Who made the first bbx that was really considered the one to have by the street culture? After reading various acconts of the history, it seems that JVC's 1978 model RC-838 is among possible title holders ?  The Marantz's were pretty cool as far back as 1976, but the audio was kind of thin on these.

I had my Sony CF-550 in 1973 and I thought it was amazing, but it was pretty sedate when compared to late 70's stuff.  I was the only kid in School who had a bbx. Still have that Sony 38 years later.

The first (proppa) radios i was aware of was around 1979/80,i was 9 and my older friend who was 13 had a GF9191,got it for his birthday and it cost a fortune ! At school,in the music room we had a GF555,so boxes like Sharp GF9090,9191,also Hitachi Trk8080,but my era was more of the likes of GF8989,GF575 ect in around 82/83..

The first "it" boombox I remember was the JVC M70. It was sold in every electronics store and was very feared in street battles due to it's great sound and loud volume. It was probably the best selling boombox of its time.

I bought mine in '80 ($330 1980 dollars and a little over $860 in 2010), while my father was stationed in Germany. Soon after, many people had one. Before the M70, I don't remember a box having the effect on people it did. At the time, and at least in my area, it was Sharp vs. JVC. The M70 was king until Sharp came out with the GF-777.