Greatest 80's Rock Band?

[fsunole]

van halen, Queen, and aerosmith debuted in the 70s... wouldnt qualify as an 80s band... unless OP asking who was the best band in the 80's (not necessarily formed/debuted in the 80s)? Mine would be GNR, even though Stones are my favorite band of all time.

[chezball]

Originally Posted by BGT Masters

Guns N Roses, Van Halen, AC/DC pick one. It wouldn't matter to me. There are a few others I'd throw up there but these would be my main ones.

This + ZZ top

[corndog]

Originally Posted by 88horsepower

The Cars are one of my all time favorite bands. I'm a huge Benjamin Orr fan, too. Unfortunately, of The Cars records to choose from, they're 2-2 in the 70's with an unbelievable self-titled album and Candy-O being a massive follow up in 1979. I'm just not as crazy about Panorama or Shake It Up, but love Heartbeat City (who doesn't?) and find some tracks on Door to Door to be underrated. Damn good to see them get some love on here. They had a hell of a run.

IMO, the best song combo in all of rock music. All Mixed Up is rarely heard on the radio, yet it's my favorite Cars song.

Elton John's Funeral for a Friend/Love lies Bleeding is a close second.

[Steve2112]

RUSH is my favorite band (as you can probably tell from the '2112' in my user name), and, while I was born in 1982, so my musical awareness really wasn't there in the '80s, I do not consider RUSH an '80s band. Most of their absolute greatest stuff, other than Moving Pictures, is from the 1970s...and please don't give me Permanent Waves as an '80s album...it was conceived, written, arranged, and recorded in 1979 (for those that don't know, the release date was 1/1/80). I do happen to love their '80s synth era material (especially Power Windows), but I think most fans older than I would consider them '70s...or, at the very least, across too many decades to be considered '80s). Great to see a few people admit to being fans before I even saw the thread!

Basically the same with Queen...the majority of what I consider their best (Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, Night at the Opera, News of the World) was released in the '70s.

So, to answer the question, I'd go with Metallica or GnR. Really can't stand U2.

As an aside, when the topic turns to the '80s glam/hair bands, my favorite is Stryper...and I'm an atheist!

And one last thing, going back to RUSH and the folks who can't stand Geddy's voice...what's tougher for you guys to stomach...early, screechy Geddy? Or, 62-year-old Geddy trying to pull off early, screechy Geddy? Here's "Lakeside Park" and "Anthem" (the first half of the encore on the recent R40 tour).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPPOlLNytUA

[56LightsOut56]

1980~Blizzard of Ozz
1981~Diary of a Madman
1982~Speak of the Devil
1983~Bark at the Moon
1986~Ultimate Sin

Ozzy formed in the 80's......I remember getting Diary of a Madman for my 13th birthday!

[88horsepower]

Originally Posted by nfcsaints

Always thought 'Strap me In' had a great guitar hook.......underrated album.

Yes!!!! I love that track and find it to be very catchy. Elliot Easton is such a master at developing catchy hooks. I first heard it when they played it on SNL back in '87. Still sounds good today, too. Much harder sound than some of their pop tunes from Heartbeat City.

[DetectiveChrome]

Tough to crown a #1 but I think I'll give it to Def Leppard

1983~Pyromania
1987~Hysteria

Were some of the biggest records of the 80's. They also had a couple records in the early 80's but those two I mentioned were massive successes.

After them, in no order,:

Van Halen
Queen
Motley Crue
Guns N Roses
Rush
Bon Jovi
AC/DC
Iron Maiden
Metallica
Megadeth
Ozzy
U2
ZZ Top
Journey
Judas Priest
The Clash
Duran Duran & Hall & Oates (both had hits for days in the 80's)

[Saraste]

Originally Posted by corndog

IMO, the best song combo in all of rock music. All Mixed Up is rarely heard on the radio, yet it's my favorite Cars song.

Elton John's Funeral for a Friend/Love lies Bleeding is a close second.

Amen to both of those. Moving in Stereo is incredible with headphones.

I am also a fan of a couple of pairs of songs from The Alan Parsons Project:
Sirius/Eye In the Sky from the Eye in the Sky album. Most sports fans would recognize Sirius as it is what the Chicago Bulls starting lineup has been introduced to for over 25 years.

A Dream Within A Dream/The Raven off of Tales of Mystery and Imagination is the other.

I will add another band that was absolutely huge in Europe in the 80's but would not qualify here because they were mostly unkknown and that is Marillion. Script for a Jester's Tear and Fugazi are solid albums with the title track on Script and She-Chameleon, Incubus and Fugazi being great tracks on Fugazi. Misplaced Childhood and Clutching At Straws (an album dedicated to alcohol) are awesome all the way through.

[Kent Clements]

Van Halen for me !

[CubKings]

Motley Crue for me.

[BGT Masters]

Originally Posted by chezball

This + ZZ top

ZZ is up there for me as well. There are really so many its hard to narrow it down to a few let alone just one.

