Forget working your way up from the bottom — the real American dream is to tour the country unleashing a righteous typhoon of face-melting riffs. Even if you've never strummed a chord, Harmonix's Rock Band will give you and three other living-room rockers Dio-like powers. This simulator for Xbox 360 and both PlayStation 2 and 3 takes the formula from Guitar Hero to the next level, complementing the onscreen lead guitar cues with additional prompts for a drummer and bassist, and karaoke-style lyrics for a vocalist. Don't worry about collecting couch change for a Les Paul — everything you need is bundled with the Special Edition package. And if your deadbeat drummer keeps ditching practice, an online community lets you outsource to willing rockers worldwide. Throw in fresh song downloads every week — original recordings ranging from Rush to Radiohead — and it just may be time to get the band back together.
$170, rockband.com
