CSPC: Guns N’ Roses Popularity Analysis

Digital Singles Sales

As a reminder, the weighting is done with a 10 to 1,5 ratio between one album and one digital single.

Appetite For Destruction (1987) – 3,102,000 equivalent albums

It’s So Easy – 400,000
Welcome To The Jungle – 5,210,000
Sweet Child O’ Mine – 8,530,000
Paradise City – 4,290,000
Nightrain– 600,000
Remaining tracks – 1,650,000

GNR Lies (1988) – 293,000 equivalent albums

Patience – 1,550,000
Remaining tracks – 400,000

Use Your Illusion I (1991) – 1,023,000 equivalent albums

Don’t Cry – 1,950,000
Live And Let Die – 700,000
November Rain – 3,720,000
Remaining tracks – 450,000

Use Your Illusion II (1991) – 873,000 equivalent albums

You Could Be Mine – 900,000
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door – 2,900,000
Yesterdays – 250,000
Civil War – 950,000
Estranged – 470,000
Remaining tracks – 350,000

The Spaghetti Incident? (1993) – 96,000 equivalent albums

Ain’t It Fun – 140,000
Since I Don’t Have You – 320,000
Remaining tracks – 180,000

Chinese Democracy (2008) – 165,000 equivalent albums

Chinese Democracy – 300,000
Better – 200,000
Remaining tracks – 600,000

Orphan Album – 30,000 equivalent albums

Sympathy For The Devil – 150,000
Remaining tracks – 50,000

One wouldn’t expect much from the digital singles sector for a band that has such a tiny catalog – only 76 songs available for streaming everything considered – and had its last hit in the first half of the 90s.

This would be a huge mistake since Guns N’ Roses‘ hits are absolute monsters in the digital world. In terms of downloads, songs from their 1987 album Appetite For Destruction alone total over 20 million units sold, a terrific achievement. While this is easily their best effort, later singles are also very good sellers on downloads platforms.