If you close your eyes and listen closely, you can still hear the sound of plastic buttons clacking rhythmically to the opening notes of "Shout at the Devil." Honestly, for a whole generation, Guitar Hero 2 wasn't just a game. It was a lifestyle. It was the reason your parents yelled at you to finish your homework while you were busy trying to five-star "Hangar 18."
The list of songs Guitar Hero 2 offered up back in 2006 was a masterclass in pacing. It didn't just dump a bunch of tracks on you; it took you on a journey from "Opening Licks" to "Face-Melters." It felt like you were actually progressing through the ranks of a rock god, starting in a literal high school gym and ending at Stonehenge.
The Main Setlist: From Zero to Guitar Hero
The structure of the game was basically a ladder. You had 40 main career tracks on the original PlayStation 2 version, split into eight tiers. Each tier had four songs and an encore. You couldn't just skip to the end. You had to earn your way past the "Amp-Warmers" before you even got a sniff of the harder stuff.
1. Opening Licks
This was the "don't embarrass yourself" stage. It was simple, fun, and mostly about getting your timing down.
- Shout at the Devil – Mötley Crüe
- Mother – Danzig
- Surrender – Cheap Trick
- Woman – Wolfmother
- Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight – Spinal Tap (Encore)
2. Amp-Warmers
A step up, but still manageable. This is where you started to see some chord changes that required more than two fingers.
- Strutter – KISS
- Heart-Shaped Box – Nirvana
- Message in a Bottle – The Police
- You Really Got Me – Van Halen
- Carry on Wayward Son – Kansas (Encore)
3. String-Snappers
Now the game started to fight back. "Monkey Wrench" was a cardio workout for your strumming arm.
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- Monkey Wrench – Foo Fighters
- Them Bones – Alice in Chains
- Search and Destroy – Iggy Pop and the Stooges
- Tattooed Love Boys – The Pretenders
- War Pigs – Black Sabbath (Encore)
4. Thrash and Burn
This tier was a weird mix of hair metal and classic rock. "Sweet Child O' Mine" was the big prize here, and that intro riff was the first major "wall" for many players.
- Cherry Pie – Warrant
- Who Was in My Room Last Night? – Butthole Surfers
- Girlfriend – Matthew Sweet
- Can't You Hear Me Knocking – The Rolling Stones
- Sweet Child O' Mine – Guns N' Roses (Encore)
5. Return of the Shred
Things got heavy here. "Killing in the Name" had that iconic, chunky riff that just felt amazing to play with the volume turned up.
- Killing in the Name – Rage Against the Machine
- John the Fisherman – Primus
- Freya – The Sword
- Bad Reputation – Thin Lizzy
- Last Child – Aerosmith (Encore)
6. Relentless Riffs
If you didn't know how to "alt-strum" by this point, "Rock This Town" probably ended your career.
- Crazy on You – Heart
- Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart – Stone Temple Pilots
- Rock This Town – Stray Cats
- Jessica – The Allman Brothers Band
- Stop! – Jane's Addiction (Encore)
7. Furious Fretwork
The name wasn't lying. "Psychobilly Freakout" is still one of the most frantic songs in the entire franchise. It's just non-stop.
- Madhouse – Anthrax
- Carry Me Home – The Living End
- Laid to Rest – Lamb of God
- Psychobilly Freakout – The Reverend Horton Heat
- YYZ – Rush (Encore)
8. Face-Melters
The final boss tier. If you could finish "Free Bird," you were officially the coolest person in your friend group.
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- Beast and the Harlot – Avenged Sevenfold
- Institutionalized – Suicidal Tendencies
- Misirlou – Dick Dale
- Hangar 18 – Megadeth
- Free Bird – Lynyrd Skynyrd (Encore)
What Changed with the Xbox 360 Version?
When the game jumped to the Xbox 360 in 2007, it wasn't just a port. It was sort of a "GH2.5." They added 10 exclusive songs to the main setlist, which changed the flow of the game. If you played on 360, you got to experience:
- The Trooper – Iron Maiden
- Billion Dollar Babies – Alice Cooper
- Hush – Deep Purple
- Life Wasted – Pearl Jam
- Rock n' Roll, Hoochie Koo – Rick Derringer
- Salvation – Rancid
- Drink Up – Ounce of Self
- Possum Kingdom – Toadies
- The Search – TRAPT
- Dead! – My Chemical Romance
They also re-ordered some tiers. For instance, "Cherry Pie" got moved to an earlier tier because, let’s be real, it wasn't harder than "Sweet Child O' Mine."
The Bonus Tracks: Where the Real Challenge Hid
While the main list of songs in Guitar Hero 2 was iconic, the Bonus Tracks were where Harmonix (the developers) tucked away the indie gems and the absolute nightmares. Most of these were by "Harmonix bands"—groups that included employees or friends of the studio.
You had to buy these in the in-game store using the virtual cash you earned from playing gigs. Some were just catchy, like "Less Talk More Rokk" by Freezepop. Others were legendary.
"Jordan" by Buckethead is the one everyone remembers. It was essentially the hardest song in rhythm gaming history at that point. The solo was so fast and weird that it felt like you needed a third hand.
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Other notable bonus tracks:
- Six – All That Remains (A metalcore nightmare on Expert)
- Thunder Horse – Dethklok (From the show Metalocalypse)
- Trogdor – Strong Bad (A massive internet meme at the time)
- The Light That Blinds – Shadows Fall
Why the Setlist Still Matters Today
Looking back, the list of songs Guitar Hero 2 curated was incredibly smart. It mixed legitimate legends like Sabbath and Nirvana with "guitarist's guitarists" like Dick Dale and Rush. It taught kids what a "bridge" was and the difference between a hammer-on and a pull-off.
More importantly, it introduced people to genres they never would have touched. I knew plenty of pop fans who suddenly found themselves headbanging to Lamb of God. That was the magic of the game—it made the music physical.
If you’re looking to revisit these tracks, you have a few options in 2026. While the original hardware (PS2/Xbox 360) is the "purest" way to play due to the specific timing windows of those consoles, many fans have migrated to Clone Hero on PC. It's a fan-made project that lets you import the entire GH2 setlist and play with modern hardware.
Next Steps for the Retro Gamer:
- Check your attic: If you still have the Gibson X-Plorer (the white wired 360 guitar), hold onto it. It's widely considered the best guitar controller ever made and sells for a premium now.
- Get the setlist on PC: Download Clone Hero and look for the "Guitar Hero II" track pack. It includes all the covers and master tracks from both the PS2 and 360 versions.
- Practice your HOPOs: If you're struggling with the harder tiers, remember that GH2 has much stricter timing than GH3. You can't just mash; you have to be precise.
The legacy of this tracklist isn't just in the high scores—it’s in the fact that many of us can still hum every single note of the "Jessica" solo twenty years later.