Since their break-up, Extreme has become one of the more underrated bands of the whole late 80s/early 90s glam/pop metal movement. While early in their career, the Boston quartet did have a lot in common with the "hair" bands, the outfit later conquered more ambitious material and covered a wide variety of musical styles, as evident on 2000's Best Of: An Accidental Collision Of Atoms.

While they were a hard rocking band for the most part, Extreme's two big hits were soft rock ballads--the gentle acoustic strum of "More Than Words" and the mellow "Hole Hearted." But it's the harder numbers where you'll find the real Extreme--Nuno Bettencourt's over-the-top guitar heroics on "Decadence Dance," the uptempo "Get the Funk Out," and such challenging numbers as "Rest in Peace," "Stop the World," and "Hip Today."

Extreme: Nuno Bettencourt (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, percussion); Patrick Badger (vocals, bass); Paul Geary (vocals, drums, percussion); Gary Chereone (vocals); Mike Mangini (drums).

Producers include: Michael Wagener, Nuno Bettencourt, Bob St. John, Mack. Engineers include: Bob St. John, Mack, Jim Thomas.