Greatest Rock Bands of the '80s

Love all the bands mentioned in the Top 10, however Queen definitely deserves the #1 spot! Combine Freddie's voice (4 octaves) along with Brian, Roger and John, there is not another band to this day that can perform perfection like they did.

Best rock band of all time

Queen is the best

Queen were exceptional musicians in their own right. Together they were a kind of magic bringing out the best in each other. Freddie Mercury's 4 octave vocal range and masterful command of huge audiences was spectacular. Queen crossed every musical boundary. Every single band member had number one hits. No other band in history has done that. They deserve the number one spot.

GN'R was best in 80's
And you can't deny that

Best. Band ever. Their music was and still is the best. Growing up 80s. And listening to axel rose. And slash. On guitar. I will never forget. They are the better band

Lyrics, vocals, stage presence, guitars, ballads, drums, great covers (often better than the originals), down and dirty rock'n'roll, Izzy Stradlin. They had it all.

Best band of the 80s! One of the best frontman to ever touch a microphone

Of course the number 1 Hard Rock Band EVER!

Raw rock sound which is often imitated but never perfected

R you kidding? Move it up! These people are the root of hard rock! No other music has the kind of power that acdc has, from their crazy riffs, to screaming solos. Long live bon scott!

This is simply the best band ever! Check sales. Three or more generations of rock fans. They still sell out every venue around the world. I miss Bon!

No doubt this band is the best of the 80s. Livin On A Prayer is like the biggest hit of the 80s! By the way Livin On a Prayer topped more charts than Sweet Child O Mine. Guns n Roses only has one number one! Bon Jovi has four! How is Bon Jovi not number one! I went to vacation in a different country and even heard You Give Love a Bad Name, Bad Medicine, Always (90s), and Blaze Of Glory(90s). Shot through the heart! And you're to blame, You give love a Bad Name!

The year 2000 brought two things: The album "Crush" and me. Crush brought with it songs like Two Story Town, I've Got the Girl, and one of Bon Jovi's greatest hits: It's My Life. So, yes, I wasn't around for Slippery When Wet, New Jersey, Keep the Faith, These Days (or Crossroads), in fact, the first album that I got really into was This House Is Not For Sale, but once I went to the concert in Dallas, I haven't stopped listening since, and I actually ordered Keep the Faith about three days ago. (I love that song, Bed of Roses). My point is, the man, and the band alike are timeless legends, whereas, AC/DC is only known for Highway to Hell.

Best songs ever

queen

They’re like Aerosmith on a powerhouse status.

It's amazing how little credit this band get's sometimes. This is the band that changed the way a guitar is played. It virtually created the category hairbands, but there not considered a hairband because they are a 70's band. It basically saved heavy metal. This is the band that made it okay for radio stations to play heavy metal hard rock. The critics couldn't say that hard rock was Un talented musicians that just made a lot of noise, due to the virtuoso musicians the band had in it.

Musicianship, vocals, and songwriting..by far the best 80s band. A lot of great music during that period, but great albums and not just a song here and there.

The 50s had Chuck Berry, the 60s had Jimi Hendrix, the 70s had Jimmy Page, and the 80s had Eddie Van Halen. Eddie re-defined the way guitar is played and he will forever be a guitar god. David Lee Roth is one of the most iconic frontmen of all time and he had such swagger in his voice. Alex and Michael made an awesome rhythm section.

Need to be higher

Best original sounds and lyrics of all time.

Def Leppard's music transcends time. Definitely better than the rest of these bands on this list.

The definitive band of the 80s. Their sound ruled the decade and every other rock band copied their sound. Two words: Pyromania & Hysteria

From 81' to 89' Five albums with 15 hits! Motley crue is the best and most influential band of the 80's!

Best American Hard Rock/Metal Band ever.

Brought much excitement to rock in the eighties. Distinct sound. Love the music, videos, the whole package.

Best band ever!

He is cool should be in the top 5 he is a badass

Why is he on here if he's not a band?

Greatest rocker ever! For almost 50 years now. By far should be #1.

Best singer/song writer of the time. We love OZZY!

Metallica... 9?! below Van Halen and Def Leppard with their fake American accents!?

Metallica should definitely be top 5 for sure... I like the other picks though.

Only two or three bands should rank higher

Anal warts are tasty

They’re getting disrespected

They should be so much higher. 2nd behind queen

AC DC Guns and Roses should be the top three in any order. Aerosmith was the greatest turn around band of all time. No one will ever match the transformation they accomplished being they released their first record in 1974. They still rock like no other. Best live concert band of all time. 32 tractor trailers just to set there show up. Tyler still can sing unlike any other band on this list. Aerosmith can be either number 1 2 or 3. Their record Rocks influenced Guns and Roses according to Slash.

By far best rock band from 1985 into the early nineties. Also one of the best rock band of seventies. Also top rock song of all time, Sweet Emotion.

