@Mandy Barbero

Created with FreeYourMusic.com where you can transfer playlists to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and others

Created with FreeYourMusic.com where you can transfer playlists to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and others

Created with FreeYourMusic.com where you can transfer playlists to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and others

Created with FreeYourMusic.com where you can transfer playlists to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and others

Created with FreeYourMusic.com where you can transfer playlists to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and others

Created with FreeYourMusic.com where you can transfer playlists to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and others

Created with FreeYourMusic.com where you can transfer playlists to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and others

Created with FreeYourMusic.com where you can transfer playlists to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and others

Created with FreeYourMusic.com where you can transfer playlists to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and others

Created with FreeYourMusic.com where you can transfer playlists to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and others

Songs to help you relax and unwind. Updated every Sunday.

Discover new music from artists we think you'll like. Refreshed every Friday.

Whether it’s a weekday morning or Saturday night, get going with this personalized set of upbeat music. Refreshed every Monday.

Some moments require a soundtrack that lies lightly in the background without calling attention to itself. These calming tracks encompass gentle ambient music, acoustic new age, Tibetan prayer bowls, and the occasional sounds of ocean waves and rainfall—a mix specifically designed to help you clear your mind. We regularly update this playlist. If you like a piece, add it to your library.

During hair metal’s 1981–’93 golden age, balladry generally fell into one of two categories. The first is what can be tagged opera-in-spandex: power ballads that shattered the pillars of heaven with passion, heartache, and cresting guitar solos. Bon Jovi could nail this style in their sleep; ditto for Skid Row, whose Sebastian Bach proved to be one of the era’s most compelling screamers. The second category arrived towards the end of the ’80s and traded those high-decibel fireworks for stripped-down intimacy. Mr. Big and Warrant scored killer hits using this approach, yet Extreme’s “More Than Words” remains the gold standard for this unplugged style, with its graceful harmonies and vulnerability. If there’s one group that deserves a shout-out for possessing enough talent to excel at both, it surely is Guns N’ Roses, who churned out multipart epics and hushed acoustic gems with equal brilliance.

Serve up some crowd-pleasing sing-alongs.

During hair metal’s 1981–’93 golden age, balladry generally fell into one of two categories. The first is what can be tagged opera-in-spandex: power ballads that shattered the pillars of heaven with passion, heartache, and cresting guitar solos. Bon Jovi could nail this style in their sleep; ditto for Skid Row, whose Sebastian Bach proved to be one of the era’s most compelling screamers. The second category arrived towards the end of the ’80s and traded those high-decibel fireworks for stripped-down intimacy. Mr. Big and Warrant scored killer hits using this approach, yet Extreme’s “More Than Words” remains the gold standard for this unplugged style, with its graceful harmonies and vulnerability. If there’s one group that deserves a shout-out for possessing enough talent to excel at both, it surely is Guns N’ Roses, who churned out multipart epics and hushed acoustic gems with equal brilliance.

There’s a lot that unites the wild and crazy hair-metal bands from the ’80s (and early ’90s). Besides a shared love of skyscraping hairdos and tight pants, all of them unleash screeching hot licks and tales of all-night debauchery. Yet there’s plenty that’s different: Whereas Guns N’ Roses revel in back-alley danger, Poison burst with bubblegum; whereas Mötley Crüe embrace punk’s snottiness, Bon Jovi get their hands dirty with blue-collar rock. One more thing about hair metal: power ballads. Some of these party animals penned dramatic odes to heartache that rank right up there with rock ’n’ roll’s greatest.

There's an undeniable effortlessness to the way Skid Row pivot from pop power ballads to brutal heaviness. Of course, with a vocalist as dynamic as Sebastian Bach, anything's possible. On 1989's dramatic tearjerker “I Remember You,” Bach's heartbroken wails reach up to the heavens, soaring over acoustic guitars while crossing paths with screeching axes. In contrast, “Monkey Business” spotlights his vengeful shriek as it climbs over rumbling power chords and a banging cowbell. Bach even experiments with bassy growls on “Piece of Me,” a song inspired by grunge's muddy wallop.