Def Leppard is one of those rare bands that has stuck together, for the most part through thick and thin to remain successful. From drummer Rick Allen losing his arm in a car accident right after the band hit the big time, to the tragic death of guitarist Steve Clark, the three original members Joe Elliott, Rick Allen, Rick Savage, and longtime guitarist Phil Collen have weathered the storms throughout their career. Not all of the band’s albums have been exceptional, in fact, there have been quite a few albums that haven’t been well-received by fans, but Def Leppard deserves a lot of credit for staying together when a lot of bands that started when they did, are down to one original member these days.Â
1. Pyromania (1983)
Pyromania brought Def Leppard to the mainstream in 1983 with such classic songs as “Photograph”, “Foolin”, “Rock Of Ages” and “Too Late For Love”. Pyromania has sold over 10 Million albums in the United States alone. The album was also the first to feature former Girl guitarist Phil Collen. MTV helped this album to appeal to new listeners with videos for the singles seeing heavy rotation and the image of singer Joe Elliott wearing the Union Jack shirt in “Photograph” caused American fans to seek out anything with the British flag on it, to show their devotion to the band. While “Hysteria” would be their best-selling album, “Pyromania” remains the best overall album.
2. High ‘n’ Dry (1981)
We don’t believe in ties regarding ranking albums, but “High ‘n’ Dry” only loses 1st place to “Pyromania” by the slimmest of margins. This album saw the band come into their own and delivered an in-your-face hard rock album. The band had their first decent hit with the song “Bringing On The Heartbreak”, but the entire album was the real deal with great songs like “High ‘N’ Dry (Saturday Night)”, “Let It Go” and “Lady Strange”. Def Leppard were only two years away from becoming a household name when their follow-up album “Pyromania” was rele
3. Hysteria (1987)
If these were ranked off of album sales then “Hysteria” would claim the #1 spot, but album sales are only a small part of the criteria used in our ranking. After Def Leppard hit the big-time with “Pyromania” the band was hit with what seemed to be an insurmountable obstacle. Drummer Rick Allen had suffered a near-death auto crash and as a result, had lost his arm. The band worked for 3 years on ‘Hysteria” while Allen learned to use electronic drums triggered by foot pedals to create his drum parts. The wait was worth it and the band scored the biggest-selling album of their career. That’s the positive side of things, on the negative side, this album started Def Leppard down the path to being primarily a pop band instead of a hard rock band. The band would never return to the early sound featured on their first three albums.
4. On Through the Night (1980)
“On Through The Night” was Def Leppard’s debut full-length album and fans and critics alike liked the band’s hard-edged rock sound. The production and mixing on this first album is not up to par with the band’s next two albums, but even with the more raw sound, it was easy to see the band had some serious energy and were going to be a force to be wreakened with. Standout tracks include “Hello America”, “Rocks Off” and “Wasted”.
5. Adrenalize (1992)
Adrenalize was the first Def Leppard album recorded without guitarist Steve Clark who died from acute alcohol poisoning and prescription drugs in 1991. Clark had already worked on most of these songs before his death and ironically, it’s the last Def Leppard album that sounded close to their original sound. It was also the last Platinum-selling album of Def Leppard’s career. The band would later add former Dio and Whitesnake guitarist Vivian Campbell, but Phil Collen was the only guitarist on Adrenalize playing both his parts and Stev Clark’s as well.
6. Euphoria (1999)
With Euphoria, Def Leppard attempted to return to a sound more reminiscent of their earlier albums after their previous album “Slang” was not well-received by fans and critics alike. It was partially successful in sounding like the band of old, but only on a few choice songs including “Paper Sun”, “Promises”, “Day After” and “Kings Of Oblivion”. The rest of the album would experiment with more funky pop beats and a sound that fell somewhere between that of the “Slang” album and “Adrenalize”.Â
7. Def Leppard (2015)
If you’re looking for the sound of “Hysteria” with a more modern twist, this self-titled album is on the mark. Def Leppard made a lot of their longtime fans happy with this album by acknowledging their sound of the late 80s while still being experimental and somewhat progressive with their sound. Yes, the band has been very inconsistent with their styles from album to album, but this one does justice to their fans who missed Def Leppard sounding like well…Def Lepard.
8. Diamond Star Halos (2022)
2022 sees Def Leppard somewhat embracing their hard rock past again, at least for the most part. Think “Hysteria” and “Adrenalize” Def Leppard sound with a slightly glam-styled beat reminiscent of 70’s bands that influenced them like “The Sweet” and “Mott The Hoople”. Def Leppard manages to add the right amount of sugar to the cup of coffee to get the balance just right. It still won’t make fans of the first three albums 100% happy, but it does have enough of the riffs and trademark sound to make sure that you know you’re hearing a Def Leppard album.
9. Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
Songs From The Sparkle Lounge is a mixed bag of different styles for Def Leppard, for the most part, it works. It represents a happy medium between hard rock and pop styles and the songs are well written. It wouldn’t be the best place for someone to start listening to the band if they had never heard them, but it’s definitely not the worst album of Def Leppard’s later output.
10. X (2002)
With the X album, Def Leppard again pulls away from the signature sound of the band and heads straight into pop territory. Feeling like an album of mostly pop ballads, this album seems a million miles away from anything Def Leppard put out in their prime. Obviously, a band can and many do change their sound, but at this point Def Leppard just feels like a completely different band altogether.
11. Slang (1996)
In 1996, Def Leppard decided to try to catch on to the wave of Alternative rock sweeping the U.S. It was a huge mistake by most standards. The rhythms sounded more like U2 than anything Def Leppard had ever released. Most of Def Leppard’s hard rock fans were simply stunned by the dramatic change in sound on this album. Perhaps the band could have slowly incorporated some of these elements, maybe it would have been easier to swallow, but it seemed like the band was looking to get radio airplay at a time when heavy metal and hard rock were being shunned and alternative was the new thing.
12. Yeah! (2006)
So, Yeah! is an all-covers album by Def Leppard and not a studio album of original Def Leppard material. However, the hopes that the band would actually cover some great rockers like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, etc went out the window with this sugary pop fest that’s like Def Leppard lite. I understand that Def Leppard was influenced by many of these bands, but they were also influenced by a lot of hard rock bands too and Def Leppard barely represents them on this album with Thin Lizzy being the exception.Â
If you like Def Leppard check out our article about the band’s change in sounds over the years:Â https://xsrock.com/def-leppards-change-in-sound-the-tale-of-two-leppards/
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