User Score
Generally favorable reviews- based on 427 Ratings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 348 out of 427
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Mixed: 27 out of 427
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Negative: 52 out of 427
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SpacemanSpiffNov 24, 2008Somme good solid hyper songs, some soft, empty balads. Good riifs and good melodies. But overall, overproduced.
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g.Nov 24, 2008Listened to it only at Myspace so far but I can't wait to buy this. It's definitely GN'R despite the fact that of the old band only Rose remains. Those who liked GN'R back in the 90s will most probably like it now too, and like it a lot. A great return.
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GuibeP.Nov 24, 2008The Album is plain Rokc And Roll, with Axl hittin all the high usual notes, with ease. The songs are big rock walls, ready to punch your ears!
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MarkBNov 24, 2008How can any artist live up to 17 years of anticipation, expectation, and hype? Axl and the band did a pretty darn good job of it.
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DaveyHNov 25, 2008
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OmarK.Nov 25, 2008
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CoryPNov 25, 2008
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JonC.Nov 25, 2008Much better than any "rock" album out today, sure it's not the old school GnR, so just enjoy it for what it is.
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SergioJNov 26, 2008
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MarkK.Nov 27, 2008
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JimBNov 27, 2008The CD is so emotional that it is amazing. The Vocals are amazing and the guitar work is out of this world. Most people hate the album because the media portrayed Axl as this bad guy that kicked his old bandmembers out when infact the quit because they coundn't have their way. Let the music speak for itself.
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GustavoS.Nov 29, 2008This a great album, and you have to listen to it a few times to discover every sound and trick they used. I think there something for every one and I wish "Use your Illusion" (one of the greatest from te 90´s) would take so mucho time, it would be perfect.
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NaNaNov 29, 2008
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TBoneNov 29, 2008
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JoeHNov 29, 2008On first listen the over-production dominates, but gradually the quality of the songwriting shines through. Although, perhaps, it never feels like an album created by a 'band', it is one packed with quality. Both aggressive and melodic, Chinese Democracy is difficult to pinpoint - for some this is a weakness; others a strength - but it's never dull.
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ElDiabloNov 30, 2008Much better than anybody thought it would be. The great irony is if that this record took so long that it's release is completely anti-climactic and the world actually misses out on one of the great rock albums of the past 20 years.
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joekNov 23, 2008Axl is back to show the music world what it's been missing for the last 20 years. Axl's vocals alone are something to behold. He is simply one of the greatest song-writers of our time.
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JoeP.Nov 24, 2008It is crap. Guns and Roses has done godd stuff in the past, but this is awful. I think any good reviews are people just wanting it to be good. If it wasn't under the name Guns and Roses, nobody could listen past the first song.
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LukeNov 24, 2008Of course, the indie critics will loathe this album. Little do they know that their own brand of "good" bands are way more forgettable than this single release. When I listened to "Chinese Democracy" last evening, I was blown away at all of the angles for individual songs. I admire anyone who can put music like this together. Kudos to Axl Rose; it is a grand achievement.
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RyanZ.Nov 24, 2008Axl turns in a quality rock record that holds up after repeated listens. Who would have thought Chinese Democracy would actually be any good? But here we are.
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MichaelCNov 24, 2008Didnt know what to expect. Very nice to see a great album from a band I once loved. In all fairness I really hoped this would be good. The news is that it is good.
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RomeoR.Nov 24, 2008
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NikM.Nov 24, 2008Axl' s voice just sucks, it mainly relies on cheap drum beats, and the only good thing is the guitar work Buckethead provided. Sorry, it isn't a masterpiece by any means
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RajRNov 24, 2008
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JesseBNov 25, 2008
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JonathanENov 25, 2008
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JamesO.Nov 25, 2008Way overproduced; the guitar tone is so pro-tooled to death so that it has absolutely no life. The riffs are boring and trite. Very much a cookie-cutter album with little in the way of originality or freshness. Avoid at all costs, unless of course you like seeing Axl Rose trying to rehash the glory days of Guns 'N Roses without GnR (aka the rest of the band).
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JeffN.Nov 26, 200814 solid, diverse, well-thought out tracks. I like how almost all of the bad reviews focus entirely on how long it took (as if there's a rule) and the reviewer's own pre-conceptions and biases regarding the lineup and what they expected it to sound like. It is a solid rock n' roll album top to bottom. I don't hear that too often anymore.
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ChrisA.Nov 27, 2008I am an all-time GnR Fan and first didn't like Chinese Democracy at all, as especially the first songs rather sound like NiN than the classic 90s GnR. BUT the more often I hear it, the better I like it. Finally new melodys to hum from the Gunners (okay from Axl) aside the ones I have in mind sind 1989. Therefore: 8 out of 10! GIVE IT A CHANCE!
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JamesPNov 27, 2008
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MustafaO.Nov 28, 2008I wasn't expecting to like this album, let alone buy it. But from the off it totally blew me away. Not all the songs are great, but then again I don't know of an album where all the songs ARE great. This is a fine album, somewhere in between Appetite and Illusions... Easily the best thing I've heard in years.
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ricksNov 28, 2008Great,regardless of the fact that the band is a complete forgery now,axl still kicks ass and that's all that i care about.still better than 90%of the crap released these days.
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SeanA.Nov 28, 2008This CD is extremely enjoyable and gets better with each listen. It is not Guns N Roses best CD, but a new path in their music with amazing guitar, keyboards, and vocals.
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NaNaNov 29, 2008
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BillB.Nov 29, 2008
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Aug 5, 2014This album has a lot of foot-tapping moments, and moves along at a quick clip. It does not stand out in the mire of the vast seas of generic rock albums. Putting all the time, money, personnel, and egos aside, this album is listenable. While over-cooked and over-produced, it is not bad. I would not go out of my way to tell others this is a "must buy" album.
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Apr 28, 2015
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Oct 10, 2016
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May 9, 2016
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Mar 7, 2017Love Chinese Democracy. The album starts off with the relentless title track and the album is filled with some excellent ballads with some great lyrics by Axl. Definitely recommend this album.
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Jul 13, 2017
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Jan 25, 2021This album has got me through alot of times! Songs like The Street Of Dreams, Catcher In The Rye and This I Love are absolute masterpieces!!!! Please give this album a chance!!!!!!
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Jun 29, 2022
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Aug 10, 2023Honestly in my opinion the best GnR album. Controversial but that’s what I believe!!
Awards & Rankings
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The first Guns n' Roses album of new, original songs since the first Bush administration is a great, audacious, unhinged and uncompromising hard-rock record.
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An outrageously overblown pop-metal extravaganza, Chinese Democracy feels like a perfect epitaph for all the absurdity and nonsense of the George W. Bush era--one final blowout before Principal Obama takes our idiocy away.
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Soundwise, Chinese Democracy is all over the place.