Features

• Original recording reissued
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (72)

An extreme U-turn towards the heavy lane....
Any normal sane person would assume that after VHII that Van Halen would go in a pop direction. Sister, you are wayyyy wrong! Instead Van Halen divides up the styles like a musicapollaza all on one album: heavy metal, speed metal, blues-infused rock, cajun style to "lalalalalalalaolalala!" Their most diverse outing thus far.
Ass Kicking Rock And Roll
When I had vinyl record albums this was my very first Van Halen Album. I played it so much I just about wore it out. This is One of Van Halen's finest. This is their third album and their best ever. The guitar lick at the beginning of And The Cradle Will Rock is awsome. Then it goes right into Everybody Wants Some with some great guitar work. My favotite song on the CD is Take Your Whiskey Home. Wow how we used to party to this song. All in All there is not a bad song on this CD. There are only nine songs but what a huge sound of great music. I like David Lee Roth better with Van Halen than when he sung solo. Van Halen is probably the best Rock & Roll Band Of All time in my opinion.

van halen rocks again
this is another classic vh album which has great guitar playing and dave doing his mumbling,"have you seen juniors grades" he just makes this album fun to listen too. i heard that dave never had full lyrics for the song so he just decided to add some low talking more or less, anyway its just awesome to hear these guys on this album. the guitar on fools blew everyone away in 1980. craddle will rock is a killer tune, then they follow that up by everybody wants some, a great party tune, fools also kicks ass, romeo delight is one of my favorite vh tunes of all time, loss of control is a little different but is good as well, take your whiskey home is another one of my favorite vh tunes, could this be magic is cool and catchy, in a symle ryhme is good too. another one of the best van halen albums of all time. hope you enjoyed my review. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Arena Rock    3. Hard Rock    4. Heavy Metal    5. Pop    6. Pop-Metal    7. Pop/Rock    8. Rock    9. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

When it was released in 1977, Read more

Reviews (87)

News of The World 1977 - Queen In Transition
Along with the change in the UK's social climate in the late 1970's, the raw, stark and passionate fury of a new generation of music was inevitably thriving and infiltrating the musical mainstream, tearing down the dominant progressive rock veil with a frenzied attack of buzz-saw guitars. And, finding themselves unfashionable and more than just a little unpopular, the heavily criticised and ever-controversial Queen were also evolving and adapting. News of the World, released 1st November, 1977, documents this transition.
Although others may disagree, this is the best of Queen
I've read reviews on this site (and in other places) that say News of the World 'gets old fast,' but this isn't the case for me.
All of what makes Queen great is here on one album.
The Queen juggernaut reached it's apex here with "News of the World." They were one of the biggest bands on the planet at the time. They had been all over the radio with huge hits like "You're My Best Friend", "Somebody to Love" and the ubiquitous, unique "Bohemian Rhpasody", but reached unprecedented levels with that huge combo single that opens the record.
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Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Arena Rock    3. Glam Rock    4. Hard Rock    5. Pop    6. Pop/Rock    7. Popular Music    8. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    9. Rock    10. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

While not quite as exemplary of the Boston quintet's '70s sound as Read more

Features

• Limited Edition
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (71)

Get Your Wings...I got mine
First and foremost, Get Your Wings is a great album chock full of great gems. The Bad Boys From Boston's second album is a considerably better effort than their first. This album is less raw but the band sounds like they have found their nitch. It spawned the hit Same Old Song And Dance. This album tends to be overlooked due to the fact that the next two they released turned into rock n roll masterpieces and skyrocketed them to fame. This is an album I never get tired of. Great early 70's bluesy Aerosmith.
2nd Album Is First True Signs of A Legacy ... You Gotta GetIt
Aerosmith is a rock mainstay. Okay... there's been ups and downs, ins and outs but the music and the hard rocking spirit always overcame all. Younger music fans know the Super Bowl performers and cameo artists of numerous films, but the die hards of Metaldiva's generation know this is THE definitive album for the band.
Awesome Follow up to debut - AERO-fanatic
This CD is so good.Better than their first but Dream On is stilled the best song made.This album is a masterpiece and along with the rest of the CDs, every single song is a hit and are amazing.Get your hands on get your wings.You will be blown away
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Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Arena Rock    3. Hard Rock    4. Heavy Metal    5. Pop    6. Pop/Rock    7. Popular Music    8. Rock    9. Rock/Pop   

