Total Guitar: Top 20 Guitar Riffs Of All Time

[singingsparrow]

Total Guitar Magazine has composed a list of the 20 Top Guitar Riffs of All Time, as decided by veteran music lovers, the staff, and fans in a poll.

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01. Guns N' Roses - "Sweet Child O' Mine"
02. Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
03. Led Zeppelin - "Whole Lotta Love"
04. Deep Purple - "Smoke On The Water"
05. Metallica - "Enter Sandman"
06. Derek & The Dominoes/Eric Clapton - "Layla"
07. Metallica - "Master Of Puppets"
08. AC/DC - "Back In Black"
09. Jimi Hendrix - "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)"
10. Black Sabbath - "Paranoid"
11. Ozzy Osbourne - "Crazy Train"
12. Free - "All Right Now"
13. Muse - "Plug In Baby"
14. Led Zeppelin - "Black Dog"
15. Van Halen - "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"
16. Aerosmith w Run DMC - "Walk This Way"
17. Cream - "Sunshine Of Your Love"
18. Queens Of The Stone Age - "No One Knows"
19. Guns N' Roses - "Paradise City"
20. Rage Against The Machine - "Killing In The Name"

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I have to say I disagree with this list in general.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 14, and 16 are all immortal riffs, sure, but the rest of the list is messy to me.

Metallica has certainly had better songs than "Matser of Puppets", not to mention more intense riffs.

How could they pick "Voodoo Child" among the cache of Jimi Hendrix? Surely he'll be remembered most of all by "Purple Haze", "Fire" and "Foxy Lady".

Free and Muse are virtually unrecognizable by many amateur guitarists. A memorable riff must be one that appeals to every aspiring guitarist's dream.

Queens of the Stone Age is a quality band, but, please, they are not at all mothers of rock and roll. "No One Knows" doesn't have any real distinct riff, it's composed in a series of parts.

And I disagree with Rage Against The Machine.

Here are some riffs I think should have made the list:

Golden Earring: Radar Love
George Thorogood & The Destroyers: Bad To The Bone
Stevie Ray Vaughn: Lenny
The Eagles: Life In The Fast Lane
Chuck Berry: No Particular Place to Go
Van Halen: You Really Got Me
Pride And Joy (I'm not sure wo wrote that, both Vaughn and B.B King have performed this)

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

[halo19]

"Master of Puppets", I feel, was a valid choice. It's a favorite among many people I know who play guitar. I personally think that "Seek and Destroy" had great riffs in it as well. Muse are relatively new, but maybe it's also because the song on there isn't really new.

I personally felt that "Down Rodeo" and "Bulls On Parade" have better guitar riffs, but oh well. That song does have great riffage though, as it is also memorable.
Problem is that like most of these things from any type of magazines, they went with some of the most overrated riffs.

Well I personally don't see how SLTS was/is more distinct than "No One Knows" even in retrospect, as the riff is like The Pixies covering "More Than A Feeling", although that's a stretch. It's one of the greatest guitar riffs of the current generation. However, SLTS has proven to be influential to just about everyone in the 90s, and is even evidenced by other "classics" of modern rock. The intro riff is really what gives its placement, I'd say.

If there was one on the solos, I'd make sure they mentioned "Zero" by the Smashing Pumpkins, the craziest of solos I've ever heard.

[crash46]

I'm sure I've heard all these, but I can't match all the titles with their songs yet.

Yeah, I love "No One Knows", but I like that song for it's sharp chords and drums moreso than the actual riffs themselves. Not to say they aren't good, though.

And I'm no classic rock buff, but if you're going to go with easy picks like "Sweet Child O' Mine", then they're leaving out "Sweet Emotion" "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Iron Man" (way ahead of "Paranoid" and "Crazy Train")

[mst3k]

"...Of All Time" my ass... where's "Satisfaction" by the Stones? It's certainly more memorable than the riff from "Paradise City".