'80s Rock

Hey, the '80s weren't only about skinny ties, shoulder pads, and synth-pop. Fact is, the second-to-last decade of the 20th Century was prime time for real-deal, straight-ahead rock 'n' roll, and we've got the '80s Rock Basics to prove it. Motörhead deals up "Ace of Spades," heavy metal madman Ozzy Osbourne bares his gums to "Bark at the Moon," Judas Priest flies the flag for British heavy metal with "Living After Midnight," Rose Tattoo shakes a defiant fist on "We Can't Be Beaten" and Guns N' Roses' "Paradise City" showcases the axe-magnificence of Saul Hudson – aka Slash. Keep it rolling into Next Steps for more righteous '80s rock.

The beauty of rock in the '80s is that you could score a little bit of everything. While Yes were left all alone to ponder the "Owner of a Lonely Heart," David Lee Roth left Van Halen, shook a leg, and conquered the world with "Just Like Paradise," while Split Enz gave us an off-kilter melody master class on "History Never Repeats." Men at Work exported their Aussie groove worldwide with "Who Can It Be Now?," and Hoodoo Gurus cleverly added two different choruses to "What's My Scene" — the standout track on third album Blow Your Cool. Ten great years, three great playlists — Deep Cuts have more '80s rock extravaganzas.

If there's one thing that defines great '80s rock, it's that there's no one sound to define it. The Georgia Satellites nailed their beefy brand of Southern rock dead-on with a down-home stomper called "Battleship Chains," Marillion explored that middle ground between prog and alternative rock with tracks like "Market Square Heroes," Nirvana offered a taste of things to come with the finessed grunge of "Love Buzz" from 1989 debut album Bleach, and Ronnie James Dio continued his career post-Sabbath with stunners like "Rock 'n' Roll Children."

The '80s crammed in a lot of great — nay, superlative — rock, right across the spectrum, as U2 planted one of several expansive sonic landmarks with "New Year's Day," Billy Idol switched codes from punk to rock with "Rebel Yell," INXS cracked the U.S.A. with "Listen Like Thieves," and old dogs the Who and the Stones showed no sign of letting up with "You Better You Bet" and "Start Me Up" respectively. The Cult unleashed their goth-grinder classic "She Sells Sanctuary" and Canadian power trio Rush conjured up its mainstream breakthrough epic, "Tom Sawyer." We've got all that, and then some, in our '80s Rock Essentials, a set of songs that makes collecting the sounds of a decade as easy as a download.