Features

• Original recording reissued
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (84)

The best VH CD by a hair over VH and Fair Warning
The main reason why this is better then the debut and Fair Warning is that there is not one song on here that is at least 4.5 stars. The only problem I have with this is the same problem I have with all the Roth era VH albums and I think everyone would agree with me. They are too short! That does not make sense to make an LP that is less then 32 minutes long and now that they have been remastered you'd think we'd have an unreleased demo or a live track to fill all the empty space.
Could this be better than Van Halen I?
I'm amazed that we haven't had any of those "anti-Van Halen" reviews yet. I guess the guys must have gotten my memo on my review of "Van Halen". Unlike Led Zeppelin, Van Halen only needed to name one album with roman numerals because they were way more creative and had more names in their frontal cerebral cortex than Zep had in their whole collective body.
A clarification...
To the previous reviewer..."Running with the Devil" is off their debut Van Halen I...this is Van Halen II. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Arena Rock    3. Hard Rock    4. Heavy Metal    5. Pop    6. Pop-Metal    7. Pop/Rock    8. Rock    9. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

One of Rush's finest moments, second only to Read more

Features

• Original recording reissued
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (141)

Rush Firing on Every Cylinder
I love every progression that Rush made up until _Grace Under Pressure_, which was the start of a slow and inexorable decline for them (definitely highlighted by some great pieces, sure, but they have never re-ascended to _Moving Pictures_ and this)._Permanent Waves_, along with _Moving Pictures_, represents Rush's pinnacle.All the musicians are at their loosest, most-inspired, and most-baroque (however that works: guess you would have to ask them); Peart's lyrical approach is less sci-fi and more philosophically direct, and therefore better; the compositions are at their leanest and hungriest.A source of perpetual marvel.
Permanent Waves crashing through my speakers
This is not so much a review as it is a comentary because I have nothing to add on to the numerous reviews of this album by others only to say I categorize this as my second favorite album from RUSH next to Moving Pictures.NOW ... on to the other thing I want to get off my chest.I notice alot of fans and reviewers alike say they prefer a certain album over Moving Pictures for the only fact that Moving Pictures is most popular to RUSH fans as their favorite...now I think that is a stupid reason, you should only look at the piece of music and nothing outside of that when rating, reviewing or loving a certain album/song, whatever... and by doing that the conclusion is Moving Pictures is absolutely a perfect recording/album and RUSH's best by a grain of sand at most.ON that note I say, A Farewell to Reviews.

4.5 stars for the band's 7th studio release
Permanent Waves opens with just that.....a rockin' wave of back-to-back radio staples The Spirit Of Radio and the awesome Free Will. This is probably the strongest opening to a Rush album so far thru seven studio albums. From the opening riff of Radio the album promises not disappoint and it rarely flags. Tired of `em or not, Radio and Will are must-loves in the Rush catalog.
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Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Arena Rock    3. Canada    4. Hard Rock    5. Pop    6. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    7. Rock    8. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (71)

Bryan Adams CD
So Far So Good is an excellent mix of Bryan Adams music, with several of his best songs on it.

A fine compilation
For those individuals not familiar with Bryan's work..this is a short but sweet sampling of some of his finest songs. Sure it doesn't include anywhere close to ALL of his hits, but if you are looking for a quick sampler to determine whether or not you'll like this artists work this is a great one to start with. As a long time fan of Adams, I can say his popularity has fallen a bit in recent years..but his musicanship and songs are as good as ever. Bryan was a powerhouse 80's pop rocker with songs like Run To You, Cuts Like a Knife, This Time, Somebody and others. He also has the versatility to churn out great ballads such as Please Forgive Me and Do I have to Say the Words? I can't say enough about this record....If you like it even a little it will go a long way...and as I said it's a great starter piece to the much larger and richer Bryan Adams sampling. If you happen to like Ryan Adams, his stuff is great too, but far different so just make sure you don't get them confused. Other than that..happy listening and be sure to check out some of Bryan's newer stuff from records like Room Service

