Chris Ford

You all presumably know the facts of life by now. The birds do it. The bees do it. Hopefully you're all doing it, too. Sex is, obviously, everywhere. And rock and metal is no exception. Many is the scrawny nerd who picked up a guitar with the hope of turning his luck in love around. And sometimes it worked.

In 1993, Marilyn Manson hit the metal mainstream, sending kids to the record stores and scaring the crap out of parents. While the heavy sound and edgy lyrical content were a big part of the band's appeal, the band's videos certainly played a significant role in their huge success. From the early days of sloppy lipstick and ripped fishnets to the androgynous glam-rock image the band toyed with, they constantly worked to keep the fans on their toes and the parents complaining.

We've been looking at the evolution of the hard rock riff, and we've gotten to the turn of the century. The riff has come a long way since it was born some time ago and in our latest list we can see how it has evolved.

The '90s were a confusing period in musical history. Hair metal was on its way out, but it hadn't quite died yet. Grunge and "alternative" rock were just finding their way into the mainstream. According to noise rock pioneers Sonic Youth, 1991 was the year punk finally broke through. Many artists and bands that emerged during the '90s straddled genres or just created their own.

John Michael Osbourne, better known as Ozzy Osbourne, has been a mainstay of popular culture ever since metal pioneers Black Sabbath hit the big time. Ozzy has built a reputation for himself as a wild man. His antics in the '70s and '80s marked him as the ultimate rock and roll party animal. So it's no surprise that he has left in his wake some of the craziest stories of hedonism and over-the-top adventures ever known to man.

As people start defrosting their turkeys in preparation for Thanksgiving, they are also planning for the shopping bacchanal known as "Black Friday," where hordes of shoppers descend onto outlet malls and discount shopping centers to sate their lust for the best deals on electronics and household items.

Nine Inch Nails have released 12 studio albums to date, as well as numerous tracks for compilations and soundtracks. Band founder Trent Reznor has received high accolades from critics and fans alike, including a ton of nominations for major music awards. Reznor's even taken home a few of those, including two Grammy awards. With all those tracks out there, some are sure to fall through the cracks. But there isn't much filler to be found when sifting through the vast Nine Inch Nails discography.

The '80s were a golden age for guitar-driven rock and roll. Coming strong off the hard rock scene of the '70s and bolstered by the emergence of MTV, riff rock has never been as popular as it was thirty years ago. During this golden era, guitars ruled the day. Bands like Van Halen, Guns N' Roses and Skid Row made the girls scream and the guys shred on their air guitars.

Throughout the history of rock and metal, certain artists have risen to the top to become legends. Many of these artists started out with a favorite guitar, or they developed something new to suit their ever-expanding needs as a musician. Many of these guitars became iconic symbols on their own.

Motörhead exist in a class all by themselves. Band leader Lemmy Kilmister and company have been satisfying the world's need for heavy, fast, raw rock and roll for nearly 40 years, and they still rock harder than most anybody else. Lemmy makes playing bass look cooler than anybody else who's ever tried. They have influenced almost every metal band that has come along since they formed, and have inspired more than a dozen tribute albums.