Editing Appetite for Destruction (section)

==Reception and legacy==
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name=AllMusic/>
| rev2 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
| rev2Score = B−<ref name="CG"/>
| rev3 = ''[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev3Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|title=[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|edition=5th concise|year=2011|isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev4Score = A<ref>{{cite magazine|first=David|last=Browne|author-link=David Browne (journalist)|url=http://www.ew.com/article/1991/08/09/guns-n-roses-discography/|title=Guns N' Roses discography|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|location=New York|date=August 9, 1991|access-date=January 28, 2018|archive-date=January 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129004440/http://www.ew.com/article/1991/08/09/guns-n-roses-discography/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[MusicHound|MusicHound Rock]]''
| rev5Score = {{rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Graff|first=Gary|author-link=Gary Graff|editor-first=Gary|editor-last=Graff|editor-link=Gary Graff|title=[[MusicHound|MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide]]|publisher=[[Visible Ink Press]]|year=1996|isbn=0787610372|chapter=Guns n' Roses}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev6Score = 10/10<ref name=pitchfork/>
| rev7 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev7Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=17492&cf=344|title=Guns N' Roses: Appetite for Destruction|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|location=New York|date=December 15, 1988|access-date=January 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021115204239/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=17492&cf=344|archive-date=November 15, 2002}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev8Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name=Powers/>
| rev9 = ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''
| rev9Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite journal|first=Jon|last=Dolan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EUm4Cp2ZFOEC&pg=PA79|title=How to Buy: Heavy Metal|journal=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|volume=22|issue=8|location=New York|date=August 2006|access-date=January 28, 2018|page=78|archive-date=May 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519231038/https://books.google.com/books?id=EUm4Cp2ZFOEC&pg=PA79|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev10 = [[Sputnikmusic]]
| rev10Score = 2/5<ref name="med57"/>
}}
The album was not well received by contemporary American critics,<ref name="Martin"/> many of whom complained that its massive success with consumers was fostered by the taboo of "sex, drugs and rock & roll" during the 1980s, when much of the cultural atmosphere in the US became informed by the [[Reagan Administration|Reagan-Bush Administration]], the [[AIDS]] crisis, and the popularity of [[MTV]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Sons of Aerosmith|journal=[[Musician (magazine)|Musician]]|pages=35–45|issue=118|date=August 1988}}</ref> Writing in 1987, Dave Ling of ''[[Metal Hammer]]'' dismissed the album as an inferior mix of elements from bands such as [[Aerosmith]], [[Hanoi Rocks]], and [[AC/DC]].<ref name="Martin">{{cite web|last=Martin|first=Jimmy|title=Guns N' Roses' Appetite For Destruction – 25 Years On|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/09492-guns-n-roses-appetite-for-destruction|work=[[The Quietus]]|date=July 27, 2012|access-date=July 8, 2014|archive-date=April 19, 2013|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20130419231639/http://thequietus.com/articles/09492%2Dguns%2Dn%2Droses%2Dappetite%2Dfor%2Ddestruction|url-status=live}}</ref> Critics in England were more positive, and ''[[Kerrang!]]'' claimed that "rock is at last being wrestled from the hands of the bland, the weak, the jaded, the tired, the worn, and being thrust back into the hands of the real raunch rebels."<ref name="Davis"/> However, the album was voted the 26th best album of the year in ''[[The Village Voice]]''{{'}}s 1988 [[Pazz & Jop]], an annual poll of American critics nationwide.<ref>{{cite news|date=February 28, 1989|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres88.php|title=The 1988 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|location=New York|access-date=July 8, 2014|archive-date=December 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224162931/http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres88.php|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Robert Christgau]], the poll's supervisor, was qualified in his praise when reviewing the album for his 1990 book ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s]]''. While applauding Rose's "effortless, convincing vocal abilities" as "undeniable and [setting] him apart from his contemporaries", the journalist found his performance undermined by questionable lyrics that reveal darker ideas: "He doesn't love 'Night Train', he loves alcoholism. And once that sweet child o' his proves her devotion by sucking his cock for the portacam, the evil slut is ready for 'See me hit you you fall down.'"