I Can't Complain
There are a number of critics who would lead you to believe that this disk could cause you to throw rocks at your CD player. I know that his near-namesake RYAN Adams would, but I just cannot agree. Now, I'll admit that the coolness factor here is dangerously low, if it exists at all, but still in all, the music on this disk just isn't as bad as most would lead you to believe. In fact, it's probably not half so bad. Bryan Adams is not the kind of guy who I would go out of my way to hear, and I doubt I'll ever buy another CD by him, but this greatest hits collection makes a good argument for at least granting him the benefit of the doubt.
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Subjects:  1. Adult Contemporary    2. Album Rock    3. Arena Rock    4. Canada    5. Pop    6. Pop/Rock    7. Popular Music    8. Rock    9. Rock & Roll    10. Rock/Pop   

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (20)

Another Illinois band
What can I say.I've been a Cheap Trick fan for longer than most fans out there.This Rockford, Illinois band has been rockin' forever.These are good tracks.I like the other 'greatest hits' too though.Put the best of the 2 together, and you have the best of the best.Southern Girls is one of my all time favorites.

One (major) disappointment to consider before purchasing.
This is not a bad collection.I'm sure there have been worse.My main complaint is the alternate version of "If You Want My Love."To me it's a major letdown because that is one of my favorite Cheap Trick songs and I really was expecting to hear it when I bought this.Now I wish I had not even bought it.
Not perfect, but (semi)close...[Really 3 stars out of 4...]
The Authorized Greatest Hits by (formerly) the best Rock N' Roll band of alltime, 'The Noise Boys from Rockford, Illinois', is beset by one basic problem - not enough songs from when Jon Brant helped Cheap Trick put out four of the Anglosentric(k?) LPs of alltime! Why isn't Y.O.Y.O.Y or Take me to the Top on here? Tom Peterson (or is it still Petersson?), that's why!
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Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Arena Rock    3. Hard Rock    4. New Wave    5. Pop    6. Pop/Rock    7. Power Pop    8. Rock    9. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

Home of "Smoke on the Water" and "Highway Star," Read more

Reviews (121)

Essential for any fan of hard rock music.
Deep Purple's Machine Head is essential for any fan of hard rock music.
Lazy
This is one of the best albums (any artist) of all time. Deep Purple really made a masterpiece with this one. I really can't put into words just how good this album is. From start to finish. Smoke On The Water as famous as that song is, is far from the best song on this album. My favorite song is Lazy with its killer organ intro and then it just takes off and rocks. Great album and could be the best ever.

a classic...
of stupidity! smoke on the water have the most stupid guitar rif of the rock history, boring boring boring, but if you like it ok. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Arena Rock    2. British Invasion    3. British Metal    4. England    5. Hard Rock    6. Heavy Metal    7. Pop    8. Rock    9. Rock & Roll    10. Rock/Pop   

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (19)

First rate sampler of Texas' biggest & baddest export:ZZ TOP
THE BAND: Billy Gibbons (guitars, vocals, hermonica, fiddle, baritone sax, keyboards), Dusty Hill (bass, vocals, tenor sax, keyboards), Frank Beard (drums, percussion, vocals, alto sax). Bill Ham (manager, producer, inspiration).
High quality ZZ Top at their best!Excellent sound!
I have this and Chrome, Smoke & BBQ [Box Set].They are all that is available in very late December 2005 that's the original mix (non futurized) and remastered and sound AWESOME!
The Best ZZ Top Compilation
Among the reigning kings of southern rock, ZZ Top's rich musical legacy has spanned over 35 years and several albums, hit singles and live concerts. They are still a favorite on radio stations across America, and have a devoted fan base to this day.
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Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Arena Rock    3. Blues-Rock    4. Boogie Rock    5. Hard Rock    6. Pop    7. Pop/Rock    8. Rock    9. Rock/Pop    10. Southern Rock   

Editorial Review

More than two decades before it became Eric Cartman's favorite song on Read more

Reviews (66)

Welcome to Stardom, boys!
Fuelled by the crossover success of "Come Sail Away", Styx moved from a modest level of success to stardom with "The Grand Illusion".This is the point in Styx's career that has aged the best - several of the songs, notably "The Grand Illusion", "Miss America" and "Man In The Wilderness", still sound fresh today.Were it not for the weak "Superstars" and "Fooling Yourself" (the most dated sounding song on the album), this album would border on 5 stars.A&M records was becoming impatient with the band and was wanting a bigger seller from the band after "Crystal Ball".It remains remarkable to me to this day that the band found a huge breakthrough with the album that - to this point - was the farthest from having a top 40 focus.For Styx - success was no longer a grand illusion.

