10 albums for fans of 80s hair bands

Metal Health, by Quiet Riot (1983)
I was in junior high when this album came out, and I remember at the time there was a huge rivalry (at least on MTV) between Quiet Riot and Def Leppard, mainly driven by this album and Def Leppard's Pyromania. For the time, Metal Healthwas a pretty hardcore rock album, and it's still fun to listen to today. My favorite songs here were "Cum On Feel the Noize," "Metal Health" and "Battle Axe."

Midnight Madness, by Night Ranger (1983)
Is Night Ranger truly a hair band? Well, they had the hair, though they were lacking in spandex, crunchy guitar solos and the stage attitude. Still, I think they qualify, even though they're on the softer side of this music. Either way, this particular albums had some classic ballads, including the unforgettable "Sister Christian," along with stronger songs like "(You Can Still) Rock in America" and "Passion Play." If you like 80s music, even if you're not a fan of the hair bands, you've got to listen to this album.

Stay Hungry, by Twisted Sister (1984)
Now we do a complete 180. Twisted Sister is totally opposite from Night Ranger. Twisted Sister had the spandex, the guitars, the makeup, the hair and the attitude. This band's music was a bit more heavy metal than many mainstream hair bands, but that doesn't mean they weren't an awesome band. This album had some MTV favorites such as "I Wanna Rock" and "We're Not Gonna Take It," but it also had some creepy metal tunes like "Captain Howdy" and "The Beast."

Under Lock and Key, by Dokken (1985)
Dokken was never the most popular of rock bands, but they always held a special place in my heart and they had a few hits, especially off this, their third studio albums. Hit songs like "In My Dreams" and "It's Not Love" can be found here, but there were also other cool tunes like "Will the Sun Rise."


The Last Command, by W.A.S.P. (1985)
The band W.A.S.P. is arguably more heavy metal than true hair band, but they had the hair and the spandex and lots of stage antics. This particular album is their best, in my opinion, featuring rocking songs like "Wild Child," "Fistful of Diamonds" and "Widowmaker."


Soldiers Under Command, by Stryper (1985)
There was even a Christian hair band. That's right. If you weren't around or don't remember, Stryper was a Christian rock band in the 80s. This band wasn't usually my thing, but I have to admit this album had some pretty good songs with "Together Forever," "Reach Out," "Surrender" and more.

The Final Countdown, by Europe (1986)
Nearly 25 years later, I still can't get the song "The Final Countdown" out of my head, especially the horns section. This is the third album from this band and it was their biggest album with hits like "The Final Countdown," "Carrie" and "Cherokee." Europe was never a favorite band of mine, but they were alright.

Pride, by White Lion (1987)
This was back in the day when MTV made a band's career, not that White Lion wasn't deserving in its own regard. Because it was. This particular album is the band's best-known, including such great hits as "Wait," "When the Children Cry" and "Tell Me," all staples of the softer side of hair rock.

Winger, by Winger (1988)
Please, give poor Winger and frontman Kip Winger a break. Sure, they weren't the most metal of all the bands out there, and sure Beavis and Buttheadhad lots of giggles making fun of Winger in the 1990s, but this band wasn't nearly as bad or wussy as its unfortunate reputation (thanks mostly to Beavis and Butthead). Winger had some cool songs, such as "Seventeen" on this album. Other groovy tunes were "Headed for a Heartbreak" and "Hungry." This album even contains a very interesting cover version of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze."

The Disregard of Timekeeping, by Bonham (1989)
Lead by Jason Bonham, son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, this band hit just at the end of the hair band craze. And while this band never did huge, they had a hit (and pretty good song) with the Zeppelinesque tune "Wait for You." Overall, I always felt this was a pretty good album that didn't receive nearly as much attention as it deserved. Other cool tunes here include "Just Another Day" and "Bringing Me Down."

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