in virtually every new development to impact the contemporary pop scene of the late 20th century, and as pioneers of the electronic music form, their enduring influence cannot be overstated.