If you were alive and rockin' in 1983, that meant one thing: You were staring down the horizon of a rock 'n' roll sub-genre that would dominate the airwaves for the next eight years: glam metal.
Quiet Riot's Metal Health, the first heavy metal album to reach No. 1 on the US album charts, would begin the trend. The rise of bands like Motley Crue, Def Leppard and a sleeker, makeup-free Kiss added to the growing prominence of what is now colloquially referred to as "hair metal."
Whether you liked Spandex or not, one thing was certain: The rise of mainstream guitar music was under way.
With an abundance of guitar albums - and hairstyles - to choose from, here are your picks for the 10 best guitar albums of 1983.
“The experience of our work with Jimmy in a vibrant, electric, mystical, and powerful perspective”: Unreleased Jimmy Page/Rich Robinson composition set to feature in upcoming deluxe version of Jimmy Page & the Black Crowes: Live at the Greek
“The king of modern blues getting down and dirty (musically) with a former Van Halen singer”: January 2025 Guitar World Editors’ Picks
