1. Welcome to the Jungle
2. Its So Easy
3. Nightrain
4. Out Ta Get Me
5. Mr. Brownstone
6. Paradise City
7. My Michelle
8. Think About You
9. Sweet Child O' Mine
10. You're Crazy
11. Anything Goes
12. Rocket Queen

adrian denning
Rock and heavy metal fans rejoiced when this record emerged. We had Axl Rose with a screetching, roaring singing voice. A guitar hero present and correct, Slash of course. Lots of hair, an incredible amount of beautifully groomed hair that made many a girl jealous. And, an impeccable rhythm section! And, 'Welcome To The Jungle' simply roars along! It's full of great things, the guitars, the vocals. "Welcome, welcome to THE JUNGLE!" and it sounds anything but a welcome place, but the song is glorious in any case. 'It's So Easy' is punk and a genuinely fantastic song that could be covered by a multitude of bands, and in fact, may already have been. A huge seller this record and plenty of singles were taken from it. We have 'Sweet Child O Mine' and 'Paradise City' for starters. You will have heard these songs. 'Nighttrain' and 'Welcome To The Jungle' as well. You will have heard these songs! For the record, I don't much care for 'Nighttrain' it reminds me of Tina Turner for some reason, but that may just be me. In fact, I'm sure that's just me! Tina Turner is like some evil haunting presence over my very being, right from the day years ago someone at College mentioned the fact they liked the songs 'she wrote'. Piffle!! I do like 'River Deep Mountain High' though. Got to love the fact she grabbed at her crotch to reach the high notes. Sorry, where was I? Oh, right. Guns N Roses! 'Out To Get Me' continues with the sound of 'Welcome To The Jungle' and you start to think that the the mixing on this album is astutely judged. The guitars dominate, you can hear the rhythm section. The lyrics are nothing special but Axl's voice is placed in the centre of things, although beneath the guitar work. 'Appetite For Destruction' is guitar heavy. Axl's vocals aren't exposed, his higher register can be grating to some listeners but it's not a problem with this album.

Everything sounds pretty correct sonically. Cowbell drums feature on 'My Michelle'. Sadly it's not the similarly titled Beatles song. But, plenty of rocking, metal moments remain. Yay! There is little seriousness about this record, although it's taken seriously now. The singles provide variety, the other songs can get a little wearying if only because of their continual relentless assault. But, great guitar solo's abound! A fun, happy, decent album, they were on their way. 8.5/10
all music guide
Guns N' Roses' debut Appetite for Destruction was a turning point for hard rock in the late '80s - it was a dirty, dangerous, and mean record in a time when heavy metal meant nothing but a good time. On the surface, Guns N' Roses may appear to celebrate the same things as their peers - namely, sex, liquor, drugs, and rock & roll - but there is a nasty edge to their songs, since Axl Rose doesn't see much fun in the urban sprawl of L.A. and its parade of heavy metal thugs, cheap women, booze, and crime. The music is as nasty as the lyrics, wallowing in a bluesy, metallic hard rock borrowed from Aerosmith, AC/DC, and countless faceless hard rock bands of the early '80s. It's a primal, sleazy sound that adds grit to already grim tales. It also makes Rose's misogyny, fear, and anger hard to dismiss as merely an artistic statment, this is music that sounds lived-in. And that's exactly why Appetite for Destruction is such a powerful record - not only does Axl have fears, but he also is vulnerable, particularly on the power-ballad "Sweet Child O' Mine." He also has a talent for conveying the fears and horrors of the decaying inner city, whether it's on the charging "Welcome to the Jungle," the heroin ode "Mr. Brownstone," or "Paradise City," which simply wants out. But as good as Axl's lyrics and screeching voice are, they wouldn't be nearly as effective without the twin-guitar interplay of Slash and Izzy Stradlin, who spit out riffs and solos better than any band since the Rolling Stones, and that's what makes Appetite for Destruction the best metal record of the late '80s 5/5
in the 80's
What can be said? This is arguably one of the greatest rock albums of all time, not to mention the '80s! Who doesn't know Paradise City? I'm a freshman in college, and I still remember that it was the first rock song I ever heard. There are so many great tracks on this album that I can't name them all, but some of the most notable have to be "Paradise City" (which is, in my opinion, the best hard rock song of the '80s--I mean, what's better, Alone Again by Dokken?); "Sweet Child O' Mine, which still rocks as much as ever; and my personal favorite, "Mr. Brownstone," which they always used to play at the junior high dances. There isn't a bad song, in my estimation, on this entire album. The unfortunate thing is that they're so self-destructive that now Izzy, Steve, and even Slash are out of the band. Even so, I still pull out my Les Paul (just like Slash's) at times to play along with "My Michelle" or "Sweet Child O' Mine." Truly a great rock album. 9.5/10
amazon
A glimpse of the future, and not because of its huge influence and umpteen million sales. The poor-little-rich-boy protest "Out ta Get Me" intimates that Axl Rose's egotism and martyr complex were soon to grow bigger than his head; still, Appetite's night-train wreck of punk and metal sounds and sensibilities make it more than just an emblem of its time. Whether GN'R are dancing with Mr. Brownstone, penning a callow kiss-off letter to some chick named Michelle, or passing out on somebody else's sofa, this was and remains a savage journey to the heart of the American--or at least the Hollywood--dream.
rolling stone
There is nothing like success in the face of extreme prejudice, and no other band this year, metal or otherwise, mocked the music establishment's utter lack of street cred and woeful misreading of fan psychology as well as Metallica and Guns n' Roses. . . "And Justice For All" went platinum within day of release, with virtually no commercial airplay. And while AOR pooh-bahs hemmed and hawed about putting "Sweet Child o' Mine" in rotation, Guns n' Roses T-shirts outnumbered Springsteen and Bon Jovi shirts at least two to one on Jersey boardwalks this summer. Programmers slept, critics yawned, but the kids voted with their allowances in the only interesting electing this year.
Some Metallica freaks complained that "Justice," even at nine tracks clocking in over sixty-five minutes, wasn't enough of a good thing - too much art, not enough aargh! But the fury of Metallica's speed 'n' slam is compounded by the complexity of the band's attack. And while most other metal bands were out there raving about the devil and their dicks, Metallic singer-lyricist James Hetfield addressed censorship ("The Shortest Straw"), our dying planet ("Dyers Eve") with the imagination the music demanded.
The Guns' appetite for sex and violence bears all the hallmarks of "Stick Fingers," Stones and mid-Seventies Aerosmith, jacked up with punk raunch that makes "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Out Ta Get Me" sound like the work of a late-model New York Dolls. A couple of songs like "Mr. Brownstone," have more attitude than ammo going for them, but the band's way with a good melody ("Sweet Child o' Mine") and the power they put in the posture of "It's So Easy" and "You're Crazy" are proof aplenty that they didn't hit the platinum bull's-eye by accident. 5/5
Roughedge
Never has a band struck me the way these guys did back in '89.