<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1990|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s]]|publisher=[[Pantheon Books]]|isbn=067973015X|page=[https://archive.org/details/christgausrecord00chri/page/176 176]|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=4904|chapter=Guns N' Roses: ''Appetite for Destruction''|access-date=June 6, 2017|archive-date=January 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129004543/https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=4904|url-status=live}}</ref>

In a retrospective review for ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' (2004), [[Ann Powers]] wrote that Guns N' Roses "produced a unique mix of different rock values", such as "speed and musicianship, flash and dirt", on an album that "changed hard rock's sensibilities at the time."<ref name="Powers">{{cite book|last=Powers|first=Ann|author-link=Ann Powers|chapter=Guns n' Roses|editor1-first=Nathan|editor1-last=Brackett|editor2-first=Christian|editor2-last=Hoard|title=[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide|The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|edition=4th|year=2004|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/350 350–51]|isbn=0-7432-0169-8}}</ref> [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] also viewed the album as a "turning point for hard rock" in his review for [[AllMusic]], and felt Rose's singing and songwriting were enhanced by Slash and Stradlin's dual guitar playing, which helped make ''Appetite for Destruction'' "the best metal record of the late '80s".<ref name=AllMusic>{{cite web|first=Stephen Thomas|last=Erlewine|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/appetite-for-destruction-mw0000192878|title=Appetite for Destruction – Guns N' Roses|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=April 2, 2011|archive-date=July 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708141113/https://www.allmusic.com/album/appetite-for-destruction-mw0000192878|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Jimmy Martin of ''[[The Quietus]]'', the album, which he called "the greatest hard rock record of the 80s", has an "unrefined, punk quality" that marked a "shift away" from the hair metal bands commercialized by MTV.<ref name="Martin"/> Christa Titus of ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' said ''Appetite for Destruction'' was able to appeal to various rock music listeners because, on it, Guns N' Roses incorporated "metal's forceful playing, punk rock's rebellious themes, glam metal's aesthetic, and bluesy guitar riffs that appealed to purists."<ref name="Titus">{{cite magazine|last=Titus|first=Christa|title=Guns N' Roses, 'Appetite For Destruction' at 25: Classic Track-By-Track|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/1066907/guns-n-roses-appetite-for-destruction-at-25-classic-track-by-track|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=July 21, 2012|access-date=July 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722150315/http://www.billboard.com/new-releases/guns-n-roses-appetite-for-destruction-at-1007637752.story#/web/20120722150315/http://www.billboard.com/new-releases/guns-n-roses-appetite-for-destruction-at-1007637752.story |archive-date=July 22, 2012}}</ref> Russell Hall, the features writer for [[Gibson (guitar company)|Gibson]]'s online publication, said the album "injected a much-needed dose of '70s-style rebellion into the frothy pop metal of the '80s", by "combining the swagger of late '60s [[Rolling Stones|Stones]] and vintage [[Aerosmith]] with the menace of punk and a trash-glam aesthetic".<ref>{{cite web|last=Hall|first=Russell|date=March 18, 2008|url=http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/Instant-Karma_-10-Great-Debut.aspx|title=Instant Karma: 10 Great Debut Albums|website=[[Gibson (guitar company)|Gibson]]|access-date=August 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901044724/http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/Instant-Karma_-10-Great-Debut.aspx|archive-date=September 1, 2018|url-status = dead}}</ref>

