From arguably 1991 through 1994, Guns N' Roses and Nirvana (with Metallica somewhere around there) were the leading forces in rock music. GN'R was the Stones of the '90s and Nirvana was The Beatles of the era, and like the Stones and Beatles, in the '60s, the two bands had an intense rivalry.

Ironically, Axl Rose, the lead singer of Guns N' Roses, was a HUGE fan of Nirvana and tried to promote them every chance he could-He asked them to open for Guns N' Roses on the 1992 Metallica/GN'R tour; he even said Nirvana made him do his job better; He dreamed in interviews of Nirvana covering Welcome to the Jungle, and even requested that Nirvana play at his 30th birthday party--only for Kurt Cobain to rebuff and ridicule Guns N' Roses every opportunity he could get, calling them "talentless."

But after Kurt continually rebuffed Rose, the feud turned very ugly, very quickl and as Kurt himself said, there was division in the high schools between the GN'R fans and the Nirvana fans. It seemed in 1992/1993 you had to choose a side.

The arc of both bands' careers run parallel. Guns N' Roses were already famous when Nirvana entered the scene, but hit their peak of popularity in 1991 with the release of the Use Your Illusion double set, and the infamous and mega selling two year accompanying it. Nirvana hit it big at the dawn of 1992, and by the end of 1992, both bands were vying for Rock's throne.

Both Guns N' Roses and Nirvana released their final albums in the Fall of 1993--Guns N' Roses "The Spaghetti Incident?" and Nirvana's "In Utero". Both albums sold poorly in comparison to their previous releases. The band's careers ended, too, at roughly the same time--Axl Rose's last performance in the '90s was in January 1994; Nirvana's last show in March 1994. Guns N' Roses released one final single, a cover of Sympathy for the Devil, in late 1994. While the brand name "Guns N' Roses" continues on in name only, the real line up of the band ceased to be in 1994--around the time Kurt Cobain committed suicide.

So, let's compare both bands.

Album by Album-

Bleach to Appetite for Destruction
Incesticide to GN'R Lies
Nevermind to Use Your Illusion I & II (view it as one album here)
In Utero to The Spaghetti Incident

Which was the better band?

I feel that Guns N' Roses represents the final flowering of the glam metal/hard rock movement while of course Nirvana brought grunge the world over. GNR's Appetite For Destruction album was HUGE in 1988-89 that even small towns were aware of this album, while Nirvana's Bleach was only found in underground Seattle, and the second albums weren't too much different of an awareness. Overall, Guns 'N' Roses was more popular during their prime and lasted longer, however nowadays they are not quite as fondly remembered as Nirvana. I of course prefer Guns N' Roses when listening to old music since I'm not much of a grunge fan.

I prefer Nirvana, wasn't big on the hair metal bands of the 80s and such. In the 80s I was mainly listening to Weird Al, Aerosmith and Black Sabbath more than anything else(With Aerosmith and Black Sabbath it was their 70s stuff more than anything).

In the 90s I started listening to 103.3(which was more alt. rock and grunge oriented at the time, which I did enjoy listening to more than mostoh the stuff I heard in the 80s). Truth be told, I was a late blooming Nirvana fan, but I did like some of the bands songs at the time they still around(Mainly In Bloom and Lithuim, Sappy later on from the No Alternative album). I didn't really get into Nirvana until February 1996, nearly two years after Kurt's death. Nirvana's influence inspired me to learn how to play the guitar.

As for the GnR and Nirvana feud, Meh... I'm not found of Axl Rose myself(I have no issues with the rest of the members of Guns N Roses, but some of Axl's actions speak for themselves), but I will admit that Kurt was behaving rude to him as well.

Oh god.  Nirvana.
I like them.

I tend to prefer Nirvana. I am a very casual glam metal fan, but I grew up with Nirvana and I find their music more relateable. However, I want to comment that despite the feud between Nirvana and G 'n' R, it seems that Kurt had a reasonably friendly relationship with Duff, since he was one of the last people he saw alive and Kurt seemed happy to see him on the plane. Maybe it helped that Duff was from Seattle and had participated in the local punk scene before moving to LA to play with G 'n' R. He briefly reunited with his old Seattle punk band after leaving G 'n' R.

I don't know enough about Guns N' Rose, so I choose Nirvana. Nothing against Guns N' Roses....yet.  ;D

Kurt Cobain hated GNR with a passion, to the point he spat on Axl Rose's piano at a music awards show (he ended up accidentally spitting on Elton John's, oops).

Guns N Roses

I prefer nirvana...but I liked both. I hate pitting bands against each other in general

Guns N Roses