Coming out of Los Angeles, Guns N’ Roses is among the best actual hard rock bands of all time.
Guns are the only rock band that demystified the LA glam rock scene from the 80s and brought something different to the table. That’s what made this band so famous all over the globe – Guns N’ Roses never tried to fit in; it was always an authentic rock band.
Aside from the band’s authenticity, energetic stage presence, and bringing hard rock back to its roots, this band is best known for their Guns N Roses most popular songs!
Let’s see the top ten Guns N Roses most popular songs without further ado.
Most Popular Songs from Guns N Roses
Before we begin our list of the most significant Guns N Roses Songs, it’s valuable to mention that this band’s songs aren’t only great rock tracks.
Why?
Because Guns N Roses songs made their mark on the entire music scene and showcased everything you can imagine, from hard rock and punk-like rebellion to beautiful love ballads and strictly entertaining attitude. This band is arguably the only one in history that’s been able to address various rock subgenres and be authentic while doing so, no matter the state of the music industry.
Here are the top Guns N Roses Songs you should know and enjoy, even if you aren’t a rock music fan.
‘’Patience’’
One thing that makes Guns and Roses songs unique is that many of them sound different. You can hear a fast track on their albums, and the next one may be a perfect ballad.
And one of those perfect ballads is ‘’Patience,’’ which is on ‘’G N’ R Lies.’’ It was released in the fall of 1988 when Guns were just about the biggest rock and roll band in the entire world. Even though fans were expecting more tracks like “Welcome to the Jungle,” they were surprised to see that side two of this release had only acoustic tracks. It’s even better that side two kicks off with Guns N’ Roses Patience, a haunting ballad written by the legendary Izzy Stradlin.
Patience Guns N Roses nearly stretched to six minutes and became a massive radio hit that peaked at number four on the prestigious Billboard Hot 100.
“Civil War”
Civil War Guns N Roses is yet another phenomenal song that the band members often put on their Guns N Roses setlist.
The Guns N Roses lead singer may be known for creating many scandals over his career, but there is one thing that no one can deny – Axl Rose is a fantastic songwriter and singer. He has written many hits for Guns, but one of the biggest misconceptions is that he also wrote the instrumental for “Civil War,” which isn’t true since Slash wrote it before the band left for the Japanese leg of its Appetite for Destruction world tour. Of course, Axl and Duff also contributed to the songwriting process.
Unfortunately, the band was also heading into its own war at this time. Nevertheless, this song is undoubtedly one of the best from the Guns N Roses discography. And since the reunion, it doesn’t matter whether you buy tickets for concerts in California or you buy a passage for Guns concerts in Wyoming since the band will play “Civil War” perfectly no matter the venue!
“Don’t Cry”
Guns N’ Roses Don’t Cry is also a ballad that we must put on this list before we move on to the band’s much more energetic songs.
When the time came for Guns N’ Roses to record their second studio album, the guys from the band decided to make double albums. This song has two versions that were released at the same time on different albums. The song with the original lyrics is on “Use Your Illusion I”, and the one with alternate lyrics is on “Use Your Illusion II.”
Guns made two albums full of energetic, electrifying, and bombastic songs, and one of the most famous tracks is “Don’t Cry.”
This track was written by Axl and Izzy in March 1985. Axl said that it was the first track written for Guns, and it’s about a girl that Stradlin had gone out with, but Rose was also attracted to her. She said goodbye to him, and when he began crying, she told him, “Don’t Cry.” The next night, they got together and wrote this track in five minutes.
“Rocket Queen”
Writing about Guns N Roses most popular songs is impossible without mentioning “Rocket Queen.”
The “Appetite for Destruction” album reveals many things about the true nature of Los Angeles, from drugs and alcohol to porn and poverty. Guns decided to end the album on a ‘happier note,’ and that’s precisely what the Rocket Queen lyrics bring to the table. This worldwide famous song is notable for having sex moans from Adriana Smith, a then-stripper who had sex with Axl in the studio, which was recorded for this track.
However, the term’ Rocket Queen’ is believed to be addressed to Barbie Von Grief, a Madame of a sex house. She inspired Axl, and that’s how the song came about. Also, Barbie states that she helped him in the songwriting process, and a credit in the booklet for Appetite reads “Barbie (Rocket Queen) Von Grief.”
In his autobiography, Slash states that he and Duff wrote the main riff for this song while they were in the Road Crew band with Adler.
“Mr Brownstone”
While hair and fake glam metal bands such as Poison were glamorizing the Sunset Strip music scene and ‘selling’ it as a never-ending party, Guns N’ Roses showed the real story behind the scenes and revealed the sad consequences of the sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll lifestyle, especially the drugs.
Everyone who knows at least a little bit about drugs knows that “Mr Brownstone” refers to heroin. This song was born one night when Izzy and Slash were talking about their complex lives in an apartment. Slash wrote that they were actually complaining about their dealers, as junkies do.
