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101 Best Songs of 1988:#1 – Guns n’ Roses – Sweet Child o’ Mine (1 Viewer)

# 3 - Living Colour - Cult of Personality

If Tracy Chapman's folk music seemed a little out-of-place on the radio in 1988, how about an all-Black metal/funk band with a debut single that (1) is named after an essay by Nikita Kruschev; (2) starts with a sample from Malcolm X; and (3) name-drops Stalin and Mussolini?  Pretty much every dude I knew in 1988 owned a copy of Living Colour's Vivid.  The album itself reached #6 on Billboard, with Cult of Personality peaking at #13 on the Hot 100.  The single also earned Living Colour a grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance.  To quote Chuck Klosterman:

Cult of Personality is pretty much a thrash-o-rama that was wittled into a radio tune, but it always hits like a tsunami (I've actually seen it start mosh pits at wedding receptions).
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Cult of Personality

 
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rockaction said:
Speaking of which, there are like four bands that are named or have been named the Avalanches, the one I know best being the big beat 90s disc jockey act from Australia. 
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Yes, I think they set the record for most samples on one CD. The song I remember was Frontier Psychiatrist.

 
While there is a lull in the conversation, just wanted to thank @scorchyfor the countdown. I appreciate the good chatter and the long walks down memory lane to when we were all golden gods, young and indestructible, and so much cooler than we are now. Great thread!

 
fatguyinalittlecoat said:
Sorry for spotlighting but I’m just really excited that Don’t Worry Be Happy made the top two.
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I saw the video on VH-1 Classic not too long ago. It still holds up well, though seeing a young Robin Williams so filled with energy and exuberance was a bit sad.

I have wondered if Bobby and Edie Brickell have ever met for coffee and discussed the last few months of 1988 when they were on top of the music world, and how it probably seemed it would last forever.

 
Encyclopedia Brown said:
I have wondered if Bobby and Edie Brickell have ever met for coffee and discussed the last few months of 1988 when they were on top of the music world, and how it probably seemed it would last forever.
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That's a melancholic imagination. Do you take it for walks during sunsets? 

LOL. No, that's great. That's really funny. Thanks for that image.  

Doo doo doo doo doo do doo do doo do do Don't worry. 

 
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ProstheticRGK said:
While there is a lull in the conversation, just wanted to thank @scorchyfor the countdown. I appreciate the good chatter and the long walks down memory lane to when we were all golden gods, young and indestructible, and so much cooler than we are now. Great thread!
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Much appreciated.  Not only have I really enjoyed doing it but also learned a lot along the way from all y'all.

 
For me, that opening guitar riff was up there with the one from Money for Nothing. 

Not as great. But man, pretty close. 

 
#2 – NWA – Straight Outta Compton

You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge.

Dr. Dre kicks off the first track of NWA’s debut studio album with what you would call a statement of intent.  I’m nowhere near as versed on rap music as lots of folks posting here, but even I know that the line sets the stage not just for what comes after it on the record but the next decade-plus of hip-hop history: the rise of gangster rap, the east coast/west coast beefs, and the genre’s takeover of the suburbs and rural America. For better or for worse, Straight Outta Compton has the biggest footprint of any album released in 1988.

Judging by the responses to Gangsta Gangsta upthread, my friends and I were far from the only lily-white kids rolling through our neighborhood with the windows down and NWA cranked up.  Somehow, the Black kids at my school didn’t even roll their eyes at our wannabe posturing or seem to mind that NWA hit the mainstream – obviously they knew better than us just how revolutionary the album was.  Of course, no one could have guessed that 30 years later, Dr. Dre would be a billionaire headphone magnate or that Ice Cube would end up starring in kids’ movies.

Back in 1988, nothing from the Straight Outta Compton album was getting any airplay on the radio or MTV.  Primarily based on word of mouth, it still managed to sell 1 million copies in its first year and reach #37 on the Billboard Albums chart.  Rolling Stone ranks Straight Outta Compton #248 on its Best 500 Songs of All Time list.*  Purely as a song, I may not like it as much as a bunch of other tracks here.  As a phenomenon, it could easily be #1.

