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  • Greatest Guitar Riffs?

    The UK's Total Guitar magazine recently published its list of the "Top 100 Greatest Riffs." Guns N' Roses' anthem Sweet Child O' Mine took top honors, followed by Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit, Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love, and Deep Purple's Smoke On The Water.

    From BBC News, the rest of the top 25 are:

    5. Enter Sandman - Metallica
    6. Layla - Derek & The Dominoes/Eric Clapton
    7. Master Of Puppets - Metallica
    8. Back In Black - AC/DC
    9. Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) - Jimi Hendrix
    10. Paranoid - Black Sabbath
    11. Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne
    12. All Right Now - Free
    13. Plug In Baby - Muse
    14. Black Dog - Led Zeppelin
    15. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love - Van Halen
    16. Walk This Way - Aerosmith w Run DMC
    17. Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream
    18. No-One Knows - Queens Of The Stone Age
    19. Paradise City - Guns N' Roses
    20. Killing In The Name - Rage Against The Machine

    Good picks? Bad picks? What's missing? And what are your favorites?

  • #2
    Re: Greatest Guitar Riffs?

    Originally posted by pzarquon
    Good picks? Bad picks? What's missing? And what are your favorites?
    Oh my gosh, this is right up my alley. It's not a bad list, for the most part, but not only is the greatest guitar riff not listed here in the number one spot, it didn't even make the top twenty-five!

    Okay, not put aside your prejudices for just a second. Close your eyes. Hum the opening lick to the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction." It's the most instantly recognizable guitar riff in the history of rock and roll. Sure, it's cliche now, and the song has been overplayed to death, but not only is it catchy, there's nothing else like it.

    I'll have to think about the rest, but I'm sure number 1 is "Satisfaction."
    But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
    GrouchyTeacher.com

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    • #3
      Re: Greatest Guitar Riffs?

      This brought to mind the recent Rolling Stone magazine list of the "top fifty". Well, they did have the decency to put Chuck Berry in the number five spot, although I think he deserved number one. And talking about riffs .....

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      • #4
        Re: Greatest Guitar Riffs?

        >> Hum the opening lick to the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction." It's the most instantly recognizable guitar riff in the history of rock and roll. <<

        Ditto for the opening riff of "Smoke On The Water".
        .
        .

        That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

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        • #5
          Re: Greatest Guitar Riffs?

          Originally posted by LikaNui
          >> Ditto for the opening riff of "Smoke On The Water".
          Yes, there's no doubt that everybody recognizes that riff, but casual rock 'n roll listeners won't be able to identify it as "Smoke on the Water." On the other hand, you can hear "Satisfaction" every day on 107.9FM--everybody knows that song.

          Don't get me wrong--I absolutely love Deep Purple and "Smoke on the Water," but GREATNESS carries a certain responsibility that "Satisfaction" definitely meets more satisfactorily than does "Smoke on the Water."
          But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
          GrouchyTeacher.com

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          • #6
            Re: Greatest Guitar Riffs?

            Anything that Richard Thompson plays.

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            • #7
              Re: Greatest Guitar Riffs?

              Originally posted by scrivener
              Yes, there's no doubt that everybody recognizes that riff, but casual rock 'n roll listeners won't be able to identify it as "Smoke on the Water." On the other hand, you can hear "Satisfaction" every day on 107.9FM--everybody knows that song.

              Don't get me wrong--I absolutely love Deep Purple and "Smoke on the Water," but GREATNESS carries a certain responsibility that "Satisfaction" definitely meets more satisfactorily than does "Smoke on the Water."
              Nah. I definitely think that "Smoke" is in the GREATNESS ala HALL OF FAME catagory. But then again, I don't consider myself as just a "casual listener" either...

              Well, howz about (Sorry if previously mentioned; I'm too lazy to read all the posts):

              Money for Nothing - Dire Straits
              Bang a Gong - T-Rex (?)
              You Really Got Me - Kinks and Van Halen
              Layla - Clapton (not the acoustic one)
              Rock N Roll - Boston

              kukui_nut

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              • #8
                Re: Greatest Guitar Riffs?

                Depends what exactly qualifies as a "riff". A three-chord intro? A guitar solo?

                Seems to me that Hendrix should have at least six or seven in there. "Purple Haze" ranks up with "Satisfaction" as something that everyone can recognize instantly. The solo in "All Around the Watchtower" is probably the most stunning one ever written in how it goes from bombast to weirdness to elegance and back again.

