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Greatest Guitar Riffs


grumpyjambo

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Open for debate...............

 

 

1) Deep Purple - Smoke On The Water

2) Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love

3) Guns n Roses - Sweet Child O Mine

4) AC DC - Whole Lotta Rosie

5) Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)

6) Derek & The Dominoes - Layla

7) Free - All Right Now

8) Cream - Sunshine of Your Love

9) Black Sabbath - Paranoid

10) Deep Purple - Burn

11) AC DC - Back In Black

12) Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze

13) Led Zeppelin - Kashmir

14) Metallica - Enter Sandman

15) Rolling Stones - Satisfaction

16) Led Zeppelin - Black Dog

17) Lynryd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama

18) Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

19) Aerosmith - Walk This Way

20) AC DC - Highway to Hell

21) Black Sabbath - Iron Man

22) Led Zeppelin - Heartbreaker

23) Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar

24) Led Zeppelin - Rock and Roll

25) Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower

26) Dire Straits - Money for Nothing

27) AC DC - Thunderstruck

28) Thin Lizzy - Whiskey In The Jar

29) UFO - Rock Bottom

30) Rainbow - Since You've Been Gone

31) Van Halen - Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love

32) Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

33) Rush - Spirit of Radio

34) Status Quo - Caroline

35) Pink Floyd - Money

36) Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

37) Iron Maiden - The Trooper

38) Jethro Tull - Aqualung

39) Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond

40) Guns n Roses - Paradise City

 

 

Voted by Planet Rock listeners. I agree with most of the list.

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Bomber Harris
Open for debate...............

 

 

1) Deep Purple - Smoke On The Water

2) Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love

3) Guns n Roses - Sweet Child O Mine

4) AC DC - Whole Lotta Rosie

5) Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)

6) Derek & The Dominoes - Layla

7) Free - All Right Now

8) Cream - Sunshine of Your Love

9) Black Sabbath - Paranoid

10) Deep Purple - Burn

11) AC DC - Back In Black

12) Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze

13) Led Zeppelin - Kashmir

14) Metallica - Enter Sandman

15) Rolling Stones - Satisfaction

16) Led Zeppelin - Black Dog

17) Lynryd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama

18) Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

19) Aerosmith - Walk This Way

20) AC DC - Highway to Hell

21) Black Sabbath - Iron Man

22) Led Zeppelin - Heartbreaker

23) Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar

24) Led Zeppelin - Rock and Roll

25) Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower

26) Dire Straits - Money for Nothing

27) AC DC - Thunderstruck

28) Thin Lizzy - Whiskey In The Jar

29) UFO - Rock Bottom

30) Rainbow - Since You've Been Gone

31) Van Halen - Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love

32) Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

33) Rush - Spirit of Radio

34) Status Quo - Caroline

35) Pink Floyd - Money

36) Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

37) Iron Maiden - The Trooper

38) Jethro Tull - Aqualung

39) Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond

40) Guns n Roses - Paradise City

 

 

Voted by Planet Rock listeners. I agree with most of the list.

 

can't believe Pretty Vacant is not in there :mad:

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All the big guns in there as expected, but a few notable omissions.

 

How there is nothing by ZZ Top in there is beyond me.

Only one Status Quo riff? It's what they made a career out of!

How about Living Colour - Cult of Personality?

Lenny Kravitz - Are you gonna go my way

Metallica - Sad but true

The intro to Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne).

 

A few thought that jump to mind.

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One I love is Pure Morning by Placebo.

 

The bit when the guitar kicks in at the chorusy part is outstanding.

 

I really like the twin bass guitars on Taste in Men...thought that doesn't really qualify here!

 

Another one I just thought of is Whitesnake - In the still of the night. Awesome riff.

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Only one Status Quo riff? It's what they made a career out of!

 

Indeed. It was the same riff over and over again, though.

 

I'd have "love is the law" by The Seahorses in there. It's all about preference, mind....

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2) Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love

3) Guns n Roses - Sweet Child O Mine

5) Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)

12) Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze

13) Led Zeppelin - Kashmir

16) Led Zeppelin - Black Dog

17) Lynryd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama

19) Aerosmith - Walk This Way

22) Led Zeppelin - Heartbreaker

24) Led Zeppelin - Rock and Roll

35) Pink Floyd - Money

40) Guns n Roses - Paradise City

 

I've taken this rather spurious list of 'variations of a theme' riff and narrowed it down to the real deal nuggets for Kickback readers. To give All Along the Watchtower to "Jimi" - err, at least the owner kept the publishing. There's a lot of tosh in there too, and even Jimmy Page's best were misrepresented - what about 'Over the Hills and Far Away" - or even "The Ocean" - huh?

