Greatest Guitar Riffs evah evah evah!

[DRM]

From Purple I almost prefer the Perfect Strangers riff.

Oh, and I thought it was Stairway to Heaven that got people thrown out of guitar shops.

Perfect Strangers is one of my fave’s too, as for evictions, to be fair it’s supposed to be both, or a shout from the counter of “if you do that the price triples”

 

[Domus]

Magic! I played the whole album this afternoon!

Happy to oblige

 

[winjim]

It's always the same culprits!

There never appears to be any imagination in these lists that strays away from the same old artists.

Even Seven Nation Army is twenty years old now.

 

[slowmotion]

How about Shot By Both Sides / Lipstick? That one's so good that Pete Shelley gave it to Howard DeVoto but then took it right back. Don't know if it's really a riff as much as a progression but I'm gonna count it for historical interest.

I was going to suggest The Light Pours Out Of Me with John McGeoch.

[media]
]View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFGA2HbCa0A[/media]

 

[iandg]

Custard Pie - Led Zeppelin

 

[DRM]

View: https://youtu.be/u0upaIZF_gA?si=UzUQpDBbfDcYdsxI

Cocteau Twins. Pearly Dew Drops Drops unusual as it’s played on the bass

 

[DRM]

View: https://youtu.be/7HfkSzsyh1E?si=s8C_SY_4Gf1NpHWs

Cream. Crossroads

 

[Oldhippy]

Pretty much any solo by Carlos Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan or Rory Gallagher.

 

[DRM]

View: https://youtu.be/9Ri7TcukAJ8?si=5WJCEvP6sNjBdAZ7

Howlin’ Wolf. Smokestack Lightning guitar played by Hubert Sumlin

 

[Cycleops]

Choose so many songs, such an influencial guitarist...
RIP- Kevin “Geordie” Walker.


View: https://youtu.be/TnpwuRlXbhk?si=ZPtKOtZkVvGDEuFw

Impressive, but I didn't hear any riff, power chords yes. Perhaps we should have another thread. They do cross over each other though as you could classify Link Wray's Rumble as a power chord, probably the original.

 

[Cycleops]

View: https://youtu.be/u0upaIZF_gA?si=UzUQpDBbfDcYdsxI

Cocteau Twins. Pearly Dew Drops Drops unusual as it’s played on the bass

Love to know what tuning he's using.
Seven Nation Army was played on a detuned guitar.

 

[DRM]

According to the only bass tab on ultimate guitar it’s EADG, not sure if it’s standard tuning or not, to be honest

 

[Cycleops]

That's standard tuning.

 

[delb0y]

Assuming we're sticking to rock and pop music I always thought UFO's Rock Bottom was a pretty good riff. Rory Gallagher's Brute, Force, and Ignorance, another. And Little Feat's Dixie Chicken a third.

Outside of these genres Charlie Christian probably came up with the best riffs of all time anyway. Although that one Leiber and Stoller lick has got a bit of mileage, too.

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

View: https://youtu.be/9udxbvHiqGw?si=nV-LwDHFdMjYPR6F


Great intro