The 100 Best 80's Hair Metal Band Songs
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What's a 'Hair Metal' song? Hair Metal is a genre of music inhabited by 1980s glam rock stars who spend as much or more time on hair & make-up than on writing their music. While being labeled a hair band definitely has negative connotations, obviously some are more talented than others.
Photograph by DEF LEPPARD
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Without further adieu...
1. Runnin' With The Devil - Van Halen
2. Sweet Child O Mine - Guns N Roses
3. Livin' On a Prayer - Bon Jovi
4. Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
5. Photograph - Def Leppard
6. Round and Round - Ratt
7. Shout At The Devil - Motley Crue
8. Metal Health (Bang Your Head) - Quiet Riot
9. Rock You Like A Hurricane - Scorpions
10. Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard
11. What It Takes - Aerosmith
12. Welcome To The Jungle - Guns N Roses
13. Looks That Kill - Motley Crue
14. Tell Me What You Want - Zebra
15. Panama - Van Halen
16. Foolin' - Def Leppard
17. Eyes of a Stranger - Queensryche
18. 18 & Life - Skid Row
19. No One Like You - Scorpions
20. Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi
21. Paradise City - Guns N Roses
22. Don't Stop Runnin' - Y&T
23. Rag Doll - Aerosmith
24. Bringin' On The Heartbreak - Def Leppard
25. I'll Wait - Van Halen
26. Modern Day Cowboy - Tesla
27. Runaway - Bon Jovi
28. Turn Up The Radio - Autograph
29. Sister Christian - Night Ranger
30. Too Young to Fall In Love - Motley Crue
31. Love Song - Tesla
32. You Give Love A Bad Name - Bon Jovi
33. Rock of Ages - Def Leppard
34. Nobody's Fool - Cinderella
35. Lick It Up - Kiss
36. Mr. Brownstone - Guns N Roses
37. Talk Dirty To Me - Poison
38. Still of the Night - Whitesnake
39. Alone Again - Dokken
40. Wild Side - Motley Crue
41. Jump - Van Halen
42. Somebody Save Me - Cinderella
43. Wait - White Lion
44. Little Suzi - Tesla
45. Youth Gone Wild - Skid Row
46. Back for More - Ratt
47. Home Sweet Home - Motley Crue
48. Tears Are Falling - Kiss
49. She Don't Know Me - Bon Jovi
50. Cum On Feel The Noize - Quiet Riot
51. Rock Rock (‘Til You Drop) - Def Leppard
52. Coming Home - Cinderella
53. Heaven's On Fire - Kiss
54. I Don't Believe In Love - Queensryche
55. Shot In The Dark - Ozzy Osbourne
56. In My Dreams - Dokken
57. Scared - Dangerous Toys
58. The New Thing - Enuff Z'Nuff
59. Don't Treat Me Bad - Firehouse
60. Madalaine - Winger
61. Nightrain - Guns N Roses
62. Still Loving You - Scorpions
63. Women - Def Leppard
64. Tell Me - White Lion
65. I Wanna Rock - Twisted Sister
66. Down Boys - Warrant
67. Bad Medicine - Bon Jovi
68. I'll See You In My Dreams - Giant
69. I Remember You - Skid Row
70. You're In Love - Ratt
71. Shake Me - Cinderella
72. Fallen Angel - Poison
73. It's So Easy - Guns N Roses
74. Seventeen - Winger
75. Blaze of Glory - Jon Bon Jovi
76. Reason To Live - Kiss
77. Dreams in the Dark - Badlands
78. The Way It Is - Tesla
79. Free - Stryper
80. Fly High Michelle - Enuff Z'Nuff
81. Big City Nights - Scorpions
82. Burning Like a Flame - Dokken
83. Is This Love - Whitesnake
84. Hot For Teacher - Van Halen
85. Every Rose Has It's Thorn - Poison
86. Shelter Me - Cinderella
87. High n Dry (Saturday Night) - Def Leppard
88. Patience - Guns N Roses
89. Monkey Business - Skid Row
90. Lay It Down - Ratt
91. I Could Never Be Without You - Enuff Z'Nuff
92. Kid Ego - Extreme
93. Kiss Me Deadly - Lita Ford
94. Gettin' Better - Tesla
95. Burn In Hell - Twisted Sister
96. In & Out of Love - Bon Jovi
97. I Saw Red - Warrant
98. Wanted Man - Ratt
99. Get It On - Kingdom Come
100. I Wanna Be Loved - House of Lords
THIS is not a Hair Band, this is HEAVY METAL
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good list and with Peter on the whole Kiss thing. What wasn't to love?
have to say, "sweet child of mine"... massive overplay. every time I hear it now I want to buy a set of Billy Mayz Mighty Ear Plugz off an infomercial. :(
Yeah, I know. I could do without the first half myself. However that guitar solo by Slash is really truly amazing and the song rides out perfectly from there. "Where do we go now?" Indeed.
