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What are the greatest rock guitar riffs of all time? That's what we asked UG readers in our poll this week, which became one of our most hotly-contested votes ever.
It takes a lot for a part to achieve legendary riff status. First, it's got to be on guitar - you can't have an epic rock riff on a flute, obviously. Second, it's got to ooze cool. In fact, it's got to spray cool out of your speakers like a damn super soaker. Third, and most importantly, it's got to be fun to play - because that's what guitar is all about. To help with this, we've added a tab link after each song title so you can spend the weekend brushing up on your guitar hero status. Have some fun with it! After hundreds of nominations and thousands of votes, the results are in. So what are the best rock guitar riffs of all time? It's time to find out... 10. Red Hot Chili Peppers "Can't Stop"(Tab)The distant opening riff might remind you of vintage rock, but it's the funkadelic verse hook that keeps guitarists coming back to this song. 9. Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit"(Tab)Guitar shops around the world famously banned this song after hearing it being played by newbies so often - an honor only bestowed to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" before. That doesn't mean it sucks, though. This riff is the sound of teenage fury, packed into four simple chords. 8. The White Stripes "Seven Nation Army"(Tab)You think that's a bass riff? Nope, that's just a super-detuned guitar string. Or you can stick to the old adage "don't bore us, get to the chorus" and play the full-volume chorus guitar attack instead. 7. AC/DC "Back In Black"(Tab)Perfection is slapping on a leather jacket, putting this track in your headphones and stomping down the street to the tempo. Oh, and if it wasn't bleedingly obvious, you need a BLACK leather jacket for this one. 6. Eric Clapton (Derek and the Dominos) "Layla"(Tab)This unmistakable Clapton riff isn't just technically hard to perform - it's all in the way you play and bend those strings. Make it sing, and Layla will sing with you. 5. Deep Purple "Smoke On The Water"(Tab)If this wasn't one of the first things you ever played on guitar, you missed an important rite of passage, like falling off your bike the first time you ride it - it's just something you have to do one day. 4. Jimi Hendrix (The Jimi Hendrix Experience) "Purple Haze"(Tab)The sound of an era. Hendrix's "Purple Haze" performance is a psychedelic sweep through his creative mind, and has been picked up by weed fanatics as a cannabis anthem. Hendrix always insisted it was a love song, strangely. 3. Rage Against The Machine "Killing In The Name"(Tab)Rage's defining political song made a stunning comeback in 2009 when it led a Facebook campaign to block a Christmas "X Factor" from the No. 1 chart slot at Christmas in the UK. Radio stations were stuck with a unique decision: "do we play the song in full, or not?" Listen to the NSFW ending if you're in the 0.1% of people who don't know why... 2. Cream "Sunshine Of Your Love"(Tab)Eric Clapton's second entry in the top 10 is well-earned. Interestingly, he was inspired by a night of watching Jimi Hendrix playing a show in London and Clapton wrote this riff the moment he got back. 1. Led Zeppelin "Black Dog"(Tab)Jimmy Page might have all the glory for playing this epic rock riff, but it was actually bassistJohn Paul Jones who wrote it. His goal: to write a riff that kept winding round without a clear groove. "I wanted to try an electric blues with a rolling bass part. But it couldn't be too simple," he later said. "I showed it to the guys, and we fell into it. We struggled with the turn-around, until[John] Bonham figured out that you just four-time as if there's no turn-around. That was the secret. That's the end of our top 10 rock guitar riffs - but what's your top 10? Do you think UG readers have voted a perfect list, or would you tweak it? Post your amendments in the comments, and share your love for other great rock riffs down below. Oh, and hit 'Like' if you want your friends to have a rock education. It'll be good for them . | |||||||||||||||||||||
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This list is a bit inconsistent. ie: Sleep Now in the Fire > Killing In The Name Of, and "Can't Stop" is RHCP's best riff? And Black Dog is Zeppelin's?
Crazy Train should be on there, As well as Paranoid!!! Not Seven Nation Army.....Mainly do too the fact the title of this post is Top 10 Rock Riffs, In what world is Seven Nation Army a great riff?????
And even now, people still fail to realize that it said in the rules of the contest "No metal, or punk songs", despite being repeated 1,000,000 times by a certain Mr. N-D...