 

I think Paradise City was a great, great tune - and a solid riff, the combination of hard edged shuffles and massive power chords worked.

 

Personally, I think Paradise City was the the last true rock song - the end of rock and roll, as we knew it.

 

Take me down....

 

Deodato

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can't believe Pretty Vacant is not in there :mad:

 

Bomber, this is a very valid point.

 

I went to see the Pistols at the Brixton Academy and had people stage diving over me who were doing the same thing at the Pistols gig prior to my birth - it was a pause-for-thought moment, if ever there was one.

 

All good and well, but they starter with "Pretty Vacant" - the best riff ....hmmm, its a contendor, but EASILY the best opening line in the history of commerical music - EVER!

 

"There's no point in asking, 'cos you'll get no reply"

 

Deodato

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The Damned's version of Eloise has a great riff.

 

The Cult, She Sells Sanctuary.

 

How did Status Quo get in there?

(Or am I being a snob?)

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can't believe Pretty Vacant is not in there :mad:

 

 

 

No punk or new wave at all.Must be Planet Rock never plays any.

Pistols,Clash,Undertones,Skids,Costello and the likes.Glam Rock had some cracking rifts as well.Bolan,Bowie,Mott the Hoople.

Would also liked to have seen The Last Time by the Stones as well in the list.

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Indeed. It was the same riff over and over again, though.

 

I'd have "love is the law" by The Seahorses in there. It's all about preference, mind....

 

Seconded!

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Bomber Harris
Bomber, this is a very valid point.

 

I went to see the Pistols at the Brixton Academy and had people stage diving over me who were doing the same thing at the Pistols gig prior to my birth - it was a pause-for-thought moment, if ever there was one.

 

All good and well, but they starter with "Pretty Vacant" - the best riff ....hmmm, its a contendor, but EASILY the best opening line in the history of commerical music - EVER!

 

"There's no point in asking, 'cos you'll get no reply"

 

Deodato

 

Truly a classic

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can't believe Sweet home Alabama is in there but Free Bird is not the full length version guitar solo is incredible, also Gary Moore still got the blues and Parisienne walkways

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Chad Sexington

Where is The Kinks, You Really Got Me?

 

One of the coolest and most copied riffs of all time.

 

This list looks like it was compiled by a load of greasy little heavy metal fans.

 

Awful.

 

:mad:

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off the top of my head my personal favorites are

 

soundgarden - outshined

soundgarden - rusty cage

Kyuss - thumb

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Where is The Kinks, You Really Got Me?

 

One of the coolest and most copied riffs of all time.

 

This list looks like it was compiled by a load of greasy little heavy metal fans.

 

Awful.

 

:mad:

 

Always seems to be the way, Chad. Stick that Nirvana song in there to show they're down with the kids, but otherwise it does reek of grease, lager, p*ss and Donington '77 doesn't it?

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Up Around The Corner by Creedence Clearwater Revival is a great intro. Big difference between intros and riffs that go through a whole track.

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I can't believe this hasn't been mentioned...

LOVE SPREADS!

 

In fact I think a few Roses songs are worthy of a shout, but then I would think that :)

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lenny kravitz- are you gona go my way??

muse- plug in baby

zz top- la grange or gimme all your lovin

queens of the stone age- 3s and 7s

 

but ac/dc, led zeppelin and hendrix up there though :)

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lenny kravitz- are you gona go my way??

muse- plug in baby

zz top- la grange or gimme all your lovin

queens of the stone age- 3s and 7s

 

but ac/dc, led zeppelin and hendrix up there though :)

Muse - Hysteria

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Generic Username

How "Enter Sandman" got in ahead of Metallica riffs like the one's in "Seek & Destroy" and "Master of Puppets" is an absolute mystery.

 

Some of the stuff on that list is genuinely puzzling, as is the lack of mentions to bands like The Who and The Kinks.

 

I also would have thought "Caught Somewhere In Time" by Iron Maiden would have been classed to have had a better riff than "Trooper".

 

A real head scratcher of a list.

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theAlvasection

The start of Waterfall is class,gets me up every time! I wish Squire would sort things out with king monkey and give us more of the same.

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I can't believe this hasn't been mentioned...

 

LOVE SPREADS!

 

In fact I think a few Roses songs are worthy of a shout, but then I would think that :)

 

 

i forgot Driving South! That one is a monster!

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