First off, I've always been into the 80's / early 90's era of this kind of music. Call it glam metal, hair metal, sleaze or whatever. I prefer sleaze myself. It sounds raw and badass, which is the kind of this music that I like the most.
10. Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction (1987)
Classic, classic, classic. 28 million sold copies worldwide. Everybody loves it, including me. Enough said.
9. Ratt - Out Of The Cellar (1984)
Or is it "Out IN The Cellar"? I always forget which one it is, weak of me. Anyway, I don't love this album for "Round & Round", although I love that song. No, I love this album because it is in its whole a solid, great album. The one thing I love the most with Ratt is their sound / production they have on their albums. Great guitar and drum sound, and the vocals are great, at least I think. This album is also the one of theirs that has the best song, to me anyways. They also have this chick Tawny Kitaen (spelling?), who later married David Coverdale, on the album cover, crawling on the floor. Pretty sexy, huh? I think so.
8. The Almighty - Blood, Fire & Love (1989)
This is a band I have listened a lot to. Coming from Scottland, these guys are no posers. They drink beer, pick up a guitar and rock 'n' roll. They never really made a polished album but rather evolved into more of a metal sound and than punkrock. However, their first two albums were great, raw, big balls rock 'n' roll. The opener of this album, "Resurrection Mutha", starts off with a deppressing gospel synthezeiser, only to kick into a double-bass driven, diesel smelling rock 'n' roller. In some ways, they remind me a lot of Motörhead, also a big influence as said by the band themselves. Just kick in this album and join the ritual. It's all blood, fire and love.
7. London - Cry Wolf (1986)
A classic old glam act from L.A. This was a band that has featured many people that got famous with other bands, for instance Nikki Sixx (Mötley Crüe), Blackie Lawless (W.A.S.P.), Izzy Stradlin (GN'R), etc. None of these famous guys appeard on any London album, but they weren't needed either. While London never got the attention they deserved, they sure as hell made great music and this album is, to me, their ace.
6. Blue Murder - Blue Murder (1989)
I love Whitesnake's self-titled 1987 album which featured guitarist John Sykes, one of my faves. After that album I believe David Coverdale fired John and their next album "Slip of the Tongue" sucked in comparision. Now THIS album right here is the proof that the success Whitesnake got to enjoy (well, not John ...) was because of John Sykes. THIS is what should've been Whitesnake's follow-up to "1987". This album have many similarities with "1987" and the only thing that makes it feel different from Whitesnake is the vocals. If I should be honest, I actually prefer John's vocals over David's, although he is just an amazing and powerful singer. All-killer album right here. If you loved Whitesnake's "1987", be sure to check this one out.
5. Saigon Kick - Saigon Kick (1991)
This is a truly underrated band in my opinion. I love this band! This one (their debut) and their second album "The Lizard" are classics in my book. They have kind of a special sound which I would describe as Skid Row meets Jane's Addiction meets Warrior Soul. This is my fave SK album simply because it has most of the songs I love by them. A must hear / have*.
4. Mötley Crüe - Shout At The Devil (1983)
Nothing really needs to be said about this one. It's a classic and every metalhead should own it. This was one of the first, IF not the first, album of this genre that I ever heard, and it's had a great impact on me through the years. This is an immortal classic.
3. Sleeze Beez - Screwed Blued & Tattooed (1990)
Originally from the Netherlands, I thought for a long time that these guys were another American west coast act. I sure can't tell any difference in quality or hear any foreign accent in the singers voice. Leaning towards the Guns N' Roses and Alice Cooper sound riff-wise, this band plays great party metal, with some love ballads, of course. The difference is that the Sleeze Beez are somewhat slightly more polished, at least on this album, than for instance GN'R. The band's most classic tunes are found here: the power ballad "Stranger Than Paradise" and the rocker "Heroes Die Young". Overall there are no fillers, only killers.
2. W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children (1989)
One of my favorite bands, vocalists, songwriters, everything! This album would be at no. 1 if it wasn't for the fact that this one actually leans toward a more straight (badass / biker) heavy metal sound rather than glam / sleaze, like their earlier albums. This album is just epic, heavy, cool, beautiful, dark and simply amazing. No words can describe it, really. This is an album you just have to hear, period.
1. Spread Eagle - Spread Eagle (1990)
Undoubtedly this one is my all time fave sleaze metal album. It's got everything I like. These guys come from New York City, the dark, tall-buildings city with lots of dirty gutters. It shows. These guys have more balls than any other, at least American, bands in the same genre. It's like they take Mötley Crüe and Guns N' Roses and throw in more balls and metal in the mix. They only made two albums, although their second and last album "Open To The Public" was more experimental and to me, not nearly as good (it has the awesome tune "Devil's Road" however!). Their classic "hit" song "Switchblade Serenade" is what made me instantly love SE, but after listening to their debut, I felt that it was the real deal. This one is close to my heart.
Also worth mentioning:
Skid Row - Slave To The Grind
Warrior Soul - Last Decade Dead Century
Bang Tango - Psycho Café
Crashdïet - Generation Wild
Every Mother's Nightmare - S/T
Slik Toxik - Doin' The Nasty
Dangerous Toys - S/T
Slaughter - Stick It To Ya
Vinnie Vincent Invasion - All Systems Go
And FUCK Poison. I hate Poison.
