Top 20 Guitar Riffs according to Total Guitar (UK Magazine)

http://entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,9455090%255E7484%255E%255Enbv,00.html

1. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses
2. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
3. Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
4. Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple
5. Enter Sandman - Metallica
6. Layla - Derek & The Dominoes/Eric Clapton
7. Master Of Puppets - Metallica
8. Back In Black - AC/DC
9. Voodoo Child - 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. Aint Talkin' 'Bout Love - Van Halen
16. Walk This Way - Aerosmith
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

No Van Halen until #15? I'm quite skeptical...:mad:

That list is an abomination.

I swear they asked 13 year olds with IQs of Shrub and drool to pick the songs.

Ridiculous.

Guns 'N Roses: what a crock. Screw them.

I'm surprised the White Stripes or Jet didn't make this ultra-competitive list. (sarcasm off)

for saving me the trouble of writing what you just did.

All meat and potatoes hard rock and metal.

:laughing hysterically:

More than I should, perhaps. But "Sweet Child O' Mine" as the greatest guitar riff ever? That's priceless!

Can't remember what it goes like, but I do remember hearing it and thinking it was a blatant rip.
Anyway, everyone knows 'Know Your Product' by The Saints is the best riff ever.

Something else though. Really suprised that made the list.

And I thought the best riff ever was "Song 2" by Blur or "D'You Know What I Mean" by Oasis. ;););)

Otherwise known as The Entire Elastica Catalogue In One Song.

Wire is horribly underrated.

The riff from The Wall???????????? That is THE singularly most spectacular guitar riff EVER.

E.V.E.R.

I mean I ADORE sweet child of mine, slash totally fuckin NAILED that opening riff, I mean he REALLY REALLY did... but KIDS, come ON!

Only one Jimi?

Only one Van Halen?

How drunk off their ass are these writers?

Personally, I'd go with "Rebel, Rebel" in the #1 spot. An incredibly infectious riff that was written by a guy, who by his own admission, doesn't even really know how to play guitar.

Thank you for agreeing with me Fenris. It's only been about 3 months, since anyone on DU has agreed with me about anything. ;(

And now this......LOL!!! ;-)

(Day Tripper, Paperback Writer, Satisfaction and She Sells Sanctuary come to mind as well.)

Also, I would add several Mick Jones riffs to that list, especially the supreme pop guitar riff that is "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

Rambling Rose and Kick out the Jams by The MC5 too.

Or pretty much anything Mick Ronson put his hands to.

There a cloud burst raining down my cheeks. You do love me! You do love me! LOL!!!!!!

Maybe I just didn't respond to your posts, or something.

I'm just going through a delicate spell.

Every music store in Boston used to have a sign banning that one.

hisss...

I'm REAL skeptical.

There are some on that list that I couldn't tell you how they go, but "Satisfaction"..... everyone knows the song when you hear the riff.

And Keith ain't known as The Human Riff for nothing. What makes this list even more suspect is the inclusion of 'All Right Now' by Free. Lame song - lamer riff. And that's just for starters.

his cover of Pipeline with Stevie Ray Vaughan should be on the list. But Jimi should be #1-#10.

Where do these people think all those shit riffs they play originate from?

Morans....

In "Never Understand".

I'd add 'Reverence', but that's basically 'I Wanna be your Dog'. Hang on, where the fuck is that? Why the hell isn't that in there?

For those types of cock-rock cunts who hang out at Guitar Center all day shredding on Jackson guitars and turning up the goddamned Marshalls so much the employees have to tell them to turn it down.

Yeah, I fucking LOVE those guys.

Oh, I do love them so.

When he produced that record for Ace of Base.

Turns out there could be only one Yngwie Malmsteen.

Think about it: Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Eric Johnson. Kaboom.

And his seven-string guitar. Aaaarrrrgggghhhhh!

Now, a G4 tour would literally bring on the apocalypse.

(obligatory Cthulu reference)

Three minstrels of the Apocalypse: talentless noodling, volume, and boredom!

Could not help myself. I'll give you Yngwie, but listen to the phrasing of the other two guys. Musical sophistication in that playing that they TEACH at BSM! And there are guys who went to BSM (like Kenny G) who still have nowhere close to that level of harmonic sophistication.

