Although not as well as known as some of their peers (the Clash, the Sex Pistols, the Damned, etc.), first wave U.K. punk rockers Generation X burst onto the scene at the same time as the others. And while they enjoyed some moderate success in their homeland, Generation X would become better-known as the launching pad for their singer, Billy Idol, who would go on to achieve great commercial success come the '80s. Originally formed in 1976, Generation X (which was named after a book that focused on battles between the Mods and the Rockers during the '60s) was comprised of guitarist Bob Andrews, bassist Tony James, drummer Mark Laff, and fronted by Idol. The group was eventually signed up by Chrysalis Records, resulting in a self-titled debut album in 1978 (the U.S. and U.K. versions contained different track listings), as Generation X became one of the first punk bands to appear on the popular British TV music program Top of the Pops.

During one of Tracii Guns' infamous breaks from L.A. Guns, Killing Machine was unleashed upon the world. First impressions bring The L.A. Guns' American Hardcore to mind, yet a little more palatable. The first track, "Kill Machine", sets the tone for this semi-dark, semi-thrash release - "No feelings, no emotions, no beauty, no nothing," no shit! When "Shitkicker" starts cranking I dare you not to get up and turn your living room into a mosh pit, smashing whatever and whomever is foolish enough to not get out of your way.

Cuts is an EP released by L.A. Guns in 1992. It contains a mixture of cover songs and original tracks.

This 1998 Standback Records release is the only L.A. Guns disc to feature the lineup of Ralph Saenz on vocals, Johnny Crypt on bass (not to be confused with original rhythm guitarist Mick Cripps), Steve Riley on drums, and band constant Tracii Guns on lead guitar.

In the late '80s, TSOL's original mouthpiece (now billed as Jack Grisham) and skins-pounder Todd Barnes reappeared with a metal-gilded project of their own, Tender Fury.

In the early years of Los Angeles punk, one of the premiere hardcore bands was T.S.O.L., which stood for True Sounds of Liberty. Offering poppier music than many of their contemporaries and featuring an image that appealed to punks who wanted to dive deeper into the gothic subgenre already being offered by many British punk bands, T.S.O.L. became hugely popular on the local scene but never translated that success to national exposure because of their ever-shifting lineup and sound.

Exclusive bonus CDs released with Purchase of The Walking Dead Seasons 3 & 4 on DVD and Blu-ray

As the auteur of post-punk suburban adolescence, director John Hughes appropriately enhanced his '80s movies with relatively harmless new wave soundtracks. Where earlier films like The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles included the occasional Wang Chung or Simple Minds track, though, 1986's Pretty in Pink boasted a full lineup of "rock of the '80s" highlights.

Heavy Metal Love may seem like a strange title, but it actually is named after a Helix song that is included on this ten-track budget-line collection. All of the songs on Heavy Metal Love are power-ballads – and in case you're unfamiliar with that term, a power ballad is ballad adorned by heavy guitars. One of the prototypes for the style, Kiss' "Beth," is included, but most of the album consists of '80s power ballads like Europe's "Carrie," Yngwie Malmsteen's "Dreaming (Tell Me)," Vinnie Vincent's "Love Kills," April Wine's "Just Between You and Me," Great White's "Lady Red Light" and Vixen's "Edge of a Broken Heart." There aren't many classics here, but these lesser-known cuts may be of interest to hardcore fans of the genre.

After regaining a large amount of credibility with their fans with the release of “Erase The Slate”, an album the reestablished the band’s riff driven metal credentials and spelled the end of any future experimentation in the murky world of grunge mediocrity, Dokken came to a crossroads of sort and had to decide whether they would continue revisiting their past of try something different. Having dropped the flamboyant 80s guitarist Reb Beach, they ended up picking up former Europe guitarist John Norum, an axe slinger whose metal credentials are a bit firmer than Reb’s, his appearance on “The Final Countdown” not withstanding. But unlike the expected result of more 80s inspired metal, what ends up coming about is a dark and somewhat doom rock oriented exploration of Don Dokken’s deeper side.

Dokken's 1995 album was more of a marketing move than an inspired musical collaboration. All of the members from the group's highwater mark in the '80s returned for Dysfunctional, but they sound as if they haven't resolved their differences yet. None of the songs are fully-formed or feature memorable hooks. Don Dokken's voice has worn away over the years, and he can no longer sell mediocre material on the basis of his charisma. George Lynch plays fine, but his solos sound as if they were pasted on after the original track was recorded. While it's good to have the guitarist back in action, he deserved a better platform than the songs on Dysfunctional.

Silverchair's debut album, Frogstomp, faithfully follows the alternative rock tradition of Nirvana and Pearl Jam, which means that the group of Australian teenagers winds up sounding not like their idols, but like Stone Temple Pilots and Bush. For their age, their instrumental capabilities are quite impressive, as the guitars and vocals growl with the force of rockers in their early 20s. At the same time, their songwriting abilities aren't as strong, and they are never able to break away from the standard grunge formula. Nevertheless, the record does deliver a collection of songs replicating the thunder of "Tomorrow."

The same year that Living Colour announced its breakup, Epic issued a 17-track greatest-hits collection, Pride. As the collection proves, the band was ahead of their time and extremely influential – they were combining musical forms such as heavy metal and funk/rap/soul years before the musical form was commonplace (circa late '90s). But unlike the bands of the late '90s, Living Colour actually had thought-provoking messages in their music – racism, crooked landlords, the immortalization of celebrities/world leaders, etc. – as well as being superb musicians/songwriters.

Exalted as "the Female Bon Jovi," Vixen spent several years paying dues on L.A.'s hard rock circuit before enjoying national exposure in 1988 with a self-titled album and the mega-hit "Edge of a Broken Heart." The all-female band's popularity was short-lived, however. EMI had high hopes for Vixen's next album, Rev It Up, but was disappointed when it didn't do nearly as well as expected. It isn't anything to be ashamed of – although not remarkable, such slick pop-metal songs as "Bad Reputation," "Love Is a Killer," and the single "How Much Love" are, in fact, slightly stronger than the songs heard on Vixen. One thing EMI wouldn't give Vixen was a lot of chances to return to the top of the charts. By the mid-'90s, alternative rock had become the rage, and the type of pop-metal Vixen specialized in was out of vogue.

Formulated from the very glamorous elements that made hair metal in the '80s so decadently enjoyable, Vixen was the female equivalent of Warrant: rocking just hard enough so it was OK for macho hair metal dudes to enjoy and just soft enough so that they would be the darlings of the Dial MTV circuit. The formula paid off in spades, and the Richard Marx-penned lead single "Edge of a Broken Heart" blazed up the charts and usurped the throne from many of the macho hair metal dudes in all of their hair spray and make-up ridden glory. The rest of the album had the predictable, gratuitous power ballads, hard driving party tunes, and everything else in between that rock bands were pontificating about in the late '80s. It's not the best of the era, but certainly not the worst.