Ranking Every Song by Def Leppard

1. 100. Action – Retro Active (1993)

2. 99. Kings of Oblivion – Euphoria (1999)

3. 98. Come Undone – Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)

4. 97. Man Enough – Def Leppard (2015)

5. 96. I Wanna be Your Hero – Retro Active (1993)

6. 95. 20th Century Boy – Yeah! (2006)

7. 94. Cry – X (2002)

8. 93. The Golden Age of Rock’n’Roll – Yeah! (2006)

9. 92. Wings of an Angel – Def Leppard (2015)

10. 91. Breath a Sigh – Slang (1996)

11. 90. No No No – High ‘N’ Dry (1981)

12. 89. SOS Emergency – Diamond Star Halos (2022)

13. 88. Answer to the Master – On Through the Night (1980)

14. 87. Last Dance – Def Leppard (2015)

15. 86. Fire it Up – Diamond Star Halos (2022)

16. 85. Tomorrow – Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)

17. 84. Forever Young – Def Leppard (2015)

18. 83. Open Your Eyes – Diamond Star Halos (2022)

19. 82. Little Bit of Love – Yeah! (2006)

20. 81. Everyday – X (2002)

21. 80. All Time High – Def Leppard (2015)

22. 79. You’re So Beautiful – X (2002)

23. 78. U Rok Mi – Diamond Star Halos (2022)

24. 77. Love – Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)

25. 76. Let Me be the One – X (2002)

26. 75. Switch 625 – High ‘N’ Dry (1981)

One of my favorite instrumentals from the 1980s.

27. 74. Unbelievable – X (2002)

28. 73. Day After Day – Euphoria (1999)

29. 72. Waterloo Sunset – Yeah! (2006)

30. 71. Hangin’ On the Telephone – Yeah! (2006)

31. 70. Scar – X (2002)

32. 69. It’s Only Love – Euphoria (1999)

33. 68. Miss You in a Heartbeat – Retro Active (1993)

34. 67. On Through the Night – High ‘N’ Dry (1981)

35. 66. Goodbye – Euphoria (1999)

36. 65. It Don’t Matter – On Through the Night (1980)

37. 64. Nine Lives (feat. Tim McGraw) – Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)

A solid collaboration with country music star Tim McGraw. I wonder if our sister station, 93Q Country, gave it any spins.

38. 63. White Lightning – Adrenalize (1992)

39. 62. Another Hit and Run – High ‘N’ Dry (1981)

40. 61. Personal Property – Adrenalize (1992)

41. 60. Action! Not Words – Pyromania (1983)

42. 59. Guilty – Euphoria (1999)

43. 58. No Matter What – Yeah! (2006)

44. 57. Deliver Me – Slang (1996)

45. 56. Bad Actress – Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)

46. 55. Dangerous – Def Leppard (2015)

47. 54. Excitable – Hysteria (1987)

This might be the most 1980s-ish song Def Leppard ever released.

48. 53. Long Long Way to Go – X (2002)

My favorite song from X.

49. 52. Rock Brigade – On Through the Night (1980)

50. 51. Sea of Love – Def Leppard (2015)

51. 50. Let’s Go – Def Leppard (2015)

Let’s Go signals, to me at least, that Def Leppard settled on a sound that still has flavors of their past, but modernized for a present audience and deserving of some attention.

52. 49. Wasted – On Through the Night (1980)

53. 48. Rock On – Yeah! (2006)

The best cover off Yeah!, Rock On sounds like it was meant to be played by the band, and it’s been a concert staple for some time.

54. 47. Die Hard the Hunter – Pyromania (1983)

55. 46. Run Riot – Hysteria (1987)

56. 45. Take What You Want – Diamond Star Halos (2022)

57. 44. Rocks Off – On Through the Night (1980)

58. 43. This Guitar (feat. Alison Krauss) – Diamond Star Halos (2022)

A beautiful duet between country singer Alison Krauss and Joe Elliott, which seems like a far cry from typical Def Leppard material, but a great example of Def Leppard’s range and progression through the 2000s and beyond.

59. 42. Overture – On Through the Night (1980)

On Through the Night isn’t my favorite debut album by any means, but Overture is something very different from anything Def Leppard has put out that in my mind works very well. It’s seven minute plus runtime likely scares away most from giving it a listen, but it’s definitely worth your time.

60. 41. Billy’s Got a Gun – Pyromania (1983)

61. 40. Kick – Diamond Star Halos (2022)

Kick is my favorite song off of Def Leppard’s most recent record release, which sounds a lot like the band has figured out what the band should sound like in the sixth decade they’ve been playing music in. It’s a pretty fun song!

62. 39. All I Want is Everything – Slang (1996)

One of the few redeeming songs off Slang, All I Want is Everything is a great soft ballad from a Def Leppard figuring out their sound’s direction midway through the 1990s.

