Shart song

We’ve all been there… at the worst possible time…

 

Every Guns N’ Roses song ranked

There have been a few lists like this made before, but the problem with the others is that THEY’RE ALL WRONG!

Here is the real list from worst to best…

74. My World

The illusion albums have been accused of having too much “filler” and while I tend to disagree this song can’t really be called anything else. It seems to foreshadow Axl’s interest in industrial metal.

73. You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory

Of all of Guns’ ballads this one has to be the dullest.

72. Oh My God

I actually bought the End of Days soundtrack for this song because at the time I was starved of GNR. I never liked it, but parts of it did grow on me over time.

71. So Fine

The best description of this song is “blah”.

70. Riad N’ The Bedouins

This song is just plain fucked.

69. Scraped

It is kind of cool to hear Axl’s layered vocals here, but overall the song is pretty dull.

68. New Rose

Another piece of Duff fluff.

67. If The World

This is probably the worst Axl’s voice ever sounded on a studio recording. Ironically it was one my kids enjoyed.

66. IRS

Fairly forgettable.

65. Raw Power

Of all songs to cover, why this?

64. Attitude

Maybe this one just got old quickly after appearing in a lot of their live performances.

63. Move to the City

A pretty bland cut from Lies.

62. Chinese Democracy 

Though a somewhat catchy chorus it isn’t a particularly great song. Although I must admit it’s pretty cool to hear Slash playing on it.

61. 14 Years

This is another selection from UYI2 that I always skip over.

60. Black Leather

I actually liked this song at first but it got really old really fast.

59. Sorry

I always felt this was Axl talking to Slash, making it an uncomfortable one to listen to (even though I’m pretty sire Axl denied this). Still it is just a middle-of-the-road song.

58. Catcher in the Rye

Aside from the nanana part, not much to this one.

57. Better

I didn’t initially care for Better, but when hearing it live for some reason I finally “got” it.

56. Prostitute

It took a while for this one to grow on me, but I found the lyrics to be relatable in an odd and unexpected way.

55. Hair of the Dog

A pretty faithful version of the original Nazareth song. It’s okay but the somewhat slow tempo makes it challenging to listen to a lot.

54. I Don’t Care about You

A pretty aggressive little tune where Axl sounds uniquely different.

53. Nice Boys

While Axl’s screeching is fun, this was always a CD skip for me.

52. Since I Don’t Have You

A very accessible tune that I enjoyed in the beginning but have since gotten bored of.

51. Human Being

I’ve always loved Axl’s lyrics in this one, a fun little song that moves.

50. Out ta Get Me

Certainly enjoyable, but nothing special by Appetite standards.

49. Street of Dreams

This was the very first song I heard from the newly formed Slash-less GNR, even though it was a crappy recording in which I think Axl’s mic malfunctioned; still it made me hopeful for the album I would not see for another four years.

48. Bad Obsession

I’ll take harmonicas and slide guitar over techno crap any day, but this still feels a bit odd, so some of its hooks were always lost on me.

47. Reckless Life

One of my favorites from the “live” part of Lies, I always enjoyed the aggressiveness of it.

46. Anything Goes

Yes this song is a little perverted, and I’m not crazy about the chicken guitar noises, but for some reason I’ve always had a soft spot for Anything Goes… maybe it’s because I’m inwardly a pervert who makes chicken noises.

45. Sympathy For the Devil

This song gets a bad wrap, there was supposedly a bunch of drama around the recording of it, but at the time it came out all I knew was that it was a brand new GNR cut, and having not heard the original, I loved it. Axl was still very much ontop of his game.

44. Get in the Ring

Overall just an okay song. The “I don’t like you…” part is pretty awesome though.

43. Buick Makane (Big Dumb Sex)

I used to love this tune when I fist got SI. It’s great to sing the ending when you’re angry.

42. Shotgun Blues

Another one that tends to get dumped on, but I quite like it and I don’t apologize. It’s mean and nasty and I like that. I would like to know why Izzy didn’t play on it though.

41. It’s So Easy

This was always among my least favorites on Appetite. I think maybe I didn’t get it, but what it really has going for it is that we get to hear a lot of Axl’s diversity.

40. You Ain’t the First

A little bit country and a little bit rock n’ roll. A catchy, fun little tune that makes me smile.

39. Madagascar

This was one of the first songs I heard from CD, when the new lineup of GNR played it live in 2006. Aside from the overly long middle section it’s a pretty moving piece of music.

38. Bad Apples

Another one of my early favorites, but that was partly because when I had Illusion 1 on cassette tape this was sort of sandwiched in between some of my all time favorites. A great little bluesy riff makes it a fun one, and I really like the guitar solo in it.

37. Back Off Bitch

This is another one that people like to dump on, but I’ve always enjoyed it. Partly because it has a really cool intro, and also because it is a good sentiment to women that have pissed me off.

36. Down on the Farm

This was always one of my favorites from the Spaghetti Incident; I found it both rocking and funny.

35. Shakler’s Revenge

This was the first official cut I hear from the long awaited GNR record. Despite the industrial sound, I was quite impressed.

34. Yesterdays

I really enjoyed this song when I first got UYI2, but over time it has faded a great deal to the point where I could take or leave it now.

33. Think About You

Never among my favorites, yet it’s one of those cool lyrical pieces that’s a love song to drugs. It stands out a little bit on the album; the vocals are outstanding and I love that end riff.

32. The Garden

I’m not crazy about the verses, but the chorus, along with Alice Cooper’s vocals are feckin amazing!

