# A stupefying statistic... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 13, 2001, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835 "2001-01-13T07:47:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/1 "2001-01-13T07:47:34Z")
According to SoundScan, reported in next week’s Entertainment Weekly, the 1987 Guns N Roses album, \* Appetite For Destruction \* still sells \* \*\* 9000 copies a week. \*\* \*. Who exactly are the half a million people yearly who are buying this album? Can someone enlighten me? Stoid baffled ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/2 "2001-01-13T07:53:34Z")
ya know… every day since “creation” people have been born… that means that some grow up and dont have the album… or need to replace the album with CD… WTF dont you get? Its one of the best recordings ever made… OH I’M sorry, were thinking the Backstreet Boys were just the “bomb”? …did that sound pissy enough for ya? ---
**Author:** ![Short](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Short](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/3 "2001-01-13T07:53:51Z")
I don’t know. Let me buy a copy and find out what everyone is so crazy about :rolleyes:. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/4 "2001-01-13T08:07:01Z")
Yeah, and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Talk about flavor of the month. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/5 "2001-01-13T08:44:21Z")
Maybe its the same type of people who still send New Kids on the Block fan mail? ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/6 "2001-01-13T08:57:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Whammo \* > \*\*Its one of the best recordings ever made… > \*\* I agree. Despite it’s blatant misogyny and violence, _Appetite For Destruction_ is a **great** rock record. There really isn’t a bad (musically speaking ) song on it. I would rank it as one of the top 10 albums to crack the top 40 in the '80’s. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/7 "2001-01-13T09:03:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Enderw24 \* > \*\*Yeah, and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Talk about flavor of the month. \*\* I was mentioning just that to Pump Action Gerbil. Wasn’t it on Billboard’s top 500 for almost 25 years or something? Oh, and \*\* whammo \*\* … da bomb is more like: Bowie Led Zeppelin Joni Mitchell Bjork Ricki Lee Jones Gershwin Billie Holliday Alanis Morrisette Nine Inch Nails, but only really “Closer” The Sundays Prince Lori Carson Van Halen Lyle Lovett and I could go on… but definitely not Backstreet Boys. Not n’sync. Not Britney. Not Destiny’s Child. Not Sisqo. Not Thompson Twins. Not Duran Duran. Not Posion. Not Journey. Not Aha! And really…not Guns N Roses. You might like 'em, and they definitely have a couple of good noisy rock tunes, but I would hardly say that AFD is one of the best recordings ever made! Yipes! That takes in a lot of territory, dude! That sounds like an idea ripe for IMHO… stoid ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/8 "2001-01-13T09:11:41Z")
Oh come _on_ **Stoidela**! You can’t possibly lump Gershwin and Billie Holiday in with Prince and Van Halen! The former didn’t even work with _electronic instruments_ for crying out loud! I think you have to parse it down as I did. AFD was one of the best rock albums to appear in Billboard’s top 40 chart in the 1980’s. End of story. ---
**Author:** ![absoul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@absoul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/absoul)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/9 "2001-01-13T09:12:54Z")
welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/10 "2001-01-13T09:56:48Z")
Ahh … once upon a time, when the Gunners were still relevant … ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/11 "2001-01-13T16:53:53Z")
Speaking of which, I still have a copy of this album with the _original_ cover (which later got moved to the inner sleeve, I believe) still in the original shrink wrap. Anybody got a clue as to what it might be worth? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/12 "2001-01-13T19:38:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lizard \* > \*\*Oh come _on_ **Stoidela**! You can’t possibly lump Gershwin and Billie Holiday in with Prince and Van Halen! The former didn’t even work with _electronic instruments_ for crying out loud! I think you have to parse it down as I did. AFD was one of the best rock albums to appear in Billboard’s top 40 chart in the 1980’s. End of story. \*\* Oh, I wasn’t giving my list as as a direct rebut to the best of all time list, just as a rebut to Whammo’s assumption about what musicians I appreciate, rather than GNR. It looked like Whammo was jumping to the amusing conclusion that I was some young pup that was only into modern pop. As for your assertions about Top 40 late 80’s…I don’t think I would argue that off the top of my head. These days my general feeling is that the 80’s were an overwhelmingly dark time in music… ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/13 "2001-01-13T20:51:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stoidela \* > \*\*As for your assertions about Top 40 late 80’s…I don’t think I would argue that off the top of my head. These days my general feeling is that the 80’s were an overwhelmingly dark time in music… > \*\* Well sure…_any_ era is a dark time if you don’t like the music from it. My personal “dark time” is 1992-1996. I basically stopped listening to the radio. Grunge did nothing for me, although I’ve since learned to appreciate some of it. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/14 "2001-01-13T21:40:11Z")
I don’t find it stupefying. It’s a popular album, got a lot of radio played songs on it. I contributed to the statistic myself! (“back” in summer of 1999.) It has kickass vocals, not bad lyrics, it just rocks. When I’m in the mood for Guns N Roses, I have to listen to Appetite for Destruction… And to make sure this belongs in da pit… **Alanis FUCKING Morisette?!** David Bowie and Led Zeppelin are good, but that shrill voiced pseudo-vitrolic bitch def. lacks their caliber. Guns N Roses were way better than she. ---
**Author:** ![Palmyra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/57b2e6/32.png) [@Palmyra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palmyra)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/15 "2001-01-13T21:59:40Z")
side note: Metallica’s black album is still on the top 200, i think. i heard that about 6 months ago… but that’s still at least 8 years that it was on the charts. Besides, even if Santana’s latest album hadn’t gone to number one, and stalled somewhere around twenty, there’s no way in the sulfuric depths of hell, you coulb convince me that the backstreet boys are better, simply because they’re higher on the charts. Popularity has never been the ultimate judge of quality and worth… and one remember wearing lacy ankles socks with HEELS ala Tifanny?? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/16 "2001-01-13T22:08:42Z")
oh damn. This ISN’T the pit. Sorry…just disregard what i said last. I’m really really ditzy sometimes. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2001, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/17 "2001-01-13T22:10:41Z")
AFD, is, IMHO, one of the top 20 albums of all time. Slash is just a guitar god, Axl’s vocals are easily the best of the late 80s, and the song writing is flawless. There really isn’t a bad song on the entire disc. Of course, I’d put Skid Row’s “Slave to the Grind” on my Top 50 albums list, too, so maybe I’m just too big of an 80s hard rock/hair metal fan. That said, Led Zep - IV is still my number one album of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/18 "2001-01-14T00:54:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Flymaster \* > \*\*Of course, I’d put Skid Row’s “Slave to the Grind” on my Top 50 albums list, too, so maybe I’m just too big of an 80s hard rock/hair metal fan. > \*\* I wouldn’t call you crazy if you did. I still think Sebastian Bach was one o the best rock vocalists of his era, even if he _was_ in a “hair” band. ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-stupefying-statistic/49835/19 "2001-01-14T20:40:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lizard \* > [BI wouldn’t call you crazy if you did. I still think Sebastian Bach was one o the best rock vocalists of his era, even if he _was_ in a “hair” band. > \*\* And he just finished a run on Broadway as Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. I heard that he was quite impressive.