The 17 Best Guns N' Roses Songs of All Time

From sleaze-rock anthems that built a legend to sprawling power ballads that stopped stadiums cold, this lineup runs the full range of the band's chaos and grandeur. Where do you stand?

1

Sweet Child o' Mine

The band's only U.S. number-one single, built on Slash's iconic opening guitar riff, from 1987's Appetite for Destruction.

1000pts

2

November Rain

An epic nine-minute power ballad with orchestral sweep and a lavish guitar solo, from Use Your Illusion I.

642pts

3

Civil War

A politically charged epic featured on Use Your Illusion II, opening with a spoken film sample.

551pts

4

Welcome to the Jungle

The snarling opening track of Appetite for Destruction that announced the band's arrival in 1987.

550pts

5

Mr. Brownstone

A gritty Appetite for Destruction track built on a distinctive syncopated riff about heroin.

494pts

6

Don't Cry

A soaring ballad released as the lead single from the Use Your Illusion albums in 1991.

428pts

7

Paradise City

An anthemic Appetite for Destruction closer whose sing-along chorus became a stadium staple.

350pts

8

Estranged

A sprawling, cinematic ballad from Use Your Illusion II known for its lavish dolphin-diving music video.

350pts

9

Rocket Queen

The genre-bending closing track of Appetite for Destruction that shifts from sleaze to uplift.

350pts

10

Nightrain

A hard-charging Appetite for Destruction anthem named after a cheap fortified wine.

350pts

11

You Could Be Mine

A hard-driving Use Your Illusion II track that soundtracked Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

257pts

12

Chinese Democracy

The industrial-tinged title track and lead single of the long-delayed 2008 album.

257pts

13

Since I Don't Have You

A doo-wop ballad cover from The Spaghetti Incident? released as a single in 1994.

257pts

14

Yesterdays

A reflective mid-tempo rocker released as a single from Use Your Illusion II.

257pts

15

Patience

A tender acoustic ballad from the G N' R Lies EP driven by whistling and layered guitars.

143pts

16

Knockin' on Heaven's Door

The band's roaring cover of the Bob Dylan classic, a highlight of Use Your Illusion II.

143pts

17

Live and Let Die

The band's explosive cover of the Wings James Bond theme, a Use Your Illusion I single.

143pts