A music game is only as good as the songs it includes. Harmonix vice president of product development Greg LoPiccolo told the Straight that the members of his group, which develops Rock Band, are “like the curators of rock”.

The tracks included with Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2 are all derived from master recordings, as opposed to remakes, and both games provide a mix of genres. World Tour is the only game to include Jimi Hendrix (“Purple Haze [Live]” and “The Wind Cries Mary”), Tool (“Parabola”, “Schism”, and “Vicarious”), and Van Halen (“Hot for Teacher”), while fans of AC/DC (“Let There Be Rock”) and Bob Dylan (“Tangled Up in Blue”) will be laying into Rock Band 2.

In addition, Guns N’ Roses’ new track, “Shackler’s Revenge”, from the long-awaited Chinese Democracy album, will debut on Rock Band 2.

Also included with Guitar Hero World Tour are songs by Billy Idol (“Rebel Yell”), Bon Jovi (“Livin’ on a Prayer”), the Eagles (“Hotel California”), the Guess Who (“American Woman”), Michael Jackson (“Beat It”), Nirvana (“About a Girl [Unplugged]”), R.E.M. (“The One I Love”), the Sex Pistols (“Pretty Vacant”), and Willie Nelson (“On the Road Again”).

Other Rock Band 2 highlights include Blondie (“One Way or Another”), Dinosaur Jr. (“Feel the Pain”), Elvis Costello (“Pump It Up”), Jethro Tull (“Aqualung”), Journey (“Any Way You Want It”), Modest Mouse (“Float On”), Sonic Youth (“Teen Age Riot”), and Rush (“The Trees”).