Formed in Los Angeles in 1981, The Bangles are an American band, who had several hit singles through out the 1980s. The bands hits included "Walk Like An Egyptian", "Hazy Shade Of Winter", and the 1989 No.1 single "Eternal Flame". The band officially broke-up in 1989 but almost ten years later, in 1998, started drifting back together . In 1999, they officially re-formed to record a song for the soundtrack of "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me". The reunion continued with a tour in 2000 and in 2003 they released, "Doll Revolution", their first album since 1988's "Everything".

After New Order released their own Substance compilation in 1987, it was perhaps inevitable that a similar and long-overdue collection would apply to Joy Division, especially given the out-of-print status of many of the band's singles. The end result turned up in 1988, and as a listen easily demonstrated that the same sheer sweep and energy that applied to the band over a full-length album similarly worked, even more so, with the focus of a 7" or 12" release. Though the earliest tracks like "Warsaw" and "Leaders of Men" were a strange sort of art punk, there was already something distinct about the group, and by the time of "Digital" and "Autosuggestion," it was perfectly apparent.

Instead of settling down in front of the mixing board for another dance album (a lá Technique or Republic), New Order returned in 2001 with a sound and style they hadn't played with for over a decade. Unsurprisingly bored by the stale British club scene circa 2001, the band opened Get Ready with a statement of purpose, a trailer single ("Crystal") featuring a host of longtime New Order staples: a sublime melody, an inscrutable set of lyrics, a deft, ragged guitar line kicking in for the chorus, and Peter Hook's yearning bass guitar taking a near-solo role. Though there are several allowances for the electronic-dance form New Order helped develop, Get Ready is a very straight-ahead album, their first work in 15 years that's focused on songwriting and performance rather than grafted dance techniques…

When first approaching The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, it's best not to think of it as a Sex Pistols album; rather, keep in mind that it's the soundtrack to a movie that was mostly about Malcolm McLaren and only tangentially concerned the great band he managed. Only eight of the twenty-four songs on The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle feature the same band as on Never Mind the Bollocks, and most of those capture them stomping through covers in the studio, sometimes to impressive effect (Johnny Rotten sounds positively feral on the Who's "Substitute" and the whole band tears into "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone" with malicious glee) and sometimes not (Rotten reveals he doesn't know the words to either Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" or Jonathan Richman's "Roadrunner," and the band's familiarity isn't much greater).

A group whose distinctly ethereal and gossamer sound virtually defined the enigmatic image of the record label 4AD, Cocteau Twins were founded in Grangemouth, Scotland, in 1979. Taking their name from an obscure song from fellow Scots Simple Minds, the Cocteaus were originally formed by guitarist Robin Guthrie and bassist Will Heggie and later rounded out by Guthrie's girlfriend Elizabeth Fraser, an utterly unique performer whose swooping, operatic vocals relied less on any recognizable language than on the subjective sounds and textures of verbalized emotions.

There's a cool aggression to 1983's "Rebel Yell," Billy Idol's second album that is equal parts new-wave, metal, punk, and pop. Although his debut was a hit and remains a classic, it was "Rebel Yell" that is his masterpiece. The album reunited Billy with the hit-making team of producer, Keith Forsey and the atmospheric guitarwork of Stevie Stevens that can only be called rock & roll nirvana. The album reached #6 on Billboard's Top 200 propelled by four hit singles including, "Rebel Yell," the eloquently gorgeous "Eyes Without a Face" with the haunting female backup singing of Perri Lister, and "Flesh for Fantasy" all of which were hit music videos. With a permanently snarled upper lip and the perfect matinee-idol blond hair, Billy Idol made punk rock palatable for MTV and the masses.