Oh how I hate posting rumors. Sometimes though, you can substantiate these with already known bits of information. With that in mind, here are the biggest Rock Band 2 rumors I have read to date that could easily change someones mind on whether “Should I get Guitar Hero World Tour or Rock Band 2?”

Rumor 1 – All Rock Band 1 tracks will be available to download for free:

Xbox360.IGN.com editor Nate Ahearn had this to say in a discussion on GHWT vs Rock Band 2:

Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour create an interesting situation for gamers. If you bought Rock Band 1 then chances are you’ll feel cheated by the release of RB2, thus you’d think that GHWT would be the way to go as it somewhat redefines the music gaming genre. However, if you didn’t buy the first Rock Band then I would absolutely agree with notagoth. Immediately upon purchasing Rock Band 2 you’ll have the ability to download a huge library of songs, as well as all of the songs off of the original disc as a free download. Then again, Guitar Hero World Tour does allow users to create and share their own songs, so it’s really only a matter of time until the Rock Band library is eclipsed. At the end of the day it could come down to which series has earned your allegiance over the last year since RB’s original release.

Even knowing that at times IGN likes to play a prank or two, this was during a “private” discussion available only to IGN Insiders found here. When this was posted on the official Rock Band forums, the thread was locked, however no statement of “this is wrong” was made, and the information was not deleted from the original post. In fact, a moderator only asked that this be put in a ’speculation and request thread.’

Personally, I would love to believe this, love it. Harmonix seems like a good enough company to make this happen for the people who have purchased Rock Band 1. To back this up somewhat, we do already know that Rock Band 1 and 2 music is compatible with one another, so having the first game’s set of music available to Rock Band 2 would just be a matter of copying the music to your hard drive. E3 could not come soon enough.

Rumor 2 – The Tracklist:

On Wikipedia, there is claims of a playtester who has played the game, and posted as many tracks as he could remember, which is a pretty good amount. Some thoughts after the list:

tangled up in blue (bob dylan)
bad to the bone (george thorogood)
we’ve got the beat (go-gos)
bad reputation (joan jett)
pinball wizard (the who)
dammit (blink 182)
thats what you get (paramore)
the trees (rush)
ace of spades (motorhead)
chop suey (system of a down)
testify (rage against the machine)
spirit in the sky (norman greenbaum)
ramblin’ man (allman brothers)
rebel girl (bikini kill)
eye of the tiger (survivor)
panic attack (dreamtheater)
everlong (foo fighters)
one step closer (linkin park)
lump (presidents of the USA)
come out and play (offspring)
drain you (nirvana)
]carry on my wayward son (kansas)
peace sells (megadeth)
souls of black (testament)
livin on a prayer (bon jovi)
round and round (ratt)
new kid in school (the donnas) – ???
alright now (free)
today (smashing pumpkins)
man in the box (alice in chains)
any way you want it (journey)
holiday in cambodia (dead kennedys)
give it away (red hot chili peppers
white wedding (billy idol)
hello there (cheap trick)
cool for cats (squeeze)
psycho killer (talking heads)
? (devo) – ???
one way or another (blondie)
de-luxe (lush)
push it (static-x)
pump it up (elvis costello)
master exploder (tenacious d)
bandages (hot hot heat)
PDA (interpol)
my own worst enemy (lit)
float on (modest mouse)
aqualung (jethro tull)
spoonman (soundgarden)
]bodhisatva (steely dan)
suffer (bad religion)
i was wrong (social distortion)
american woman (the guess who)
you oughta know (alanis morrissette)
mountain song (jane’s addiction)
stop! (against me)
hungry like the wolf (duran duran)
alabama getaway (grateful dead)

Now, from what we already know about the game, I went ahead and put in bold the tracks that have been shown already. The others, much like the other rumor, I just want to believe. There is just enough diversity in this list that it seems very plausible. Unlike the last rumor though, I take this one with a larger grain of salt based on its source, Wikipedia.

On the ScoreHero forums, a supposed playtester had posted a much smaller list that did in fact collaborate with the list above and the previous songs leaked, that users list was as follows:

SOAD – Chop Suey
Linkin Park – One Step Closer
Megadeath – Peace Sells
Rage against the Machine – Testify
Foo Fighters – Everlong
The Guess Who – American Woman
Billy Idol – White Wedding
Allanis Morrisette – You Oughta Know
Jethro Tull – Aqua Lung
Joan Jett – Bad Reputation
Nirvana – Drain You
Alice in Chains – Man in the Box
Soundgarden – Spoonman

This user could be the same one posting on Wikipedia though, so all you can do now is hope. Myself, I am going to find a way to knock myself into a coma only to be awoken when E3 is here.

(Note: Special thanks to NeoGAF member rohlfinator for YouTubin’ those tracks)

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