Now you're talking- Hair Metal rocks! I LOVE your #1 song pick. Runnin' With the Devil is my absolutely favorite Van Halen song! Photograph is another favorite song.
Oh my gosh, do Angela Harris and DJ Funktual agree? Someone check out the window to see if the pigs are flying yet. ;-)
Just kidding, DJ Funktual. You know I love ya! Aerosmith and Def Leppard- fantastic bands. Love your list, and agree, mostly.
Finnaly, a list with Down boys!! But I still say we need some Uncle Toms Cabin. I was only twelve when Cherry Pie came out. And Cabin always seemed the better song. Even to a tewlve year old skater punk. Thank you for omitting Crappie pie!!
Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinkin' Rich was the only album I had.
That Cherry Pie & Uncle Tom's Cabin stuff was just...well how much worse could they be? It's WARRANT for chrissakes.
no loverboy?
nice list man but you should off had more dokken up there
wicked to see the scorpions on there my ultimate band
Dude...Warrant's Cherry Pie is not on your list!?! That song is the essance of Hair Metal!
For a hair metal band that never got all the attention and fanfair, check out Love/Hate. They were awsome and kicked major arse in their day!
Hey the hometown boyz made it. Look at Zebra slidin' in at #14. The Big Easy's finest!
I like it and it was awosome but wher wasp
nice!, but i don´t think that scorpions is a hair metal band, but it´s near
and you forgot europe, la guns and others.
goodbye
this is musicTHIS
where the hell is metallica?
I agree with Mike Copeland. Anyway, a couple of your videos are down...removed by users and such.
Metallica is NOT a hair band. They are pure METAL!
I stand corrected. My sources were badly misled. Thank you for your time, sir.
Scorpions The Zoo shoulda been up there, and what about Bullet Boys... Smooth Up definitely fit in with this crowd!
white lion - broken heart, and lets get crazy should be the first on the list
Dokken, Stryper, Winger... HOUSE OF LORDS! This hub is full of win!
Great List!!! I love a bunch of these songs~!!
i think skid row and quiet riot are great
where is girls girls girls, once bitten twice shy and jump
Metalhead666 asked "where is girls, girls, girls"
Yeah!! Where are the girls? I think Lita Ford is the only female in the list. (Twisted Sister don't count, even on a technicality)
Let's remember great bands like 'Heart' and 'Vixen', maybe even 'The Bangles' and 'Cher' when she was into her Rock phase :-)
i LOVE POISON BUT WHERE ENUFF ZNUFF THE WERE PEACE LOVING HAIR BAND BUT THEY ROCKED
Awesome list. I was hoping for a Kings X song or two. Regardless, I can really appreciate the thought you put into the top 100.
These songs bring back excellent memories from my teen years. Good times!
I'm just glad to see that Cinderella made it. Not alot of people put Cinderella on their list....They kick ass...
es muy buena esa banda
cinderella aunke la empece a kxar recien porke ando en bucsca de bandas glam y hair cosa que ami me gustava desd e chico gracias a europe ke es hair y no lo confundan con glam ¬¬
xd bueno me viro es una muy buena banda...
adios
Awesome list.. but just two that I didn't see that I would have liked to make it... Silent Lucidity by Queensryche and Round an Round by Ratt! Love those two!
You forgot ZZ TOP, they have a lot of hair. HAHA great list.
amazing list....some suggestions
boyz are gonna rock - vinnie vincent invasion
we're not gonna take it - twisted sister
beautiful girls - van halen
cradle will rock - van halen
anything by ozzy
krank
saxon
keep your eye on the money - motley crue
There is no LA Guns. I also think it should include the Bullet Boys smooth up in ya. I still think its a pretty good list.
No Iron Maiden? Too metal? Not enough hair?
rad list anyway!
more def leppard
ok list but more kingdom come more whitesnake i mean cmon david coverdale behind robert plant he is the best singer ever yall agree
anybody on this page give me your top 20 singers i will mention some and comment robert plant david coverdale sabstian bach sammy hagar joe elliot chris cornell bryan johnson steve tyner please comment on yours those are not in order thank u
umm i with you nolan i like chris cornell but you might need to put layne stayley and on the top 100 greatest hits of hair metal they need more def leppard do you agree
yes byran i do agree more def leppard and i forgot to put layne stayley paul rogers and john bon jovi
i know people dont like kingdom come that much but cmon they more songs need to be in there and kiss or 70s not 80s
glad to see tesla jeff keith and tesla still kick a!! to this day!
I love how you put a spicifeced one for slashes solo
Where is Alice Cooper? where is W.A.S.P?
