'Rolling Stone' Picks The 50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums

Click the link below to check out Rolling Stone's picks for the 50 greatest hair metal albums. Here's a hint: Kix, Lord Tracy, Mr. Big and Pretty Boy Floyd all made the list. The number 1 choice? Def Leppard's Hysteria. I have to say, they got the top spot correct.

Catchy, concise and committed to getting parties rolling, hair-metal's been out of the spotlight long enough by now to...

Posted by Rolling Stone on Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Comments

[Snoot]

They missed out on a couple.
Sweet FA, Babylon AD, Spread Eagle, Rock City Angels and Faster Pussycat's 2nd album comes to mind. Also Junkyard should be higher than 34.

[Him]

Love lists like this, if only because they start such interesting discussions and/or tilt so decidedly in the direction of the author(s . . . in this case, seven).

Mr. Big? Certainly a big seller, but not sure it belongs. Alice with "Trash"? A legend of the scene once he shifted his focus, but best known (and rightfully so) for his 70s output and influence on the bands that he then had to co-opt to stay in the spotlight. Bulletboys "Freakshow" over their self-titled debut? The varnished sounds of Whitesnake's initial fade into glossy pap? Tesla (at 11 and above Quiet Riot)?? Badlands? Hair metal? Perhaps by pedigree. I mean, you invite this sort of reply when throw in the "of all time" hyperbole

DAD? Nice to see them get the nod. Ditto the VVI and White Lion. Why? Because I like them, I guess.

Like the RaRHoF, this seems--the authorship by committee thing doesn't necessarily give the lie to the idea--that this is a corp. list, with many safe picks, a couple of no-brainers, and a few welcomed surprises. Is there such a thing as a calculated laundry list? This seems to fit the bill. But kudos to them for even knowing who Bang Tango are (no less both Lord and Kik of the variously spelled yet similar last name), or at least hiring staffers to scour the interwebs for deep dives to establish cred. You can see it now: "Jimmy, what have you got?" "I got Dangerous Toys, Boss." "Capital, Jimmy. Capital. And what have you got, Timmy?" "Uh, Saigon Kick?!"

Not that the authors are all green bucks looking for lucre (if they are, in publishing, then William Safire or Herb Caen have some bridges to sell them). Sure, Tom has only published two recent things with Rolling Stone (including this one). But Richard has a deep and varied catalog stretching back to . . . April 2014. Seriously, though, Chuck has a deep trove of diverse pubs, ditto Reed, Kory, Maura, and Christopher.

Besides, the general headline is a click-bait (I did it!) masterpiece. As they say in the opening: ". . . what first passed as metal on Eighties MTV didn't have much in common with what gets called metal now — or even what had mostly been called metal in the Seventies." So this is really their opinion as to the greatest hair metal of the 80s-90s. Such a qualification may not seem necessary.

Does to me though, especially if you leave out Van Halen (some might call them proto-hair/glam and DLR solo doesn't count) while including others (Hanoi Rocks) who were just as influential. And if you are going to slip Bon Jovi in, then you might as well let The Darkness sneak up behind them and wallop on 'em. I won't even begin to mention Steel Panther. Oh wait. I did. And this very site proves my lesser and final point: glam is alive and well, and many of the bands listed pale next to bands up and about today. I am not too proud to admit that I only know that because many of you have turned me on to newer bands and occasionally reminded me of the older ones (what, no love for The Sweet?).

But, again, it is a list. Lists engender lists. So I put it to all of you: give us your list. I know you got one in ya' somewhere. One favor though: please pick "Asylum" or "Animalize" over "Lick It Up." They might be lesser, but they sure are glam-er (check out those neon and animal prints on Stanley!).

[Ace Steele]

Any list like this that excludes Girl's "Sheer Greed" & The New York Dolls, but includes such faux acts like Pretty Bad Farce is clueless about the genre.

