Your Top 5 Guitar Riffs?

Sonea Fifer

Sonea Fifer

Sonea Fifer

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Leading on from the top 5 fantasy ladies thread over in GD - what would the OcUK music fans class as their top 5 guitar riffs?

Here's mine:

1) Guns n Roses - Sweet Child of Mine

2) Iron Maiden - Afraid to shoot Strangers

3) Dire Straits - Money for Nothing

4) Derek and the Dominos - Layla

5) Mark Knopfler - What it is
 
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Er, toughie.

Led Zeppelin - The Ocean
Guthrie Govan - Wonderful Slippery Thing
Sikth - Bland Street Bloom
Dream Theater - Beyond This Life (the entire song is full of about a million and they're all rocking, but the one at 08:28 does particularly)
Meshuggah - New Millenium Cyanide Christ

Quite hard coming up with just 5.

Other's that didn't quite make the list but might do on another day:

King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man
Steve Vai - Building the Church
Rush - Tom Sawyer
Porcupine Tree - Blackest Eyes
Opeth - Deliverance (outro)
 
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This is based on what makes me want to rock out on my guitar infront of a crowd. I strongly encourage you to listen!
In no order:

Steve Vai - Bad Horise (0.36)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8319341695402083479
I'm not a big Vai fan but Bad Horsie is full of 'win'.


Joe Satriani - The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing (0.12)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_77Q9bSjPoc
Again, not a huge fan. But thats pretty much the definition of a classic riff to me.

Extreme - He Man Woman Hater (1.41)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vxrhRitq_zU
Not many of people will probably know this one, but it rocks extremely hard. Cool intro too... ultra cheesey song!


Ozzy Osbourne - Bark At The Moon
http://www.spike.com/video/ozzy-osbourne-bark/2858709
Possibly the most rifftastic song ever. I can't pick one moment!

Paul Gilbert - You Kids
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GrfFExgIVYE
Another relentlessly awesome riff song. From 2.02 is my favourite.

Honerable mention to Paul Gilbert - Bliss (0.16) http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7_Z-POc1J-w
 
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This is really really hard.
In no particular order......

Alice In Chains - Dam That River

Deftones - Around The Fur (The drums and guitar intro)

Limp Bizkit - Hot Dog (I feel really really silly for mentioning this, but what Wes does on this riff is incredible. The opening riff and the verse riff).

Soundgarden - 4th of July. DIRTY amazing riff.

The rest, i can't make my mind up. Changes all the time.:(
 
Pretty much anything off Panteras 'Best of' tbh!

Okay,

1. Pantera - Cemetary Gates
2. Slayer - Raining Blood
3. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
4. Aerosmith - Walk This Way
5. Led Zepellin - Whole Lotta Love

I really really hate Aerosmith but that is a good simple little riff. What an odd list from me. It's almost normal. Maybe a bit too metal. Possiby because it isn't just all chord strumming. That's what I class as a 'riff' anyway. Someone will now point to the Sabbath one.

I will agree with Nitefly on Satriani and Vai, those two riffs are probably the pinnacle. I'm a really big fan of Alice In Chains too but I don't think Dam That River is their best, or even particularly good or memorable.


*I may have to come up with a less cliche list in future
 
Probably the one that sticks in my head is

Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple.
possible followed by Sweet child o' mine.
 
This is really hard but riffs that mean a lot to me are -

Led Zeppelin - Rock N Roll
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Buddy Holly - That'll Be The Day
Metallica - Enter Sandman
Slayer - Mandatory Suicide

This list could change tonight.
 
1) Sweetleaf - Black Sabbath
2) Black Knight - Deep Purple
3) How Many More Times - Led Zeppelin
4) Rat Bat Blue - Deep Purple
5) Lords Of This World - Black Sabbath

That isn't simply my opinion, the above post is fact. (and subject to change)

Without 1 + 5, metal as it exists today would be utter rubbish.

3,4 and 5 capture a rare band groove thing that modern bands/producers cannot reproduce.

More facts by the way:)

A special commendation goes to Hendrix for multiple classics but not in my top five today.
 
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Sonea Fifer said:
5) Mark Knopfler - The Way it is
Click to expand...

Do you mean "What It Is"? :p

Mine would be in no particular order:

Porcupine Tree - Wedding Nails
Porcupine Tree - Piano Lessons
Elliott Smith - Son of Sam
Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing
Mark Knopfler - What It Is
 
Narrowing it down to 5 is so difficult :eek:
Even choosing 5 that haven't already been mentioned is going to be tricky xD

In no particular order, 5 top riffs that are yet to be mentioned:

Black Dog - Led Zeppelin
The Trooper - Iron Maiden
Wicked World - Black Sabbath
Johnny B Goode - Chuck Berry (although I far prefer Judas Priest's version :p)
Whisky in the Jar - Thin Lizzy / Metallica
 
5. Walk This Way - Aerosmith
4. 20th Century Boy - T.Rex
3. Beat It - Michael Jackson
2. Black Betty - Ramjam
1. Whole Lotta Love - Led zeppelin

From 5 to 2 were tough to choose but number one was never in doubt. Amazing what you can do with just three notes and anyone who's ever played guitar can do it it's so simple.
 
Gilly said:
The Beatles - Day Tripper
The Kinks - You really got me
Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
The Who - Pinball Wizard
Stone Roses - Love Spreads

It is :)
Click to expand...

Your list is rubbish :)

This is pretty much impossible but I will name the first 5 that pop into my head.

Metallica - Seek and Destroy
Slayer - Postmortem
The Black Dahlia Murder - I'm Charming
Pantera - The Art Of Shredding
Sylosis - Teras
 
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1. Phantom of the Opera - All of it - Iron Maiden (or just about anything pre-1988 by them)
2. Emerald - Chorus riff - Thin Lizzy
3. Tornado of souls - Intro riff - Megadeth
4. Satch Boogie - Intro riff - Joe Satriani
5. Scuttle Buttin' - Stevie Ray Vaughan

Those are just 5 good ones I can think of. There are just too many brilliant ones.
 
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