Digging the GNR love. But all that Dokken without "Dream Warriors?" Two things that defined the 80s, hair metal and slasher flicks merge in triumphant glory!
GREAT LIST BUT U FORGOT GREAT WHITE!?:( ONCE BITTEN TWICE SHY, ROCK ME, SAVE YOUR LOVE!:) GREAT LIST THOUGH!!!
are u kidding 3 dokken songs no breaking the chains george lynch rocks
Into the fire by Dokken would have been suitable
Ratt!!
Awesome, I loved the 80's and never really left! lol. cool list there were many of my favorites that I had forgotton!
Some people need too check they Hair Metal again.Groups like Scorpions, Queensryche,Van Halen,Aerosmith,Kiss,They arent Hair Metal Bands.They are just Rock and Roll bands.Bands Like Skid Row,LA Guns,FireHouse,Def Leppard,Motley Crue,Ratt,Poison,Dokken,Cinderella.They aree Hair Metal Bands,But its a fair list
One band that is always missed by alot of enthusiats is the big band from Russia "Gorky Park", famous for the three songs - Bang - Try to find me - Peace in our time.
Great tunes from this band. The bands original cd from 1987 is out of print but a person can still find a copy around if you look hard enough. I own a bar in the midwest and we have an annual Big Hair Band party every year, where everyone dresses up in their best big hair band costume and rock out to the great tunes of the era.
Kuddos on the list!!
Gotta agrre with hikemup - Gorky park rocked (also found by Bon Jovi)!!
Great list, everyone's got their own personals, it's all very subjective!
Kiss hould make the top 10 for sure!
"The Ultimate 80's Hair Metal Tribute" We live what your doin! KUDOS
Great job,boys!!!How 'bout Ozzy's "Crazy Train" though?(And I'm glad you included Quiet Riot's "Cum On,Feel The Noize" to this grouping,and Skid Row's "Eighteen And Life To Go should DEFINITELY not be ignored!!!)
i do have one thing to tell nolan fowler, both chris cornell and layne stayley were involved in bands that were catagorized as "grunge" not "hair metal".
Great list!
What about Mother Lovebone "Stardog Champion" or "Stargazer"
Awesome list but I don't think I saw Rocket by def leppard or Unskinny bop by poison. And forgive me for being wrong,Coz I'm 15, but what about some/more Alice Cooper or iron maiden. And I know it's more rock but what about Joan Jett?
Need some Europe
This list pretty much covers it all. Good work.
Larry Vashon
good list. im 16 and i can say you left a bunch of great songs off that really shoulda made it. i just kinda looked through it really quick, so forgive me if they are on the list, but what about Wicked sensation by lynch mob? or heartbreak blvd by shotgun messiah, or baby's on fire by great white, or shoot you full of love by vinnie vincent invasion?
This is actually one of the better lists I have seen for hair bands and their music, the only problem I have with it is Skid Row, though they came out in 1989 was not technically a hair band AND monkey business came out in 91, after the death of hair metal. All in all though Great list.
winger - miles away
slaughter - fly to the angels
great choice rock on
Wait...I didn't see Ronnie James Dio.
~Rainbow In The Dark~ Anyone.........
LA Guns - never enough is an amazing amazing track! Awesome list though ! Hair metal!!
i agree with your list mostly.
your definately missing some real good songs tho.
im surprised you missed alot of good van halen and poison. oh and mötley too !
i Agree with the list mostly but you forgot some good ones by alice cooper like: House of fire or Poison.
Cool list. The 80's was my generation's music. Smooth Up in ya by Bullet Boys is a great song.
CAN ANYONE HELP me on this. I had Hair Nation (Sat radio) on the other day and a song played that I really liked - about the only part I can recall is "Here me calling" or "Here the Calling" (it may have been "Do you" OR "can you" before that. I didn't write the info down at the time. All the google & youtube searches have been dead ends - not finding the actual Hair Band song I heard. I know that is not a lot of info to go off of, but does anyone have any ideas? THANKS!!!
Guns n' Roses sucks and are overrated, they cannot nearly touch Whitesnake and Motley Crue's guitar work.
Yeah, Whitesnake's last 2 albums are way stronger than everything Guns n' Roses has ever put out, and way stronger than all that 30 Seconds of a Breaking Theory of a Nickelback in Three Days of Seether crap that is going on and all sound like the same shit.
But Motley Crue now kind of sucks.
Whitesnake > Insert Hair band
It's already been said by several responders to this hub, but I have to say it again...great list, but it needed more Dokken!
What other Dokken tracks do you recommend?
Great list. I am using it to compile my music list for the 80's Hairband spinning ride I am instructing!
Round and Round!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would definitely put Kiss Of Death and Mr. Scary on there...and maybe Dio's "The Last In Line", even though I watched the video for that one the other day and I wonder what the hell it was supposed to mean...
