8 Hair Metal Bands That Belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is no stranger to criticism, and one of the most common complaints about the institution is its woeful lack of metal representation.

It took decades for Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne to enter the hallowed halls, and metal trailblazers such as Iron Maiden and Dio are still on the outside looking in. But if the Rock Hall seems prejudiced against traditional heavy metal, then one might say it outright despises hair metal.

That’s not a radical stance to take. Since the subgenre exploded in the early ’80s, hair metal has been widely reviled by critics, dismissed for its pigheaded lyrics and hackneyed songwriting.

Obviously, that’s a disingenuous take, one that denies the unshakeable hooks and technical prowess that categorized the best of the era. These bands were well-versed in writing larger-than-life anthems that captured the spirit of fun and rebellion that so many fans craved. (They even Trojan-horsed some clever chord progressions and melodies into their songs along the way.) What’s more quintessentially rock ‘n’ roll than that?

Thankfully, the Rock Hall has made some (glacial) progress on the hair metal front in recent years. Bon Jovi entered the Hall in 2018, followed by Def Leppard in 2019. Hopefully these nods to some of the era’s biggest and brightest bands helped legitimize hair metal in the eyes of the critical establishment and will pave the way for similar inductions in the future.

We’ve trimmed our wishlist down to the top choices, using a liberal definition of “hair metal” to include bands that massively influenced the scene or successfully adapted their sound to fit the times. Here are 8 Hair Metal Bands That Belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.