[Jakki Steal]

Wow!
That was a painfully/pathetic/petty article to read.
Rolling Stone clearly has no idea what they are talking about.
First of all they "proudly/innocently" call it "hair" metal as if that's not a complete insult to glam metal (which you know damn well they are well aware of the fact).
They insinuate in the first paragraph that the extremely negative term "hair" was coined sometime around 1985ish ("hair" wasn't a inappropriate label until 90's grunge lovers used it to mock glam metal).
Ratt - 'Out Of The Cellar' is ranked 6 but they basically say the whole album is filler except for 3 songs...So what the hell does that say about the other 44 that were ranked before them?

Every single band gets ripped on hardcore w/each introduction, w/a few very thin "compliments" sprinkled within.
Rolling Stone is ostensibly more obsessed w/hair & make up, than the actual music.
I felt like I was reading a 12 year old girls school paper she had to write about glam metal, but she knew nothing about it so she just went to Wikipedia & started mixing insults in w/a couple compliments not knowing any better and/or unsure what was a compliment or what wasn't.
I have no idea what the point of the article was except to totally tear glam metal a new one, simply because the author hates glam metal.
Disguising the article as "Oh we are just having fun w/this silly joke of a genre"!

I can guarantee you if these same writers were writing a article about the "Top 50 Grunge Albums", that's what they would have called it.
They would have never called it something silly/degrading like "Flannel Metal" (or in this case "hair")...
Simply out of a sign of respect.

Just more glaring evidence that...
Rolling Stone simply hates glam metal & takes every chance it gets to completely $h!t all over it.

[Lucas]

Here is my list

20--Hardline Double Eclipse
19--Twisted Sister Stay Hungry
18 Black n Blue self titled
17 LA Guns self titled
16 Faster Pussycat self titled
15 Britny Fox self titled
14 Slaughter Stick it to ya
13 Dokken Tooth n Nail
12 Kiss Crazy Nights
11 Warrant Dirty Rotten FSR
10 Quiet Riot Metal Health
9 Kix Blow My Fuse
8 Poison Look What the Cat Dragged In
7 Ratt Out of the Cellar
6 Def Lep Pyromania
5 Ozzy No more Tears
4 Motley Dr. Feelgood
3 Def Lep Hysteria
2 Tesla Mechanical Resonance
1 Cinderella Night Songs

The Very Best, however, is GnR with Appetite for Destruction.

Some may argue that some are not Hair Metal, but it was 'the times' and I feel that they all fit the same genre.

[Metalboy!]

I'm just glad to see them do a "Hair Metal" List (the term doesn't bother me. In fact, I view it as a term of endearment.). This is practically the first time they've done anything related to 80's/Early 90's Hard Rock, Glam Metal, Sleaze Metal.

It's amazing how much they got right, even if the order is off. I, mean, c'mon... Teslug? Mr. Wig? UNROCK!

I will do the correct list as soon as I get home from work. Rock On!

[Niklas]

Overall, this is a great list. In terms of claiming that the people who wrote the capsules are 12-year-old girls who consulted Wikipedia, I think you need to do your research. Chuck Eddy? He's been a respected music writer for decades. Maura Johnston is a legit, sincere fan of pop metal and has been touting those bands for a decade+. While it's fine to disagree with some selections -- or even the opinions within the write-ups -- this is not a list compiled and written by ill-informed scribes/critics.

I cannot imagine anyone reading that piece and interpreting as an attempt to dismiss or ridicule the bands.

I prefer the term "pop metal" (or, if it truly applies, "glam") to "hair metal," but at this point, I think "hair metal" has become -- for better or worse -- a cultural shorthand to indicate a certain type of band from a certain era. It often doesn't really apply to the bands its applied to, and it is used by many as a derogatory term, but many writers/critics, such as the people involved in the RS list, and, most notably someone like Martin Popoff, use the term and in now way intend it to be demeaning.

[Metalboy!]

I use it as a term of affection. What makes it non derogatory, at least in my view, is the fact that the music, in general, kicks complete a*s!

CORRECTION: This may be the most extensive coverage by Rolling Stone of our favorite genre since Sebastian Bach was on the cover on September 19th, 1991, an issue that featured several articles on Hair Metal and a great photo spread of the Sunset Strip scene!