This was a great list. Lots of youthful memories here!
No Danger Danger?
Where the hell is Bad Seamstress Blues?
Epic FAIL....
all amazing bands man but you are missing some songs. and bands for that matter lol. love how you put ratt in there though, they are one of my all time favorite bands. And I SEE WINGER lol by the way other than seventeen...i don't remember a single good song by them.
Motley crue is my favorite band and I'm only 16! Their first album is the best of all time
this list is awesome! theses are all the songs i have on my ipod! kinda strange for a 16 year old
asphalt ballet, check em out!
were is the bullet boys dude
what about faster pussycat???
Rock n roll metal lyk it !
What about Manfred Mann? They even wore HEAD bands and they have a LOT of hair...
... Scorpians an Aersmith??? Their from the era, but they arent hair metal. if your gonna have them in there, you need to include AC/DC!?!
Where is L.A. Guns, Dio, Metallica, Europe and Duran Duran???
this list is a dive.
I am 16, unfortunatly i grew up in the wrong era, cuz im obsessed with hair metal. i love modern day thrash metal and scremo, but hair metal is what broke the bounderies, and make metal what it is today.
It's better to burn out, Than fade away!
-Josh
la guns need to be on the list the reason is that with la guns their would be no guns n roses so la guns rocks all their songs from 1988 to today rock n rolll
Winger??? R U serious? I'm headed for an ear ache.
does anyone remember the song about whiskey and water, that's the only lyrics I can remember, but it's NOT
the "Tindersticks" it's some other band from back in the 90's.
so glad to see that someone else appreciates enuff znuffs music.i love them.they so should have made it bigger than they did,they are so talented.
i was suprised not to see faster pussycat on the list for house of pain.its a great song and a great band.
Don N. "Here me Calling" Not a hair band but I think you were hearing Steve Miller Band's Here Me Calling
A lot of good bands, but with no Iron Maiden, the list is useless.
O.K. are you serious no Ozzman? No Maiden? No Priest, WTF...These guys kept it all in check and without them well fuck your list!and enuff znuff...
I do NOT consider Iron Maiden "Hair Metal" thus it isn't included in a list with Enuff Z'Nuff, get it? It's a compliment.
This finally proves my point to my dad that Cinderella has amazing songs out there.
There should definitely be more leppard so many underrated songs like gods of war, die hard the hunter, billys got a gun, comin under fire plus, where's animal rocket and too late for love
There should definitely be more leppard so many underrated songs like gods of war, die hard the hunter, billys got a gun, comin under fire plus, where's animal rocket and too late for love
I noticed that Play With Me by Extreme wasn't on the list... Nuno Bettencourt was a highly overlooked guitar player
No Billy Squier - The Stroke? Serious oversight, probably could have knocked off a couple of songs by artists who already had one on the list like Poison or Motley Crue.
Bon Jovi discovered Cinderella? I know they discovered Skid Row...didn't know they got Cinderella their start, as well. Cool! Love Bon Jovi and was happy to see a lot of their work there...as well as most of the others. Long live 80's hair bands!
that should definitely make a damn 5 disk boxset of those 100 songs I'd buy it
this list dint please me at all..!! where is STEELHEART??? steelheart's "she's gone" should in d top ten..!!!!! milijenko matijavic rocks \m/\m/
I really enjoyed the list. Love all those songs. I have a few personal faves to add. First, ANYTHING from the Electric Angels. (1990 but close enough). Hurricane's I'm on To You or Over the Edge. XYZ's Inside Out.Thunder's Dirty Love. the Riverdogs Toy Soldier( i love vivian campbell!) Hardline's Taking Me Down. although some of these are early 90's they still count to me. Oh yeah, and Frehley's Comet with Rock Soldiers! that song kicks MAJOR ass!!
Just my opinions
How do we know?
"Ace is back and he told you so!!"
Frehley RULES!!
Not to beat a dead horse, but the Electric Angels Rattlesnake Kisses is not only a great song from an underrated band, but it has a young Christina Applegate in the video. WIN WIN!!!
slip of the lip-Ratt did I miss it?
Lynch Mob - Wicked Sensation
WTF lol WHERE IS FRIEGHT TRAIN BY NITRO AND ANY SONG OFF BANSHEE'S CRY IN THE NIGHT EP.
I think some people missed the fact that this is a "hair metal" list. Although most of the suggested additions are great bands, certainly some are NOT hair metal bands. I won't point fingers so the transgressors don't have to feel bad about themselves.
what about firehouse, partied in the 80s best era ever
That's a nice list of songs BUT no one has noticed that the #1 song is from 1978...
electric circus w.a.s.p
PCaholicDotCom 3 years ago
Cool list!! Glad to see KISS made it :-)
Peter