Paranoid riff is a rip off Led Zeppelin anyway and Seven Nation Army is far more recognizable than Crazy Train to the average listener
I was thinking the same thing with black Sabbath getting shunned. I also woulda liked to see maybe sweet child o mine, or something Pantera, but I guess they were to metal.
Two Led Zeppelin songs? I love them but I think the limit should be one song from one band.
Dude, I agree that the riff in the middle of this song is EPIC. But I think "The Song Remains the Same" takes the cake...
This is certainly not a terrible list because each of these songs had a huge impact on music, but as far as the best... idk if I would go that far.
Not bad. But it really needs Johnny B. Goode. Greatest Rock n Roll song ever written. I've still never heard a bad version of it.
I have yet to here a good version live. the singers always exaggerate the gravelly voice, and the guitarists turn up too loud, and the drummers think it's much faster.
The Judas Priest cover? It tends to be one of my favorite covers of all time just because they made it their own rather than straight up note for note copying the original. Plus yano...Back to the Future is the greatest trilogy ever (Screw you Star Wars)
Nearly perfect, if you ask me. I was upvoting Cant Stop, Seven Nation Army and Black Dog; no complaints here!
thats because your a noob....cant stop and seven nation army? i remember my first squier strat.....
Okay list in my opinion, don't get me wrong, all the riffs on there are sick. I think something from Eddie VanHalen's archive could fit there
Black Dog.. my favourite riff ever. I remember the first time I heard it... I was like WOW, WHAT IS THAT??? Definitely deserving, so memorable and so much power, coolness, sex and groove all in one.
The sexiest riff ever written is the riff in "Skin on Skin" by Queens of the Stone Age. It literally makes people pregnant.
Can't argue with this list, there is literally hundreds of riffs that could've been here.
do people really like pearl jam that much? i don't think i've listened to a full pearl jam song on purpose in like 5 years
...The fact that you haven't listened to a full Pearl Jam song in 5 years is maybe why you don't understand why Pearl Jam are great.
that's not an untrue statement. I've literally understood three words of every Pearl Jam song
I'm convinced that Eddie Vedder recorded the vocals for Yellow Ledbetter in one take.....with no lyrics.
Quote from Mike McCready: "Ed didn't really have any lyrics. He came up with some ideas right there on the spot, and that's what we recorded."
My favorite line of lyrics in that song is this: "OOOOOH WADAH BA DA BAAAAWD ADA BABWDA ASDFAAAAA"
Heathen frog bought a road like buttered fries is all i can here in the chorus for even flow
Dude, "Seven Nation Army" gets played at pretty much every sporting event in every arena in the world. I like "Alive" too. But, I'm not sure why that is a surprise to you or anyone.
I like Icky Thump better too. I can also name several Zep riffs I like better than Black Dog, but whatevs.
The better question is, where is Stone Temple Pilots, Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Velvet Revolver, and Foo Fighters?
as striking as the video for seven nation army is, the constant motion always hurts my eyes and i have to take a part by the second verse
pretty awsome list, though correct me if im wrong but didnt jack bruce write the sunshine of your love riff?
him and that other bloke, Pete Brown had a long song writing session, which hadn't been very productive, then Jack Bruce randomly played the sunshine riff and Pete said it's getting near dawn (because it was) That's what I heard anyway
Good list. Not saying this is top 10 material but this riff is pretty tasty Rock Bottom by UFO
This is the definitive rock riff for me. Not as popular as Zep or Clapton, but sooooo catchy.
And no metall at all here. And just stop arguing, if we asked for rock and not metal, we mean 'rock and not metal'
I'd say the Load and Reload material could account as hard rock. They wouldn't make it here tho'
They already made a metal riff list, look it up it's one of the better lists on UG
The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man, Satisfaction, Start Me Up... the list is decent though.
yea Keith is one of best riff writers and there isn't one on here. But it is a pretty good list
So what you're saying is "you can't get no satisfaction" with this lists lack of the rolling stones.
Stones and Sabbath missing off this list, and White Stripes on it makes it a bit of a joke. Still think that Brittany Spears song on the Punk Song list shoulda been on there with the amount of stupid votes it was getting.
People in these comments apparently like Pearl Jam. I guess someone in 1994 figured out time travel. Only possible explanation.
