Greatest Hits (Guns N' Roses album) Greatest Hits (Guns N' Roses album) Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released on March 23, 2004. Released by Geffen Records in part because of the delay in the making of "Chinese Democracy", the album was subject to lawsuits by band member Axl Rose and former band members, in an attempt to block its release due to its track listing. Despite the album having almost no promotion, it reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and number three on the "Billboard" 200 chart upon its release. "Greatest Hits" re-entered the
Chinese Democracy Geffen had removed "Chinese Democracy" from its release schedule and withdrawn funding, stating: "Having exceeded all budgeted and approved recording costs by millions of dollars, it is Mr. Rose's obligation to fund and complete the album, not Geffen's." Around that time, manager Merck Mercuriadis said the album was close to complete. According to a March 2005 "New York Times" article, production costs for the album had reached $13 million, making it probably the most expensive recording "never made". Mercuriadis dismissed the article, writing in a letter that the newspaper's sources had not been involved with the project for several years.