Paul Elliott

Def Leppard's Rick Allen on returning to Download, the enduring appeal of Mutt Lange and almost losing his life in a car accident

With Moving Pictures, Rush ditched side-long sci-fi epics for songs about fast cars and fame – and kicked their career to a whole new level

Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground influenced multiple generations of musicians, from David Bowie to punk rock, metal and beyond. These are his best albums

After more than 50 years and 120 million sales, the Fleetwood Mac saga appears to be slowly winding to a close: these are their best albums

As Switzerland’s answer to AC/DC continue to deliver farewell tour dates, we look at their must-have (and best not to have) albums

Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen on the 80s songs that move him the most

Def Leppard were barely out of school when they released their debut album On Through The Night and toured with AC/DC, but it set them on the path to stardom

The best live albums are defining moments in any band’s career, when the music, the performance, and the atmosphere generated between band and audience are captured on tape

From Sydney streets to world domination, AC/DC have never strayed from the path during five decades of unwavering commitment to the cause of righteous rock'n'roll

Revealed: Joe Elliott admits he still owes Bon Scott a tenner

Kiss legend Paul Stanley has a theory about what makes great bands great

Detroit Rock City and Rock And Roll All Nite are great, but these are the lost gems we want to hear on their farewell tour

AC/DC’s 30 best songs with Brian Johnson, the much-loved frontman who's led the band from theatres to stadiums across the globe

Guns N' Roses changed the shape of rock'n'roll when they emerged in the mid-eighties. Here's a half-century of their very best, and the stories behind them.

The band's rise to fame wasn't without its downsides

When Motörhead recorded the definitive version of Motorhead, it was third time lucky: this version would change Lemmy's life

Glam metal, hair metal – call it what you want. These are five albums that soundtracked the 1980s

Grunge swept all aside as it barrelled in from Seattle, and some bands preferred to jump the bandwagon rather than stand in the way and get mown down

Southern Rock is inextricably tied to the land and character of the American South - and here are five albums that tell its tale

Inspired by old books and new technology, Tom Sawyer was the song that reinvented prog giants Rush – but it almost never made the album

The bands who defied the sophomore slump to deliver the greatest albums of their career

With Creedence Clearwater Revival he turned the Hippie generation on to classic roots and Americana... then John Fogerty went rockin’ all over the world

From troubled outsider to all-round metal visionary – these are the life and times of Celtic Frost/Triptykon leader Tom G Warrior

Celebrated as ‘the female Motörhead’, Girlschool became stars of the NWOBHM scene. But what were their best albums?