[HBMC]

Originally Posted by nfcsaints

I'm gonna get BLASTED for this, but I don't care......since it's opinion based...

RUSH

Permanent Waves
Moving Pictures
Signals
Grace Under Pressure
Power Windows
Hold Your Fire
Presto

That's a pretty decent decade of rock that covers the evolution of what rock 'sounded' like during that period....IMO.

Flame away, Rush haters! LOL

As a Rush fanatic, I can agree that they're absolutely spectacular live and they are an acquired taste, but Hold Your Fire is hot garbage. That's one album that I cannot bear to listen too lol.

Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures and Signals in succession are three of the greatest albums recorded. Even Grace Under Pressure had quite a few good tracks on it. Power Windows is full on cheese mode but many of the songs are at least pleasing to listen too. Presto wasn't bad, but Hold Your Fire is bad lol.

[88horsepower]

Originally Posted by HBMC

As a Rush fanatic, I can agree that they're absolutely spectacular live and they are an acquired taste, but Hold Your Fire is hot garbage. That's one album that I cannot bear to listen too lol.

Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures and Signals in succession are three of the greatest albums recorded. Even Grace Under Pressure had quite a few good tracks on it. Power Windows is full on cheese mode but many of the songs are at least pleasing to listen too. Presto wasn't bad, but Hold Your Fire is bad lol.

With regard to Hold Your Fire, I kind of like Force Ten and Time Stand Still, but the rest is forgettable. Listening to Geddy's yelping at the beginning of Lock and Key is actually cringeworthy.

[Deputy Rick]

Van Halen gets my vote forsure.

[seabass97166]

Just listened to Sanitarium, Master of Puppets, Fade to Black...yep I still vote Metallica > everyone else

[Footballcardguy]

Not much love for the European stuff. The Clash, Tears for Fears, Duran Duran, The Smiths, The Cure, The Police, Dire Straits, Depeche Mode, and of course U2. Also, INXS, Men at Work, and AC\DC from Australia. Not saying these are my favorites, just deserving of a mention.

[DrDamo]

The best rock band of the '80s was Sonic Youth, of course, but the most successful in terms of album sales is a toss-up between Guns N' Roses, U2, Metallica, and Van Halen. AC/DC was still popular in the '80s, but a lot of their success was in the '70s. The same thing goes for Bruce Springsteen: he was very popular in the '80s, but he was also very popular after. Metallica is close; their best albums by far were released in the '80s, but they peaked in terms of success in the '90s.

[Nuurgle]

Jethro Tull

[Saraste]

^^^ LMAO!!! Almost 30 years later that is still a bad topic. I never had a problem with Jethro Tull...in the 70's... They had nothing of note in the 80's and certainly not as a metal band!

[HBMC]

Originally Posted by 88horsepower

With regard to Hold Your Fire, I kind of like Force Ten and Time Stand Still, but the rest is forgettable. Listening to Geddy's yelping at the beginning of Lock and Key is actually cringeworthy.

The Mission might be one of their worst examples of cheese, it's a far cry from a song like The Enemy Within or New World Man. I know Alex loved to go super treble on his guitar and very jangly, but by that time it was overdone lol.

Originally Posted by Nuurgle

Jethro Tull

Tull did indeed win the first Metal Grammy

[TASS]

Really more of a late 70's band but still pretty influential in the 80's was Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy

[nfcsaints]

Originally Posted by HBMC

The Mission might be one of their worst examples of cheese, it's a far cry from a song like The Enemy Within or New World Man. I know Alex loved to go super treble on his guitar and very jangly, but by that time it was overdone lol.

I see what you did there.......'far cry'

Just goes to show that music tastes are so diverse and subjective that even Rush fan's opinions are 'subdivided' (right back atcha). Hold Your Fire was huge for me as a keyboard/synth player. The end chorus of Turn the Page literally changed the way I played (layered foot controlled midi overtone w/ melodic main). To each, their own.......

With that said, Afterimage is the only song I learned on keys, bass, and six-string......

[Nyfancam01]

GUNS N ROSES

and not even close.

Also "The Smiths"

[HBMC]

Originally Posted by nfcsaints

I see what you did there.......'far cry'

Just goes to show that music tastes are so diverse and subjective that even Rush fan's opinions are 'subdivided' (right back atcha). Hold Your Fire was huge for me as a keyboard/synth player. The end chorus of Turn the Page literally changed the way I played (layered foot controlled midi overtone w/ melodic main). To each, their own.......

With that said, Afterimage is the only song I learned on keys, bass, and six-string......

I don't hate the album on it's own, but because it's the redheaded stepchild of Rush, I gotta do my part to smack it around, with Kid Gloves of course.

That's pretty cool to read you're a keys/synth player, I dabble in guitar but never enough to actually be better. I used to play in the Orchestra in HS and stopped as soon as I graduated, have been playing guitar on and off since my early teen years.

[95jeffcat]

Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns, Cinderella, Def Leppard, and White Lion