Greatest Hair Metal Band Of All-Time

This one's for you, Wally!


Vote here for your favorite hair metal band of all-time.

You can vote for 3 bands.

This will be a floating poll, meaning that if an entrant does not receive any votes and a suggestion comes along, they will be replaced and you can re-vote by clicking "cancel vote" at the bottom of the entry list at any time as often as you like.

This poll has no time limit.

Had to go with Crue, Whitesnake, and Def Leppard.

Just a suggestion ... I'd probably remove Guns N' Roses from the list. They rose above the hair-metal-band label. I'd probably replace them with Scorpions, Twisted Sister, or Skid Row.

Having grown up in the 80s, the hair-metal label always bothered me. It short changes the genre. Yeah, there was tons of crap that came out of that genre, but there was also a lot of great music. And I never understood why some bands got labeled hair metal while others didn't. Metallica was from that period, and all the members had long hair ... so why weren't they considered hair metal? Was it because they didn't go glam and their music was respected? Well, the same can be said for bands like Tesla, Mr. Big, Dangerous Toys, Badlands, and many other bands ... yet they were all labeled hair metal.

It seems kind of subjective. In no way would I ever compare a band like Poison to a band like Mr. Big or Skid Row. Yet they were all considered hair metal. And I think Whitesnake is every bit as good as Van Halen and AC/DC. Yet Whitesnake gets labeled hair metal, while Van Halen and AC/DC don't.

The label means a lot. Most people don't have a problem saying they like Van Halen, AC/DC, or Guns N' Roses ... yet they feel embarrassed to say they like Skid Row, Mr. Big, or Tesla. A lot of great bands have had their images tarnished by a label.


OK, stepping off my soap box.

Wallace108 wrote:

Just a suggestion ... I'd probably remove Guns N' Roses from the list. They rose above the hair-metal-band label. I'd probably replace them with Scorpions, Twisted Sister, or Skid Row.

Uhhhh... Twisted Sister IS on the list.

I'll take your suggestion and replace GNR with Skid Row (how the hell did I forget them! ). I almost didn't put GNR on the list for the same reasons you mentioned.

Wallace108 wrote:

And I think Whitesnake is every bit as good as Van Halen and AC/DC. Yet Whitesnake gets labeled hair metal, while Van Halen and AC/DC don't.

Plus they weren't always a hair metal band - they started out as a great Hard Rock/Blues band....



The later version was really a completely different band, with only David Coverdale in common.

I had to go with Motley Crue, Ratt, and Poison. I saw The Crue live twice and the Ratt/Poison tour was one of the best shows ever.

I had to go with The Crue... Van Halen's best stuff was pre hair metal... I II Fair Warning and Women and Children

I don't really consider Motley hair metal. Yea they wore make up, but they wern't pretty boys like Poison or Bon Jovi. My second Favorite band, after GNR. Saw them 5 times since they got back together in 05. Long Life Nikki Sixx!