What bands are better than Guns N' Roses?

[bumblerose]

Sabbath.. led zep

[Broskirose]

While GNR are one of my favorites, if not my favorite, they are certainly not the best band in the world. At all.

Let's be real for a second people. GNR's popularity is probably atleast 50% attributed to gimmick. Tophats, riots, wrestler names, drama etc. Musically speaking, there are so many better bands/artists.

"Lets be real" when discussing opinions? Yours is more right than anybody else's? Nope. Sorry.

Funny, because I didn't say "lets be real" when discussing opinions. I said it when discussing what GNR's popularity is attributed to. And that isn't a matter of opinion.

[HubbaBubba]

Guns should've taken the mantle from Aerosmith and the Stones and be rock royalty by now.

It's difficult to compare them to other bands because of all the grudges and drama that's gone down. As a result their catalogue of music is woefully thin. It's fucking tragic.

[Damn_Smooth]

While GNR are one of my favorites, if not my favorite, they are certainly not the best band in the world. At all.

Let's be real for a second people. GNR's popularity is probably atleast 50% attributed to gimmick. Tophats, riots, wrestler names, drama etc. Musically speaking, there are so many better bands/artists.

"Lets be real" when discussing opinions? Yours is more right than anybody else's? Nope. Sorry.

Funny, because I didn't say "lets be real" when discussing opinions. I said it when discussing what GNR's popularity is attributed to. And that isn't a matter of opinion.

That actually is a matter of opinion. In my opinion all the things you mentioned contributed about 3% to their popularity at most. Maybe you don't understand what opinion means? Or you can prove me wrong? Be my guest.

Edited November 28, 2013 by Damn_Smooth

[pestilence]

People left and right mentioning shit like Crue and Skid and the guy who mentions U2 gets the "go fuck yourself?"

Some things just suck so bad that the only proper response is "go fuck yourself". U2 and Robin Fink are 2 of those things.

anyone who thinks "angel of harlem" is a bad song dreams of sucking the balls of eskimos

but that's just my opinion

[Chunder Monkey]

An interesting question - and it depends how you define the discussion.

Are all bands considered at their peak/prime? Or do we also count timelessness of the music? Do we count persistence in the industry? Do we count sheer volume of content? Do we include general relationship between fan and band?

My thoughts.

* Axl is the most consistently good songwriter I know, in that I pretty much enjoy EVERY song of his I've ever heard. However, as we all know, it's rare to hear new songs in the past 20 years.

* In his prime Axl is one of the absolute top front men ever.

* AFD/UYI GNR was one of the classic bands of all time. Probably top 5 at least like someone else said. And to my personal tastes more like #1.

* The current band has a lot of fire power in terms of musician ship. But it's hard to rate them against other acts until they release music of their own. It's a fantasic prolevel live show - but of course it is!

* Gnr has one of the worst relationships with it's fan base of all time. Sometimes it seems management actively resents the fan base and discourages the people who consume it's products from doing so. Add this to it's strange management structure, and Axl's personal issue with timelines and the band's history - and in terms of rewards it's one of the most disappointing acts to follow. As Axl said - he's heard the pay off of waiting for jesus is better - but realistically - you could follow almost any other act including dead artists and get more frequent dvd releases and products etc.

* at their best GNR are always my favourite act of all time. However, there are a lot of bands that are almost as good - but not plagued by GNR's issues.

[Damn_Smooth]

People left and right mentioning shit like Crue and Skid and the guy who mentions U2 gets the "go fuck yourself?"

Some things just suck so bad that the only proper response is "go fuck yourself". U2 and Robin Fink are 2 of those things.

anyone who thinks "angel of harlem" is a bad song dreams of sucking the balls of eskimos

but that's just my opinion

I might have a rebuttal if I had any clue what you were talking about. Probably not though, because you're entitled to your opinion.

[HubbaBubba]

@CM

Fuck man, that's a great (and devastating) point about dead artists.

Edited November 28, 2013 by HubbaBubba

[Broskirose]

While GNR are one of my favorites, if not my favorite, they are certainly not the best band in the world. At all.

Let's be real for a second people. GNR's popularity is probably atleast 50% attributed to gimmick. Tophats, riots, wrestler names, drama etc. Musically speaking, there are so many better bands/artists.

"Lets be real" when discussing opinions? Yours is more right than anybody else's? Nope. Sorry.

Funny, because I didn't say "lets be real" when discussing opinions. I said it when discussing what GNR's popularity is attributed to. And that isn't a matter of opinion.

That actually is a matter of opinion. In my opinion all the things you mentioned contributed about 3% to their popularity at most. Maybe you don't understand what opinion means? Or you can prove me wrong? Be my guest.

No it isn't a matter of opinion. At all. This is the kind of stuff you learn in 2nd grade man...

I'd really love to try and prove you wrong, but I think I'll just watch That 70s Show on Netflix instead. Stop being such a fanboy. It's an 80s rock band ffs.

[Damn_Smooth]

While GNR are one of my favorites, if not my favorite, they are certainly not the best band in the world. At all.

Let's be real for a second people. GNR's popularity is probably atleast 50% attributed to gimmick. Tophats, riots, wrestler names, drama etc. Musically speaking, there are so many better bands/artists.

"Lets be real" when discussing opinions? Yours is more right than anybody else's? Nope. Sorry.

Funny, because I didn't say "lets be real" when discussing opinions. I said it when discussing what GNR's popularity is attributed to. And that isn't a matter of opinion.