A MUST HAVE
This is my second favorite Styx album (Pieces Of Eight being my favorite) This album released July 7, 1977 (7/7/77) finally gave Styx the breakthough they deserved. With hits like "Come Sail Away" and Fooling Yourself". You can help but just sit back and enjoy this album because there isn't really a bad song on it.
good stuff but still a rip off
This is their best work but I cannot get over how a record company releases a CD with less than 30 minutes worth of music. As a kid, I was impressed with this release. As an adult, an eight song album is a joke! This was no punk rock band but rather a talented bunch of songwriters and musicians. At the zenith of your careers, for your best album, you could only do 8 songs? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Arena Rock    3. Hard Rock    4. Pop    5. Pop/Rock    6. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    7. Rock    8. Rock/Pop   

Features

• Original recording reissued
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (98)

Covers Are Weak
Love Van Halen (not Hagar), but I hate covers in general anyway. The music is not that bad but I really just don't like covers. If you are looking to start listening to Van Halen stay away from this one. Get Van Halen, 1984, Van Halen II, or Fair Warning. They are much better.

awesome covers and awesome songs
i have heard too many people talk about the covers on this album which i think are cool. there versions are rockin and with distorted guitars and other tricks with dave singing makes these covers more open to metalheads and rockers who haven't heard these songs before. when i hear dancing in the streets on the radio it gives me that rock n roll energy that i crave. the originals don't have the same energy. good job van halen. as for the other songs that are just like classic van halen. i think the full bug is one of the best they ever wrote. hang em high really kicks ass too. secrets is something you would have playing on your stereo when you are trying to get into some hot chicks pants.i also love the big bad bill tune because its different. happy trails shows you these guys can really sing also. overall it is another van halen classic. someone said that dave was in vh from 78 to 84. he joined up with these guys in 74. that is ten years and he developed the van halen sound that got them off to success. sammy was with them for ten also but he stepped in when they were at the height of their success which dave brought them to. sammy never did near what dave did for van halen. dave knows eddie so well he is probably the only one who tells eddie that he can do better. he knows him from when they were kids, knows his potential as well. i like sammy on his own but he completely sucked with van halen. enjoy.

Van Halen went pop. Plus some weak covers.
It's the worst VH album.
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Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Arena Rock    3. Hard Rock    4. Heavy Metal    5. Pop    6. Pop-Metal    7. Pop/Rock    8. Rock    9. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

Frequently bootlegged and now digitally remastered by Jimmy Page, these tapes capture a 25-month (1969 to 1971) arc in which Zep's sound grew to encompass the speed rush and jazz/blues festival stuff of their 1969 debut, the fully developed folkie musings of "Going to California" (in which Plant vowed to make a hejira right up to Joni Mitchell's front door), and the band's modestly popular multilayered epic "Stairway to Heaven." The Read more

Features

• Live

Reviews (129)

Zeppelin Stripped Down And Sounding Mean!!
If you don't know who these guy are by know, where have you been?
A performance Zeppelin fans should be grateful to have access to
Though these recordings are not a truly live concert (and there is probably a flashing "APPLAUD" sign for the audience), it is still amazingly brilliant.Robert's singing was especially deep, raunchy, and emotional.The version of "Thank You" is the absoulute best version EVER...the solo is absoulutely saccharine on electric guitar, nothing like the studio version on Led Zeppelin II, which is acoustic.There are 2 "Dazed & Confused" versions, but I should hope that any Zeppelin fan prefers the longer one, with the violin bow solo and all.What is really unique and enthralling about the 18-min or so version of "Dazed & Confused" is that the solo is enchanting and eerie...because there is no screaming crowd to interrupt, and the dead silence of the entire place allows the solo to be very echoey and very mysterious, like Pagey himself.
Smells like indulgence
Seriously, is it just me or do Dazed and Confused, You Shook Me, the Whole Lotta Love medley and How Many More Times all go on to long? Face it, there's only so much you can do with a simple guitar/bass/drums/vocalist lineup. And not many rock bands can, in my mind, pull off ridiculously LONG songs all because they aren't half as good as the jazz musicians (who can do ridiculously LONG songs quite perfectly, by the way).
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Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Arena Rock    3. Blues-Rock    4. British Blues    5. British Folk-Rock    6. British Metal    7. Hard Rock    8. Heavy Metal    9. Pop    10. Rock    11. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

