SPIN: 125 Best Albums of the Past 25 Years

[C0ma]

http://www.spin.com/spin25/125-best-albums-past-25-years#page=12

7 Guns N' Roses, Appetite for Destruction
 
1987 Bon Jovi was on the cover, hair billowing and shades stylishly askew, when Guns N' Roses warranted a big feature in SPIN in 1990, which says something about the state of bad-boy rock when Axl Rose and company made their name. That issue came a few years after the explosive debut of Appetite for Destruction, and the concussive charge of anthems like "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Paradise City" could still be felt. Problems within the band were already apparent, though: "Clearly these guys are fuck-ups...failures even at success," wrote Danny Sugerman. Then in the next year came a report of a group visited by "tepid-to-torrid mood swings." And then....
 LISTEN Guns N' Roses, Appetite for Destruction

SPIN Archive on Google
GNR profile (November 1990)
GNR profile (September 1991)

[Bodhi]

Where the hell are the "Illusions" and "Democracy" on that list?  Also "Appetite" is better than numbers 1-6 on there.

[comaboy]

maybe CD isn't there because it isn't that great ^^

[wadey]

maybe CD isn't there because it isn't that great ^^

its better than half the shit on that list for sure

[russtcb]

maybe CD isn't there because it isn't that great ^^

Or maybe it's just "cool" to think CD isn't that great....

[LunsJail]

I find these lists skew towards recognizing an artist's breakthrough work rather than the follow ups. Also, Spin is very indie-friendly so be glad a GNR album made it as high as #7.

[comaboy]

maybe CD isn't there because it isn't that great ^^

its better than half the shit on that list for sure

well music tastes can be different

my nr.1 for example would be Whats the story Morning glory by oasis
apetite would be very high on that list
the two illusion LP would be there too, maybe 20th or 30th, something like that

but CD not!
don't misunderstand me, CD is a good album, slightly overproduced,
but over the last 25 years there are many LP's which are definitely better

[Voodoochild]

Well, I think the exact opposite. CD would be very high on that list, certanly above the Illusions and probably above AFD too. Yeah, music tastes can be different.

[tippasaurus]

My first thought was "any list that has U2 #1 is asinine," but then I stepped back and remembered that this is "the most influential music of the last 25 years" and if that's the case, then it's hard to argue with U2 being #1, since every other band nowadays sounds like they want to be Archtung-era U2 or Ten-era Pearl Jam (which is why I think Pearl Jam's "Ten" should be way higher than "Nevermind").   

I'm also not so sure about Prince being all that influential...at least in terms of having people attempting to recreate what Prince brought to popular music (how many R&B singers even bother w/ guitar?).

[One.In.A.Million]

In my opinion Appetite should be number 1, especially looking at that list. I know alot of people have been influenced by U2 but the same can be said for GN'R. Appetite created a culture and a sense of freedom, and I see all the time references to GN'R.

I think what GN'R does better than U2 is reach a wider audience. U2 seem to stay within their own confines, and alot of their fans seem to be from the same mould. But with GN'R, they seem to appeal to everyone, to rappers, F1 drivers, baseball players, business men, actors, fashion designers and many more.

I think GN'R and Appetite have influenced much more people over a wider margin that U2 has.

Just my opinion. 

 

[tippasaurus]

In my opinion Appetite should be number 1, especially looking at that list. I know alot of people have been influenced by U2 but the same can be said for GN'R. Appetite created a culture and a sense of freedom, and I see all the time references to GN'R.

I think what GN'R does better than U2 is reach a wider audience. U2 seem to stay within their own confines, and alot of their fans seem to be from the same mould. But with GN'R, they seem to appeal to everyone, to rappers, F1 drivers, baseball players, business men, actors, fashion designers and many more.

I think GN'R and Appetite have influenced much more people over a wider margin that U2 has.

Just my opinion. 

 

I guess when I think of influence, I think "when I turn on the radio, what type of band am I most likely to hear?"  The answer to that question has never been GN'R.  I like GN'R (obviously or I wouldn't be visiting a website devoted to them), but realistically, it's difficult to pull off that unique GN'R like sound (the same reason I don't consider Queen to be all that influential), so I'm guessing most bands would rather do something "easier" so U2 seems like an appropriate option. 

You can have so many people saying "Oh, I love Appetite" or "Oh I love GnR" (you have people as disparate as Avril Lavigne, Ricky Martin, Michelle Branch, and Pink calling them "influences" but it sure as hell doesn't show up in their music does it?)...but at what point does Gn'R actually influence you or are you just wearing a Gn'R shirt because it makes you feel all "cool" and "rock star" to do so...

There has to be something tangible to say Gn'R is influential, you can't just say "Appetite created a culture and sense of freedom" because people could say the same thing about Madonna...and a case could be made that she is the MOST influential of the last 25 years if that is your criteria (although which album do you pick to represent her?)

[LunsJail]

^^^^You make a good point here. Pop stars wearing GNR shirts to look "rock and roll" isn't so much influence as it is name dropping. You have to hear it in the music. GNR has definitely influenced some young rock bands in that way...but probably not to the degree of U2. And I hate to admit that coming from someone who isn't a huge U2 fan.