31. Perfect Crime

Keep the demons down and drag the skeletons out… ’nuff said!

30. Patience

Even though my enjoyment of this song has faded substantially, the live version from Tokyo in ’92 is nearly perfection.

29. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door

I’ll take this version over anyone else’s version of the song. Every time the distorted guitar comes in with that heavy G5 chord at the beginning I have the image of Axl standing in front of thousands of fans with his signature mic stand over his head. Chills!

28. One in a Million

In this PC world this tune doesn’t get a lot of love. It’s simple by nature and yet very angry, creating a juxtaposition I really dig.

27. You Could Be Mine

A great rocking song that I never get sick of. It was cool to hear Slash trying something other than a Les Paul although I’m not totally sure why he did. It was GNR at their prime!

26. Dust N’ Bones

To me this is an example of where Izzy shined brightest; catchy tunes and unapologetic lyrics.

25. Breakdown

It is a relatively simple song, but that’s what I enjoy about it. There was always something sort of haunting to me about the lyric “We all come in from the cold”.

24. Live and Let Die

Another cover I like better than the original, and another show of Axl’s diversity.

23. Paradise City

This was the first GNR song I had ever heard, when a friend named Mike began singing it before I knew anything about the band. Even at the time I found it to be a catchy little tune. If not for being massively over-played and being drawn out extensively at shows it would probably rank  higher.

22. Mama Kin

This is a great example of GNR making someone else’s song their own.

21. This I Love

My top pick for Chinese Democracy. It’s overly sentimental, over-produced, borderline pretentious, yet still I can put it on, turn my brain off and enjoy it for what it is.

20. Right Next Door To Hell

I remember getting home with the Use Your Illusion 1 cassette tape and being excited to finally get to November Rain and then this was essentially my first taste of the album in it’s full glory. I thought it was pretty awesome actually and it still carries the nostalgia of my budding love of GNR.

19. Don’t Damn Me

I’ve liked this song since first hearing it, but it wasn’t until hearing it at a rehearsal with no vocals that I really came to appreciate how great the arrangement is.

I can’t think of a lyric that is more relevant today than:

“So I send this song to the offended
I said what I meant and I’ve never pretended
As so many others do intending just to please
If I damned your point of view
Could you turn the other cheek”

18. Pretty Tied Up

This song is amazing on all levels. It loses a little something live because part of it’s beauty is mixing together different vocal styles.

17. Dead Horse

The simple chord progression with catchy melody is one of the things I like about many of Axl’s solo writing efforts. I could listen to an entire album of songs like this.

16. Nightrain

Blues meets metal here in a tune that you can’t help but move to. I think the guitar solo in this was the first GNR solo I ever learned.

15. Locomotive

This is another one that I didn’t fully appreciate until recently when my friend Matt pointed out to me the difficulty of the main guitar riff. I’ve always liked the end section of this song as well, it’s somewhat bizarre but has cool guitar parts and droning vocals.

14. Mr. Brownstone

This was one of my early favorites from the band. It is both moderate in tempo yet very rocking – a difficult feat to pull off.

13. Civil War

Lyrically this is quite an achievement. The different parts collide beautifully and demonstrate both passion and compassion.

The music video for this song was a live recording, and I distinctly remember first seeing it and it was at that moment that I determined Slash was the best guitar player in existence, which is interesting because it’s not one of his more flashy solos.

12. My Michelle

A great tune to headbang to, aggressive lyrics and powerful riffs.

11. Don’t Cry

For the most part I enjoy the original lyrics version most, but the section right after the guitar solo I actually prefer the alternate.

10. Garden of Eden

This is one that has grown on me over the years. I love the lyrics as well as how the guitar parts go together.

9. You’re Crazy

This song would’ve been ranked lower except that I love the live and acoustic versions. If it were only for the Appetite version I don’t think I’d appreciate this song for all of it’s cool parts.

8. Double Talkin’ Jive

Every single time I hear this I crank it; right from the simple yet spectacular introduction all the way to the flamenco outro.

7. Estranged

Here we get an arrangement that encompasses some of Axl’s best along with Slash also doing some of his most creative work wrapped together in a song that can be enjoyed for its melodic parts as well as its heavier moments.

6. Sweet Child O’ Mine

I love songs like this that are a display of raw emotion while maintaining self assurance and strength. This type of thing is where GNR are at their best.

5. Coma

When you get a song with several different parts and all of them are equally awesome you get Coma!

4. Used To Love Her

I don’t care what anyone else says, this song is hilarious and Axl sounds amazing!

3. Rocket Queen

From start to finish this tune is incredible. And the boys kept it fresh by adding little things to it live.

2. Welcome to the Jungle

Not only is this a kickass song, the more I listen to the arrangement the more it amazes me.

Honorable mentions…

Dead Flowers (Gilby Clarke) – this isn’t technically GNR, but was recorded while he was in the band and features Axl’s wailing vocals.

Shadow of Your Love – This was never released aside from a rare EP, but to be honest it’s more “interesting” than it is good.

Look At Your Game Girl – Does this one even count? I’m pretty sure it was taken off the album, but it was there as an unlisted track when I first bought the album. It’s not an altogether terrible song but it’s hard to detach it from Charles Manson.

And finally…

1. November Rain

November Rain has a special place in my heart as the first GNR song I ever heard, or at least the one that turned me into a fan. Still to this day I think it captured perfectly the emotion of a wounded heart, and is nothing short of a masterpiece.