Album · Compilation
Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits is a Guns N' Roses compilation released by Geffen in March 2004. It arrived during the long wait for Chinese Democracy, which would not appear until 2008, so it served as a stopgap for fans and a reminder of what the band had put out since Appetite for Destruction in 1987.
It was not a smooth release. Axl Rose and former members took legal action to try to stop it because of the track listing. Even with almost no promotion, it reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and number three on the Billboard 200. It has stayed in demand ever since, selling over six million copies in the United States by 2018 and spending 631 weeks on the Billboard 200 as of July 2023.
Greatest Hits: tracklist, credits and charts
14 tracks · 1:19:16Tracklist
- 1Welcome to the JungleAdler, McKagan, Rose, Slash, Stradlin4:32
- 2Sweet Child o' MineAdler, McKagan, Rose, Slash, Stradlin5:55
- 3PatienceAdler, McKagan, Rose, Slash, Stradlin5:56
- 4Paradise CityAdler, McKagan, Rose, Slash, Stradlin6:47
- 5Knockin' on Heaven's DoorBob Dylan5:36
- 6Civil WarMcKagan, Rose, Slash7:42
- 7You Could Be MineAxl Rose and Izzy Stradlin5:44
- 8Don't Cry (original)Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin4:46
- 9November RainAxl Rose8:57
- 10Live and Let DieLinda McCartney and Paul McCartney3:02
- 11YesterdaysArkeen, James, McCloud, Rose3:16
- 12Ain't It FunChrome, Laughner, O'Connor5:08
- 13Since I Don't Have YouBeaumont, Lester, Martin, Rock, Taylor, Verscharen, Vogel, III, Martin4:19
- 14Sympathy for the DevilMick Jagger and Keith Richards7:36
- Produced by
- Mike Clink, Guns N’ Roses, Bill Levenson
- Recorded at
- Rumbo Recorders, Take One Studio, A&M Studios, Conway Recording Studios, Image Recording Studios, Metalworks Studios, Studio 56, The Record Plant
- Recorded
- 1987–1994 (original) 1986–1994 (2020 reissue)
- Mixed by
- Michael Barbiero, Steve Thompson, Mike Clink, Bill Price
- Mixed at
- The Record Plant, Skip Saylor Recording
- Engineered by
- Mike Clink, Micajah Ryan, Allen Abrahamson, Jim Mitchell
- Label
- Geffen
- Length
- 1:19:16
Line-up
- Steven Adler · drums (drum set)
- Duff McKagan · bass guitar, background vocals, electric bass guitar, bass, choir vocals
- Slash · electric guitar, acoustic guitar, guitar, bass guitar
- Izzy Stradlin · electric guitar, background vocals, acoustic guitar, guitar, choir vocals
- Axl Rose · lead vocals, vocals, background vocals, piano, keyboard, synthesizer, choir vocals
- Matt Sorum · drums (drum set), background vocals, choir vocals
- The Waters · background vocals · guest
- Dizzy Reed · piano, background vocals, choir vocals, organ
- Shannon Hoon · lead vocals, background vocals, choir vocals · guest
- Johann Langlie · synthesizer · guest
- Stuart C. Bailey · background vocals, choir vocals · guest
- Reba Shaw · background vocals, choir vocals · guest
- Robert Clark · horn · guest
- Matthew McKagan · horn · guest
- Jon Thautwein · horn · guest
- Rachel West · horn · guest
- Mike Staggs · guitar · guest
- Gilby Clarke · guitar · guest
- Paul Huge · guitar · guest
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 2004–2020 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 2004–2020 | 3 |
| Austrian Albums · 2004–2020 | 1 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2004–2020 | 1 |
| Finnish Albums · 2004–2020 | 1 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2004–2020 | 1 |
| Ireland 2 · 2004–2020 | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums · 2004–2020 | 1 |
| Norwegian Albums · 2004–2020 | 1 |
| Scottish Albums · 2004–2020 | 1 |
All 25 charts
| Singaporean Albums (RIAS) · 2004–2020 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 2004–2020 | 2 |
| Italian Albums · 2004–2020 | 2 |
| Swedish Albums · 2004–2020 | 2 |
| Swiss Albums · 2004–2020 | 2 |
| Dutch Albums · 2004–2020 | 3 |
| Danish Albums · 2004–2020 | 4 |
| German Albums · 2004–2020 | 4 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 2004–2020 | 5 |
