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Best Album of the 1980s -- Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses
Associated Content ^ | March 13, 2009 | Loran Montgomery

Posted on 03/14/2009 6:04:51 AM PDT by terabyte

Nirvana didn't kill hair metal - Guns n' Roses did. With their explosive 1987 debut album, Appetite for Destruction, Guns n' Roses burst out of the Los Angeles glam rock scene and permanently carved a spot in rock history.

This music review places Appetite for Destruction as arguably the best album of the 1980s. From the opening delayed guitar riff of "Welcome to the Jungle" to the incendiary "Paradise City" the the almost 50s flavored ending of "Rocket Queen," the album captures the reality of life on the streets better than any before or since.

Lyrically, the band completely avoided all the traditional trappings of heavy metal. The eccentric but brilliant Axl Rose ensured that there are no Zeppelin-esque Lord of the Rings references, no pseudo-Satanist posturing, not even any of the party-all-the-time silliness of their contemporaries. Instead, there is nothing but a raw dose of five young men living a virtually homeless, penniless existence on the mean streets of LA in the mid-to-late 1980s.

(Excerpt) Read more at associatedcontent.com ...


TOPICS: Hobbies; Music/Entertainment
KEYWORDS: bestalbum; gunsnroses; music; rock
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To: dangus

The Unforgettable Fire was better. The Joshua Tree was good, but it was also the album that convinced U2 that they were “important”... which was a fatal blow to their ability to make decent music.


61 posted on 03/14/2009 7:25:17 AM PDT by WhistlingPastTheGraveyard
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To: Mathews

Best metal album ever... there is no close second.


62 posted on 03/14/2009 7:26:41 AM PDT by WhistlingPastTheGraveyard
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To: gallandro

Add my vote for Joshua Tree.


63 posted on 03/14/2009 7:30:05 AM PDT by CalvaryJohn (What is keeping that damned asteroid?)
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To: TurtleUp
Anytime my friend.

I remember when I first heard it back in the sixties. I thought for sure it was Dylan.

64 posted on 03/14/2009 7:32:02 AM PDT by Northern Yankee (Freedom Needs A Soldier)
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To: MAD-AS-HELL
But some of the best albums of 80’s come from THE REPLACEMENTS.

There's two of them.

65 posted on 03/14/2009 7:33:58 AM PDT by WhistlingPastTheGraveyard
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To: terabyte

AC/DC - Back in Black


66 posted on 03/14/2009 7:34:03 AM PDT by Darren McCarty (Obama = Jimmy Carter II)
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To: terabyte

Yeah,that was a pretty good album..I just never could stand that damn nasal whining of Axl,but Slash was excellent(He’s doing more low-key stuff now;he did an instrumental called “Obsession Confession” awhile back...if you like smooth jazz,you’d like it).I do like me some good guitar! (I also like KC & the Sunshine Band,although their music came a little earlier!LOL)


67 posted on 03/14/2009 7:34:29 AM PDT by gimme1ibertee ("No pale pastels,but bold colors".....Ronnie,we sure do miss you,sir!)
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To: Mathews
I prefer Kill'em All, sounded raw, new and still had Mustaine's influence. A drunk but through the years eventually grew up and still kept Hetfield’s and Ulrich's vision. Hetfield and Ulrich are the two biggest hypocrites in rock history.
68 posted on 03/14/2009 7:34:32 AM PDT by rollo tomasi (Working hard to pay for deadbeats and corrupt politicians.)
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To: MAD-AS-HELL
I think Appetite took so long to “catch on” because it was never meant to be a multi-platinum selling commercial success which is the main reason it holds up extremely well more than 20 years after it's release (this is also why I love the Replacements). Go back and look at what was commercially viable during the mid to late 80’s, that's why the album didn't catch on for awhile.
69 posted on 03/14/2009 7:35:23 AM PDT by got_moab? (Joe the Plumber has a posse.)
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To: terabyte
Faith No More - The Real Thing

Epic

70 posted on 03/14/2009 7:36:09 AM PDT by cowboyway ("The beauty of the Second Amendment is you won't need it until they try to take it away"--Jefferson)
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To: terabyte
If you have a taste for the artsy, the best avant-garde rock album of the 80s was 1981s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Brian Eno & David Byrne.

Hugely pioneering.

71 posted on 03/14/2009 7:36:39 AM PDT by Flycatcher (God speaks to us, through the supernal lightness of birds, in a special type of poetry.)
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To: MAD-AS-HELL

bleach is such a good album... everyone always talks about nevermind but you are correct- bleach is the best. classic grunge before it became pop.


72 posted on 03/14/2009 7:37:48 AM PDT by philsfan24
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To: Darren McCarty
OOOOOhhhh.....Acey-Deecey!!! Yeah! STILL listen to em!! I picked up the DVD of their "No Bull" tour...pretty good stuff!
Man...if I had one-tenth of the energy of that little scrawny guitar player Angus Young....there'd be more leisure time and less homework! LOLOL
73 posted on 03/14/2009 7:39:57 AM PDT by gimme1ibertee ("No pale pastels,but bold colors".....Ronnie,we sure do miss you,sir!)
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To: terabyte

My only problem with G’n’R was that they took GREAT 3-4 minute songs...and kept going for what seemed like forever [almost Inna Gadda Davida territory]. But they had really talented musicians [Slash comes to mind], a great front man [Axel], and they looked like a rock band.


74 posted on 03/14/2009 8:00:30 AM PDT by PzLdr ("The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" - Darth Vader)
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To: terabyte

“Best Album of the 1980s”

Anything from Stevie Ray Vaughn.


75 posted on 03/14/2009 8:05:49 AM PDT by caver (Obama's first goals: allow more killing of innocents and allow the killers of innocents to go free.)
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To: terabyte

Master of Puppets.
Hands down the best from the 80’s. Closely followed by Orgasmatron and Rock-n-Roll by Motorhead.

(At least in my circle)...


76 posted on 03/14/2009 8:12:10 AM PDT by TexasM1A
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To: rollo tomasi

True, but most in the field of “entertainment” are hypocrites..


77 posted on 03/14/2009 8:12:11 AM PDT by TexasM1A
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To: terabyte

While I agree that GNR’s appearance killed the hair bands, I don’t think that’s such an impressive accomplishment. GNR was a quality band, I’ve just never cared for it.

While my friends were in metal bands I didn’t care for that music and still don’t. It’s like a movie filled with nothing but special effects scenes. I prefer substance as well as style.

I think U2 made the most impressive and lasting music of the 80’s.


78 posted on 03/14/2009 8:12:44 AM PDT by Darkwolf377 (Pro-Life atheist behind enemy lines in Boston and Cambridge)
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To: terabyte
My vote goes to Gerry Rafferty's City to City
79 posted on 03/14/2009 8:13:14 AM PDT by tacticalogic ("Oh bother!" said Pooh, as he chambered his last round.)
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To: Terabitten
off the beaten track
taken for a ride
hand up a sleeve
Bites the hand that feeds

These are all cliches. This example just reinforces my negative opinion of AR.

I am checking out Velvet Revolver, though.

80 posted on 03/14/2009 8:30:21 AM PDT by Mediocrates (Nullius in verba)
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