[Him]

I won't get into the terminology war (I am guilty of using all sorts of phrases to reference the music I love). Though by no means scientific, I agree with Metalboy! If it kicks flank steaks, I like it. Sorta' like Potter's "I know it when I see it" test while on the Supreme Court.

I will, however, make two additional observations:

First, awesome list, Lucas. And _Crazy Nights_ is a great choice. And I agree with you about GnR. Not sure how some can leave them out of the group. Their first video all but granted them lifetime access into the Glam Camp.

Second, Niklas, I tend to agree with your references to the writers and their bona fides. Said as much in my long-winded post. But I can see why some posters cast a suspect eye on lists like this, and on Rolling Stone in particular. There was a time when I was an avid subscriber (right alongside my issues of Circus and Kerrang!). I loved the writing, was introduced to PJ O'Rourke, and got introduced to a range of musicians and their music.

Now, Rolling Stone seems played out, like Spin if it was still around. And while linking the magazine to the RaRHoF is a bit of a straw man, there are some points of contact in terms of how they categorize and promote music.

Like I said, lists like this engender discussion . . . and a range of reactions. I think that is healthy. And while some gravitate to meticulous research, others trend towards passion born of living and feeling the music. For me, the best is when those two strands are merged into one. Then again, that is just me.

[Mike]

This is not as insulting as their 'Greatest Guitar Players' list, but some pretty odd choices.

Where is Jetboy "Feel The Shake", Vain "No Respect", Roxx Gang "Things You've Never Done Before", Tigertailz "Bezerk"?

Bulletboys "Freakshow" picked over their debut? C'mon now....

Without using Google... Can anyone name a Precious Metal song that isn't the cover of "Mr. Big Stuff"? Didn't think so.

I also would not have included Lord Tracy, Lita, or Black n Blue, or Vixen. Hell, the first Tora Tora album kills any of these.

I dig Mr. Big, but their first album kills "Lean Into It", and their inclusion on this 'Greatest Hair Band Albums' list is suspect anyways. Exact same statement applies to Extreme.

GNR, and WASP should definitely be on here as well.

Nice to see Junkyard, Dangerous Toys, Saigon Kick, DAD and Love/Hate get their mentions, if nothing else maybe this list will prompt someone to discover these brilliant albums.

[Steve Argentina]

Fellows, i´m from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I really love the "hair metal" scene, but the name Real rock or sleazy real rock is more accurate to me.
I think that Phil Lewis encarnates the voice of this genre. He came of the brtitish heavy metal scene, to move to L.A. That´s make him unique.He looks glam, he sings glam.
the band Girl is a pioneer of the genre and it´s very underrated. (bad bad to me).
Another star singer underrated is Donnie Vie, he-sings-fuckin´good
Another thing : Dogs D´Amour.... Bohemian glam hardrockers... i see a few bands in this charts that not deserve the position in this ranking.. Twisted sister... please... is not serious. It´´s a joke band.
Bye Bye, Regards from Buenos Aires!

[Him]

Welcome, Steve. Always nice to get a fresh perspective on things.

[Dj]

Honestly, I would put Theater Of Pain over the first two Motley albums on this list as far as Glam goes... And I would also put the first Poison record at the number one spot because in my opinion that is THE definitive album of the 80s glam scene.
I also think that these lists would seem legitimate if it was a top twenty or top ten, and not a top fifty.

[Him]

That's a great point, Dj. And one that Lucas amply demonstrated the merits of as well.

Shorter lists tend to create a tighter selection of the definitive bands/albums/songs that make the cut (according to whoever it is). I guess it is a quality over quantity thing.

[Metalboy!]

It can easily be 50... I will get around to providing you the definitive list in order later this week. And DJ, Poison's "Look What The Cat Dragged In" comes in 4th in my book. You'll see who I've got in the first 3 spots then.

[Red6ixx]

Always hated the term Hair metal - seem derogatory to me

Some great albums on there - some dont exactly fit the genre they are claiming but Hanoi Rocks only at number 23? what is this a joke?

Anyway - i think i have virtually all of these anyway