The Mr Brownstone lyrics perfectly describe how one day a Guns N’ Roses member looked like in those days. Of course, not all of them since the biggest misconception is that Axl was also a junkie, but he wasn’t. Everyone used drugs, but Axl was never a junkie; nevertheless, he sings this song as passionately as all other tracks.
“Mr Brownstone” is one of the Guns N Roses greatest hits, and it has one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in rock and roll music history. No one is stunned by this since Guns N’ Roses is undoubtedly one of the best rock bands ever.
“You Could Be Mine”
It’s fair to say that Guns N’ Roses You Could Be Mine is probably the best hard rock song ever written.
It’s on “Use Your Illusion II,” but even Slash has written in his autobiography that it’s a perfect song for “Appetite for Destruction.” However, there wasn’t any space, so it was released on their next studio album. On the other hand, it’s better that it is on this album since it makes it even more unique and combines various music styles.
With its propulsive drums and revved-up riffs, this track is one of the most entertaining and energizing Guns N’ Roses songs ever. It was initially released as a movie song for ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and it later reached number one in Spain and Finland, number three on the UK Singles Chart, and number 29 on Billboard Hot 100. In addition, “You Could Be Mine” became a top-five hit in over ten other countries worldwide.
This song is so famous that Guns have played it live everywhere, from Alabama to Japan and many other places in between.
“Welcome to the Jungle”
No matter how hard you try, you won’t find a better opening track on a debut studio album than “Welcome to the Jungle” since it sets the stage perfectly from the start.
Axl states that the inspiration came from a strange encounter with a deranged man in New York who said, “You know where you are? You in the jungle, baby! You gonna die!” Of course, these words are part of the Welcome to the Jungle lyrics, and this song perfectly describes how Axl saw Los Angeles back in the day.
The music video is also in tune with the lyrics since it shows Rose arriving in LA on a bus while he quickly becomes absorbed by the LA madness. However, this song wasn’t an instant hit since MTV aired it only late at night or three in the morning. Nevertheless, viewers loved it, and it became a mega-hit that changed everything for the better for Guns N’ Roses.
“Welcome to the Jungle” undoubtedly deserves a spot on this Guns N Roses most popular songs list since it boosted the band to another level!
“November Rain”
Everything is well made regarding “November Rain,” from the music, lyrics and music video.
This song is inspired by Elton John’s “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding,” which isn’t surprising since Axl loves Sir Elton a lot. Rose worked on this masterpiece for years, supposedly even back to 1983. Also, claims have been made that the initial version was around 18 minutes long. On the other hand, the Guns N Roses guitarist states that the band recorded the 18-minute version of this song in 1986 at a session with Manny from Nazareth.
Be as it may, “November Rain” is a musical masterpiece, and it’s famous beyond Guns N’ Roses fans as one of the greatest rock ballads ever written. The beginning, the middle, and the end of the song are all fantastic, and Slash’s solo in this track is one of the best-played guitar solos of all time.
‘’Sweet Child O’ Mine’’
Aside from being the most popular Guns N’ Roses song with more than 1.5 billion views on YouTube, “Sweet Child O’ Mine” is the only Guns track effortlessly covered by many singers, from Carrie Underwood to the Black Eyed Peas.
Even more fascinating is that it was born out of a spontaneous moment. Slash invented the riff while practicing, but he didn’t think the band would like the riff so much. However, during a rehearsal, one of the guys asked him to play it, and the rest of the band members continued playing. While they were playing, Axl was in the other room listening, and they didn’t even know that he was writing lyrics to this music. It was about his girlfriend, Erin Everly, and this is probably the most legendary way a band has written a hit song.
In addition, they felt the song needed something more while recording it, and Axl thought of the line, “Where do we go now?” Believe it or not, it’s the band’s only number-one hit in the United States.
Guns N’ Roses Sweet Child O’ Mine is more than a legendary song; it’s the Guns N’ Roses signature song with a simple yet beautiful music video, excellent lyrics, fantastic music, and one of the best ever guitar solos ever created in the history of music!
“Paradise City”
According to Slash, “Paradise City” was written in the back of a rental van coming home from San Francisco with the band Rock N Riders. While playing acoustic guitar and drinking, Slash came up with the intro, and Izzy and Duff began playing along. Rose started singing “Take me down to the Paradise City,” while Slash sang the following line. Rose sang the first line again, and Slash sang, “Where the girls are fat, and they’ve got big titties.” Even though Slash liked this line, the rest of the band thought differently.
Nevertheless, Slash also made the beautiful and recognizable heavy riff that drives the track, and he often states “Paradise City” is his favorite song to play at the end of a live concert.
Regarding Guns N Roses most popular songs, “Paradise City” is at the top of the mountain.
This legendary song peaked at number five on the Hot 100 and six on the UK Singles Chart while also topping the Irish Singles Chart.
There you have it, the top ten Guns N Roses most popular songs. If you want to listen to these songs live, now is the perfect time to buy Guns N’ Roses tickets, get your Guns N Roses t shirt, and attend at least one of the many upcoming Guns shows from their 2023 tour!
