Do any of you forty-somethings recall the glory days of Ozzy Osbourne [with Randy Rhoades], Yngwie Malmsteen, Racer X, the early Motley Crue, AC-DC, Ratt, Dokken, Van Halen, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Iron Maiden, etc.?

Man, those were the golden years of hard rock. I will never forget the raw power and emotion that the early Motley Crue played with [pre-1983]. Who could forget the high octave shrieks of Rob Halford? His live concert "high note" on "Screaming for Vengeance" rattled my eardrums. I will never forget the brilliance of Randy Rhoades. "Mr. Crowley" is a classic. It is a shame he died so young and so tragically. And the Scorpions, they were one of the first non-English European bands to achieve a breakthrough. The album "Lovedrive" was one of my high school favorites. One of my favorite albums of all time, and one of the very few without "filler songs" is "Back in Black" by AC-DC. You can play that album all the way through. I really liked Iron Maiden with singer Paul D'iano. They had a raw, primal sound. Though, Bruce Dickinson really took them to prominence. I know there are a million bands I left out. So, please add your thoughts about the 80's hard rock genre.

Oh, Rob Halford. Judas Priest was one of the most important breakthrough bands in metal. NWOBHM. Priest, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, etc. I am so happy to hear that somebody down here likes metal!!! So tell me, do you like any of the newer genres?

Deeper still...Accept, WASP. Armored Saint, Slayer, Hanoi Rocks, Queensryche, Raven...

Anvil *****, Lizzy Borden, Tygers of Pang Tang....

I liked the heavy metal genre up until the early 90's. One of the last hard rock bands I liked was Firehouse. Metallica still has some great songs. They started in the 80's. I never took to the "speed metal" genre. Music really seemed to change when the "Grunge movement" started. Oh, I forgot to mention Riot, Saxon, and Dio in my initial post. I always thought Riot deserved more acclaim than what they received.