'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, with tracks like John Mellencamp's true-blue heartland sing-along "Jack & Diane" and Bryan Adams' nostalgic fist-pumper "Summer of '69." Elsewhere, Ontario's Honeymoon Suite delivers "New Girl Now" with polished swagger and heavy metal madman Ozzy Osbourne boards a hard-charging "Crazy Train." Keep it rolling into Next Steps for more righteous '80s rock.

The beauty of '80s rock is that you could score a little bit of everything. So while hair-metal hell-raisers Mötley Crüe were revvin' it up on the Sunset Strip, hot on the trail of "Girls, Girls, Girls," Rick Springfield had his sights set on one lady in particular, in the hook-heavy blast "Jessie's Girl." Meanwhile, the Romantics were packing some Detroit thunder into the power pop classic "What I Like About You" and Darby Mills was stretching her tonsils to the breaking point fronting Headpins on "Don't It Make Ya Feel." Ten great years, three great playlists — Deep Cuts have more '80s rock monsters.

If there's one thing that defines great '80s rock, it's that there's no one sound to define it. Billy Squier may have scored with rafter-raising arena rock on his heavy-pettin' "The Stroke," but the Georgia Satellites nailed it just as dead-on with their down-home, Southern-fried stomper "Keep Your Hands to Yourself." Ratt apply their brand of metalicious "ratt 'n' roll" to the subject of karma on "Round and Round," and future Canadian Idol judge Sass Jordan rocks out in fine style with "Tell Somebody."

Rock in the '80s kicked off with Pink Floyd's scary-good alienation anthem "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" and never looked back. The decade crammed in a lot of outstanding tracks, as U2 planted a landmark with a tune as expansive and inspirational as the great American West on "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," and Blondie beckoned for a good time with "Call Me." The Clash unleashed their post-punk classic "Rock the Casbah," and power trio Rush conjured up their 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.