10 Best Hard Rock Bands Of The 1980s
3. AC/DC
Out of all the bands that seemed to be on the fringes at the start of the 80's, AC/DC were prime candidates for bands that could be left by the wayside. After a stellar run in the 70's with fantastic albums led by squealer Bon Scott, the band was abruptly brought to a halt when their vocalist was found dead from alcohol poisoning in 1980.
The core songwriting team of Angus and Malcolm Young decided to soldier on after Scott's demise with new vocalist Brian Johnson. With baited breath, fans awaited the band's next release Back in Black, and were met with the one of hard rock's greatest albums of all time. The band's signature crunch and party-centric lyrics also helped influence quite a bit of the hair metal bands towards the mid-80's like Cinderella and Poison.
With a great first outing with Johnson, AC/DC spent the rest of the 80's delivering even more ferocious hard rock on tracks like "For Those About to Rock" and had an even greater smash once the 90's rolled around with "Moneytalks" and "Thunderstruck." When the band was left with a questionable future, AC/DC overcame death like a phoenix from the ashes and dominated the competition.