Guitar Hero 1 and 2 were great. #1 had the songs I liked early off, and a Freezepop track. My faves included Stellar, Ziggy Stardust, and More Than A Feeling. I never listen to rock music, so this was a new start for me, and I liked it.

Guitar Hero 2 had more modes which I enjoyed and the presentation was better overall (Golden Stars for perfect songs, note stats) It had the best songs out of the 3. Some of my faves from #2 were Bad Reputation, Message In A Bottle (!!!), and Heart-Shaped Box. The game opened up new artists for me that I would've never checked out so I liked it, now even more than 1.

Guitar Hero 3 started off not so hot. One thing I notcied right off the bat was the cavalcade of "teams" when the game starts. It seems like there are 5 studio vignettes before the game starts loading. That is another thing; the saving takes much longer than in previous GH games,and so does the loading. There wasn't a loading bar at the beginning of GH 1 or 2.

The aesthetic for the game was funny. GH 1 & 2 were pretty standard fare, but GH3 went ballistic with the designs. I jokingly said that once it got popular "Guitar Hero sold out". I mean the characters changed for the worst design-wise, and they took out Eddie Knox! He was my favorite guitarist. The game was just overrun in the design department with all that art.

The music wasn't as good as GH 1 or 2 initially, and it still isn't now. However, I'm still unlocking tracks in Co-op,so there may be a few hidden surprises. My faves include Cliffs of Dover (masterpiece), Ruby, When You Were Young, and Slow Ride.

All 3 games are awesome though. It may seem like I bashed GH3, but I'm just pointing things out; I still love it. GH 2> 1> 3.

My favorite was the 3rd because that's the first one I ever played.

i personally find gh3's songlist stronger than gh2's, although both are very good.
And I also preferred the characters on gh3. You can actually play as dimebag darrel (look him up if u dont know who he is)

I agree with what you are saying but I will say:

2>1=3

It depends for me, somtimes I love the mad charting in GH3 with the open timing window while other times the crispness required for GH2 gets my attention. Still need to mop up the 5*'s on the hard tour on both. The first one I never play anymore as it feels like going too far backwards to play it. GHWT was a complete and utter disaster yet I now love the franchise again thanks to Metallica.

The only thing I wish for the GH franchise is they drop the stupid slider notes which are gimmicky and serve no purpose other than make the game easier in solo's that include them.

i looked up the song list for 1 and 2 which have good songs on it how ever 3 has more songs on it i like