[One.In.A.Million]

In my opinion Appetite should be number 1, especially looking at that list. I know alot of people have been influenced by U2 but the same can be said for GN'R. Appetite created a culture and a sense of freedom, and I see all the time references to GN'R.

I think what GN'R does better than U2 is reach a wider audience. U2 seem to stay within their own confines, and alot of their fans seem to be from the same mould. But with GN'R, they seem to appeal to everyone, to rappers, F1 drivers, baseball players, business men, actors, fashion designers and many more.

I think GN'R and Appetite have influenced much more people over a wider margin that U2 has.

Just my opinion. 

 

I guess when I think of influence, I think "when I turn on the radio, what type of band am I most likely to hear?"  The answer to that question has never been GN'R.  I like GN'R (obviously or I wouldn't be visiting a website devoted to them), but realistically, it's difficult to pull off that unique GN'R like sound (the same reason I don't consider Queen to be all that influential), so I'm guessing most bands would rather do something "easier" so U2 seems like an appropriate option. 

You can have so many people saying "Oh, I love Appetite" or "Oh I love GnR" (you have people as disparate as Avril Lavigne, Ricky Martin, Michelle Branch, and Pink calling them "influences" but it sure as hell doesn't show up in their music does it?)...but at what point does Gn'R actually influence you or are you just wearing a Gn'R shirt because it makes you feel all "cool" and "rock star" to do so...

There has to be something tangible to say Gn'R is influential, you can't just say "Appetite created a culture and sense of freedom" because people could say the same thing about Madonna...and a case could be made that she is the MOST influential of the last 25 years if that is your criteria (although which album do you pick to represent her?)

I understand parts of your point but I still say that GN'R and Appetite have been more influential to a wider range of people than U2. I don't think U2's style is strong enough to say that they have influenced more bands. If a band is influenced by U2 it's not as recognisable than say if a band are influenced by GN'R.

You can tell instantly if a bands main influence is GN'R. Just look at Avenged Sevenfold, and countless other bands, not forgeting the thousands of unsigned acts that list GN'R as their main influence. You can instantly tell in their music that they have been influenced by Guns. Although U2 are good, I think that they are too much like other bands, and their music isn't that distinctive to be classed more influential in my view.

U2 gradually climbed to success, over many albums, although I would admit Achtung Baby was strong. But with GN'R, Appetite changed everything and made GN'R the best band in the world. It hit like a tornado and no one could deny it, GN'R took over the world with that album.

On a last note, how many films have got GN'R references, how many times have you seen a GN'R reference on TV. Whether it be a poster, some music, name dropping, lookalikes, etc. (even people dressing for halloween as GN'R members)

Believe me I know U2 have got loads of fans, but if we are talking about being influencial, which to me means changed the way people think or act, I would have to give it to Guns N' Roses all day over U2. 

[Bodhi]

but over the last 25 years there are many LP's which are definitely better

not 125 albums.

[comaboy]

but over the last 25 years there are many LP's which are definitely better

not 125 albums.

well the list also has RnB, Hip Hop rap and whatever in it and not only rock
so if you see 125 LP's over 25 years could very well be better than Chinese Democracy

[CheapJon]

but over the last 25 years there are many LP's which are definitely better

not 125 albums.

well the list also has RnB, Hip Hop rap and whatever in it and not only rock
so if you see 125 LP's over 25 years could very well be better than Chinese Democracy

nope, not to me

[Sergott]

Pearl Jam's slight on that list is crazy.  Not only is a Nirvana album that was labeled as a disappointment before Kurt died ahead of Ten, but so is Courtney Love.  That's just crazy.  I would put Versus ahead of either album.

[LunsJail]

Pearl Jam's slight on that list is crazy.  Not only is a Nirvana album that was labeled as a disappointment before Kurt died ahead of Ten, but so is Courtney Love.  That's just crazy.  I would put Versus ahead of either album.

I love Nirvana but I totally agree with you here. But this list is made up mostly of what was hip for the critics to like. Back then Nirvana was hip, Pearl Jam wasn't.

[Bodhi]

but over the last 25 years there are many LP's which are definitely better

not 125 albums.

well the list also has RnB, Hip Hop rap and whatever in it and not only rock
so if you see 125 LP's over 25 years could very well be better than Chinese Democracy

exactly, you just listed 2 genres of music that produce nothing but trendy shit.  There are not 125 albums better than "CD" let alone the "Illusions."

[tippasaurus]

You can tell instantly if a bands main influence is GN'R. Just look at Avenged Sevenfold, and countless other bands, not forgeting the thousands of unsigned acts that list GN'R as their main influence. You can instantly tell in their music that they have been influenced by Guns. Although U2 are good, I think that they are too much like other bands, and their music isn't that distinctive to be classed more influential in my view.

Who are these "countless other bands?"  Buckcherry?  Sum 41?  That's about all I can name...and those are pretty dubious examples imo.

With U2, you get some pretty highly respected artists in there:  Radiohead, Coldplay, The Verve, Muse, Mellowdrone...just to name a few off the top of my head.  There are so many artists that sound like them NOW of course, but could you say that 25 years ago?  I venture to say: no. 

I don't really like U2, so it pains me to say this: but it would be the epitome of "fanboy behavior" if I were to sit here and say Gn'R is somehow more influential than U2.