- AWARD WINNER! On April 27, 2010, Sonic Boom was honored by the Association of King County Historical Organizations (AKCHO) with their Virginia Marie Folkins Award, which is presented annually to the author of an "outstanding historical publication."
- AWARD WINNER! The Association for Recorded Sound Collections announced in October 2010 that Sonic Boom has been honored with a Certificate of Merit in their "Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research in Rock and Popular Music" category.
- PopDiggers.com: "Peter Blecha gives an unusually well-founded and detailed account of the formation of the Pacific Northwest’s music scene in the 50s and its growing impact in the 60s. Since much already has been written about the Northwest grunge scene, he wisely concentrates his search light on the undocumented blind spots; the 50s and 60s.”
- Seattle Public Libraries: "STAFF PICK: This fast-paced trip through local rock history traces the genre’s origins in the Central District’s jazz clubs, follows its development within the 1960s teen dance scene and culminates with the grunge explosion of the 1990s. Even if you don’t care about the tunes or the bands, this volume is a unique pop culture exploration of the Pacific Northwest, as the author incorporates a multitude of behind-the-scenes players, forgotten nightclubs, long-gone radio stations and more."
- Seattle Metropolitan: "Sonic Boom reclaims our region’s dominance in rock annals and cements Blecha’s reputation as its foremost historian."
- Expressmilwaukee.com: "Sonic Boom will remain as the source book for anyone interested in the rock of the Pacific Northwest."
- Record Collector: "...monstrously well-researched... Blecha’s unswerving eye is pretty hard to beat...Sonic Boom is the only story to date on this fertile musical region. More fool the person who tries to write a better one."
- ink19.com: "...fascinating, highly readable...Blecha has written a definitive musical history of the region."
- Audio Industry Historical Society: "Respect to the author, my new hero. Incredible work."
- popmatters.com: "...incredibly engrossing. ..Sonic Boom does a commendable service to the musical history and the sonic identity of the area and its artists."
- popsyndicate.com: "...an excellent and informative look at the birth of a music scene...Blecha knows his regional music history...an easy and enticing read."
- Seattle Sound: "...an often surprising and entirely enlightening exploration of Northwest rock history... thanks to Blecha, the rollicking musical past of this corner of the country won't quietly disappear... the stories are skillfully compiled and thankfully told..."
- blogcritics.com: "...one hell of a story. ...Blecha does not spend a whole lot of time on the Grunge days, which is fine. There has been so much discussion of that period, it really is not necessary here. His research into the early Rock N' Roll days of Seattle is riveting, ...and makes great reading for any music fan."
- DustyGroove: "The book wisely gives its strongest focus to the 60s – with a wealth of information on the local scenes and small labels who really brought the Northwest sound to the rest of the world – then follows with a bit more on the 70s and 80s, as well as the 90s wave of punk and grunge."
- Historylink.org: "...a breakthrough book...Blecha expertly weaves quotes into his text, bringing the Northwest rock scene to life through the stories of those who created it... Sonic Boom spends most of its pages covering the 1950s and 1960s, which is needed since that period has largely been glossed over or ignored in the few previous books on Northwest rock. Certainly it has never been told this well and the combination of solid information and Blecha’s superb writing skills make this an important book."
- Blurt: "Blecha strikes a winning balance through a mixture of scrupulous research and genuine passion for his subject."
- Ugly Things: "Blecha does a masterful job...Sonic Boom is well written, meticulously researched, and loaded with quotes from interviews conducted by Blecha himself. It is sure to satisfy UT readers."
- Jerseybeat.com: "...written exactly the way a book, or a song should be written - I felt like I was there experiencing the clubs, the bands, and the whole scene throughout the years. ...it was hard putting it down, and I practically dog-eared every page for reference points."
- Allan Handelman, Rock Talk radio host: "The Northwest musical influence on the entire rock culture has been overlooked for way too long. This is a great book for anybody who loves Rock 'n' Roll and its hidden history."