Writing for [[Pitchfork (website)|''Pitchfork'']], [[Maura Johnston]] called the album "a watershed moment in '80s rock that chronicled every vice of Los Angeles led by the lye-voiced Axl Rose and a legendary, switchblade-sharp band."<ref name="pitchfork">{{cite web|last=Johnston|first=Maura|author-link=Maura Johnston|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/guns-n-roses-appetite-for-destruction/|title=Guns N' Roses: Appetite for Destruction|work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=July 16, 2017|access-date=January 22, 2018|archive-date=January 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123190519/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/guns-n-roses-appetite-for-destruction/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[BBC Music]]'s Dennis O'Dell said the engagingly hedonistic album remains the band's best,<ref>{{cite web|last=O'Dell|first=Dennis|title=Guns N' Roses: Appetite for Destruction|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/8xjw|publisher=[[BBC Music]]|date=2008|access-date=July 8, 2014|archive-date=September 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925111901/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/8xjw|url-status=live}}</ref> as did Ric Albano of ''[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]'' magazine: "This band would never again reach this level of importance and breakthrough originality."<ref>{{cite web|title=Appetite For Destruction by Guns n Roses|last=Albano|first=Ric|url=http://www.classicrockreview.com/2012/10/1987-gnr-appetite/|website=Classic Rock|date=October 1, 2012|access-date=July 8, 2014|archive-date=July 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715023558/http://www.classicrockreview.com/2012/10/1987-gnr-appetite/|url-status=live}}</ref> In a 2000 list, ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' named it one of the greatest metal albums ever and hailed it as "a riotous celebration of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll".<ref>{{cite journal|title=Best Metal Albums Of All Time|journal=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|location=London|page=127|date=August 2000}}</ref> [[Chuck Klosterman]] said the album would be the only pop metal album to make a theoretical list of rock's ten best albums,<ref name="CHUCK">{{cite book|last=Klosterman|first=Chuck|author-link=Chuck Klosterman|title=Chuck Klosterman on Rock: A Collection of Previously Published Essays|publisher=[[Simon and Schuster]]|year=2010|isbn=978-1451624496|chapter=The Jack Factor}}</ref> and [[Chuck Eddy]], who called it "the greatest album ever made about how you can't run away from yourself", named it one of his essential hair metal records in ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Eddy|first=Chuck|author-link=Chuck Eddy|page=105|title=Essentials – Hair Metal|journal=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|location=New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XJj9SR3-aSgC&pg=PA105|access-date=August 12, 2015|date=July 2008|archive-date=February 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227030141/https://books.google.com/books?id=XJj9SR3-aSgC&pg=PA105|url-status=live}}</ref> On the other hand, Sputnikmusic said the album has been somewhat overrated, and most of the songs suffer by comparison to the highlights "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Child o' Mine", "Paradise City", "Mr. Brownstone", and "Rocket Queen".<ref name="med57">{{cite web|author=Med57|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/8957/Guns-N-Roses-Appetite-for-Destruction/|title=Guns N' Roses – Appetite for Destruction (album review 8)|website=Sputnikmusic|access-date=July 10, 2014|archive-date=July 11, 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140711114607/http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/8957/Guns-N-Roses-Appetite-for-Destruction/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Accolades===
* In 1989, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked the album as the 27th best album of the 1980s.<ref name="stone80">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/100-best-albums-of-the-eighties-150477/guns-n-roses-appetite-for-destruction-151268/ |title='''100 best albums of the 80's:''' 27: Guns n' Roses, 'Appetite for Destruction' |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=November 16, 1989|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822113728/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-albums-of-the-eighties-20110418/guns-n-roses-appetite-for-destruction-20110322 |archive-date=August 22, 2017 |quote=Guns n' Roses play not so much pure metal as unalloyed hard rock that listeners who cut their teeth on the Rolling Stones and the New York Dolls can appreciate.}}</ref> In 2012, it was ranked #62 on ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s updated list of "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]";<ref name="Rolling Stone">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/guns-n-roses-appetite-for-destruction-20120524 |title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Guns N' Roses, 'Appetite for Destruction' : Rolling Stone |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=September 9, 2013 |archive-date=August 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817010400/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/guns-n-roses-appetite-for-destruction-20120524 |url-status=live }}</ref> it maintained that rank on the 2020 update of the list.
