POINT: Journey Fucking Rules.

Okay, I'll say it. I mean, somebody has to. I know who the best rock band of the 70's and 80's was.

I was listening to the radio the other day and "Wheel in the Sky" by Journey came on, and I thought to myself, Now this is a fucking great song. It's got this awesome hook and this powerful rhythm section thing going on, and vocals that sound like a majestic eagle swooping down onto the back of a fierce and mighty panther, and the two of them rushing off together to fight crime on the streets of Detroit to keep the citizens safe from worry.

And then I thought something else. This isn't even Journey's best song. Not even close. Not even by a long shot. I mean, there's "Open Arms," there's "Faithfully," there's "Any Way You Want It" and frat-house favorite "Don't Stop Believin'," not to mention my personal favorite, the explosive, profound "Separate Ways." There's a whole canon of material that rocks as hard today as it did the day it was recorded.

No. Even fucking harder.

What other band has a catalog that consistent and that intense? Is there another band whose fourth or fifth best song rivals the best from the other bands of their era? "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" puts to shame the best of Foreigner and Boston, and "Who's Crying Now" can hang with "Crazy Train" and "Here I Go Again" at the same time, not to mention pretty much anything written since.

This isn't to say that Journey could hang with Elvis Costello and Jackson Browne (they can't), or that if Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings were playing across the street from Journey I would go see Journey (I wouldn't), but if I had to pick only one rock band from the 70's and 80's to ever listen to again, well, let's just say I'd know exactly who it'd be.

I mean, see what I mean?