63. 38. Too Late for Love – Pyromania (1983)

64. 37. Mirror Mirror (Look into My Eyes) – High ‘N’ Dry (1981)

65. 36. Lady Strange – High ‘N’ Dry (1981)

66. 35. To Be Alive – Euphoria (1999)

67. 34. Just Like 73 [feat. Tom Morello] – (2024)

I hadn’t heard about this song until I saw Def Leppard for this first time this past summer at Minute Maid Park. It’s a fun track that proves Def Leppard still has some gas left in the tank this far removed from the heights of Hysteria. 

68. 33. Comin’ Under Fire – Pyromania (1983)

69. 32. Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion) – Adrenalize (1992)

70. 31. Heaven Is – Adrenalize (1992)

71. 30. Demolition Man – Euphoria (1999)

Another champion of my “Euphoria is a good album” campaign.

72. 29. 21st Century Sha La La La Girl – Euphoria (1999)

I can understand the split opinion to an extent when it comes to this song – however it’s a true hidden gem in my mind off of Euphoria. It borrows the opening riff from Pour Some Sugar On Me and gives it new life on what seemingly is the last gasp of the 1980s before the calendar turned to 2000. Whenever the track comes up on shuffle, it’s never a “skip.”

73. 28. Tonight – Adrenalize (1992)

74. 27. High ‘N’ Dry (Saturday Night) – High ‘N’ Dry (1981)

75. 26. Let It Go – High ‘N’ Dry (1981)

76. 25. Paper Sun – Def Leppard

A continued theme of this ranking list, Euphoria delivers Paper Sun, a massively underrated track that even few major Def Leppard fans might not recognize.

77. 24. Stagefright – Pyromania (1983)

78. 23. Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop) – Pyromania (1983)

79. 22. I Wanna Touch U – Adrenalize (1992)

80. 21. Have You Ever Needed Someone so Bad – Adrenalize (1992)

81. 20. Foolin’ – Pyromania (1983)

82. 19. Women – Hysteria (1987)

83. 18. You Got Me Runnin’ – High ‘N’ Dry (1981)

Hearing this song while flying down the highway makes it hard to obey the speed limit.

84. 17. Tear It Down – Adrenalize (1992)

85. 16. Make Love Like a Man – Adrenalize (1992)

86. 15. Gods of War – Hysteria (1987)

87. 14. Love and Affection – Hysteria (1987)

88. 13. Don’t Shoot Shotgun – Hysteria (1987)

89. 12. Let’s Get Rocked – Adrenalize (1992)

The best song of Adrenalize, Let’s Get Rocked in my mind cements the belief that the record is a great piece of pure Def Leppard – a hangover from Hysteria that was needed as hair metal was on the way out. It’s a shame this is one of the last great records from that era, regardless of what the critics say. Why mess with a tried and true formula and sound?

90. 11. Armageddon It – Hysteria (1987)

91. 10. Two Steps Behind (String/Acoustic) – Retro Active (1993)

Retro Active is far from my favorite music in Def Leppard’s catalog, but the acoustic version of Two Steps Behind is a fantastic song. Def Leppard knows how to slow things down when they need to.

92. 9. Hysteria – Hysteria (1987)

The song from the legendary album of the same name sneaks into the top-10 at nine.

93. 8. Love Bites – Hysteria (1987)

94. 7. Rock of Ages – Pyromania (1983)

I got something to say: Rock of Ages is easily one of the band’s most-iconic tracks. It’s no wonder it ended up in my top-10.

95. 6. Rocket – Hysteria (1987)

96. 5. Promises – Euphoria (1999)

Euphoria doesn’t get enough love as a Def Leppard record, as the band went back to the sound that made them kings of the 1980s. Promises sounds like it belongs on Hysteria, but it’s nice Def Leppard gave the sound of the 80s one last moment in the spotlight, before the new millennia rolled in.

97. 4. Bringin’ On the Heartbreak (1984 Remix) – High ‘N’ Dry (1981)

Both versions of this song are great, but the 1984 remix by producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange from High ‘N’ Dry‘s 1984 reissue specifically is the one I’m slotting in at four.

98. 3. Pour Some Sugar On Me – Hysteria (1987)

The anthem of Def Leppard at the height of their popularity. Pour Some Sugar On Me to me is one of the staple songs synonymous with 80s hair metal.

99. 2. Animal – Hysteria (1987)

It was nearly a toss up between Animal and the number one song on my list for the top spot. The track is as pure Def Leppard as it comes.

100. 1. Photograph – Pyromania (1983)

Every time I hear this song, I’m filled with the happiest of nostalgic childhood memories; getting packed up in the truck and flying up the interstate for a weekend at the lake in Wisconsin. This song seemed to play over the airwaves on every trip up north every summer. When I get the rare chance to make the over 1,000-mile drive north, this song is locked and loaded on whatever playlist I find myself listening to. This is, in my mind, the best song Def Leppard ever recorded.

It’s also been in constant rotation on Los Santos Rock Radio for the last 11 years, for all the GTA V players out there. Hope you enjoyed my list. Head over to Houston’s Eagle’s Facebook or Instagram and leave your thoughts on the rankings in the comments of the related posts!