# Coolest Guitar Riff? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2008, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728 "2008-11-27T18:59:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/21 "2008-11-28T00:17:24Z")
Running On Empty by Jackson Browne. ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/22 "2008-11-28T00:30:04Z")
Baker Street, Gerry Rafferty. ---
**Author:** ![Claptree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Claptree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claptree)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/23 "2008-11-28T00:30:49Z")
Since I don’t really listen to much music other than metal, here’s my suggestion: Walk - Pantera Slanderous - Machine Head ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/24 "2008-11-28T00:44:14Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/25 "2008-11-28T00:44:32Z")
_Heartbreaker_ is another great Zeppelin riff. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/26 "2008-11-28T00:53:50Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![greatshakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@greatshakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greatshakes)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/27 "2008-11-28T02:39:57Z")
Opening of ‘Great White Buffalo’ by Ted Nugent. Ending of “Waiting to Take you Away” by Leslie West on ‘Mountain Live’ Album. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/28 "2008-11-28T02:52:15Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/29 "2008-11-28T02:58:23Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![CMiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@CMiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CMiller)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/30 "2008-11-28T05:27:34Z")
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) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/31 "2008-11-28T08:36:02Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![JimNightshade](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jimnightshade/32/3354_2.png) [@JimNightshade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimNightshade)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/32 "2008-11-28T10:33:09Z")
I think the opening of ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ should be in there as well ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/33 "2008-11-28T10:50:49Z")
Life in the Fast Lane-Eagles Tumblin’ Dice Honkytonk women-Stones ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/34 "2008-11-28T11:59:16Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![prodicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d9b06d/32.png) [@prodicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prodicus)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/35 "2008-11-28T13:57:03Z")
> [@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.) 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. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/36 "2008-11-28T14:25:44Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/37 "2008-11-28T14:35:47Z")
> [@prodicus](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/38 "2008-11-28T14:56:18Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > And let’s not forget Chuck Berry’s riff from _Johnny B. Goode_, without which most of rock and roll wouldn’t exist Amen, 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”) ---
**Author:** ![Clivas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@Clivas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clivas)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/39 "2008-11-28T20:27:54Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-guitar-riff/474728/40 "2008-11-28T20:31:26Z")
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