Well Pearl Jam's album Ten sold 10 million copies in the US alone, so it's not unusual that they'd have a lot of fans.
this is the most stupid argument you can make. Whats with Hitler? Million people followed him. He cant be wrong right?..... no not right!
No, comparing pearl jam to Hitler is the stupidest argument you can make, the fact that pearl jam sold a lot of albums indicates they have a lot of fans, he didn't say anything about the quality of their music... which is pretty decent btw, yellow ledbetter, alive, jeremy etc are all great songs
That might be, but i never compared Pearl Jam to Hitler, and a comparrison is not equal to an argument. I just said that something is not automatically good, just because people believe it is. And Hitler is a "good" (of course he is not good! ) example that it doesnt matter how many people like something. and besides of that, I like Pearl Jam and they are good! But not because of the fact, that people like them. That would mean that Metallica was a good band as well, and everyone knows that this is a lie
You seem to forget that the notion of good and bad music is purely subjective. So, there is no point on arguing about it. You might think Pearl Jam is bad but, there are millions of people out there who think they're good. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. It's called diversity.
that's the stupidest argument you could have made to that. 'Just because millions of people like Hitler doesn't mean he was good, just like because millions of people like Pearl Jam means they're good'
again, its not about the content of the argument, its about they way of argumentation.. I study Philosophy and this was one of the first things ive learned "Applied Logic". Its one of the most often made wrong conclusion of mankind. Of course music is objective, and everyone is free to like whatever he/she likes, and thats totally okay : And i guess just because i named hitler, everyone will downvote me now? back to topic: the list is great and of course you can not name all the great riffs, that list would be so ****ing long
I really don't understand your argument at all. I don't get the Hitler reference at all in fact. What purpose did it serve? Horsedick.MPEG (great name by the way) argued that since 10 million bought their album in the US alone it is perfectly to understandable to assume that within 10 million of those people, who liked the singles enough to buy the whole album, a lot of them are fans. How, in any shape or form, does that resemble a fascist leader?
I study philosophy too and there is nothing "logical" about your "arguments". Based on your comments I assume you're still in your first semester so I suggest you start actually studying. You should read up on, Straw Man and Oversimplification and Exaggeration.
This is, honestly, the worst argument I've ever saw in my entire life. And stop trying to explain it, you horribly missed the point Horsedick.MPEG made. The only thing he stated was that it's understandable that Pearl Jam have so many fans, since Ten sold about a holyfton of albums in the USA and worldwide. It's got nothing to do with them being good or not (and even if it had, your argument would still be terrible).
yes i made a big mistake, cause i thought he said "They are good because they gave a lot of fans" but he didnt, if he did say that, my argument would have fit. @Hayst: I learned this in my first semester, but usually this subject is set to be one of the last things you learn in the Philosophy... Months ago someone told me, Lard Ulrich MUST be a good Drummer, cause he is in a band that has a lot of fans and sold millions of records. So do you all think he is a good drummer, just because Metallica sold millions of records? Thats exactly what i wanted to say,...
You clearly didn't listen to the lyrics closely enough. They don't believe that God is dead.
I'm just interested, why didn't we see the same comments under Top 10 Punk Songs post. Seems like Black Sabbath is got to be in EVERY PLACE of this website. *sigh*
Best country song: Black Sabbath Best love song: Black Sabbath Best electronica song: Black Sabbath Best rap song: Black Sabbath Best reggae song: Black Sabbath etc.
Iron Man was one of the mandatory songs to learn to play when I first started getting serious about playing guitar .Unbelievable that is not on here since the entire main song can be played on the 6th and 5th strings using power chords.Just sliding up and down the neck .
Both of you are right. For bands like AIC, metal was a huge influence. Nirvana was strongly influenced by bands like the Pixies, who were more of an alternative, post-punk outfit.
Out of all the bands to come from Seattle at that time, I always though Pearl Jam was the least grunge-sounding, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Mr. Big and Paul Gilbert the 1st disc song solo - "How Can You Do What You Do" and solo for Megadeth "Symphony of Destruction". (Marty Friedman)
opinion of mine sorry that -3 people if they would put the solos THEY LIKE better then I will listen. I have no problem with a difference in opinion just allow me at least a idea of what someone else finds better. Everyone should give a solo that can be their fav. Peace
Oh well, I know the poll is over already, but I just realised I forgot to nominate this one. Fuckin' class.
