Summary of 200 Greatest Rock Artists Of The 1980s
- Who was the biggest rock band of the 80s?
- What were the popular 80s rock bands?
- Who were the big 80s bands?
- What was the biggest rock hit of the 80s?
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The 1980s featured diverse rock bands, from stadium-filling hard rock and glam metal acts like **Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, and Mötley Crüe, to influential alternative bands such as R.E.M., The Cure, and The Smiths, alongside British New Wave icons like The Police and Duran Duran; plus metal titans like Metallica and Iron Maiden, and arena rock staples such as Journey and AC/DC, showcasing a decade of powerful guitar riffs, catchy hooks, and genre-defining sounds.
Hard Rock & Glam Metal (Hair Bands)
Guns N’ Roses: Broke through late in the decade with raw, blues-infused rock.
Bon Jovi
: Known for anthemic hits like “Livin’ on a Prayer”
.
Def Leppard: Fused pop sensibility with hard rock on albums like Hysteria.
Mötley Crüe: Defined the glam metal scene with over-the-top style and hits.
Van Halen: Continued their dominance with Eddie Van Halen’s guitar wizardry.
Poison, Whitesnake, Ratt, Europe: Popularized the catchy, melodic hard rock sound.
Alternative & New Wave
R.E.M.: Pioneered American college rock, emerging as major alternative stars.
The Cure, The Smiths, The Cult: Led the post-punk and goth rock movements.
The Police: Blended rock with reggae and New Wave.
Duran Duran, Culture Club: Defined the stylish, synth-driven New Wave sound.
Talking Heads: Fused rock with funk, new wave, and world music.
Heavy Metal & Thrash
Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax: Spearheaded the thrash metal movement.
Iron Maiden, Judas Priest: Continued to dominate the NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) scene.
Arena Rock & Classic Rock Staples
Journey: Delivered powerful ballads and arena anthems.
AC/DC: Maintained their hard rock thunder with Back in Black.
U2: Evolved from post-punk to global rock superstars.
Rush: Proved their progressive rock mastery.
This video showcases some of the most memorable rock bands from the 80s:
1m
WatchMojo.com
YouTube • Aug 25, 2025
You can also watch this video to see some forgotten but awesome bands from the decade:
57s
WatchMojo.com
YouTube • May 8, 2025
Best Rock Bands of the 80s : r/Music – Reddit
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Favorite 80’s rock bands and hair bands – Facebook
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Top 20 American Classic Rock Bands of the ’80s
Solo artists were excluded, meaning Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, Billy Joel and many other vaunted stars are absent from our l…
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First published:
2003-11-04
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