The Most Important Rock Bands Of The '80s

You might think rock music's heyday was over by the '80s. There was plenty of commercial success still to be found, for sure, and Nirvana hadn't hit the scene yet. But The Beatles and Led Zeppelin were old news, and the stuff from this decade was over-processed, corporate cheese.

But not so fast. The decade was actually filled to bursting with boundary-pushing rock 'n' roll innovation. While plenty of bands obviously owed their very existence — and certainly their success — to the giants that preceded them, or to ongoing trends (like the MTV craze), there were a lot of other artists charting their own course. So many great rock artists graced the '80s, in fact, that several worthy contenders — including Depeche Mode, Dire Straits, Iron Maiden, The Cure, Poison, Skid Row, and Genesis — simply couldn't fit on this list. (Also, sorry Rush fans — that group formed a bit too early to qualify for this list. But they're not forgotten!)

But the bands that did make the cut are the best of the best. From U2 to Springsteen to Guns N' Roses, these are the most important rock bands of the '80s.

Stadium rock crooners Journey are almost synonymous with their most famous single, and one of the most instantly recognizable songs of all time: "Don't Stop Believing." There's no denying the song is an all-time classic.

But as their profile on the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame site explains, the power ballad masters have more to offer than that one tune. There's "Open Arms," for one, plus "Stone In Love," "Wheel In The Sky," "Faithfully," and plenty of other guilty pleasure classics that demand to be belted at the top of your lungs while flying down the highway with the windows down (via AllMusic).

And don't let their pop chart sensibilities fool you either: these guys were serious musicians. Classic-era frontman Steve Perry's talents have been well documented, Rolling Stone listed him as one of the best singers of all time, and that aforementioned Rock Hall article notes he's had a huge impact on modern artists like Kelly Clarkson, current Queen frontman Adam Lambert, and Arcade Fire. But other band members are no chumps. Next time you hear a Journey song, try to listen to the stellar musicianship behind those anthemic, sing-along choruses. Don't worry about missing out on those, by the way: you'll have plenty of time to enjoy them, since they'll be stuck on a loop in your head for days after even a brief listen.

Van Halen's virtuosic musicianship and party rock performances, along with Def Leppard's infectious, earworm hooks, helped bridge the gap between glam rock and heavy metal, and thus played huge roles in the formation of what would become pejoratively described as hair metal. But Mötley Crüe is arguably the first and most influential band that actually fits within that genre, as opposed to being a stylistically adjacent but external influence upon it. After all, Liveabout says most other '80s hair metal acts swam in their wake.

But as Durango Herald points out, Môtley Crüe is more famous for being Môtley Crüe than they are for writing Mötley Crüe songs. In other words, tales of their hotel-trashing debauchery, drug addictions, deadly car crashes, and literally being resurrected from a fatal overdose (Far Out Magazine says founding bassist and songwriter Nikki Sixx was revived after a heroin overdose in 1987) have collectively eclipsed their actual music. After all, who read or watched "The Dirt" to see how "Home Sweet Home" was written?

Still, it's unfair to ignore their music. They don't have anything profound to say, and they're certainly not The Beatles when it comes to penning infectious melodies. But at the end of the day, "Girls, Girls, Girls," "Shout at the Devil," and "Kickstart My Heart" (via AllMusic) are perfectly serviceable glam metal anthems when you and your 52-year-old buddies are plastered on cheap beer at a Friday night Crüe concert.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Working for The Atlantic, Eric Harvey acknowledges that R.E.M.'s legacy has suffered for the last few decades: a predictable result of an old rock institution overstaying its welcome with a string of mediocre albums that are increasingly out of touch with a musical world that was leaving them behind.

But he also acknowledges that it hardly matters. When it comes time to write the history books, R.E.M. will be remembered as one of America's greatest and most important rock bands, based on the strength of the first decade and a half of musical and performative excellence. "Try naming another rock group without a traditional sex symbol on its roster that released only very-good albums for its first 16 years of existence," he writes, "albums that were willfully arty and seemingly uncommercial and yet continually built the band's following."