The Professor

You lost me.

All I wanna do is Rock!!!

Just my nature.
The Professor

I'm a very chaotic? illogical? disorganized? player. Take yer pick.

Just remember to crank up that Gain knob. :hi:

On one channel. On the other, it's on 1. One sound glassy clean, the other, dirtier than a swamp. The Yin & Yang of guitar tones.
The Professor

I swear. It's either the repulsive metalheads in the electric section or the Dave Matthews loving frat boys in the acoustic section. Ruins the experience of looking at instruments.

Oh, but I do hate that song.

They also enjoy playing "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" and "Wanted"!:D

:D

:DHAH!

And that's why I am the Master. Bwahaahaahaahaa!

Fie! I shall soon defeat thee, Master of Obscure Musical References! Be forewarnéd!

they may very well have been the most repugnant power-baladeering hair farmers ever to foul my earspace.

What's up with that?
And G n' R gets 2 in the top 20?

Sorry, when I think of "guiatar Riffs" I think more in terms of signiicant solos or at least something more sudstantial to the backing/bedding to a chorus.

Check out Hendrix's Little Wing or opening solo to Red House or SRV's Tightrope . . . or Clapton's Crossroads - those are riffs!

v.o.r.

ps - I'm skeptical of the underrepresentment of EVH as well.

I'm sure we covered this all in the 1978 Hague Convention on Proper Guitar Usage (International).

..."Whole Lotta Love" should be ranked AHEAD of "Sweet Child," and why, frankly, there should be more James Patrick "Riff-Meister" Page on the list. Yeah, OK, I'm a soulless Zep zombie. So shoot me. Won't matter. I'm already dead! Ha-ha-ha! Bu I'll take Page's funky "Houses of the Holy" riff (the song, not the album) over "Sweet Child" any friggin' day. In fact, I usually do.

What a stupid list.

Kind of like Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of all time list...putting Jack White at #17 while Eddie Van Halen is at #70...I'm sure someone at the label is paying RS a pretty penny to plaster the White Stripes all over their mag the last 2 years.

But I'll take Jack White over EVH any day.

And it's not because I don't know anything about the guitar, I've been playing for over 30 years and am currently in an actual performing band that does all original material.

And it's not because I care what RS has to say. I haven't bought a RS in 15 years.

You're right about lists being ridiculous, but I'm one guitar player who doesn't worship at the usual altars. Hendrix? Seems like a bunch of hippy noodling to me. Clapton? Makes me sleepy. SRV? Just seems like some drunken redneck. EVH? Nice technique, but his playing just seems masturbatory.

Jack White? He plays worse than I do. But his creativity positively shines through. In two words "He Rocks".

So there ya go. Vive la difference.

...you're nuts.:crazy:

But I'm not nuts either. I just don't conform to pedestrian or commonplace standards, whether it's politics........or music. Especially guitar players.

"I just don't conform to pedestrian or commonplace standards, whether it's politics........or music. Especially guitar players."

Apparently, you conform to much lower standards.

I have my favorites, but without knowing who they are, how can you make such a claim?

And which one of those "guitar gods" do you worship aside from the one depicted in your avatar? Let me guess, is it 'all of them'?

Let me make this easy for you, I'll tell you which guitarists I love. Greenwood, Coxon, Manzanera, Fripp and Marc Ribot really do it for me. Guess if had I listened to more FM radio and frat rock back in my formative years....I might not be so weird.

Cheers.

Tony Iommi, Randy Rhodes, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Alain Johannes, King Buzzo, Stanley Jordan, Frank Zappa, Martin Barre, George Harrison, Jeff Beck, Al DiMeola, Stevie Ray Vaughn. All people who, unlike chumps such as Cobain and Jack White, realized that mastering one's instrument opened one up to infinitely more songwriting possibilities than just being a lazy hack, content to bang away on 4 chords. Perhaps if your dropped your preconceived notions regarding FM and "frat-rock", you would be able to see past the superficial musical snobbishness inherent in "indie" rock.

I think Jack is a terrific guitarist, and I think people are too willing to slag him off because his playing is really dirty and frenetic. But he has the ability to write amazing riffs and pull it off with no backing band save for a superminimalist drummer who often uses only ONE hand. That is what is amazing. All of that music from 2 people.

