Favorite of these hard rock albums from 1987/1988

[KevShmev]

Anyone who was watching MTV around this era remembers how much videos from all of these were played non-stop.

Pick your favorite.

I probably have to go with Whitesnake. That one has held up pretty well. 

[TAC]

I don't remember anything from Out Of This World. I had made a copy of The Final Countdown (the album) and listened to it a few times, but it never stuck. I did see Europe open for Del Leppard in the summer of '88, but looking at the tracklist of Out Of This World, I don't recognize a single song.


I voted Appetite as it's easily the most consistent album of the ones listed.

Whitesnake '87 is way overrated. New Jersey is a great album. I actually just listened to it a couple of weeks ago.

[KevShmev]

I don't remember anything from Out Of This World. I had made a copy of The Final Countdown (the album) and listened to it a few times, but it never stuck. I did see Europe open for Del Leppard in the summer of '88, but looking at the tracklist of Out Of This World, I don't recognize a single song.

Not an MTV watcher at the time?  The vidoes for Superstitious (my favorite song for a while in 1988), Open Your Heart and Let the Good Times Rock were all played to death.  And the rest of the album is good.  Much more consistent than The Final Countdown, which fizzles out in the back half after Cherokee.

[King Postwhore]

Bon Jovi. It was an album that hit all strides for them musically and commercially 

[KevShmev]

Bon Jovi. It was an album that hit all strides for them musically and commercially

I hated Bad Medicine, which was the lead single, so I was jaded in regards to the band for a bit because of it, but I was a big fan of Lay Your Hands on Me.

[HOF]

I only own Hysteria, so it got my vote.

[TAC]

I don't remember anything from Out Of This World. I had made a copy of The Final Countdown (the album) and listened to it a few times, but it never stuck. I did see Europe open for Del Leppard in the summer of '88, but looking at the tracklist of Out Of This World, I don't recognize a single song.

Not an MTV watcher at the time?  The vidoes for Superstitious (my favorite song for a while in 1988), Open Your Heart and Let the Good Times Rock were all played to death.  And the rest of the album is good.  Much more consistent than The Final Countdown, which fizzles out in the back half after Cherokee.

OK, I just dropped the needle on Spotify in this. I definitely do not recognize those songs.

87/88 was my sophomore year of college. Obviously there was no cable in the dorms. That summer I worked a lot, had a gf, and really didn't watch a lot of MTV. Maybe Headbanger's Ball on Saturday nights in the summer.

[KevShmev]

I don't remember anything from Out Of This World. I had made a copy of The Final Countdown (the album) and listened to it a few times, but it never stuck. I did see Europe open for Del Leppard in the summer of '88, but looking at the tracklist of Out Of This World, I don't recognize a single song.

Not an MTV watcher at the time?  The vidoes for Superstitious (my favorite song for a while in 1988), Open Your Heart and Let the Good Times Rock were all played to death.  And the rest of the album is good.  Much more consistent than The Final Countdown, which fizzles out in the back half after Cherokee.

OK, I just dropped the needle on Spotify in this. I definitely do not recognize those songs.

87/88 was my sophomore year of college. Obviously there was no cable in the dorms. That summer I worked a lot, had a gf, and really didn't watch a lot of MTV. Maybe Headbanger's Ball on Saturday nights in the summer.

Makes sense.

[T-ski]

I played the hell out of my Hysteria cassette, so it got my vote.

[TAC]

Yeah Kev, but like I said, I saw Europe on 7-30-88.

[EPICVIEW]

Whitesnake    PERIOD

Hysteria second    the rest  hard pass

The only BJ album worth anything is 7800

but Props to Axls Thin Lizzy Tat and Slash mimicking his look after Phil   so I do like that

[bl5150]

All 5 were on very heavy rotation for me in the late 80s..........Hysteria a bit less as I preferred the previous couple of albums.  If pushed I guess Whitesnake but loved them all at the time.


I agree with Kev re Bad Medicine .........normally I barely even notice lyrics but that song just registered as lame with me from the minute I heard it and put me off listening to New Jersey until I heard some of the other songs.   I like pretty much the whole album bar Bad Medicine.

