Coolest Guitar Riff?

[Frustrated Wonderer]

There are many, many great guitar riffs among which these ones stand out tp me, in no particular order:

Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple
Sweet Child O´Mine - Guns N´Roses
Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
Money - Pink Floyd

So, fellow Dopers, which are your favorite guitar riffs of all time?

[Wakinyan]

Ace of Spades - Motörhead
Breadfan - Budgie
San Quentin - Johnny Cash
Sweet Leaf - Black Sabbath
Driving South - The Stone Roses

[Dread Pirate Jimbo]

Layla - Derek and the Dominoes
Long Train Running - Doobie Brothers
See The Light - Jeff Healy Band

Those are the three great hooks that popped into my head.

[Llama Llogophile]

George Harrison's riff in I Feel Fine.

Not too much, not too little. Just right.

[glee]

Sultans of Swing - Mark Knopfler (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Re9qdd6GdTg)
Local Hero - Mark Knopfler (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pqB71zV5t8U)

[chappachula]

Layla - Derek and the Dominoes.
definitely, absolutely, the best.
The most distinctive opening notes of any song, ever.

[Raygun99]

On that front is there a more distinctive opening note, singular, than Satisfaction?

[chacoguy]

The beginnings of: Take it easy by the Eagles and
Do you fee like we do? by Peter Frampton

[Dread Pirate Jimbo]

Thought of another one:

While My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles

[prodicus]

How about Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz?

[Eonwe]

I dislike most of the Rolling Stones' catalogue, but the guitar in Beast of Burden is one of the greatest grooves on the guitar ever played.

[Biffy the Elephant Shrew]

On that front is there a more distinctive opening note, singular, than Satisfaction?

Actually, I'd venture that the most distinctive opening note ever is not a guitar note at all, but the opening organ note of "A Whiter Shade of Pale." The snare drum thwack at the beginning of "Like a Rolling Stone" is up there, too.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

"Crazy Train" -- Ozzy (but Randy Rhodes' riff)
The chorus riff from "Master of Puppets" -- Metallica
"Iron Man" -- Black Sabbath
"Purple Haze" --Jimi Hendrix
"Satisfaction" -- Rolling Stones
"Stranglehold" -- Ted Nugent

[Dread Pirate Jimbo]

I suppose you'd also have to consider "Stairway To Heaven" by Led Zep as one of those definitive guitar riffs...

[Stephe96]

The Beatles - "Day Tripper"

The epitome of cool!

[brujaja]

Oh, definitely something from Queens of the Stone Age... I like the riff behind the chorus of "Do It Again", it's doubled by the bass and it sounds like 90 feet tall. I love that.

"Reelin' In The Years." (Steely Dan)
"The Boys Are Back In Town." (Thin Lizzy)
Oh, and Robin Trower!!! "Bridge of Sighs" or I really like "Little Bit of Sympathy."
"And Your Bird Can Sing." (Beatles) "Hey Bulldog." "Helter Skelter."
Surely the White Stripes have done something on the List, too.

My all-time absolutely favorite ever: "Shake Some Action." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2Y5LKZPwV4) (Flamin' Groovies)


p.s. Lenny Kravitz, seconded.

[Oakminster]

Freebird (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np0solnL1XY)

[Manduck]

I think probably Satisfaction is the standard. You Really Got Me is a contender too.

[Junior Spaceman]

Sister Ray by the Velvet Underground
Kick Out the Jams and Black To Comm by the MC5
Jet Boy by the New York Dolls

[Jeff]

The River by The Tea Party

(can't play youtube at work so I don't know if the sound on this link (http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=qh0C3e0He2k) is any good. Apologies if it isn't.)

[Clothahump]

Running On Empty by Jackson Browne.

[vison]

Baker Street, Gerry Rafferty.

[Claptree]

Since I don't really listen to much music other than metal, here's my suggestion:

Walk - Pantera
Slanderous - Machine Head

[Labtrash]

Highway to Hell - ACDC
Back In Black - ACDC
Sad but True - Metallica
Foxy Lady - Hendrix
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin

[Tangent]

Heartbreaker is another great Zeppelin riff.

