10 Best Hard Rock Albums Of The 80s
4. Appetite Of Destruction - Guns N Roses
Guns N Roses were a bit of an anomaly in Los Angeles when they first broke in the mid 80's. While the band definitely had the hard rock sound of their contemporaries, their approach was so much more earnest that they left every one of their peers in the dust. Hitting the ground running, Appetite for Destruction remains the definitive record of GNR's career, with songs that served as a diary of the seedy life of downtown LA.
Whereas the other hair-metal acts seemed to be angelic prettyboys as they strutted across MTV, Guns N Roses were the hard-rocking street rats whose passion could not be matched. The absolute venom that Axl Rose poured into every line he sang was perfectly balanced with Slash's melodic solo work. Even the subtle touches like Izzy Stradlin's guitar tone and Duff McKagen's sing-along bass breaks took them from a great rock band to masters of arranging rock tunes.
Without having to put on a glam aesthetic to appease their audience, GNR put every ounce of themselves into this record and came out with an album that could go toe-to-toe with every great rock band that came before. Hair metal may have already been waning, but Appetite for Destruction sent it to its deathbed.