Straight Outta Compton

*That’s 50 spots behind the other hugely popular song from the album that doesn’t appear on this countdown.

 
#1 – Guns n’ Roses – Sweet Child o’ Mine

It doesn’t matter that it’s still played to death, or that Slash thinks that the opening guitar riff is a joke, or how uncertain I was about the placement of other songs on this list.  Sweet Child o’ Mine was always going to be the best song of 1988 for me and has been since the first time I heard it.

Five months after its release in July 1987, Appetite for Destruction hadn't broken 250,000 in sales and was stuck in the 50s on the Billboard albums chart.  Most of this boost came after MTV finally relented and aired the video for Welcome to the Jungle at the end of September.  The album finally broke into the top 10 in early May of 1988 – still behind Robert Plant, Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, two different Dirty Dancing soundtracks, and four other records.  Sure, lots of dudes bought a copy, but it wasn’t massive.

Then Sweet Child o’ Mine was released as a single in late June and the album went from popular to massive, finally reaching #1 more than a year after its original release on its way to selling 30 million copies.  The song soon became Guns n’ Roses only #1 single on the Hot 100 and is ranked #88 on Rolling Stones' list of the Top 500 Songs.  Even after hearing it thousands of times, I still stop and listen if it's on while flipping through SiriusXM stations.  That’s a testament to a great song.

Sweet Child O' Mine

 
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scorchy said:
#1 – Guns n’ Roses – Sweet Child o’ Mine

It doesn’t matter that it’s still played to death, or that Slash thinks that the opening guitar riff is a joke, or how uncertain I was about the placement of other songs on this list.  Sweet Child o’ Mine was always going to be the best song of 1988 for me and has been since the first time I heard it.

Five months after its release in July 1987, Appetite for Destruction hadn't broken 250,000 in sales and was stuck in the 50s on the Billboard albums chart.  Most of this boost came after MTV finally relented and aired the video for Welcome to the Jungle at the end of September.  The album finally broke into the top 10 in early May of 1988 – still behind Robert Plant, Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, two different Dirty Dancing soundtracks, and four other records.  Sure, lots of dudes bought a copy, but it wasn’t massive.

Then Sweet Child o’ Mine was released as a single in late June and the album went from popular to massive, finally reaching #1 more than a year after its original release on its way to selling 30 million copies.  The song soon became Guns n’ Roses only #1 single on the Hot 100 and is ranked #88 on Rolling Stones' list of the Top 500 Songs.  Even after hearing it thousands of times, I still stop and listen if it's on while flipping through SiriusXM stations.  That’s a testament to a great song.

Sweet Child O' Mine
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I had a cat I named Axl because of my love for Guns N’ Roses.  Not exactly sure when I got him, but had to be around that time.  FWIW I was born in 79 so have a slightly different perspective on a lot of these songs 

 
scorchy said:
#1 – Guns n’ Roses – Sweet Child o’ Mine

It doesn’t matter that it’s still played to death, or that Slash thinks that the opening guitar riff is a joke, or how uncertain I was about the placement of other songs on this list.  Sweet Child o’ Mine was always going to be the best song of 1988 for me and has been since the first time I heard it.

Five months after its release in July 1987, Appetite for Destruction hadn't broken 250,000 in sales and was stuck in the 50s on the Billboard albums chart.  Most of this boost came after MTV finally relented and aired the video for Welcome to the Jungle at the end of September.  The album finally broke into the top 10 in early May of 1988 – still behind Robert Plant, Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, two different Dirty Dancing soundtracks, and four other records.  Sure, lots of dudes bought a copy, but it wasn’t massive.

Then Sweet Child o’ Mine was released as a single in late June and the album went from popular to massive, finally reaching #1 more than a year after its original release on its way to selling 30 million copies.  The song soon became Guns n’ Roses only #1 single on the Hot 100 and is ranked #88 on Rolling Stones' list of the Top 500 Songs.  Even after hearing it thousands of times, I still stop and listen if it's on while flipping through SiriusXM stations.  That’s a testament to a great song.