[ProfessorPeart]

If Def Lep would have been anything from before Hysteria, they might have gotten my vote. I hate Bon Jovi. Not really into Whitesnake and I only own one Europe album and it's obviously not that one.

GNR for me.

[Cool Chris]

Def Leppard was my first "favorite band" and Hysteria was my second "favorite album," and the first or second CD I ever bought. Holds a special place for me, and something I don't listen to often yet will always enjoy.

Owned New Jersey and listened to it a lot.

Never got in to Whitesnake or GnR, and I am drawing a blank on Out of This World. I couldn't name two Europe songs.

[The Realm]

Appetite and Hysteria are the best for me. Both were huge albums on heavy rotation (on cassette) at the time. I was a big Bon Jovi fan too but New Jersey didn't have the same impact.

Like others have said I also don't know the Europe album and was never a big Whitesnake fan.

I voted for Appetite.

[jammindude]

I’m the first one to say that GNR (in general) are probably a bit overrated. I mean...they made the RNRHOF because they made one perfect album.


....but they did make *ONE* absolutely perfect album.  Appetite deserves all the praise it gets. But the wheels fell off that band before they even finished making it.

My vote goes to AFD, but with that caveat.

[MirrorMask]

Bon Jovi, New Jersey is one of his best albums.  Born to Be My Baby, Blood on Blood and Wild is the Wind are awesome.

[Elite]

None

[jingle.boy]

Out of This World and New Jersey were significant dropoffs from their predecessors, that's for sure.

I voted Whitesnake, though AfD is a very close second.

[Max Kuehnau]

Hysteria. (I'm not familiar with that Europe album though)

[WardySI]

'That' Europe album was great way better than Countdown IMO and Superstitious got loads of airtime here although for this list would sooner replace with Pump, a Van Halen album, Motley's Feelgood or even the debut Skid Row!?

Anyway as great as it was always thought Appetite a little overrated, the singles were key and while never loved Jovi  New Jersey was rather good. As big an impact as it was about half of Hysteria got tired quickly back when too...

So easy choice, as far as what album has aged the best and continues to get my airtime, my vote is Whitesnake's 87.

Not for the videos though but for the songs 

[Max Kuehnau]

'That' Europe album was great way better than Countdown IMO and Superstitious got loads of airtime here although for this list would sooner replace with Pump, a Van Halen album, Motley's Feelgood or even the debut Skid Row!?

Anyway as great as it was always thought Appetite a little overrated, the singles were key and while never loved Jovi  New Jersey was rather good. As big an impact as it was about half of Hysteria got tired quickly back when too...

So easy choice, as far as what album has aged the best and continues to get my airtime, my vote is Whitesnake's 87.

Not for the videos though but for the songs 

I didn't intend to talk nonsense about Europe. I'm not familiar with them enough to say anything about them. Very sorry.

[soupytwist]

Hysteria or Destruction. 

I much prefer the album either side of New Jersey (Slippery and Keep the Faith).

I can't name another song by Europe other than 'The Final Countdown'.

Whitesnake suck.

Would have stuck Permanent Vacation in there.  Dude (looks like a lady), Angel and Ragdoll were all over the airwaves.

[bl5150]

So easy choice, as far as what album has aged the best and continues to get my airtime, my vote is Whitesnake's 87.

Not for the videos though but for the songs 

Surely a bonus point for Tawny on the Shaguar?

[jingle.boy]

So easy choice, as far as what album has aged the best and continues to get my airtime, my vote is Whitesnake's 87.

Not for the videos though but for the songs 

Surely a bonus point for Tawny on the Shaguar?

I used to so love that song and video.  However, seeing recent photo's of Ms Kitaen has sullied my memories.  And if I never heard the song again, that would still make it the most overplayed / over-rated song of the 80s... right next to Pour Some Sugar.

'That' Europe album was great way better than Countdown IMO and Superstitious got loads of airtime here although for this list would sooner replace with Pump, a Van Halen album, Motley's Feelgood or even the debut Skid Row!?

Well, since those were released in '89, and the thread title is '87/'88, that probably explains why they weren't options to choose.

Stay tuned, I'm sure there will be an '89/'90 poll imminently.  If not from Kev, then from WildRanger.