He makes a compelling point. Throughout the '80s and well into the '90s, R.E.M. released hit record after hit record after hit record. As the article points out, no one else — not Creedence Clearwater Revival, not the Beach Boys, not the Grateful Dead — can boast such a strong string of classics. It would take a lousy streak far worse than the group's comparably mediocre output in recent years to diminish that legacy.

Some artists use outlandish costumes and personas or elaborate stage theatrics to make their shows an exercise in escapist fantasy. That's all well and good if it works. But Bruce Springsteen never bothered. The Boss has never pretended to be anything other than a denim-clad, guitar -linging Jersey boy who always meets audiences exactly where they are: at a weeknight concert with a plastic cup of cheap beer and a few buddies to sing along with until your voice gives out. The earnest simplicity of his act is exactly why it's so enduringly popular.

For Rolling Stone, who listed Bruce as one of the greatest musical artists of all time, Jackson's Browne writes, "In many ways, Bruce Springsteen is the embodiment of rock & roll. Combining strains of Appalachian music, rockabilly, blues and R&B, his work epitomizes rock's deepest values: desire, the need for freedom and the search to find yourself."

Stephen Metcalf concurs over at Slate, describing Springsteen as an icon of pure, mass appeal, rough-around-the-edges Americana (even if some or most of it is an act). It's the kind of magical, stripped-down, heartland, twangy authenticity that needs no lasers, dry ice, pyrotechnics, or trend-chasing to fill stadiums and souls, even decades after his "Born in The USA" heyday.

They technically got their start in the '70s, with a self-titled debut record that Loudersound says helped save hard rock in a rough era. But the full weight of Van Halen's impact wouldn't be felt until the next decade. By that point, frontman David Lee Roth's outrageous, hilarious, colorful, acrobatic showmanship had set a new bar for every rock and metal frontman the world over, and Eddie Van Halen's revolutionary shredding techniques had produced legions of cheap imitators.

But although everyone was scrambling to get in on the craze, nobody could rock out quite like these four hungry dudes from Pasadena. You could even make the argument that the group's innumerable knockoffs were trying to rip off the wrong stuff. According to Ultimate Classic Rock, Toto's Steve Lukather, a long time friend of Eddie's, says the late legend was disappointed to see so many of the shredders that defined the '80s list him as an influence. Van Halen weren't about showboating, or turning music into some kind of a competitive sport. They were about the music. "When everyone knows how to do it," Lukather said, "it's not magic anymore. It's amazing, flawlessly executed — but where are the tunes? ... These people have got all these chops and they've got no songs."

No one can deny that Van Halen had the chops. But between "Panama" and "Jump," it's safe to say Van Halen had the songs as well.

They didn't drunkenly smash their way onto the charts until the tail end of the decade, and can hardly be described as part of the hair metal scene they came up alongside. But the "Most Dangerous Band In The World" made such an impact with their 1987 debut, "Appetite for Destruction," that they've since come to define the era. Armed with rock radio staples like "Welcome to the Jungle," "Paradise City," "My Michelle," and "Rocket Queen," Revolver Magazine says the landmark hard rock masterpiece reintroduced filthy, gritty, sleazy, rough-around-the-edges rock to a heavy music scene dominated by over-processed pop metal and rampant inauthenticity.

They weren't the only ones playing raw hard rock, of course, but perpetually pissed-off frontman Axl Rose, top-hatted guitar hero Slash, bassist Duff McKagan, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, and drummer Steven Adler had the right look and sound at just the right time. And chart-topping ballads like "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Patience" helped nudge general audiences in their direction who wouldn't be caught dead at a Slayer show. Not convinced of their broad cross-appeal? What other seedy LA based rock outfit could play with Elton John one minute (per Rolling Stone), Michael Jackson the next (via Ultimate Classic Rock), and Metallica, Skid Row, and Soundgarden after that (via Triple M)? Guns N' Roses had that enviable "it" factor in spades, even if they were too high to realize it at the time.