                And there's so much "AOR" in there and not much else. How about Ernie Isley's solo in the Isley Bros. "Who's That Lady"? Or if you're talking about notable chord progressions, howcome Bo Diddley isn't in there? Like at No. 1?

                They should also award a prize for "most irritating guitar riff". Like the intro to "My Sharona".
                Last edited by skchai; May 21, 2004, 11:49 AM.
                Sun-Ki Chai
                崔勝基 (최승기)
                sunki@hawaii.edu
                www2.hawaii.edu/~sunki/

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                • #9
                  Re: Greatest Guitar Riffs?

                  I thought about this and came up with my top 5, interestingly, only 1 made the top 25 earlier mentioned

                  1) Satisfaction, Rolling Stones
                  2) Smoke on the Water, Deep Purple
                  3) You Really Got Me, The Kinks
                  4) Bad to the Bone, George Thoroughgood
                  5) Jumpin Jack Flash, Rolling Stones

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                  • #10
                    Re: Greatest Guitar Riffs?

                    Originally posted by skchai
                    Depends what exactly qualifies as a "riff". A three-chord intro? A guitar solo?
                    Good point, actually. An example that immediately comes to mind is the Ramones. They have recorded some of the most memorable and instantly recognizable chord progressions in rock history (i.e. "Blitzkrieg Bop", "I Wanna Be Sedated"), but for some reason, calling them "riffs" doesn't seem exactly right. "Beat on the Brat", however, is a quintessential rock-guitar "riff".

                    I think that to qualify as a "riff", it has to be more rhythmic in nature than melodic. Repetition is a major defining factor, as well. When I think about it, I have *never* thought of Jimi's intro soloing on "All Along the Watchtower" as a "riff", even though it's just as memorable as the opening chords to "You Really Got Me". In the former, the solo is a melodic passage, not a rhythmic passage, and cannot stand alone without the rhythm track underneath it.

                    You are absolutely right about "Purple Haze", though. It's one of the most overrated Hendrix songs ever, but you can't deny that the main guitar line is timeless and completely memorable.


                    Or if you're talking about notable chord progressions, howcome Bo Diddley isn't in there? Like at No. 1?
                    Holy crap, you couldn't be more right. Bo Diddley is a walking riff machine!!!!



                    They should also award a prize for "most irritating guitar riff". Like the intro to "My Sharona".
                    I actually like that riff a LOT! It's almost Devo-esque. It's a really fun song to play on guitar, too. The Knack are a hugely underrated band!

                    Aloha,
                    mel
                    Last edited by melorama; September 28, 2004, 05:06 PM.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Greatest Guitar Riffs?

                      Originally posted by melorama
                      I think that to qualify as a "riff", it has to be more rhythmic in nature than melodic. Repetition is a major defining factor, as well. When I think about it, I have *never* thought of Jimi's intro soloing on "All Along the Watchtower" as a "riff", even though it's just as memorable as the opening chords to "You Really Got Me". In the former, the solo is a melodic passage, not a rhythmic passage, and cannot stand alone without the rhythm track underneath it.
                      I don't know about it having to be more rhythmic in nature than melodic. While they might not be the greatest riffs ever, Dire
                      Straits, Sultans of Swing and Blue Oyster Cults, Don't Fear the Reaper are melodic and great riffs.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Greatest Guitar Riffs?

                        Originally posted by pzarquon

                        16. Walk This Way - Aerosmith w Run DMC

                        Good picks? Bad picks? What's missing? And what are your favorites?
                        Come on, the original "Walk This Way" that Aerosmith recorded in 1975 is way better than the hybrid.

                        Missing? "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who, the opening intro riff to "A Hard Days' Night" by The Beatles.... I am sure there are many more.

                        Yes, Eric Clapton's "Layla" has a classic riff! Love that one.
                        I'm still here. Are you?

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                        • #13
                          Re: Greatest Guitar Riffs?

                          China Grove - Doobie Brothers
                          Whoa, Mista Buss Driva, eh, you can stop the buss o wat?

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                          • #14
                            Re: Greatest Guitar Riffs?

                            AC/DC's Black in Black or Highway to Hell
                            Listen to KEITH AND THE GIRLsigpic

                            Stupid people come in all flavors-buzz1941
                            Flickr

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                            • #15
                              Re: Greatest Guitar Riffs?

                              led zepp

                              bring it on home.

                              travelling riverside blues.



                              or am i repeating myself?

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