"Chinese Democracy" may have been the most anticipated rock album in history, but that wasn't enough to make it No. 1 on the charts.

The new Guns 'N Roses record -- which took 15 years and costs millions of dollars to make -- debuted at No. 3 on the charts yesterday.

It moved 261,000 copies in its first week, according to Billboard/Soundscan, a pittance compared to the last studio albums, "Use Your Illusion I" (No. 2, 685,000) and "Use Your Illusion II" (No. 1, 777,000), in 1991, the heyday for CD sales.

Besting "Chinese Democracy" for the top of the charts was "808s & Heartbreak," the fourth album by relative upstart Kanye West, which sold 450,000 (compared to 860,000 for "Late Registration" in 2005).

Also weighing in ahead of "Chinese Democracy" was Taylor Swift's "Fearless," which came in at No. 2 with 267,000. Ludacris' "Theater of the Mind" debuted at No. 5 with 213,000.