Like a lot of people, I had been eagerly waiting for this CD for months.  I was so excited when I finally bought it, plus it was only 10 bucks.  Anyway, I had heard some of the songs on VH1.com, and had already heard "Set Me Free" and "Slither".  On first listen, I was disappointed...a lot.  That was June 8th.  It's now June 26th and I've listened to it everyday since.  I love it.  The only song I tend to skip over is "Spectacle", the rest are amazing.  My personal favorites are "Do It for the Kids", "Fall to Pieces", "Headspace", "Set Me Free", "You Got No Right", "Slither", "Dirty Little Thing", and "Loving the Alien" (a beautiful song).  It's a fantastic album, it really is.  Scott Weiland sounds better and stronger than he ever did with STP (except maybe for Core).  I never knew much about GNR, but those guys sound very strong, Slash especially.  Duff sounds good and Matt is a very good drummer, he hits hard, but knows when to bring it down a notch.  Dave Kushner is usually mentioned as an afterthought, but he really plays well and complements Slash; he has some cool noises coming out.  If you liked STP's first album, Core (for the singing) and the instrumentation of Guns N' Roses, you'll probably like Contraband, I sure do.