With the future of the original Alice Cooper band in doubt by mid-1974 (they would soon break up for good with Alice going solo), Warner Bros. decided to issue a best-of compilation entitled Greatest Hits. If you're a newcomer to Alice, this 12-track compilation is a must-hear – all the selections are exceptional. While many have chosen to focus primarily on Cooper's theatrics over the years, the original bandmembers were indeed supreme rock songwriters; such anthems as "I'm Eighteen," "Under My Wheels," "School's Out," and "No More Mr. Nice Guy" are unquestionably among the finest hard rock tracks of all time. And the other selections prove to be just as strong – "Is It My Body," "Desperado," "Be My Lover," "Elected," "Billion Dollar Babies," and "Muscle of Love" are all outstanding as well. The only criticism of the original release is that the collection overlooked the band's key album tracks never issued as singles.

Famed Hanoi Rocks guitarist/vocalist Andy McCoy taps into the rich musical history that inspired him on this highly addictive covers album! Features an eclectic mix of songs originally by reggae legend Toots & The Maytals, David Bowie, ‘80s hitmakers Squeeze, rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson and more!

Slade may have never truly caught on with American audiences (often narrow-mindedly deemed "too British-sounding"), but the group became a sensation in their homeland with their anthemic brand of glam rock in the early '70s, as they scored a staggering 11 Top Five hits in a four-year span from 1971 to 1974 (five of which topped the charts)…

The Newcastle quartet's debut album followed hard on the heels of two superlative hit singles. Beyond a passing affection for a Slade-style stomp, "Don't Do That" and "All Because of You" have little in common with the then-prevalent glam sound, but still their pounding hard rock ethos slipped effortlessly into the mood of the day, to portray Geordie as the unabashed hard rockers that even the teenies could enjoy. (Nazareth pulled off a similar coup around the same time.) Following in those same stack-heeled footsteps, Hope You Like It makes few concessions to the band's newfound fame, a raw and raucous slam through 11 songs that only let the bombast slip when they fall into the closing clown time of the traditional "Geordie's Lost His Liggie," a mad singalong that is absolutely captivating.

Abandoning the intoxicating blend of art rock and glam-pop that distinguished Stranded and Country Life, Roxy Music concentrates on Bryan Ferry's suave, charming crooner persona for the elegantly modern Siren. As the disco-fied opener "Love Is the Drug" makes clear, Roxy embraces dance and unabashed pop on Siren, weaving them into their sleek, arty sound. It does come at the expense of their artier inclinations, which is part of what distinguished Roxy, but the end result is captivating. Lacking the consistently amazing songs of its predecessor, Siren has a thematic consistency that works in its favor, and helps elevate its best songs – "Sentimental Fool," "Both Ends Burning," "Just Another High" – as well as the album itself into the realm of classics.

At the time Rare Masters was released in 1992, most of the selections on this 37-track double-disc compilation were indeed rare. They were issued on non-LP singles, B-sides, the Friends soundtrack, one-offs; some were buried on album tracks, and some even stayed in the vault. Since then, Elton John's catalog has been remastered and reissued, with much of the best of this material appearing as bonus tracks, but the album still was worthwhile, since it not only has some songs that never appeared elsewhere on disc (such as "Step Into Christmas"' B-side, "(Ho Ho Ho) Who'd Be a Turkey at Christmas"), but it also is a hell of a listen in its own right, showcasing great songs and forgotten gems from John's prime period.

Skid Row were one of the very last hair metal bands to hit the mainstream before grunge took over in the early '90s. While the band's self-titled debut employed standard pop-metal riffs and generic lyrics (albeit to great commercial success), 1991's Slave to the Grind and 1995's Subhuman Race broke away from the pop-metal mold with uncharacteristically hard, thrashy guitars and unique songwriting techniques…

Lace and Whiskey is the tenth studio album by Alice Cooper, released in May 1977. After many years of portraying a dark and sinister persona Alice Cooper decided to try something new and donned the persona of a heavy drinking comic PI named "Maurice Escargot" - a fictional character in the same vein as Inspector Clouseau. Cooper is pictured as Escargot on the back cover of Lace and Whiskey, which was still a rock-based album but was stylistically influenced by Cooper’s love for 1940s' and 1950s' movies and music. The album only peaked at #42 in the US and #33 in the UK. The album's lead single, “You and Me”, was an easy listening ballad which provided Cooper with his last US top-ten single for twelve years. “(No More) Love at Your Convenience”, a disco-inspired pop song, was released as the second single – it did not chart in most countries. Music videos were created for both songs, at a time well before the advent of MTV.

If glam-era rockers Geordie are remembered for much these days, it is for handing on vocalist Brian Johnson to AC/DC at a time when most observers reckoned both he (and they) were long past their sell-by date. Geordie, in particular, had scarcely been heard of in seven years, failing even to impact on the one recent movement that seemed custom-built for them, the so-called New Wave of British Heavy Metal. But AC/DC knew what they were getting, and anyone casting their ears back to Geordie's prime will realize they weren't kidding themselves. Reiterating (of course) the string of singles that Geordie cut between 1972-1975, The Singles Collection opens with the solid quartet upon which their reputation is still based, the hits "Don't Do That," "All Because of You," "Can You Do It," and "Red Eyed Lady."

Smokie's final album, 1982's Strangers in Paradise was the ideal follow-up to the now three-year-old Other Side of the Road – musically and lyrically, it's as strong as Smokie ever were, with the title track and "Two Strangers Falling" surely ranking up there with the best of the band's output. But the production was distinctly old-fashioned, as though the entire album had been recorded four or five years earlier, then left in a box 'till the time was right. Or, in this case, wrong. Add a record label that really didn't raise a finger to promote the band, and a musical climate that had long since moved away from the standards that Smokie held so dear, and the band weren't simply out of time, they were out of place as well.