The article is a personal, opinion-led list from American Songwriter highlighting three classic rock songs from the 1980s the author considers underrated, spanning alternative rock, hard rock and blues rock. It celebrates tracks that achieved notable chart success at the time but have since faded from wider public memory, arguing they remain just as compelling decades later.

– "Under The Milky Way" by The Church (from the 1988 album Starfish) blended 1960s psychedelia with 1980s new wave and reached No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100.
– "Love Removal Machine" by The Cult (1987) hit No. 15 on the US Mainstream Rock chart and performed similarly well on the UK Singles chart.
– "Tuff Enuff" by The Fabulous Thunderbirds revived blues rock in the mainstream, peaking at No. 10 in the US, though the band never matched that success again.