[gladtobeblazed]

Layla
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Enter Sandman
Smoke on the Water
Sweet Child O´Mine
Purple Haze
Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Pride and Joy
Wipe Out
Iron Man
Under the Bridge

[greatshakes]

Opening of 'Great White Buffalo' by Ted Nugent.
Ending of "Waiting to Take you Away" by Leslie West on 'Mountain Live' Album.

[Suburban Plankton]

From the "You too can learn this riff in 5 minutes" category...

Wipeout, by the Surfaris
Louie, Louie by The Kingsmen


And let's not forget Chuck Berry's riff from Johnny B. Goode, without which most of rock and roll wouldn't exist

[neutron star]

Overall, it's sort of a generic song, but I really love the opening riff on This Town (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0IWJuVOTBk) by O.A.R.

[CMiller]

Whatever this guy plays:

Picture a Verdi opera: 3 hours of music, some of beautiful and ennobling, at times piquant and subtle, other times dramatic and inspiring. Take those three hours of music, those thousands of musical notes, and compress them into 4 measures of incomprehensible speed, delivered with earth-shaking finesse and a raucous disregard for any physiological limit to human auditory perception. I cannot stress this enough: I will play guitar so fast your face will melt.

Guitarist of megalomaniacal speed seeks audience who won't combust (http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/mad/740837104.html)

[MrDibble]

Seconding Whole Lotta Love and Purple Haze
Adding Floorshow and Anaconda by Sisters of Mercy
and Terror Couple kill Colonel and She's In Parties by Bauhaus

[JimNightshade]

I think the opening of 'Sweet Home Alabama' should be in there as well

[outlierrn]

Life in the Fast Lane-Eagles

Tumblin' Dice
Honkytonk women-Stones

[Small Clanger]

Interesting* that two** of the riffs in th OP are nearly always played wrong (anyone care to guess which and how?)

Obviously Whole Lotta Love wins, there are loads of other Zep riffs that are a hoot to play. In no particular order.

The Immigrant Song
The Wanton Song
Custard Pie
Black Dog both the obvious one and the trail-out riff.
Rock and Roll
Communication Breakdown
OK that's enough of them. Some others:

Burn is a better Blackmore riff than Smoke on the Water

Pleasant Valley Sunday The Monkees (really)

What Difference Does it Make Johnny Marr.

Any number of AC/DC tunes. I'm not a fan particularly but they have some great riffs.

Gotta go, got work.



*oh, or that other thing. Tedious.

**Maybe three, I'm not fully aufait with all of them.

[prodicus]

The River by The Tea Party

(can't play youtube at work so I don't know if the sound on this link (http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=qh0C3e0He2k) is any good. Apologies if it isn't.)

I was going to say The Bazaar (or was it The Grand Bazaar?) by The Tea Party but for some reason I figured no one would know/ remember them.

[Liberal]

Most of the good ones have been taken, but there's still Creedence Clearwater Revival's Up Around The Bend (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnRsaHXHznQ).

[Cluricaun]

How about Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz?

Superceded by the middle riff on Hendrix's "Ezy Ryder", which is where Kravitz stole that riff from.

I'm a big fan of both the riffs from Aces High and Wasted Years by Iron Maiden.

[Quercus]

And let's not forget Chuck Berry's riff from Johnny B. Goode, without which most of rock and roll wouldn't existAmen, brother. I can't believe it took 28 posts to get this. Really, it should be 28 posts of Chuck Berry before then moving on to anyone else.


Anyway to complete the "Big Book of riffs that all beginning guitarists want to learn", I'll throw in the opening riffs from "Aqualung" by Jethro Tull and (with two guitars) "China Cat Sunflower" by the Grateful Dead.


Do bass licks count? ("My Girl", the Talking Heads' version of "Take Me to the River", the Clash "Brand New Cadillac")

[Clivas]

Shine by Collective Soul

Money for Nothing by Dire Straights

If either of these songs consisted of nothing but five minutes of guitar riff I would be perfectly fine with that.

[blondebear]

Secret Agent Man
Young Man Blues

[Scissorjack]

Burn is a better Blackmore riff than Smoke on the Water

And "Black Night" has a better Blackmore riff than "Burn".

[pulykamell]

The first riff I thought of when I read the thread title was Whole Lotta Love. To me, that's the quintessential rock riff.

