With today’s announcement of the Top 10 Riffs, Gibson.com’s Top 50 Guitar Riffs of All Time is in the books. Below, check out all 50 in their proper order – for detailed entries on each riff, click here for #50-41, #40-31, #30-21, #20-11 and #10-1.
Scroll down the page to see which riffs the readers found most worthy and see which bands were repeat offenders on the Top 50. We’d like to send up special thanks to Bart Walsh (David Lee Roth) and Jeff Cease (Black Crowes, Eric Church) for participating in the list, as well as all the readers who voted in the poll.
Gibson.com’s Top 50 Guitar Riffs of All Time
1. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” The Rolling Stones2. “Smoke on the Water,” Deep Purple
3. “Whole Lotta Love,” Led Zeppelin
4. “Iron Man,” Black Sabbath
5. “Back in Black,” AC/DC
6. “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Nirvana
7. “You Really Got Me,” The Kinks
8. “Day Tripper,” The Beatles
9. “Walk This Way,” Aerosmith
10. “Sunshine of Your Love,” Cream
11. “Crazy Train,” Ozzy Osbourne
12. “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” Guns N’ Roses
13. “Layla,” Derek and the Dominos
14. “Purple Haze,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
15. “Enter Sandman,” Metallica
16. “Heartbreaker,” Led Zeppelin
17. “Black Dog,” Led Zeppelin
18. “Oh, Pretty Woman,” Roy Orbison
19. “Johnny B. Goode,” Chuck Berry
20. “Foxy Lady,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
21. “I Feel Fine,” The Beatles
22. “Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love,” Van Halen
23. “Seven Nation Army,” The White Stripes
24. “Ticket to Ride,” The Beatles
25. “Highway to Hell,” AC/DC
26. “Shakin’ All Over,” Johnny Kidd and the Pirates
27. “Rebel Rebel,” David Bowie
28. “Mannish Boy,” Muddy Waters
29. “Bo Diddley,” Bo Diddley
30. “Welcome to the Jungle,” Guns N’ Roses
31. “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
32. “Wild Thing,” The Troggs
33. “T.V. Eye,” The Stooges
34. “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” Scorpions
35. “Rock and Roll,” Led Zeppelin
36. “Panama,” Van Halen
37. “Rumble,” Link Wray & His Ray Men
38. “Teenage Kicks,” The Undertones
39. “Sultans of Swing,” Dire Straits
40. “I Can’t Explain,” The Who
41. “I Fought the Law,” Bobby Fuller Four
42. “Susie Q,” Dale Hawkins
43. “Somethin’ Else,” Eddie Cochran
44. “Peggy Sue,” Buddy Holly
45. “Cat Scratch Fever,” Ted Nugent
46. “Revolution,” The Beatles
47. “Born on the Bayou,” Creedence Clearwater Revival
48. “Louie Louie,” The Kingsmen
49. “School’s Out,” Alice Cooper
50. “Guerilla Radio,” Rage Against the Machine
Readers Poll – Top 25 Guitar Riffs of All Time
Many of the readers’ most cherished picks ended up on the final Top 50, through not necessarily in the same order. For instance, the readers poll showed overwhelming support for Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine” in the top spot (vs. #12 on the final tally). Instead of “Enter Sandman,” which ended up on the final list, Metallica fans got behind “Master of Puppets,” which hit #19 on the poll below. Readers also gave love to Southern (or Southern-inspired) rock, with Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen” and the Allman Brothers Band’s “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” all in the Top 25.
1. “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” Guns N’ Roses2. “I Feel Fine,” The Beatles
3. “Whole Lotta Love,” Led Zeppelin
4. “Layla,” Derek and the Dominos
5. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” The Rolling Stones
6. “Welcome to the Jungle,” Guns N’ Roses
7. “Back in Black,” AC/DC
8. “Highway to Hell,” AC/DC
9. “Smoke on the Water,” Deep Purple
10. “Black Dog,” Led Zeppelin
11. “Crazy Train,” Ozzy Osbourne
12. “Walk at Night,” Boston
13. “Johnny B. Goode,” Chuck Berry
14. “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” Allman Brothers Band
15. “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
16. “1 a.m.,” Beautiful Creatures
17. “Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin
18. “Kashmir,” Led Zeppelin
19. “Master of Puppets,” Metallica
20. “Purple Haze,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
21. “Heartbreaker,” Led Zeppelin
22. “Iron Man,” Black Sabbath
23. “Day Tripper,” The Beatles
24. “Mississippi Queen,” Mountain
25. “Sweet Home Alabama,” Lynyrd Skynyrd
Repeat Offenders – Acts with Multiple Entries in the Top 50
Some artists aren’t limited to one great riff – actually many of them aren’t. Quite a few acts placed high (and often) on the Top 50. In the end, rock titans Led Zeppelin and music legends The Beatles tied for top honors, with four famous riffs each.
Led Zeppelin: 4 (“Whole Lotta Love,” “Heartbreaker,” “Black Dog” and “Rock and Roll”)
The Beatles: 4 (“Day Tripper,” “I Feel Fine,” “Ticket to Ride” and “Revolution”)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience: 3 (“Purple Haze,” “Foxy Lady” and “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”)
AC/DC: 2 (“Back in Black” and “Highway to Hell”)
Eric Clapton: 2 (“Sunshine of Your Love” with Cream and “Layla” with Derek and the Dominos)
Guns N’ Roses: 2 (“Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Welcome to the Jungle”)
Van Halen: 2 (“Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love” and “Panama”)
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