There's a top ten for that and last time I checked, thriller and Eye of the Tiger were the best. (they don't filter out regular artist and bands into their own top 10) Sorry. - dwf4258

My preference:

1. Iron Maiden
2. Metallica
3. Megadeth
4. Queen
5. Bon Jovi
6. Slayer
7. Motley Crue
8. Guns n Roses
9. AC/DC
10. Van Halen
11. Def Leppard - yungstirjoey666

Not the best band of the 80's and maybe slightly too high, however they are an amazing band and I'm glad they have a place in the top 10, Bruce is an amazing singer who can even compare to Freddie Mercury, Adrian, Dave and even Janis are have amazing riffs and solos that are both heavy and melodlodic, Nicko the drummer plays it all with a single bass drum, as a drummer I know that this is very hard and finally Steve has three talents, first his "galloping" style of bass playing gives such energy and heavy melody and rhythm, also his song writing skills can be marched by only a few song writers and he's also a pretty good footballer ;) in summery a great band that has a song for every occasion, my favorite, thank you

So, who put this list together? My list of the best of is COMPLETELY different... The 80's was more "metal" than this one indicates.

Deserves Top 10, should be number 1. Their music tells many stories. They spark imagination and inspire the listener to learn of history and what has happened in this world. Greatest band of the 80 hands down!

Another great underrated band. Mark Knopfler was a great guitarist. - Userguy44

So underrated every time.. top 5 for sure.

Best solo guitar of the 80's virtuoso!

One of the few on this list who don't sing about sex, drugs and partying. - BrianScott01

Great band. - Userguy44

Without Lou Gramm vocals, Foreigner would have been just another rock band screaming over loud guitar riffs.

Lou Gramm: No one could sing better. Beautiful voice.

A great band even today. I Want To Know What Love Is. His voice, the words, and the music make this one of my all time favorites.

The scorpions released a string of fantastic albums from the 1970's but from 1979 to 1984 they released 4 masterpiece albums, Lovedrive, Animal Magnetism, Blackout and the commercial masterpiece Love at first sting. Over their career they released masterpieces such as; In Trance We'll burn the sky; Another Piece of Meat; Rock you like a Hurricane; The Zoo; Blackout; Dynamite; Wind of Change; Send me an Angel; Catch Your Train; Dynamite; Always Somewhere; and the beautiful ballad Still Loving You

They ran with the best and beat many of them. Beautiful guitars and drums and beautiful vocals. Just beautiful

Rock You Like a Hurricane, Still Lovin' You, The Zoo Lovedrive, Loving You Sunday Morning, Send Me an Angel. I think I made my point.

Are you kidding me? The Scorpions should be top 5, not way down here. What in the world is X Japan? Why are they ahead of anybody on this list?

They are best band of any decade!

Everyone loved Joshua Tree and that was released in 87

Why are they not #1?

Surprised there not top 5!

the best

101/0 man

Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me.

These guys are awesome!

How is this so far down

Pink Floyd deserves much better than #22. - Userguy44

Simply the best lead solos of all time

Possition 23...? Whaat? They the best all times!

As good as Queen, if not better.

X Japan had some of the best music I never heard.

I love x Japan!

great band

Top 3 band of all time, period. Page is 1 of the greatest guitar players to live, Plant had extreme range and swagger and Bonham is up there with the drum gods!

These guys aren't 80s

You should know more about them. Their last album was released in 80s. - zxm

Best rock band ever!

The Police should be in the top 10. Really good band. - Userguy44

The Police are one of the greatest rock bands of all time. They should at least be in the top 15.

The police is a great band with great classic melodies, intelligent lyrics filled with feeling and a unique sound. Brillliant singer/songwriter (sting), one of the best drummers of all time (stewart copeland), and great guitar riffs by andy summers.The best 80's band, really Should be much higher on the list

Along with The Cars, The Police are arguably the best 1980's band.

These girls are a great group

The late 70's and early 80's Whitesnake was awesome.

Very underrated band. - Userguy44

Whitesnake is the band that got me into the awesome world of hard rock and glam metal. It is definitely supposed to be in the top 3.

Greatest band,greatest voice

TOP 8 THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOULD BE!

Who? - Userguy44

One of the best live bands I saw in the 80s.

Great band and Mike Reno can still sing. He sounds great.

Powerful genre-defining garage punk. Ian Curtis.. tragic genius.. As tragically great as Kurt Cobain..

Doesn't get any better than this!

Love them!

I think KISS is one of the best bands in the world and should be number 1! Kiss is amazing and they've worked really hard and I still popular and still going even thought they're in their 70's! That's true passion for music and for their fans.

KISS should be top 10 and its offensive that they aren't

Kiss is better than most of the bands ranked ahead of them. Multiple hits, shows, movies etc.

The only band in history that had an "Army". People paid money to join the Kiss Army. They had their own cartoon on national television! Should be number one!

I am listening to them right now

The Smiths, The Cure and U2 should be top 3. Morrissey and Marr best combo ever. So many GREAT songs in a short time. Nothing compares to The Smiths.