That actually is a matter of opinion. In my opinion all the things you mentioned contributed about 3% to their popularity at most. Maybe you don't understand what opinion means? Or you can prove me wrong? Be my guest.

No it isn't a matter of opinion. At all. This is the kind of stuff you learn in 2nd grade man...

I'd really love to try and prove you wrong, but I think I'll just watch That 70s Show on Netflix instead. Stop being such a fanboy. It's an 80s rock band ffs.

So you're using the "huh-uh" strategy. Did you learn that in 2nd grade as well?

[Chewbacca]

In which aspect?

[Bono]

There is only one band(U2) that i consider better than the Guns N' Roses that gave us AFD, LIES and the Illusions. The list of better bands since then is too long to list. Based on quality of output and ability to perform live. Just how I feel.

[pestilence]

People left and right mentioning shit like Crue and Skid and the guy who mentions U2 gets the "go fuck yourself?"

Some things just suck so bad that the only proper response is "go fuck yourself". U2 and Robin Fink are 2 of those things.

anyone who thinks "angel of harlem" is a bad song dreams of sucking the balls of eskimos

but that's just my opinion

I might have a rebuttal if I had any clue what you were talking about. Probably not though, because you're entitled to your opinion.

i'll...talk...real...slow....so...you...can...understand....."angel of harlem" ...is...a...U2.....song...a...band....you...don''t...seem...to...appreciate....fuck it, figure the rest out yourself

[HOLDEN CAULFIELD]

THE DARKNESS

[EvH]

Queen.

[Kitty Softpaws]

AC/DC.

[Broskirose]

Considering how effortlessly easy it is to name bands better than GNR, I'm surprised at how many wrong answers there are in this thread.

[wasted]

I see current GNR like 90s Stones, its not as real but the showmanship is still great. Great songs, big show.

[downzy]

For me, it's The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and then it's everyone else. 87-93 GNR were my favourite, but I'm sure that some of that feeling has something to do with GNR providing the soundtrack of my adolescent years. Had I been born ten years later or earlier I might feel differently.

I'd also argue that even though they're not bands, artists like Elton John, Billy Joel, and Michael Jackson could be considered "better" acts than GNR.

It can't necessarily be argued that GNR is the most musically proficient band around. Most of their tunes use standard chord progressions/scales and don't mess around with time signatures much (I think You Ain't the First is their only song that isn't in 4/4 time, but I could be wrong). I'm also hesitant to suggest that other bands weren't able to top their live performances. While I never saw them personally, I heard Queen was an impressive act to see live. (Though, some bands are completely overrated for their live shows - Led Zeppelin is an example of this - they just stood around for most of the show).

Come to think about it, I'm kind of forced to argue that Queen in their prime was likely better than GNR in theirs. As much as I love Axl as a frontman, I've got to tip my hat to Freddie. Moreover, as much as I love songs like Estranged, November Rain, and TWAT, GNR has never matched the musical beauty that is Bohemian Rhapsody. I'd also have to give the nod to Queen with respect to their guitar work - while GNR's solos and riffs are legendary, I'm not sure they top what Queen was able to achieve.

So my list would be:

1. The Beatles

2. The Rolling Stones

3. Queen

And then a bunch of other bands who, at their prime, all operated at the same legendary level: U2, Pink Floyd, GNR, Pearl Jam, Aerosmith, Radiohead, Metallica, The Beach Boys, Bob Marley, Cold Play (sort of), The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Muse, Nirvana, Black Sabbath, Soundgarden (sort of), Sublime (sort of - would have reached this level had Brad Nowell not died), Iron Maiden, Rush.

I suppose you could base it on different categories (best music, best live show, best lyrics, most influential, greatest longevity, etc.), but it really comes down to personal taste in the end. I don't begrudge people when they say they don't like GNR, but I do take exception to any claim that they weren't very good. Hence why I can understand why people might say that they prefer GNR over The Beatles or Queen, but I do discount any arguments that suggest that GNR were actually "better" than those three bands I listed above.

GNR was and is my favourite band of all time, but I'm not daft enough to believe that no one was better.

Edited November 28, 2013 by downzy

[IncitingChaos]

The AFD-illusions Guns take the cake in my opinion. The number of great songs released in that short window was nothing short of incredible. They had the classic AFD album that will live in history, and the illusions records which have some of the most underrated songs of all time on it, but also some of the most memorable. Their songs ranged from simple to complex, from hard rock, to pure ballads. Songs that actually lasted more than 6 minutes. This band didn't over stay their welcome, they came in fast and left young. I do believe they put everything they had into that short period of time. There are few bands as exciting as this one, but none that defined rock and roll on and off the stage like Guns did.

[DieselDaisy]

The problem with real guns is they had so fuckin few albums. Appetite, Lies and Illusion and you could even remove Lies because it was a short stop-gap affair. The Stones had tons up to that point in their career.

[wasted]

I see AFD as two records, UYI as 4. so I think they put out 8 records by 94 really.

[The Black]

Radiohead & Nine Inch Nails.

[DieselDaisy]

I see AFD as two records, UYI as 4. so I think they put out 8 records by 94 really.

AFD only lasts 50mins though. That is only about 10mins more than most of the long players which the Beatles et al. put out.

[Daedalus]

87-93 was the golden era of Guns N' Roses. Back then, they could be at the same level with The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Queen, AC/DC, Aerosmith, U2... But now - while other bands still have the "legendary" status, GN'R are way behind them.