* In 2001, [[Q (magazine)|''Q'']] magazine listed the album as one of "The 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time".<ref name="Rock music">{{cite web |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage2.html#50%20Heaviest |title=In our Lifetime #2 |publisher=Q magazine |date=October 1, 2001 |access-date=November 20, 2007 |archive-date=May 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511075828/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage2.html#50%20Heaviest |url-status=usurped }}</ref> In 2004, ''Q'' named it one of "The Greatest [[Classic Rock]] Albums Ever".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/q_mojo_se.htm#Classic%20Rock |title=Rocklist.net...Q & Mojo Magazine Special Editions Vol.1 |publisher=Rocklistmusic.co.uk |access-date=November 11, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101031000835/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/q_mojo_se.htm| archive-date=October 31, 2010|url-status = usurped}}</ref> In 2006, [[Q (magazine)|''Q'']] placed the album at #10 on its list of "The 40 Best Albums of the '80s".<ref>''Q'' August 2006, Issue 241</ref>
* In 2002, ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' ranked the album at #59 on their list of "The Top 100 Albums of the 1980s".<ref>{{cite web |author=''Pitchfork'' staff |date=November 20, 2002 |title=Top 100 Albums of the 1980s |page=5 |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/36736-top-100-albums-of-the-1980s/page_5 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 25, 2022 |archive-date=March 7, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307013518/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/36736-top-100-albums-of-the-1980s/page_5}}</ref> It dropped to #86 on ''Pitchfork''{{'}}s 2018 list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s".<ref>{{cite web |author=''Pitchfork'' staff |date=September 10, 2018 |title= The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s |page=6 |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1980s/?page=6 |url-status=live |access-date=June 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620170700/https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1980s/?page=6 |archive-date=June 20, 2022}}</ref>
* In 2003, [[VH1]] named the album the 42nd "Greatest Album of All Time".<ref name="Babellist">{{cite news|url=http://babellist.xnet2.com/0101/msg00062.html |title=VH1 Ranks 100 Best Rock Albums |agency=Associated Press |date=January 4, 2001 |access-date=November 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224153007/http://babellist.xnet2.com/0101/msg00062.html |archive-date=December 24, 2007 |url-status = dead}}</ref>
* In 2004, ''[[Kerrang!]]'' ranked the album as the #1 most "essential" hard rock album.<ref name=HTGTH>{{cite web|url=http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/news/shownews.php?newsid=964 |title=Guns N' Roses news |publisher=Here Today Gone to Hell |date=March 4, 2004 |access-date=November 20, 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071224113527/http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/news/shownews.php?newsid=964| archive-date=December 24, 2007|url-status = live}}</ref>
* In 2005, [[Spin (magazine)|''Spin'']] ranked the album #18 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005".<ref name="Blog">{{cite web|url=http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/07/03/052023.php |title=Spin magazine's 100 Greatest Albums 1985–2005 |publisher=Blog Critics magazine |author=Barger, Al |date=July 3, 2005 |access-date=November 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090405065609/http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/07/03/052023.php |archive-date=April 5, 2009 |url-status = dead}}</ref>
* In 2006, the album was included in the book ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]''.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Robert Dimery|author2=Michael Lydon|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition|date=February 7, 2006|publisher=Universe|isbn=0-7893-1371-5}}</ref>
* In 2007, the album was ranked #32 on the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]]'s list of "The Definitive 200 Albums", which was developed by the [[National Association of Recording Merchandisers]] (NARM).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eil.com/features/Definitive_200.asp |title=The 200 Definitive Albums Of All Time Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 2007 at EIL.COM, home of Esprit International Limited |access-date=August 13, 2015 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711101911/http://eil.com/features/Definitive_200.asp |archive-date=July 11, 2015 |df=mdy }}</ref>
* In 2011, Australian radio station Triple M listed the album #1 on their list of "The 250 Most Life Changing Albums".
* In 2012, ''[[Slant Magazine]]'' listed the album at #37 on their list of "The Best Albums of the 1980s".<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Slant Staff|title=The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s|url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/best-albums-of-the-1980s|magazine=[[Slant Magazine]]|date=March 5, 2012|access-date=July 8, 2014|archive-date=January 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129125510/http://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/best-albums-of-the-1980s|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In 2012, ''[[Clash (magazine)|Clash]]'' added the album to its Classic Albums Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|first=Stephen|last=Daultrey|title=Classic Albums: Guns N' Roses – Appetite For Destruction|url=http://www.clashmusic.com/feature/classic-albums-guns-n-roses-appetite-for-destruction|work=[[Clash (magazine)|Clash]]|date=July 20, 2012|access-date=July 8, 2014|archive-date=July 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714164840/http://www.clashmusic.com/feature/classic-albums-guns-n-roses-appetite-for-destruction|url-status=live}}</ref>