10 Hard Rock Bands Never Better Than Their First Album
3. Guns N' Roses
For any hair metal fan, there's Guns n' Roses, and then there's everybody else. Compared to the other high-haired scenesters making waves on the Sunset Strip, GnR were the definition of the real deal, with a rough and tumble attitude and even heavier songs to match. Though the band's light shined much brighter than their contemporaries, it was bound to unravel after a while.
The band's first release with Appetite For Destruction was one of the greatest debuts in rock history, with songs that signaled the end of the rock and roll phonies in LA. From track to track, the album is one great jam after another with hits like "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Paradise City" leading the charge. The quality of every one of these songs is so good that practically any of them could have been released as a single and sold just as well.
However, this is where the golden period of the band starts to get cracks in the foundation. Even though the band's Use Your Illusion records have some great material on them, the urgency and drive behind their debut was something that they could never reproduce in full again. While the band definitely didn't have a sophomore slump, Appetite For Destruction stands as not only GnR's greatest work, but probably one of the best rock albums of the '80s as a whole.