Sweet Child O' Mine
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I post this every time this song is mentioned and feel that bad luck would befall me if I didn't, so please indulge me.

 
Awesome pick, awesome song, great thread, scorchy. 

Thanks for doing this. Through your diligence you allowed me to sort of ensconce myself in a thread and comment upon your hard work, organization, and critical acumen.

You helped me re-live a part of adolescence and think about where I was and when when these songs came out, gave me pleasant memories of my favorite aspect of my existence back then (pop music), and that is a gift, really. 

 
rockaction said:
Awesome pick, awesome song, great thread, scorchy. 

Thanks for doing this. Through your diligence you allowed me to sort of ensconce myself in a thread and comment upon your hard work, organization, and critical acumen.

You helped me re-live a part of adolescence and think about where I was and when when these songs came out, gave me pleasant memories of my favorite aspect of my existence back then (pop music), and that is a gift, really. 
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:goodposting:   Awesome thread.

 
rockaction said:
Awesome pick, awesome song, great thread, scorchy. 

Thanks for doing this. Through your diligence you allowed me to sort of ensconce myself in a thread and comment upon your hard work, organization, and critical acumen.

You helped me re-live a part of adolescence and think about where I was and when when these songs came out, gave me pleasant memories of my favorite aspect of my existence back then (pop music), and that is a gift, really. 
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Not to be all mutual-admiration society or anything, but thanks for being so involved, Rock.  

Like I said earlier, COVID has really caused my anxiety to flare (like millions of other folks) and it gets way worse once the days are shorter and the weather get colder.  Doing this gave me something fun to focus on and stories to relive while also getting tons of other perspectives.

Look forward to taking on another year in a few months.

 
krista4 said:
I post this every time this song is mentioned and feel that bad luck would befall me if I didn't, so please indulge me.
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This is dumb. Axl is no Robert Frost, of course, but song lyrics are basically poetry and poetry doesn't always "make sense". Instead it evokes imagery and feeling.

You could similarly deconstruct Emily Dickinson, for example, but you'd sound ridiculous because you're deconstructing Dickinson.

Or maybe I'm just too serious.

Sweet Child Of Mine is magnificent.

 
Awesome finale and awesome thread. I echo everything @rockactionsaid in his write up. This was a great way to while away a few evenings during the start of the long winter season ahead. I gotta get off my ### and think of something like this to sink my teeth into. Thanks again @scorchy

 
A worthy #1 and a terrific list. Very well done! 
 

I plan on finishing the 70s- there are still many more years to do, (and I’d like to do 1980 as well, selfishly) but the rest of the 80s are yours! 

 
rockaction said:
Speaking of which, there are like four bands that are named or have been named the Avalanches, the one I know best being the big beat 90s disc jockey act from Australia. 

So that comparison makes no sense unless you're narrowing down who The Avalanches are, something I presume those in the know are supposed to know. 

"One" could be there for its cultural importance regardless of its merit as a song. It was everywhere in '88.
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This one

 
rockaction said:
I should back up. Everybody has differing opinions, and sometimes strong ones, about songs they like/dislike. 

Just curious what brought that on in particular. 
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Probably too much piss in my cheerios.  Not me being my best self ;)

Apologies all around 

(But ftr, I'm pretty well versed in music, and One was nowhere at least where I was at the time :missing: )

 
kupcho1 said:
Probably too much piss in my cheerios.  Not me being my best self ;)

Apologies all around 

(But ftr, I'm pretty well versed in music, and One was nowhere at least where I was at the time :missing: )
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Was more curious than anything because Metallica is (or at least was) thrash metal and the Avalanches are DJs.  In the video, One is overlaid with scenes from the movie Johnny Got His Gun.  The actual song itself doesn't actually have any samples - just straight ahead metal.

 
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