Like most human beings, I am a person of many moods and many tastes, and I cannot predict which island I will be stranded or that I will be addressed appropriately for my undetermined lengthy stay. These focus lists don't contribute to the overall goal of the thread of trying to ascertain the essential albums of all time and all genres. It's mostly just for fun.
This time, I am continuing my eccentric album lists with Hair Metal albums. What is Hair Metal? Its hard to pinpoint as many musicians straddle the lines or completely ignore them. Some groups evolve and change over the years, while some just experiment with new directions. Hair Metal isn't just a particular sound, its also a look and an attitude. One could even argue that some albums by one band might fit the bill, but other albums don't and that's fine.
One thing to keep in mind is we're talking
albums. Not just the ones that had a couple of favorites or well-known songs, but complete albums with tracks that were, as the saying goes, "all thrillers, no fillers". And they had to be albums I owned, or at least heard more than once in its entirety. So here's my picks in no particular order:
Jacob's 10 Essential Hair Metal Albums
- Extreme - Extreme (self-titled debut)
- Def Leppard - Pyromania
- Whitesnake - Whitesnake (self-titled)
- W.A.S.P. - W.A.S.P. (self-titled debut)
- Skid Row - Skid Row (self-titled debut)
- Dangerous Toys - Dangerous Toys (self-titled) I would honestly pick any of their first three albums.
- Bulletboys - Bulletboys (self-titled debut)
- Love/Hate - Black Out in the Red Room
- Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction
- Jackyl - Jackyl (self-titled debut)
Bonus Picks:
Once again, I will pick a single greatest hits album and a single soundtrack for the category.
- Greatest Hits: The Best of Both Worlds - Van Halen
There's actually a number of Van Halen albums I could pick for this category, and some I would not. But there is no divide between Roth and Hagar for me. Both frontmen brought a different sound and energy to the group and still remained Van Halen. So this one splits the difference nicely. And if I had to choose one from each singer (and had space on the list), I'd probably pick
1984 and
5150.
- Soundtrack - Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
Honestly, I'm a little hard-pressed to find a soundtrack filled with "hair metal" tracks. The soundtrack from the first movie also qualifies, but the sequel had more familiar tunes by popular bands at the time. At least I can say owned both at one time.