Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980-1995) is the first greatest hits album and the band’s second compilation album. The album was originally released in the UK on 23 October, 1995 and released in North America a few days later on 31 October, by Mercury Records. Vault went on to be certified gold in four countries, platinum in three and multi-platinum in two. In the US, the album topped the five million mark in June 2011 and was certified 5x platinum by the RIAA. It won Metal Edge magazine’s 1995 Reader’s Choice Award for “Best Hits or Compilation Album.”

From the Album Hysteria (1987)

“Pour Some Sugar on Me” reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 23 July, 1988, and is considered by many to be the band’s signature song. “Pour Some Sugar On Me” was ranked No. 2 on VHS1’s “100 Greatest Songs on the 80s” in 2006.Near the end of recording the album Hysteria, during a break, Joe Elliott was jamming with a riff he had come up with two weeks earlier on an acoustic guitar. Producer Mutt Lange, expressing great liking of it, suggested that it be developed into another song.

From the album Pyromania (1983)

“Photograph” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart, were it stayed for six weeks, and No. 12 on the the Pop Singles chart. In 2009 it was named the 13th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1. It was also listed as the No. 17 greatest song of the past 25 years by VH1.

From the album Hysteria (1987)

Following the huge momentum generated by “Pour Some Sugar On Me”, this song was released in August 1988. It peaked atop the US Billboard Hot 100, reached No. 11 in the United Kingdom, No. 2 in New Zealand, No. 3 in Canada, and No. 7 in Ireland.

From the album Adrenalize (1992)

“Let’s Get Rocked” was released in 1992 as a single from the multi-platinum album Adrenalize. The song peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 2 on the UK Single Chart, and No. 3 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart.

From the album Retroactive (1993)

“Two Steps Behind” released in 1993 from the album Retroactive and Last Action Hero soundtrack. It reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was voted “Song of the Year” and “Best Song From a Movie Soundtrack” in the 1993 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Awards.

The acoustic version featured on the Vault: Greatest Hits album differs from the original B-Side, as it includes the strings by Michael Kamen and was on the Fast Action Hero soundtrack.

From the album Hysteria (1987)

“Animal” was the second single release off the album and became the band’s first Top 10 hit in their native UK, reaching No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart. The song has been referred to by the band as having been one of the most difficult tracks to record for Hysteria despite it being one of the first songs developed for the record in early 1984.

From the album Pyromania (1983)

“Foolin” is the 1983 single from their multi-platinum album Pyromania. When released as a single later that year, it reached No. 9 on the Mainstream Rock chart and No. 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The music video was shot in June 1983 at the Ritz Theatre in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and was directed by David Mallet. There is a rare “Performance Only” version of the video, which focuses solely on the concert scenes. This version was briefly shown during the Ultimate Albums episode of the “Making of Pyromania” in 2002.

From the album Hysteria (1987)

"Rocket" is the sixth (seventh in the US) and final single release from Hysteria, coming out in January 1989 and hitting the Top 15 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart.

“When Love and Hate Collide” is a power ballad from the 1995 Vault: Greatest Hits album. It was originally written and demoed for Adrenalize, but not finalized until 1995 for its inclusion on Vault. The original demo version contains the final recorded guitar solo by the late original guitarist Steve Clark.

From the album Hysteria (1987)

“Armageddon It” was released as a single in 1988 and went to No. 3 in the United States, becoming the band’s fourth top-ten hit. It also reached the top 10 in Canada and New Zealand and the top 20 in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The vocal style of the song is described as “T. Rex meets Eddie Cochran with backing vocals,” according to lead singer Joe Elliott in the liner notes for Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits (1980-1995).

From the album Adrenalize (1992)

“Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” is the 1992 single from the multi-platinum album Adrenalize. In the United States, the song reached No. 7 on the Mainstream Rock charts, and No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Acoustic Hippies from Hell, credited on the B-side tracks, was the name used by Def Leppard and the Hothouse Flowers performing together.

From the album Pyromania (1983)

“Rock of Ages” was released as a single in the United States. The song reached No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 19 on the Cash Box Top 100. It also hit No. 1 on the Top Tracks Rock chart. In 2012, the band re-recorded the song, along with “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” under the title “Rock of Ages 2012.” The song begins with “Gunter gleiben glausen globen,” a German-ish nonsense phrase introduced by Mutt Lange. The story goes that Mutt would who would do dozens of takes, and after repeatedly beginning so many with the standard count, “One, two three, four,” he simply started saying nonsense words instead. The band liked this Mutt-invention so much they included it on the album.

From the album Hysteria (1987)

“Hysteria” is a love song and the tenth track on their 1987 album of the same name. It was released as the third single in November 1987. The song peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song features a clean guitar melody and heavily multi-tracked vocals in its chorus. An acoustic rendition of the song was performed by Elliott and guitarist Phil Collen on the Hysteria edition of VH1’s Classic Albums.

From the album Retroactive (1993)

The album features touched-up versions of B-sides and previously unreleased recordings from sessions ranging from 1984 to 1993. The album charted at No. 9 on the Billboard 2005 and No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart. After releasing only five albums over the course of a twelve-year period, the band used Retroactive to break that habit, provide a treat for diehard fans, and bid farewell to the “Steve Clark”-era of the band.

From the album High n’ Dry (1981)

"Bringin' On the Heartbreak" is a power ballad originally recorded and released as the second single from their 1981 album High 'n' Dry. The song was written by three of the band's original members: Steve Clark, Pete Willis, and Joe Elliott. The song was commercially released in the U.S. on 13 November, with "Me and My Wine" (a non-album track) and "You Got Me Runnin'" included as B-sides. It did not appear on the U.S. charts, but its music video was picked up by MTV and received heavy rotation. The popularity of the video and the exposure the band received caused a resurgence in sales of High 'n' Dry, which subsequently sold over two million copies.