Bon Jovi finished 2010 as the No. 1 concert attraction in the world, according to figures compiled by Billboard magazine.

The Bon Jovi juggernaut rolled through 2010 — a year in which many big acts struggled to sell tickets during a tough economy, and especially during the summer, with an overload of acts on tour. Now Bon Jovi, which was also 2008’s top grossing touring act, is back on the road through this July — including Tuesday’s show at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City — and showing no signs of any loss in momentum.

To guitarist Richie Sambora, there’s a simple reason Bon Jovi not only weathered the tough economy, but thrived as a live act in 2010.

“What we have learned to do over … 28 years now of being together, is give good stadium,” the guitarist said during a late January teleconference interview with music writers. “I mean, that’s the best way I could put it.

“We try to give people the best production that you can possibly do and always try to up the ante on that,” Sambora said. “But, you know, this band is about the people in the band and the songs, and less about the production.”

Drummer Tico Torres, who was also on the conference call, agreed, noting that there is never a lack of effort when it comes to a Bon Jovi concert.

“We try to put on a great show every time we come out and change it up every time,” Torres said. “You’re talking two-and-a-half to three hours a night. And, you know, [you need to] give people a bang for their buck because it does cost a lot of money to see a rock and roll show these days.”

The idea of changing up the live show very much applies to Bon Jovi’s 2011 tour. When the tour started in February 2010, the group was supporting a new studio CD, “The Circle,” and showcasing material from that album. In November, though, the band (which also includes frontman Jon Bon Jovi and keyboardist David Byan) released a career-spanning greatest hits package. Now the show features basically a greatest hits set list.

And Bon Jovi has plenty of songs that fall into the greatest hits category.

Formed in 1983 in Sayreville, N.J., the band established its signature sound with its third CD, “Slippery When Wet,” which included hits like “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Wanted Dead or Alive.” That CD, coupled with the 1988 follow-up album “New Jersey” (another chart-topper with hits like “Bad Medicine” and “Born to Be My Baby”), sold a combined 19 million copies in the United States alone.

The band saw its popularity dip, though, heading into the 1990s as grunge supplanted pop metal as the predominant sound on rock radio. And while Bon Jovi’s music also took a grittier tone on 1992’s “Keep the Faith” and 1995’s “These Days,” neither album came close to matching the blockbuster sales of the preceding CDs.

But as a new century arrived, Bon Jovi bounced back in a big way. The 2000 CD, “Crush,” which marked a turn back toward Bon Jovi’s familiar arena pop-metal sound, scored a huge hit with the song “It’s My Life” and sold 8 million copies worldwide.

The resurgence continued with the 2003 CD, “Bounce” and 2005’s “Have a Nice Day.” The latter CD found Bon Jovi adding a little modern rock edge to rock songs on the CD, while also throwing a little bit of country into its sound. The latter influence particularly apparent on the single, “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” which featured Jennifer Nettles of the country group Sugarland. The song became a smash hit.

The flirtation with country continued on “Lost Highway,” which saw Bon Jovi and Sambora writing songs with country tunesmiths and then recording the CD in Nashville.

Things brings us to “The Circle.” This time Bon Jovi has returned to its arena pop sound, cranking out anthems like “We Weren’t Born to Follow” and “Thorn in My Side” and power ballads like “When We Were Beautiful” that wouldn’t feel out of place on “New Jersey.”

But Sambora said while “The Circle” may sound like classic Bon Jovi, there are also some adventurous elements to the CD.

“We’re actually moving in different sonic territory, I think, for Bon Jovi than I think we’ve ever done before,” he said. “There are all these different sounds that are coming in that we’ve never used before either.”

What’s an even bigger new wrinkle is the lyrical direction of “The Circle.” Sambora said when he and Bon Jovi began writing for the CD, the plan was to finish a handful of new tunes to round out a greatest hits CD. Instead, the songs started coming fast and furious, and Bon Jovi and Sambora found themselves tapping into topical themes (such as the recession and the arrival of President Barack Obama) that served as a notable departure from the group’s more common romantic fare.

“There was a lot of stuff, a lot of people, you know, how people were reacting to all these things that were happening all over the world,” Sambora said. “And Jon and I kind of plugged into that and — songs like ‘Work for the Working Man.’ You know, people were losing their jobs all over the place.

“We couldn’t have written this album if the world wasn’t in the state it was in,” Sambora said.

So instead of releasing the greatest hits collection in 2009, “The Circle” became the CD behind which Bon Jovi launched its current tour and the greatest hits album was pushed back to fall 2010.

The group should have little trouble not only filling its shows with popular songs for these shows, but changing up setlists from night to night. Sambora noted that the group played 70 to 80 different songs over the course of the 2010 concerts, and really varied its sets during an extended run of shows at London’s O2 Arena.

“When you do, like, 15 nights at the O2 in London or wherever the hell we did, you know, you got to mix it up,” Sambora said. “So we all — [we] even play covers, and we just look them up, like, when we get there. I mean this is a real band. This is not like a bunch of people dancing around, this, that and the other thing. We’re just going up there and playing like human beings.

“And I think that’s what people want to see. I really do,” he said. “I think people want to see the unity and even if you make a mistake, so what? You’re actually really playing.”

Once the current tour winds down, though, Bon Jovi figures to step out of the spotlight and go on hiatus. Jon Bon Jovi has hinted that he may do a solo album during this break.

“I think it’s important for us to just get away from the audience for a bit,” Torres said. “We’ve toured the world quite a bit and sometimes you’ve got to get away so people can appreciate you better. You also have to get away to live your life and create and, you know, recharge, not only your creative juices but, you as a person and then you address it. So I mean, the best thing I could tell you is we’re going to need a couple of years off for sure.”

Bon Jovi

When: Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Where: EnergySolutions Arena, 301 W. SouthTemple, Salt Lake City

Tickets: $19.50-$129.50, available at the boxoffice or through Smith’s Tix (800-888-TIXX, www.smithstix.com)locations

Info: (801) 325-SEAT,www.energysolutionsarena.com, www.smithstix.com