My Favorite Power Ballads (Late ‘70s - Early ‘90s)

In my previous video, we looked at ballads from the 1950s and 1960s, and today we're fast-forwarding to the era of big hair, big guitars, and way too much makeup. It's time to explore the best ballads of the late 1970s through the early 1990s.

As you'll hear me mention in the video, this era of rock is definitely NOT my favorite. I mostly find this era to be self-indulgent and silly. But... I cannot resist the appeal of the powerful ballads that came out of this time period. This, to me, illustrates the power of ballads. They can make a fan of someone who isn't a fan of your usual music.

Let's dive in...

Full Song List

I only had time to talk about 10 of them in the video, but here's a full list of my favorite power ballads. Playlist links for popular music services are below.

• Cryin' (Aerosmith)
• Take My Breath Away (Berlin)
• Love of a Lifetime (2024 Remaster) (FireHouse)
• If I Ever Saw A Good Thing (Great White)
• November Rain (Guns N' Roses)
• All My Love (Led Zeppelin)
• Love Hurts (Nazareth)
• It Must Have Been Love (Roxette)
• I'll Never Let You Go (Steelheart)
• Angel (Aerosmith)
• What It Takes (Aerosmith)
• When I See You Smile (Bad English)
• Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone) (Cinderella)
• High Enough (Damn Yankees)
• When I Look Into Your Eyes (FireHouse)
• I Want to Know What Love Is (Foreigner)
• Estranged (Guns N' Roses)
• What About Love? (Heart)
• Open Arms (2022 Remaster) (Journey)
• Faithfully (Journey)
• I'm Gonna Crawl (Led Zeppelin)
• Home Sweet Home (Mötley Crüe)
• Mama, I'm Coming Home (Ozzy Osbourne)
• Purple Rain (Prince & The Revolution)
• Keep On Loving You (REO Speedwagon)
• Can't Fight This Feeling (REO Speedwagon)
• Spending My Time (Roxette)
• Love Is On the Way (Saigon Kick)
• Wind of Change (Scorpions)
• Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now (Starship)
• Always There for You (Stryper)
• Honestly (Stryper)

Playlist Links

Here are links to playlists containing these songs on the most popular music services.

• Apple Music
• Spotify
• Amazon Music
• YouTube Music