Best Album of the 1980s -- Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses

Associated Content ^ | March 13, 2009 | Loran Montgomery

[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.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

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.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

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

[CalvaryJohn]

Add my vote for Joshua Tree.

[Northern Yankee]

Anytime my friend.

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

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

But some of the best albums of 80’s come from THE REPLACEMENTS.

There's two of them.

[Darren McCarty]

AC/DC - Back in Black

[gimme1ibertee]

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)

[rollo tomasi]

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.

[got_moab?]

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.

[cowboyway]

Faith No More - The Real Thing

Epic

[Flycatcher]

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.

[philsfan24]

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.

[gimme1ibertee]

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

[PzLdr]

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.

[caver]

“Best Album of the 1980s”

Anything from Stevie Ray Vaughn.

[TexasM1A]

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)...

[TexasM1A]

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

[Darkwolf377]

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.

[tacticalogic]

My vote goes to Gerry Rafferty's City to City

[Mediocrates]

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.