In a time where, in mainstream rock, what only mattered was how far up in the air your poofy hair went, or how shiny your leather pants looked, there came a band that was nothing but down n' dirty, real rock'n'roll.

Borrowing from the glam era and straight-ahead rock and successfully tearing it all up to pieces and rebuilding it to what they thought rock should sound like, these guys showed that it didn't matter if you weren't fancy, what was important was the music, and the music alone.

Welcome to the jungle became an instant classic, both appealing to the mainstream masses and the metalheads alike, its riffs blending blues and metal like no one did before, its rhythm section pumping out like a runaway train, its vocals - well, let's just say no one to that time had ever been able to mix so many different styles into one set of vocal chords like Axl Rose did.

It would take forever to explain what each of these songs sounds like but overall they give an insight of what five talented guys with very different influences can do. Each song deals with real things like emotions, erratic lifestyles, alcohol, well, just about everything these guys had gone through. No bullshit indeed.

Album highlights include basically all the songs (with the possible exception of "Everything Goes"), but my favorite may very well be "Rocket Queen." This song became a premonition to the epic style they further explored in their next full-lengths. Its mix of heavy rock in the first part and soulful vocals and leads in the second proved why these guys kicked just about everyone's asses back then.
Teen Ink
Never before has there been a more complete album than "Appetite for Destruction" by Guns N' Roses. If you are looking for a CD full of hard and soft rock, look no further, because this is as good as it gets. Every track is highlighted with the incredible talents of guitar soloist, Slash, as well as the many tones of the talented and controversial lead singer, Axl Rose. This CD contains the hit singles "Welcome To The Jungle," "Paradise City" and "Sweet Child O' Mine." These classic rock songs contain the three most important things needed for a flowing and melodic rock tune: an energetic drummer who keeps the song moving, guitar riffs that inspire the listener to really get into the music and, last but not least, a frontman whose voice captures the listener's ear and never lets go.

From beginning to end this album rocks, and you'll want to hear every song over and over again. "Appetite for Destruction" is by far the best of Guns N' Roses' albums. If you want to hear a classic rock album from musical geniuses, keep the Guns N' Roses alive and get "Appetite for Destruction."
B. Duke Antioch US of A:
How do you rate a classic album? When a band fails to produce a true follow-up in three to five years, and you return to their classic and discover songs that you overlooked the first time; my friends, you have a classic. The fact that side two is probably harder and deeper than side one (which are songs the Gunners are most known)is amazing in its own right. Not a weak song in the bunch. This is two-fisted, boogie woogie that ranks up with any Stones album song for song, lyric for lyric, distaste for distaste. This was in your face rock 'n roll. Too bad the Gunners tasted success and forgot how to be a rock band. However, spin this today, and it is just like Back In Black... it doesn't sound dated. 10/10:
Mike Calgary Canada:
Metal fan or not, you can't help but recognize an album like this. Not a bad song, not a dull moment and one of my faves. This disk gets a better rating than The Queen is Dead, and that's coming from a Smiths fan :) 10/10:
nelly (the ariels) Charly Dee Scotland
What do you get if you put 3 smack heads, an ex smack head and a petty criminal with psyciatric needs into a dingy, shit hole of a flat in downtown L.A? Appetite for Destruction, thats what! And Christ it's good! Almost makes ya wanna try some of that stuff eh? Sweet Child is the commercial stand out but It's so Easy and Paradise City make ya wanna Rock out man!!!Make ya wanna sway in your straight jacket just like Mr Rose! 8/10
Funt England
When I listen to this album or watch the videos I always think how amazing it is that these five guys all managed to end up in the same band. Their music was just so "together" and they just plain rocked so damn hard. They were the five, together they were like the musical chosen ones. The band as a whole was much more than the sum of it's parts. As I suspected, once one of the five "left" it was just never the same and went down hill all the way. Matt just wasn't Steven Adler and thats all there is to say about it. Never have I seen a band that just looked and sounded so right together, at such a young age they were true masters of their art. 10/10