Chinese Democracy a "toe-tapper". Early Guns N' Roses guitarist Tracii Guns said he thought it was "over-indulgent, sterile and not that exciting". "Chinese Democracy"'s protracted recording process attracted extensive media coverage. According to "Spin", a cottage industry grew around covering its development; "the only way the record could have lived up to its legend would have been to never come out at all". Five years after its release, "Grantland" journalist Steven Hyden wrote: "For years, it was widely assumed "Chinese Democracy" would never come out; in retrospect, the delay is all anybody cares about ... As music, "Chinese Democracy" is merely the
Chinese Democracy passing the 500,000-shipped mark on January 7, 2009. "Chinese Democracy" was certified Platinum by the RIAA on February 3, 2009, having shipped one million copies in the United States. The album placed 55th on the 2009 Billboard 200 Year End charts. "Chinese Democracy" secured an IFPI European Platinum Award, having sold more than one million copies in Europe, and had sold 2.6 million units worldwide by February 2009, according to Universal Music. The album also reached triple platinum certification in Canada and was awarded platinum certifications in many countries including Finland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania,