10 Underrated Hard Rock Songs Of The '80s

Hair metal has become the unintentional dead horse that most hard rock fans love to poke fun at. The era of teased hair may have been a novel concept at first, but as time has gone on, people have understood the difference between novel and novelty. However, are we just going to forget the amount of kickass the genre had at the best of times?

As the genre first started to come into existence, Ratt were one of the most reliable bands on the Strip, with riffs and hook lines that felt right at home next to old school Aerosmith. Though the band never got past their one big hit Round and Round, their real appeal came through on Wanted Man. Instead of the boy bandification of what hair metal would become, this riff alone is the epitome of how dangerous the streets of Hollywood could be at the time.

The backing track deserves all the praise in the world, but the way Stephen Pearcy spits these lyrics make him sound like a street urchin who has just crawled out of the gutter. Ratt may be called a relic of the '80s for some, but Wanted Man is one of the few hair metal songs that actually had some chutzpah behind it.