Tough Guy

If you know what's good for you, don't even blink wrong when these tough guys come strutting by — they're the kinds of dudes who'd smack down the sun just for shining in their eyes. When Bo Diddley asks "Who Do You Love?" there's more warning than wondering going on, and the man with the "cobra snake for a necktie" better get the right answer. Even if George Thorogood weren't spitting lyrical daggers on "Bad to the Bone," the vicious snarl of his guitar alone would be enough to make mountains move out of his way. And you've never known troublemakers until you hear about the hard-rockin', hell-raisin' roughnecks running wild in the streets on Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town." In Next Steps, get caught in the crossfire of heavy metal hellions and rockabilly renegades.

Hard cases like these characters were born to pick fights and stir up trouble, so make sure you don't become part of the collateral damage when heavy metal desperados Judas Priest get hell-bent on "Breaking the Law." The murderous growl of A3's "Woke Up This Morning" will forever be inextricably linked to the deadly doings of The Sopranos — killer theme song, no? And sometimes you don't even need words to get a sense of menace brewing in the air; the doomy, distorted roar of Link Wray's raging guitar on the instrumental "Rumble" is the kind of trick that shouldn't be tried at home without wearing a Hazmat suit. Dance with danger in Deep Cuts, courtesy of some crash-and-burn country and hell-raising hip-hop.

By now you've worked up the courage to confront the cutthroats who're bad enough to scare the bejeezus out of the tough guys you've already met. When Run-DMC raps about wielding "grammar like a hammer" they aren't kidding, as their battering beats and shattering rhymes kick down the door on "Tougher Than Leather." Nobody's scarier than a country boy pumped up on a dangerous dose of liquid machismo, so the faint of heart had better hide behind the bar when honky-tonkin' outlaw Travis Tritt's cowboy hat busts through the roof on "Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof." And, let's face it, nothing sounds tougher than a big old blast of Canadian heavy metal, and Helix unleashes their big guns (with prejudice) on "The Past Is Back (To Kick Your A*s!)."

Rock 'n' roll, hip-hop, country, blues — when you cut right to their core, there's a sense of danger that makes them all move. And you don't get that from a bunch of Boy Scouts on their best behaviour. Our Tough Guy Essentials selection is packed with some serious customers who come swaggering out of your stereo sporting surly sneers, muddy boots, and a badder-than-thou attitude that gives their music life. We've risked black eyes and bloody noses in order to corral them all in one place just so you can get a feel for what it's like to be on the edge of something thrillingly unpredictable. So tune in to the toughest guys you'll ever hear, and raise some hell without even leaving your seat.