Here are some of the best 80s rock bands to dominate the era. In a decade fueled by party anthems and power ballads, these rock bands received both critical and commercial success.
1. Metallica
Metallica earned a growing fan base in the underground music community and won critical acclaim with its first four albums; their third album Master of Puppets (1986) was described as one of the most influential and heaviest of thrash metal albums. Metallica’s early releases included fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship that placed them as one of the “big four” of the thrash metal subgenre alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax, during the genre’s development into a popular style. Between the meeting of raw energy and intricate speed metal compositions of their 1983 debut Kill ‘Em All and the layered, radio-geared production of 1991’s self-titled Black Album, the band turned in classic album after classic album, each new chapter leading the development of metal on a global scale.
Best 80s hit song: Metallica – “Master of Puppets” (1986)
Stream: Metallica – “Master of Puppets”
2. Guns N’ Roses
Guns N’ Roses invigorated the late 1980s heavy metal music with its raw energy. They fused punk intensity and classic-rock song structure that proved to be a more authentic slice of hard rock and metal than their hair metal contemporaries could ever hope to deliver. At a time when pop was dominated by dance music and pop-metal, Guns N’ Roses brought raw, ugly rock & roll crashing back into the charts.
Best 80s hit song: Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine (1987)
Stream: Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine
3. Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe burned through the ’80s in a blaze of drugs, debauchery, and platinum hits. During the 1980s, Motley Crüe was as well known for their backstage antics with drugs and groupies as they were for their music. Their glammed-out image, hard-partying reputation, and a knack for melding pop hooks to heavy metal theatrics took the band to the top of the charts repeatedly throughout the ’80s, with records like 1985’s Theatre of Pain and 1989’s Dr. Feelgood bringing them to sold-out arenas around the world.
Best 80s hit song: Mötley Crüe – Kickstart My Heart (1987)
Stream: Mötley Crüe – Kickstart My Heart
4. Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi was responsible for the most organic-sounding technopop-metal hybrids of the ’80s,” wrote Spin’s Chuck Eddy in 1993 of the megapopular five-member band named after its lead singer, Jon Bon Jovi. The band released a self-titled album in 1984 to no great acclaim. It was their third album, 1986’s Slippery When Wet, which led to worldwide fame.
Best 80s hit song: Bon Jovi -Livin’ On A Prayer (1986)
Stream: Bon Jovi -Livin’ On A Prayer
5. AC/DC
AC/DC was one of the largest rock bands in the world. Although the band’s music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, the members themselves call it simply “rock and roll”. Back In Black would prove to be their biggest album, selling over nineteen million copies in the U.S. alone. For Those About To Rock, We Salute You was their next album, released in 1981, and again, a huge hit, going all the way to number one on the charts.
Best 80s hit song: AC/DC – Back In Black (1980)
Stream: AC/DC – Back In Black
6. Ratt
Ratt‘s brash, melodic heavy metal made the Los Angeles quintet one of the most popular rock acts of the mid-80s. They evolved out of 70s band Mickey Ratt, transforming into their present form in 1983, and embraced the Sunset Strip blend of pop hooks mixed with aggressive rock. Hitting a slick sound similar to the power pop of Cheap Trick as well as the metal of Iron Maiden, the band is best known for the multi-platinum album smashes Out of the Cellar and Invasion of Your Privacy. Along with one of their peers Mötley Crüe, Ratt has been recognized as instrumental in the formation of the early 1980s Los Angeles metal scene.
Best 80s hit song: Ratt – Round and Round (1984)
Stream: Ratt – Round and Round
7. Van Halen
Van Halen established itself as a leader in the emerging and commercially successful U.S. heavy metal music genre of the 1980s. The band produced three chart-topping albums between 1986 and 1991, culminating in the Grammy Award-winning For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991).
Best 80s hit song: Van Halen – Jump (1984)
Stream: Van Halen – Jump
8. U2
U2 was an Irish rock band that by the end of the 1980s had established itself not only as one of the world’s most popular bands but also as one of its most innovative. After the moderate success of their first 2 albums, U2 hit the big time with the War LP, which was released in March 1983. The band’s sixth album The Joshua Tree, made them international stars. It was at this time, that ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine dubbed U2 “The Band of The Eighties”.
Best 80s hit song: U2 – With Or Without You (1987)
Stream: U2 – With Or Without You
9. ZZ Top
ZZ Top got its start in Houston, Texas in 1969. While many Southern Rock bands who had thrived in the ’70s were fading in the ’80s, ZZ Top remained popular by working synthesizers and other electronic enhancements to their sound to keep pace with a changing audience. The band opted for a radical change in 1983 for their Eliminator LP, which peaked in Billboard’s charts at number 9 and remained in the Top 20 for over a year.
Best 80s hit song: ZZ Top – Sharp Dressed Man (1983)
Stream: ZZ Top – Sharp Dressed Man
10. Whitesnake
British heavy metal group Whitesnake has become one of the best-selling acts of the late 1980s and early 1990s. In their early years, Whitesnake played in a hard-edged blues rock and heavy metal influenced style. By the mid-80s, the band had moved towards a more commercially friendly arena rock and pop metal ethos. After recalibrating their sound to better adapt to the burgeoning ’80s hair and pop-metal scene, they found commercial success with 1984’s “Slide It In” and then cannonballed into the mainstream in 1987 with the release of their multi-platinum-selling eponymous seventh effort, which spawned the power ballad “Is This Love” and the massive crossover number one hit “Here I Go Again.”
Best 80s hit song: Whitesnake – Here I Go Again (1987)
Stream: Whitesnake – Here I Go Again
11. Def Leppard
Def Leppard is an English rock band formed in 1977 as part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. In 1980, Def Leppard were first introduced to the US audience featuring in the AC/DC tour after they released the first album On Through the Night. After recording an extremely successful the Pyromania album in 1983, Def Leppard went on their first headline US tour. In early 1987 the band finally completed the long-awaited Hysteria album and the single “Animal” became the band’s first Top 10 hit in the UK, reaching No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart.
Best 80s hit song: Def Leppard – Pour Some Sugar On Me (1987)
Stream: Def Leppard – Pour Some Sugar On Me
12. Journey
Journey’s greatest commercial success came in the late 1970s through the early 1980s. Following a live album, Captured (1981), Journey released Escape, which broke them through to the top ranks of pop groups by scoring three Top Ten hit singles: “Who’s Crying Now,” “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and “Open Arms.” The album topped the charts and sold millions and quickly became successful. The album went to number one and was certified nine times platinum.
Best 80s hit song: Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’ (1981)
Stream: Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’
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