God bless punk and new wave. Without them, '80s pop music might well have ended up as vapid and ghettoized as, well, pop music of the '90s. Those late '70s movements were frankly reactionary at heart (seeking to counter what was perceived as the overwrought tendencies of rock's prog and hard-rock elite and calling for a return to the diverse energy of '60s Top 40), but their influences can be felt on nearly every cut of this triple-disc hits anthology, from the Buggles' all-too-prophetic "Video Killed the Radio Star" to the nouveau funk of Kool and the Gang, the Dazz Band, and the Gap Band, to the nascent big-hairdom of Night Ranger ("Sister Christian") and Whitesnake. If you're looking for the roots of alternative rock or obscure college playlist fodder, look elsewhere; this is prime-time '80s pop chart glory, as seen on MTV (over and over and over). Though the songs here cover a breadth of style and genre (if not necessarily substance), there's a remarkable unity of purpose and hook-laden musical accomplishment that's sorely missed. If this collection woefully shortchanges hip-hop, it still underscores a distinctly irony-free era where style admittedly triumphed over substance, as opposed to the '90s, where style Read more

Features

• Box set

Reviews (16)

This album has a bunch of good songs, but a few sucky ones
I luuuuv some of these songs, but some of them suck.hoever, if u like these songs u should totally get it!

essential
I mix 80s dance music and the number of times when mixing that I find myself reaching for either this compilation or its companion, "Hit Me With Your 80s Box," is extraordinary.These are two outstanding collections.They are pricey, but worth every penny.For many people, owning these two will be all the 80s music you'll ever need.
LOVE 80s music
I am such an 80s child.This box set is great.Has a lot of the great songs of the 80s. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adult Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Adult Contemporary    3. Album Rock    4. Alternative Pop/Rock    5. Arena Rock    6. Blue-Eyed Soul    7. Club/Dance    8. College Rock    9. Dance-Pop    10. Disco    11. Funk    12. Hard Rock    13. New Romantic    14. New Wave    15. Pop    16. Pop/Rock    17. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    18. Rock/Pop Collections    19. Singer/Songwriter    20. Soft Rock   

Features

• Box set

Reviews (58)

Very good set, with some good suprises!
An excellent collection of 80's music.Includes the early and late 80's and has a very wide selection that includes everything but country music!:) There are some hard to find recording as well.Extremely good selection!

perfect title for a perfect 80s collection
the only thing missing from this collection is a rubiks cube.someone dug deep into the archives to find the billy crystal song. some songs here are garbage "da da da" and "you dropped a bomb on me"....however....some songs featured here cant be found anywhere else like the theme song from "hill street blues". 7 discs and 140 songs and someone forgot about madonna / genesis / the police / def leppard / and AC-DC (just to name a few). "video killed the radio star" was dropped a notch to song #2 on disc one...quite a small tragedy considering that one song took pole position for MTVs debut. the song by foreigner "i want to know what love is" is perhaps one of the greatest songs of all time, the best slot would have been at the end of disc 7 instead of the middle of disc 5. everytime i hear the song "geopardy" i cant help to think of its parody song by weird al yankovik "i lost on geopardy". the price of the set is reasonable considering the average price per disc is about 12 dollars..... wake me up when the matching vidios are released on DVD.

Nice Overview of the 80's
This collection will save you alot of money. Think if you were to go out and buy every CD that these songs are on. Here you get over 141 top hit songs of the 80's on 7 discs plus an awesome collectable box and a novelty 80's book with facts and pictures for every single year. Information about all the songs, artists, events , tv shows, movies and happenings during the 80's. Open up the Box and you see all the popular dances of the 80's including the Head Spin, The Wave, The Tick, The Mannequin and more. It also shows you how to do them with pictures step by step! The box is truly unique. Heres the song listings disk by disk.