Hair Metal
180 artists · 35 albums
Artists
Cinderella
Keifer's voice is among the singularly unique of the late 1980s. If you heard it, you knew right away you were listening to Cinderella.
Def Leppard
Rock & Roll inductees from Sheffield, UK. One of the best to ever do it. In contention for best hair metal band ever. Just a magnificent band with righteous tunes. Death and a one-armed drummer couldn't stop them. Think about that.
Extreme
Boston's own, Extreme, were purveyors of the decadence dance. The classic lineup consists of Gary Cherone, Nuno Bettencourt, Patrick Badger, and Paul Geary.
FireHouse
Don't treat FireHouse bad. Or us, for that matter, for discussing their handful of hit tunes.
Lion
Lion appears on as many soundtracks as they have album/ep releases. This was only possible in the 80s ... I think
Skid Row
Standard story of some boys from Jersey forming a Hair Metal band and bringing glory, power and ridiculously high vocals to the crowds every night.
Trixter
Paramus, New Jersey's own, Trixter. Trixter brought flannel to glam metal, making it not as glam. Or as metal.
Ugly Kid Joe
Sporting original hits like Neighbor and Everything About You, and a near chart topping version of Cats in the Cradle, Ugly Kid Joe gained a fair share of popularity in the early 90s.
Van Halen
The kings of the sunset strip. Van Halen isn't reallllly a hair metal band, but whatever, they fit the genre they pretty much created.
Warrant
Warrant had 5-6 solid hits, including the power ballad Heaven, the nuanced blues heavy Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the arena rock anthem, Cherry Pie.
Albums
Appetite for Destruction
The Sunset Strip (Hollywood) was never the same after 1987's Appetite for Destruction. Guns N’ Roses debut album welcomed everyone to the jungle.
Pyromania
Rock of Ages, Photograph, and Foolin', OH MY! Pyromania, Def Leppard's third studio album, found both commercial and critical success. It's truly bad ass!
Slippery When Wet
Three of the best hair metal songs come from Bon Jovi's, Slippery When Wet - Livin' on a Prayer, You Give Love A Bad Name, and Wanted Dead or Alive.
New Jersey
Gang vocals, teased hair, more aural diversity, Bon Jovi's New Jersey shines, and that's not just the Aqua Net. Bad Medicine and Lay Your Hands On Me FTW!
Dr. Feelgood
Kickstart My Heart is blazing, hair metal glory. Dr. Feelgood, Same Ol' Situation, and Don't Go Away Mad round out album 5 from the illustrious Mötley Crüe.
BulletBoys
Marq Torien, Mick Sweda, and the rest of the Bulletboys get Smooth Up in Ya on their self-titled album.
Transformers The Movie
Stan Bush, Vince DiCola, Kick Axe, Lion, NRG, and Weird Al create an epic soundtrack to the legendary, Transformers The Movie.
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
This soundtrack is an Excellent Adventure unto itself. Bill and Ted quest to the sounds of Extreme, Shark Island, Robbie Robb, Bricklin, and more.
Cherry Pie
Power ballads, bluesy rockers, and stadium shakers, Cherry Pie tops DRFSR. Warrant slays with I Saw Red, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the legendary Mr. Rainmaker.
Adrenalize
Def Leppard's Adrenalize begins and ends extremely strong with Let's Get Rocked setting it up and Tear It Down, well, tearing it down. RIP Steve Clark.
Open Up and Say ... Ahh!
Poison’s nearly perfect Hair Metal album gives us Nothin’ but a Good Time.
Slave to the Grind
The boys from New Jersey go harder, get tougher, and kick more ass on their second studio album, Slave to the Grind. Even the ballads are lavishly dark.
The Great Radio Controversy
Shredding guitars, a tight rhythm section, and fantastic vocals, Tesla's The Great Radio Controversy gives hair metal an album with verifiable street cred.
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey
Whoa! Station's most bodacious creation, the Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey soundtrack
Whitesnake
The 7th (really?!) studio album from Whitesnake slithers in with Is This Love, Zep-styled Still of the Night, and mega hit power ballad Here I Go Again.
Pride
Wait and When the Children Cry make Pride a must listen. Vito Bratta unleashes some guitar madness, from legato & tapping to pick scrapes & huge dive bombs.
Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich
Warrant's Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich (1989) is a strong debut. Mega power ballad Heaven, along with Down Boys and Big Talk, are hair metal treasure.
Screw It!
Danger Danger's Screw It delivers high pitched vocals, blazing guitar work, and no secrets songwriting. Screw It also boasts a ridiculous album cover.
GN'R Lies
Sunset Strip darlings, Guns N' Roses drop G N' R Lies, a half acoustic album featuring Patience, Used to Love Her, You're Crazy, and Aerosmith's Mama Kin.
Danger Danger
Danger Danger swaps (Tony Bruno) Rey out for Andy Timmons recording their self-titled debut album. Bang Bang and Naughty Naughty are hair metal magic.
Lean Into It
Mr. Big's Lean Into It is best known for super hair metal power ballad, To Be with You. Mr. Big's bluesy sophomore album excels at nothing though.
Enuff Z'Nuff
Radio hits New Thing & Fly High Michelle helped Enuff Z'Nuff launch a 13 album career. Though the 90s creeps in, Enuff Z'Nuff keeps their hair (metal) long.
Saints and Sinners
Kane 'Glambo' Roberts bestows glam rock magic unto the world with 1991's Saints and Sinners, Kane's second solo studio effort.
Stick it to Ya
Up All Night and Fly to the Angels are the stars of Slaughter's Stick It to Ya. Could have been an amazing EP, suffers as a LP. Burning Bridges ain't bad.