I wonder if These Days would have picked up in the States if Always had been on the record? And following on from there, if Always had been released as the lead single, as well. Of course, this scenario would have to ignore Cross Road entirely if it were to work.

Speaking of Always, I was shocked yesterday to hear the love ballad on the radio! It makes sense in a way, as it's the same radio station (and only one) that plays Prayer every now and again, but still.

Good point.

Always id say is the most played song in the Uk on music channels and radio.
It would be close with prayer but probably just edges it.

Another tough one..

14. Hey God
13. These Days
12. Something To Believe In
11. My Guitar Lies Bleeding In My Arma
10. (It's Hard) Letting You Go
09. This Ain't A Love Song
08. Hearts Breaking Even
07. If That's What It Takes
06. Lie To Me
05. Something For The Pain
04. Damned
03. Diamond Ring
02. All I Want Is Everything
01. Bitter Wine

It's a shame, that song like This Ain't a Love Song is at 9th place.. but the competition is tough.

I'd divide the album into three part where all the songs in the group would have the same ranking.
The absolute top: Hey God and These Days
The almost top: the rest up to Damned
The far from top: Diamond Ring, All I Want Is Everything and Bitter Wine

What is great about those Track Rankings is that it always makes me listen to the album as whole. Something I rarely do. And twice: now according to the tracklist and then I listen to the song from the last favourite up to the most favourite. The greatness is rising ;)

What really p's me off is that they only play it as part of a nostalgia run or 80's day, or something cheesy like that. Can't they play music like this on the radios nowadays with good intentions, and at least just because it's good music! I guess its just commercialisation and crap like that.

There is a station in UK called Heart - they play Always nearly every day (according to those that listen)

This is so far removed form the Jovi I fell in love with back in the 80's, but it is an absolute cracker of an album. This is the album I always show to those music snobs who think that Bon Jovi is nothing but cheesy anthems and soppy ballads. Brilliant album that I also think is heavy as hell, at least with the mood that it creates.

14. My Guitar Lies Bleeding In My Arms (This song gives me chills...perfect)
13. Something To Believe In
12. Hey God
11. Damned
10. Lie To Me
9. All I Want Is Everything
8. These Days
7. Diamond Ring
6. This Ain't A Love Song
5. Bitter Wine
4. If That's What It Takes
3. (It's Hard) Letting You Go
2. Something For The Pain
1. Hearts Breaking Even

Bon Jovi gets a fair amount of airplay in Australia still - only on those stations which play both older and current music though. The ones that are played often are Prayer, Bad Name, Wanted, Bad Medicine, Lay Your Hands On Me, Keep the Faith, In These Arms, Bed of Roses, It's My Life and Have a Nice Day.

Something for the Pain and I'll Sleep When I'm Dead also get a play here and there.

New singles get played for a little while (eg Lost Highway, Whole Lot of Leavin, We Weren't Born to Follow, When We Were Beautiful, What Do You Got, No Apologies), but they die off really quickly after their release.

As a side note, I'd really love it if These Days didn't win this competition. It's a great song but there are much better songs on the album, and there is too much hype over the song... just saying :p.

If Livin' on a Prayer and Dry County can both not finish top, then I have a bit of hope that These Days won't either.

01. These Days
02. (It's Hard) Letting You Go
03. Something To Believe In
04. This Aint A Love Song
05. My Guitar Lies Bleeding In My Arms
06. Something For The Pain
07. Hey God
08. Lie To Me
09. Diamond Ring
10. Hearts Breaking Even
11. Bitter Wine
12. If That's What It Takes
13. All I Want Is Everything
14. Damned

This was incredibly hard, because I love every song in this album.

Tough one. I love every single song on this album (except maybe All I Want Is Everything), whenever I feel bad or sad, I play this album and it helps. Works better than chocolate. Originally I didn't care much for Diamond Ring and Bitter Wine, but they grew on me during the years. I didn't really get them when I was 15. :) This ranking is based on my current mood, give me 5 more minutes and I'll switch it up. :D
There may be better bands, records, songs, but These Days is my number 1, it has been for years and I don't see that changing any time soon or ever, really. This album breaks my heart and puts its pieces back together, all at the same time.

14 - My Guitar Lies Bleeding In My Arms
13 - Hey God
12 - These Days
11 - Something To Believe In
10 - (It's Hard) Letting You Go
9 - This Ain't a Love Song
8 - Lie To Me
7 - Damned
6 - If That's What It Takes
5 - Hearts Breaking Even
4 - Something For The Pain
3 - Bitter Wine
2 - Diamond Ring
1 - All I Want Is Everything

My second favourite of the bands albums (and third favourite album of all time), These Days is truly a masterpiece. The one thing that most of us seem to be able to agree on is that one of the band's greatest strengths is being able to write songs that capture certain feelings, songs that people can relate to and adopt as being about their own lives ... These Days is the prime example of that. Pure artistry in musical form.

Man, music in the 90s was incredible :p

14. These Days
13. Something To Believe In
12. Hey God
11. My Guitar Lies Bleeding In My Arms
10. It's Hard Letting You Go
9. This Ain't A Love Song
8. If That's What It Takes (very underrated)
7. Something For The Pain
6. Damned
5. Diamond Ring
4. All I Want Is Everything
3. Hearts Breaking Even
2. Lie To Me
1. Bitter Wine

They're all excellent though