[Omegaman]

There are so many it's hard to narrow it down to one.From Jeff Beck to VanHalen. One of the most well put together and smoothest that comes to my mind is one from Pablo Cruise, Love will find a way. Very well put together, not too harsh for those who don't enjoy guitar, and easy to reproduce (with a little practice). Never fails to garner a smile from those unfortunate enough to hear me play.
http://www.amazon.com/Love-Will-Find-A-Way/dp/B001CJO0UO/ref=dm_ap_trk1

I tried the link and it doesn't go far enough in the tune to hear the solo. Que sera, sera.

[Uncommon Sense]

How could this have went a whole page without anyone suggesting Eruption?

[Omegaman]

How could this have went a whole page without anyone suggesting Eruption?

Got you covered. As someone who heard this when it first came out, it blew me right the fuck away. I had never, and I mean never, heard any thing like that shit . What's the word for it? Watershed? It meant a whole new ream of equipment for me and once I got a load of Eddies Strat?, I tore my shit up trying to figure out what the hell was going on there.

[KneadToKnow]

On that front is there a more distinctive opening note, singular, than Satisfaction?

Def Leppard's "Photograph."

[Oslo Ostragoth]

I think the opening of 'Sweet Home Alabama' should be in there as well

"Turn it up". :)

I don't know if any of this answers the OP, but I have always loved the solo (over dubbed? duet?) in Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" at about 1:35 - to me it just oozes sexuality.

Then there was a hook from Santana's Supernatural that is amazing, but I can't put my finger on it right now.

Found it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpX97eg-W-k&fmt=18). Freaking hot video, to boot.

[Sleeps With Butterflies]

Roadhouse Blues by The Doors
Crazy On You and/or Barracuda by Heart

[Mosier]

I'll vote for sweet child of mine. I'll also cast a vote for enter sandman, and scold everyone who mentioned eruption. Faster is not necessarily better, guys!

[pulykamell]

I'll vote for sweet child of mine. I'll also cast a vote for enter sandman, and scold everyone who mentioned eruption. Faster is not necessarily better, guys!

Is there a riff in Eruption? It's just a guitar solo.

[stanger]

"Long Cool Woman" by The Hollies

[freekalette]

Thunder Storm (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDwXHlQJmqE) by Takanaka Masayoshi.

[bordelond]

As yet unmentioned:

Opening riffs:
"Rock You Like a Hurricane", Scorpions
"Bad to the Bone", George Thorogood
"Life's Been Good", Joe Walsh
Walsh again on The Eagles' "Life in the Fast Lane" and the James Gang's "Walk Away"
"Black Betty", Ram Jam
"Walk This Way", Aerosmith
"School's Out", Alice Cooper (Glen Buxton on axe)
"Double Vision", Foreigner
"Ain't Talkin' About Love", Van Halen
"Cult of Personality", Living Color
"The Ocean", Led Zeppelin
"Don't Fear the Reaper", Blue Oyster Cult
"Man in the Box", Alice in Chains
"More than a Feeling", Boston
EVH on Micheal Jackson's "Beat It"

AC/DC was namechecked upthread. Start with the openings of "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Hells Bells".

Other riffs:
The rhythm line of "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas
Sweet's "Love is Like Oxygen", after the synth intro
"La Grange", ZZ Top
"Paperback Writer", Beatles
Neal Schon's closing riffs on Journey's "Stone in Love"
Rush's "Red Barchetta"
Ray Parker Jr on Boz Scagg's "Jojo"
"Hold the Line", Toto

[Diogenes the Cynic]

How could this have went a whole page without anyone suggesting Eruption?That's not a riff, it's a solo. The term "riff" is shorthand for "refrain" - a repeating musical figure or phrase. In rock, that generally means it's the rhythm guitar parts, not the leads.

[Cluricaun]

I've got the Nuge on the brain today, so I have to add the intro to Great White Buffalo. That shit just rocks.

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

I really like Bowie's opening riffs to "Ziggy Stardust" and "Rebel Rebel".

Also, Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "Run Like Hell".

Hendrix's "Are You Experienced"

Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman" rhythm parts still blow me away, especially live. Great groove.