| Portuguese Albums · 2004–2020 | 7 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2004–2020 | 7 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) · 2004–2020 | 8 |
| Brazilian Albums (ABPD) · 2004–2020 | 15 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2004–2020 | 26 |
| French Albums · 2004–2020 | 138 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Argentina | 2× Platinum |
| Australia · 2017 | 9× Platinum |
| Austria · 2004 | Gold |
| Belgium · 2006 | Platinum |
| Brazil · 2005 | Gold |
| Canada | 2× Platinum |
| Denmark · 2004 | Platinum |
| Finland · 2004 | Platinum |
| Germany | Platinum |
| Greece | Gold |
| Hungary · 2006 | Gold |
| Ireland · 2005 | 6× Platinum |
| Italy · 2016 | 2× Platinum |
| Japan · 2004 | Gold |
| Mexico · 2004 | Gold |
| Netherlands · 2005 | Platinum |
| New Zealand | 6× Platinum |
| Poland · 2019 | 3× Platinum |
| Portugal · 2021 | Gold |
| Spain · 2009 | Platinum |
| Sweden · 2004 | Platinum |
| Switzerland | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 2023 | 8× Platinum |
| United States | 5× Platinum |
| Europe · 2013 | 4× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
54.2
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
210
ListenBrainz listeners
47k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
62k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 23 March
Every year →
More from Guns N’ Roses
Full discography →
Live ?!★꩜ Like a Suicide
1986
Appetite for Destruction
1987
EP
1988
G N’ R Lies
1988
On Tour Now!
1991
Use Your Illusion I
1991
Use Your Illusion II
1991
The “Civil War” EP
1993
“The Spaghetti Incident?”
1993
Use Your Illusion
1998
Live Era ’87–’93
1999
Chinese Democracy
2008
Appetite for Democracy: Live at the Hard Rock Casino - Las Vegas
2014
Hard Skool
2022
The best of 2004
All of 2004 →
American Idiot
Green Day · 2004
Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
Slipknot · 2004
Collision Course
Linkin Park · 2004
Reise, Reise
Rammstein · 2004
With the Lights Out
Nirvana · 2004
Com Lag: 2plus2isfive
Radiohead · 2004
The System Has Failed
Megadeth · 2004
Sliver: The Best of the Box
Nirvana · 2004
Live in Buffalo: July 4th 2004
Goo Goo Dolls · 2004
Underground 4.0
Linkin Park · 2004
Queen on Fire: Live at the Bowl
Queen · 2004
Inferno
Motörhead · 2004
More on Geffen
The label →Appetite for Destruction
Guns N’ Roses · 1987
Use Your Illusion II
Guns N’ Roses · 1991
Pinkerton
Weezer · 1996
“The Spaghetti Incident?”
Guns N’ Roses · 1993
On Tour Now!
Guns N’ Roses · 1991
G N’ R Lies
Guns N’ Roses · 1988
Weezer
Weezer · 2001
Incesticide
Nirvana · 1992
Make Believe
Weezer · 2005
With the Lights Out
Nirvana · 2004
Maladroit
Weezer · 2002
Live ?!★꩜ Like a Suicide
Guns N’ Roses · 1986
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 2004-03-23; musicbrainz + wikidata 2004-03-15 (8 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 15 March 2004 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 23 March 2004 | |
| Wikidata | 15 March 2004 | |
| US release | 23 March 2004 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 15 March 2004 | earliest UK or European date |
18 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | US | Geffen | 602498621165 | other |
| 2004 | NZ | Geffen | 602498621165 | other |
| 2004 | US | Geffen | 602527677163 | other |
| 2004 | AR | Geffen | 602498613696 | other |
| 2004 | XE | Geffen | 602498621080 | other |
| 2004 | AU | Geffen | 602498621165 | other |
| 2004 | CA | Geffen | 602498613696 | other |
| March 2004 | ZA | Geffen | 6009143083738 | other |
| 15 March 2004 | GB | Geffen | 602498613696 | original |
| 16 March 2004 | XE | Geffen | 602498621080 | other |
| 23 March 2004 | CA | Geffen | 602498613696 | other |
| 23 March 2004 | US | Geffen | 602498613696 | other |
| 25 June 2008 | JP | Universal Music | 4988005515001 | other |
| 13 September 2011 | CA | Geffen | 602527677163 | other |
| 1 June 2018 | — | Geffen | 602567756798 | other |
| 28 August 2020 | — | Geffen | 602507335120 | other |
| 25 September 2020 | US | Geffen | 602507124793 | other |
| 25 September 2020 | XE | Geffen | 602507124793 | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 800×800 | upscaled |