Morrissey & Marr... TOGETHER, I rest my case... But they are not rockers

Such a huge inspiration to many other bands after them

Should be so much farther up this list, come on

First off, they should be much higher on the list. Secondly, anybody who has heard the three albums Gary was on post Hi Infidelity would know he was getting pretty soft himself. Even on that album, Take it on the Run and In Your Letter, which are both great songs, are not exactly Kashmir.

Fantastic band, Hi Infidelity is one of the best albums in the early eighties.

Great band from the Midwest. Richrath was under rated as a guitarist / writer.

Awesome band the bestie my opinion

Took a page out of KISS beauty book on showmanship, One great song

It is nuts that some cuckoo clocks say Depeche are not a rock band...that is insane...that they are 37 is what is wrong.

Depeche Mode on a ROCK list? Don't get me wrong, I like Depeche Mode, but they're completely wrong here. Even the little text blurp calls them an "electronic and synth-pop band".

Not rock - Disturbedpotato

Should be WAY higher up the list. Immense showmanship and guitar playing.

Greatest band ever

How are these guys so far down the list? They were great! There is no way these guys shouldn't be in the top 10!

Best band of all time

NUMBER ONE. definitely. WITHOUT A DOUBT (other than bon jovi)

Mediocre talent...inept lyrics
over rated group that has NO place on this list
Kurt Cobain did the world a favour when he blew his brains out

I know they are a 90s band but they formed in the 80s

Early 90's. the death of hard rock music. AKA grunge music and a lot of the bands such as Poison, Motley Crue and Twisted Sisters have said so themselves.

They are my favorite band! I really like their song "Come as you are" and this is coming from a kid!

45th for a rock band that was constantly touring, making records, outsold concerts every year and sold millions of records during the 70's, 80's, 90's, 2000's and 2010's, come on! It's not fair! And with NO WITH NO HELP FROM THE MEDIA! Let alone the musicianship in their music, this band should and must be within the top 5!

Terrific band. Geddy Lee is the BEST high-pitch rock voice. Terrific high wattage power musical scales and riffs.

Best canadian band ever

Correction Best Band Ever!, Note: The musicianship and timeless classic works produced from these three are far and away beyond those of their contemporaries.

Majestic musicianship

My favourite band love playing their riffs on guitar. They should be on top Michael Hutchence is the greatest singer ever.

Have not been the same since death of lead singer a nice run for a few years

If you have never listen to their album before go now for the KICK!

If not for ACDC they were the best ever Aussie Rock band of all time. Classic after classic! should be way higher on this list!

Among the best!

Should be much higher on the list. Way too many great songs to be this far down!

Styx had so many good songs and it is honestly ridiculous that they're so far down the list

seriously?

They should be in the top ten with all of their hits!

Highly under rated band. For the 80's. Dokken should be a top ten

DRIVE

These guys were great new wave artists; great use of synths without being excessive, extremely catchy, and an overall tight sound.

The Cars are easily the best band from the New Wave movement, which was massive in the eighties. How are they not in the top ten?

Amazing band: "Just What I Needed," "Let's Go" and "Good Times Roll" are great singles, and their two debut albums are AWESOME.

Their album 'Through the Looking Glass' has superb versions of band members favourite records by other bands, including Bob Marley, Steely Dan, Cream, Elvis Costello, Bob Marley, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and George Harrison.

Do they actually count as an 80s rock band? I know, they were most successful in the 80s, but they were formed in the 70s. My favorite band of all time, it still just doesn't seem right to have them on this list.

Best band ever! Sure they their hit but the their back catalogue is even better, each album is great, and they are amazing live. Definitely the best band ever!

They rock as musicians, multitalents, songwriters, record producers. Love them and their music. Big respect for them! - zee_ma

The lead vocals looks like a girl and all they're known for is the Final Countdown really. I mean sure, they have more than one hit bit one people think of the band Europe, they think of the Final Countdown

Still going strong. A really talented group. Ironically their most famous hit is not one of my favourites but these guys should not be underestimated!

Europe had some of the best rock music of the 80's! They had so many good and catchy songs, from Superstitious to Cherokee to The Final Countdown, and so much in between! They are right behind Bon Jovi for me, and I mean RIGHT BEHIND!

They have 3 songs that anyone can tolerate what is the final countdown anyway they should not be on this list never mind being listed at 19.

Great 70's band- not so much in the 80's

Was the #1 group in the 80's

Eagles are the best

#1 enough said!

My moms favourite band. - Userguy44

They have been my favorite band since 1981!

MTV helped blow this band up in the early 80's

NO ONE BAND COULD TOUCH THESE GUYS IN THE 80S!.. THEY RULED!. Only other band I could think of was just as big was [ VAN HALEN[!. AT THAT TIME ANYWAY. DURAN SOLD OVER 110 MILLION ALBUMS WORLD WIDE!. Speaking for myself, THE REFLEX Is still my favorite on stage video of all time!. LOVE THE SONG!. THESE GUYS ARE AT 48?. SHOULD BE TOP 5 FOR SURE!. Plus they are still making new music every few years!. [ DURAN DURAN REMAINS! ]