Are these rock music's greatest ever riffs?

[The Curmudgeon]

This was been doing the rounds in all the newspapers yesterday, and Mrs C aside, I felt like I was talking a different fucking language trying to get anyone around me to talk about it. I felt like I had to explain that you didn't get to phone vote and Simon Cowell wouldn't be giving a critique.

Harrumph. Anyway, 5,000 people were asked to name the greatest ever guitar riff for an online survey - and this is the result.

01 Jimi Hendrix Experience "Voodoo Child"
02 Guns N' Roses "Sweet Child O' Mine"
03 Led Zeppelin "Whole Lotta Love"
04 Deep Purple "Smoke On The Water"
05 Derek & The Dominos "Layla"
06 AC/DC "Back In Black"
07 Metallica "Enter Sandman"
08 The Beatles "Day Tripper"
09 Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
10 The Rolling Stones "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
11 Black Sabbath "Paranoid"
12 Muse "Plug In Baby"
13 Eddie Van Halen "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"
14 The Kinks "You Really Got Me"
15 The White Stripes "Seven Nation Army"
16 AC/DC "Highway to Hell"
17 Led Zeppelin "Heartbreaker"
18 Black Sabbath "Iron Man"
19 Led Zeppelin "Black Dog"
20 Michael Jackson "Beat It"


Yeah, it's a fairly safe, traditional list save for a few surprises. I would still have liked to seen this in the top 20 though..

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCwxPAjqQxM

Thoughts?

[trashcanman]

Number one is dead on. The rest is random take-it-or-leave-it stuff. "Satisfaction" should be disqualified since it was originally a horn riff on Otis Redding's version (which I actually prefer). No Aerosmith is just stupid. "Draw the Line" at least should be on there. "Paranoid" is not even in Sabbath's top 20 riffs. "Enter Sandman" is not even in Metallica's top twenty. "Seven Nation Army" my ass. May as well put "Brain Stew" on there. This is just a sampling of the most recognizable classic rock tunes for the most part. Cobain even admited he ripped the riff for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" off from The Pixies.

Here's a list of high profile riffs that kill 90% of what's on that list:

"Deuce"- KISS
"Cemetery Gates"- Pantera
"Six Pack"- Black Flag
"Ace of Spades"- Motorhead
"Blitzkreig Bop"- The Ramones
"Every Breath You Take"- The Police
"I Want You to Want Me"- Cheap Trick
"Bombtrack"- RATM
"Rockin' in the Free World"- Neil Young
"Johhny B Goode"- Chuck Berry
"The Seeker" -The Who
Interstate Love Song"- STP
"Man in the Box" Alice In Chains


But the biggest and most unforgivable omission of all? See for yourself: www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4SLXaF-lIc

If that isn't top 5 at least then I'm 50 Cent.

[The Curmudgeon]

Woah, excellent call on Rebel Rebel, something I hadn't even thought of. Ditto Ace of Spades, that song still sounds like it'll eat your soul. I haven't heard of a few of those, but is Every Breath You Take a ROCK riff?

[trashcanman]

It's pretty unclassifiable, really, but The Police were a rock band for the most part and it's an awesome riff. How about "Jumpin Jack Flash"? That riff kills everything else The Stones have done. And everybody else too. And AC/DC should have "Hell's Bells" and "You Shook Me All Night Long" on there before either of the ones they chose. I could tear into this list all day. I don't believe I've even heard the Muse one. They're a cool band, but I think I can bet that they are on there along with The White Stripes just to have some more current stuff on the list. A lot of those aren't really "great" riffs so much as they are just memorable. Most of it is Kindergarden level guitar-playing. In fact, there are only a few riffs there that I can't easily play.

[Ben]

Trashcanman's list > Online survey's list

Like you said, it's mostly just the most well known classic rock tracks on there. If we're going that route, how about "TNT" for AC/DC and "Believer" for Ozzy? Hell, "Youth Gone Wild" by Skid Row has more place on that list than "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

"Johnny B Goode" is essential. Good call, Trashcanman.

EDIT: I just thought of another one. In the Dark by Billy Squier.