[HOF]

Bon Jovi, New Jersey is one of his best albums.  Born to Be My Baby, Blood on Blood and Wild is the Wind are awesome.

JBJ loves alliteration!

[TheCountOfNYC]

Appetite for Destruction and it’s not even close. One of the top three debut albums of all time alongside Van Halen and Boston.

[bosk1]

Stay tuned, I'm sure there will be an '89/'90 poll imminently.  If not from Kev, then from WildRanger.

  Laughing because I legit thought this was a WildRanger thread at first, and had to do a double take when I realized it was Kev.

Anyway, it has to be Hysteria for me, although Whitesnake is a pretty close second.  That WS album is pretty close to perfect, especially side 1. 

Honorable mentions to both New Jersey and Appetite.  I don't listen to either anymore, but I spun New Jersey a TON after it came out, and I definitely respect Appetite, even if I don't care for it myself.

No idea on the Europe album.  I'm with TAC on that one.

[Stadler]

I don't remember anything from Out Of This World. I had made a copy of The Final Countdown (the album) and listened to it a few times, but it never stuck. I did see Europe open for Del Leppard in the summer of '88, but looking at the tracklist of Out Of This World, I don't recognize a single song.

Not an MTV watcher at the time?  The vidoes for Superstitious (my favorite song for a while in 1988), Open Your Heart and Let the Good Times Rock were all played to death.  And the rest of the album is good.  Much more consistent than The Final Countdown, which fizzles out in the back half after Cherokee.

OK, I just dropped the needle on Spotify in this. I definitely do not recognize those songs.

87/88 was my sophomore year of college. Obviously there was no cable in the dorms. That summer I worked a lot, had a gf, and really didn't watch a lot of MTV. Maybe Headbanger's Ball on Saturday nights in the summer.

That's me, exactly.    For me, though, I lived in a dorm complex called "The Jungle", so you can imagine which album got the most play in my world.   I quasi-dated a girl in '88 that was neck deep in love with Hysteria (and we both REALLY dug the b-sides a lot; there's no innuendo there at all), so there's that. 

  1.  Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction
  1. Def Leppard - Hysteria
  2. Whitesnake - Whitesnake
   
  3.  Europe - Out of This World
  3.  Bon Jovi - New Jersey

Tie goes to the runner, so Appetite if I had to pick one, but Hysteria has good memories (including, but not limited to the girl).  Whitesnake was big amongst the guys I would play hockey with when I was home for the weekends/summer, but I MUCH preferred Slide It In.   I only know the singles from New Jersey, and only sort of like "Lay Your Hands On Me"; the rest you can have.  Not much of a latter day Bon Jovi fan.  I don't know one song from the Europe album.

[WilliamMunny]

Hysteria by a country-mile.

[KevShmev]

Hey now, I am the originator of these types of threads here, not the copycat. 

[El Barto]

I've never heard anything from the Europe album, so that one gets my vote. Bon Jovi and Leppard were played to death. Just made me sick of them. There's only one song I like on Appetite (running Axl's vocals through a flanger covers up a multitude of sins). I don't like the Whitesnake album based on general principle (great blues rock band, terrible metal band). That leaves the relative unknown.

[KevShmev]

I've never heard anything from the Europe album, so that one gets my vote. Bon Jovi and Leppard were played to death. Just made me sick of them. There's only one song I like on Appetite (running Axl's vocals through a flanger covers up a multitude of sins). I don't like the Whitesnake album based on general principle (great blues rock band, terrible metal band). That leaves the relative unknown.

This made me LOL for real.

[Kotowboy]

Out of all those - the only band I'd enjoy listening to would be Bon Jovi.

Not into hair metal or Hair 80s Rock or whatever you wanna call it.

I did really enjoy Keep The Faith era Bon Jovi back in the day.

I've never ever clicked with GNR. As with Megadeth - the voice kills it for me.


... Oh and Def Leppard are WAY too processed for my tastes. They sound like the "rock" demo on a Yamaha Keyboard.

[HOF]

... Oh and Def Leppard are WAY too processed for my tastes. They sound like the "rock" demo on a Yamaha Keyboard.

I know exactly what you mean (and that’s essentially how the guitars were recorded on Hysteria), and yet I love that sound for what it is (rather than what it’s not).