When I saw the White Stripes last summer, the man played 32 songs. I mean, 32 SONGS! With no break!

Check out the new Loretta Lynn record he produced and arranged. If that doesn't convince people that the man is a genius, I don't know what will. I mean he made a record with a nearly 70 year old country music star sound cool.

:cry:



:yourock:

:yourock:

:toast:

Can't be done. And having said that, I'll make my comment on the riffs they did choose. Although they left off many great ones (as is inevitable in any top 20 list), they did include a lot of other great ones. But what the fuck is Nirvana doing on this list, and who the fuck is Muse?

They're the standards against which other guitar riffs are measured.

Here's the Zomby Top 20:
(Remember, these are opening riffs, not necessarily solos)

1. "Gimme Shelter", Rolling Stones
2. "Kind-Hearted Woman Blues", Robert Johnson
3. "Purple Haze", Jimi Hendrix Experience
4. "Sweet Home Alabama", Lynyrd Skynyrd
5. "Johnny B. Goode", Chuck Berry
6. "Peaches En Regalia", Frank Zappa
7. "Up Around The Bend", Creedence Clearwater Revival
8. "Rumble", Link Wray
9. "When A Guitar Plays The Blues", Roy Buchanan
10."Statesboro Blues", Allman Brothers Band
11."Cinnamon Girl", Neil Young & Crazy Horse
12."Mean Street", Van Halen
13."Hells Bells", AC/DC
14."Come Together", The Beatles
15."I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide", ZZ Top
16."The Spirit Of Radio", Rush
17."Broke Down Engine", Blind Willie McTell
18."Run To The Hills", Iron Maiden
19. "You Got Another Thing Comin'", Judas Priest
20. "Spanish Caravan", The Doors

Van Halen always gets shit on in these lists. I know Eddie's an egomaniac asshole who doesn't give a shit about the fans who made him rich, but come on, the music (first 6 albums) stands on its own.

Iommi is the undisputed king of guitar-riffing, and the best these fucktards could come up with is Paranoid? Not Sweet Leaf, Snowblind, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Supernaut, Into the Void, etc? Fuck Total Guitar.

Metallica has released better songs! Assclown! Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, Fade to Black, One. Is anyone home?

John McGeogh was (died last month) a riff-master extraordinaire.

Wow, what were the circumstances? He wasn't much older than me.

Yes, he was a remarkable player, with a terrific sense of melody and a sinister edge that fit SATB perfectly. "Kaleidoscope" is thick with great riffs. I'm sad to hear he's passed away.

BTW, "Loveless" is certainly one of the great guitar albums of all time, although it's almost entirely riff-free. Not sure how they got some of the unearthly sounds on that record (I think their amps went to eleven), but it's fun to try to reproduce at home. "Come In Alone" is one of my favorite songs ever.

http://www.nme.com/news/107790.htm

SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES and MAGAZINE guitarist JOHN McGEOCH has died in his sleep at the age of 48.

The punk veteran was also famous for his work with Sex Pistol John Lydon's Public Image Limited.

Steven Severin, bass player for the Banshees, said in a statement on his website: "I was shocked and saddened to hear that John passed away in his sleep last Thursday. Although we hadn't worked together for a long time and I hadn't seen him for a couple of years he was always in my heart and often in my thoughts."

He added: "Without doubt the most inventive guitarist of our generation and my favourite Banshee. Love to all his friends and family. Bye John."

A massively influential guitarist.

-I think what MBV did with Loveless had a lot to do with sampling guitars and playing the samples back on themselves. Crazy shit.

... I gotta say that maybe the most fun one to learn was Joe Jackson's "Jet Set," from the Big World album. Can't even tell you who was playing guitar on that set, but that song is just a hoot to play along with.

And if we're talking cock rock, how dare they overlook the Cult's "Love Removal Machine?" Please!

Back in the late 80's. It was easy for me! I had nothing to do, at all, until the piano solo in the middle. Nothing, nothing, nothing, solo, nothing. I did have to sing harmonies, though. So, i wasn't totally lazy.

My guitar player always said that was a fun riff to play, as well.
The Professor