10 Perfect Rock Singles Of The 80s

The high water mark of the hair metal scene came with a top hat wearing guitar player and a singer who's ego was unmatched. Guns came at the tail end the movement. Twisted Sister had disbanded in 88, and Mötley Crüe were approaching almost ten years in the game. Cheap thrills had been achieved with derivative solos and lyrics about partying - it was time for a change.

Enter Guns N' Roses. They were just as hard rocking as anything else, but there was substance to their music. Slash had the depth of an old bluesman. He could hammer the riffs home and shred the fretboard like no ones business, but there was a soulfulness to his playing.

Paradise City exhibited Slash's ability to turn his hand to any mode. It had the rich blues licks, the heavy driving riffs, and countless injections of face-melting finger work - all the while, the melody would appeal to even the most staunch pop enthusiast.

Despite the many controversies surrounding the troubled Axl Rose, he exhibited a knack for melody and clever wordplay that was a rarity on the Sunset Strip. Appetite For Destruction changed the game when it was released in '87. Two years later, Paradise City became one of the group's most successful numbers when it was rereleased as a single.