- Booklist: "Blecha lovingly limns the history of rock music in Seattle and the northwestern U.S. ...and the predominant celebratory tone can be infectious."
- Vintage Guitar: "...highly readable...above all, it establishes the region's long and storied musical past..."
- Crawdaddy: "Although I’ve become good at judging books by their covers, I’m misled by Sonic Boom...You’d expect grunge...but I’m happily misled, since...a new book on the subject is unnecessary. Blecha sheds new light on the early developments of rock ‘n’ roll. Sonic Boom is a labor of love. Every detail has been painstakingly researched over two decades through hundreds of interviews...authoritative..."
- antimusic.com: "a fun read and also a great reference tool for those interested in music history...extremely well researched and devoted to detail..."
- Puget Sound Business Journal: "Blecha’s angle is different. He pens the story from behind the scenes of the early radio stations, recording studios and record labels."
- CMJ: "The deep rock 'n' roll history of the Northwest has finally been fully chronicled so grab your favorite flannel shirt and find the nearest Starbucks to sit down in and soak up the Sonic Boom."
- curledup.com: "Finally...this puts it all in perspective for those who thought Oregon and Washington were little more than places with a lot of rain."
- Tom Dyer, President, Argosy University: "The NW Gospel according to St. Peter - To begin, this is, plain and simple, a highly enjoyable read...Blecha's latest stands up with Charles Cross' Hendrix bio as NW canon. Buy it. Enjoy. I did."
- Gibson.com: "Seattle’s unofficial curator of rock ’n’ roll charts the evolution of Northwest rock—specifically the era book-ended by those two unmistakable riffs—as told by the musicians, fans, promoters, scenesters, and label heads who lived it."
- unitedmonkee.com: "...amazing...this book really educated me on an era of rock and roll that I was mostly unfamiliar with and, better yet, an entire subgenre of music I didn't know...fascinating..."
- King Dinösaur: "If you thought that the Northwest only spawned 'grunge' and...had its musical peak in the 90's then you seriously need to read this book. ...a fascinating look at a long and illustrious musical heritage. ...READ THIS AMAZING BOOK!!!"
- The Louie Report: "an exceptional book. It’s the most comprehensive book of its kind, documenting an important part of rock and roll musical history that had been ignored for too long. From Jackson Street Jazz of the 1940s to the Grunge Revolution of the 1990s heard around the world, this book provides a great overview of a rich musical heritage. For those that want to learn about the history of Northwest rock and roll, this is an essential reference book."
- Jet City Blues: "This is a great read, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the history of Northwest rock and roll."
- Priscilla Long (HistoryLink, Founding Editor): "What is forgotten is erased, as if it had never been. A people can be forgotten — erased from history. A culture, which is the soul of a people, can be deleted. And this was the case with Northwest rock music — in many ways the soul of our African American community — before Peter Blecha's book, Sonic Boom. August tomes such as the Encyclopedia Britannica and others dismissed the rich, vibrant, vastly influential history of Northwest rock in one line: 'not much happened.'…Blecha's book alters that perception forever. It is a dense, detailed, articulate, and brilliant account of the music, the musicians, the scene, the culture, and importantly, the infrastructure to support all this."
- Seattle Weekly (Brian Miller): "...the jacket flap of Sonic Boom informs us that, 'Pete Blecha was crowned Seattle's unofficial curator of rock 'n' roll by Seattle Weekly.' Really? I can't find that reference..."
- Pat Lee @ Oyster Bay Archives: "Short review: Stunning achievement."
- Nardwuar: "In my Top-5 for 2009"
- NortonRecords.com: "...get ready for a wild ride..."
- easystreetonline.com: "MAY -- Book of the Month"
- University Book Store: "Staff Pick!"
- genestout.com: "...the book that needed to be written..."
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer [3/17/09]: "...fascinating..."
