Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band originally formed in 1985 by members of Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns.^[1] After signing with Geffen Records in 1986, the band released its debut album Appetite for Destruction in 1987.^[1] All songs on the album were credited as written by the full band, composed of vocalist Axl Rose, guitarists Slash and Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler, while "It's So Easy" was co-written by West Arkeen and "Anything Goes" was co-written by Chris Weber, formerly of Hollywood Rose.^[2] The following year saw the release of the band's second album G N' R Lies, made up of all four tracks from 1986's Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide EP and four acoustic-based tracks.^[3]

Following a period of touring, in 1990 Guns N' Roses replaced Adler with Matt Sorum, and keyboardist Dizzy Reed was added to the lineup.^[1] On September 17, 1991, the band released its third and fourth studio albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II.^[1] The songs on the albums were credited to their individual songwriters rather than the band as a whole, with Rose, Stradlin and Slash contributing to the majority of tracks.^[4][5] Other band members besides Rose performed lead vocals on a number of tracks, and the albums also featured a range of guest musicians including Shannon Hoon, Michael Monroe, and Alice Cooper.^[4][5] Stradlin later left the band and was replaced by Gilby Clarke.^[1]

In 1993 the band released "The Spaghetti Incident?", an album of cover versions and the band's first release to feature Clarke.^[1] Among others, the album featured recordings of "Raw Power" by The Stooges, "Since I Don't Have You" by The Skyliners and a medley of "Buick Mackane" and "Big Dumb Sex" by T. Rex and Soundgarden, respectively.^[6] The following year, Clarke was replaced with Paul Tobias and the band released a cover of The Rolling Stones song "Sympathy for the Devil" for the soundtrack to the film Interview with the Vampire.^[7][8] This would prove to be the final involvement for long-term band members Slash, McKagan, and Sorum, who would later leave at various points over the next few years.^[1][7]

In the years after the release of "The Spaghetti Incident?", Guns N' Roses went through a number of lineup changes during the recording of the long-awaited Chinese Democracy. In 1999, the song "Oh My God" – the band's first original recording since the Use Your Illusion albums – was released on the soundtrack for End of Days, featuring Dave Navarro and Gary Sunshine on guitar.^[9] Chinese Democracy was eventually released, after a number of delays, on November 23, 2008, over 17 years after the release of Use Your Illusion I and II.^[10] The album featured contributions from most of the members the band had featured between 1994 and 2008, including vocalist Rose, bassisst Tommy Stinson, guitarists Buckethead, Robin Finck, Richard Fortus and Tobias, drummers Brain and Frank Ferrer, and keyboardists Reed and Chris Pitman, with a number of these performers having co-written songs on the album.^[10] Slash and McKagan rejoined the band in 2016 (alongside new member Melissa Reese, replacing Pitman), and a remastered box set of Appetite for Destruction was released in 2018, preceded by the lead single "Shadow of Your Love". From 2021, the band started releasing re-workings of Chinese-era songs, with "Absurd" and "Hard Skool" coming out that year, and "Perhaps" and "The General" in 2023.

• 
  Axl Rose remains the band's only constant member since its formation.
• 
  Izzy Stradlin was the original rhythm guitarist for Guns N' Roses, and wrote prolifically during his time with the band.
• 
  Slash wrote and performed with the band from 1985 to around 1996, rejoining in 2016
• 
  Duff McKagan performed on the band's first five albums, before leaving in 1997 and rejoining in 2016
• 
  Drummer Steven Adler (left) performed on the band's first two albums; rhythm guitarist Gilby Clarke (right) performed on 1993's "The Spaghetti Incident?"
• 
  After Rose, keyboardist Dizzy Reed remains the longest-standing member of Guns N' Roses, having joined in 1990.
• 
  Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe made guest appearances on "Bad Obsession" and "Ain't It Fun".
• 
  Alice Cooper performed additional vocals on the track "The Garden"
• 
  Guns N' Roses released a recording of "Live and Let Die", written by Paul and Linda McCartney, in 1991.
• 
  The band also covered Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
• 
  "The Spaghetti Incident?" features two songs written by Johnny Thunders
• 
  Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog" was recorded for "The Spaghetti Incident?"
• 
  Chris Pitman, who was a band member between 1998 and 2016, contributed to every track on Chinese Democracy.
• 
  Guitarist Dave Navarro performed on the 1999 song "Oh My God"
• 
  Robin Finck performed guitar on every track on Chinese Democracy, and also co-wrote the song "Better"
• 
  Guitarist Buckethead performed on all but two tracks on Chinese Democracy

• Guns N' Roses discography