 
Really wish UG wouldn't post so many opinion or opinion poll articles and presenting them as fact. Music is entirely subjective and whilst I agree these are probably the best known classic rock guitar riffs I really don't think that makes them top of anything. P.S. Feel free to publish the opinion I just expressed as fact, I would be fine with that.
I feel like no matter what the Wednesday question is, the same artists and sometimes even the same songs appear on mostly every list.
Metallica, Megadeth, AC/DC, Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Zeppelin, Sabbath, QOTSA, Rage, and RHCP Wouldn't be a UG list if it didn't have at least half of those.
*Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Deep Purple* It becomes annoying after the first 35 weeks, indeed.
Exactly. I must say I am SO shocked to see Led Zeppelin at number one.....Give credit were credit is due, but anyone could have guest that.
In UG, If we make a top ten songs that didn't make it to the top ten guitar riffsit would still be these ten songs...or at least the same bands.
Peeps need to get out some more. Try new things, change something a little, get out of the safe zone.
You have a System of a Down avatar. Your opinion, therefore, like hemorrhoids: it sucks arse.
I don't have a System of a Down avatar and I'm also pretty sure he's wrong about that. I'm also pretty sure your comment is very unfunny and stupid.
@Jazz1992 - I wasn't being serious with that comment, you Einstein. Also... "and I'm also pretty sure he's wrong about that." Good to know your opinions are facts, now we can just throw centuries of science down the drain and listen to your words! First question: is God real?
Same avatar I've had since I joined the site 10 years ago. Don't care to change it because it makes my posts easy to find, and SOAD is a great band. A band who wrote far more interesting music than AIC. AIC always just sounded like loud Pearl Jam. Turning up the gain doesn't make you any less boring. I'd have to say the man that you took your SN from wrote the best riffs. Your attempt at humor was pathetic, but I'm not surprised by that considering you think Jerry Cantrell wrote the best riffs of all time.
I like how you kept going on with the "argument", even though I've already stated I was nowhere near being serious. Dat butthurt. But what should I expect, that's the very definition of SOAD's fanbase - angry kids cussing on the internet.
I was just replying to what you said to me. I didn't take the time to read all the other stuff. I'm willing to bet you were serious until you got such a negative reaction.
I'm really far away from being the regular music elitist, relax. (Although it's funny to pretend to be one just to take the piss out of the whole thing, sometimes.)
Black Sabbath is hard rock among other things and used to be blues rock in the first album period...
Good list, only 2 things I don't like about it. 1. Back in Black is too low 2. Killing in the Name? Fairly decent song I guess, but is the riff really that memorable?
If a Rage song were to make the list I would have guessed "Bulls on Parade" given that the main riff is what almost everyone plays the first time they encounter a wah pedal. Much more memorable.
There is about two guitar riffs w/in that top ten. What about Slash, Steven Tyler, Angus Young (Let there be rock maybe.)
Rage, hell yeah . . . but substitute "Soul to Squeeze" if you are gonna us the Chilli Peppers
Insufficient love for the Rolling Stones; Jumping Jack Flash, Brown Sugar, SATISFACTION and more
This guy's opinion obviously matters more than ours. I think we should all stop liking Pearl Jam immediately.
Except for the fact that he didn't ask that any of us do that. If he doesn't like Pearl Jam, he should be able to go out and say he doesn't like Pearl Jam.
Snow (Hey Oh) is better than Can't Stop as far as RHCP goes, but that's my only complaint.
"...you can't have an epic rock riff on a flute, obviously" Jethro Tull's "Bungle in the Jungle" would have to disagree.
It's an ok list, nothing awesome. This will always be a generational thing I feel. Classic rock is Zeppelin, Ac/Dc, Cream etc. It's like they are the mainstream in our Rock and Roll community. I can go as to say in 15- 20 years we will see more of the bands from the 00' era that made an impact on rock with some of the classic bands intact.
Fun fact: Boxing Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko always walks to the ring to "Can't Stop". He also wins quite regularly.
Surprised that there was no ZZTop mentions. Just got paid is one of the catchiest riffs of all time (at least I like to think that).
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Friday, 21 March 2014
Classic Rock Guitar Riffs
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