The Twenty Greatest Guitar Riffs for Music Aficianados | RANKED
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
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That would be great if Jimmy came up with the Black Dog riff, but it was, in fact, the maestro himself, Mr. John Paul Jones.
Didn’t know that. He’s always been a great bass player and musician.
Correct. It was Jimmy’s idea to have the stop/start aspect a la “So What”
He had wanted a riff that would be nigh on impossible to cover.
And it turned out too tricky for Zep to do live so they went to 4/4.
But that's just what I've read.
Yup Jimmy explains in a RUclips interview that’s it was JPJ riff.
Andy, it was JPJ, not Jimmy Page, who wrote the main riff of Black Dog, though the band had to simplify it before they had the final result. Maybe go with the riff of Heartbreaker instead?
The vocal representation of the riffs are superb!
Jethro Tull is the king of clasic prog riffs.
Sweet dreams.
Cross eyed Mary
Aqualung. and the list goes on and on.
Another band with some Great riffs is French funk federation its heavy and funky as hell.🤘
Yes ! Cross eyed Mary has a great combination of heaviness and groove. That heavy combo of guitar, bass, and some kind of grimy organ sound, is sublime. And Tull’s pocket with Clive Bunker on drums, was second to none.
..just put my penny worth - ‘Hocus Pocus by Focus..great show as ever..
Andy, the "Right Off" (Take 12), "Noonward Race" riff stems from Sly Stone's "Sing A Simple Song".
Sine You've been gone (The Rainbow cover version), Hocus Pocus - Focus, Eternity's Breath - Mahavishnu, In a Gadda da Vida - Iron Butterfly.....
Hocus Pocus, that riff is my ultimate earworm.
Whenever I hear that, I suffer with hearing it in my head for the next 2 weeks ...
Perhaps the most entertaining rock music analysis video I’ve ever watched. I don’t even care what the choices were, or whether I agree.It just made me stop on almost every choice and play the track to check out the ideas.
Loved the video Andy! As i saw that nobody mention Hendrix on the comments, i must say that that riff in the middle of muchine gun where Hendrix and Billy Cox communicate within the riff is just phenomenal and then Hendrix goes complitely nuts with the solo.
Midnight opening riffage beautifully sets up his astonishingly powerful/ expressive soloing too- -purple haze,, foxy lady, lmsntyf,tsfts- so many,- strange he is left out,, seems he is becoming demoded-maybe he is too funky and therefore not monolithic enough?
don't think anyone who came after him excelled him though, in terms of rock music include jazz and prog rock in that
Living Colour - Cult of Personality
Now THAT’S a riff!
It's only recently I saw that Vernon uses no open strings.
Definitely one for the algorithm / list-hunters!! Meanwhile, glad to see that Blackmore is likely to get some love here!
You should sing the killer riff to Rhubarb And Custard.
Which isn't out of place here !
Wow, I didn't know you are such a Come Taste the Band fan. Agree - a very underrated album, love it a lot.
I guess if you switch ‘greatest’ for ‘favourite’, then this sort of list works. Not sure it would be the same list any two weeks running, for me, though, on any musical subject. I think my favourite riff would have to be All Right Now, by Free. Kossoff was awesome!
A fantastic riff that I've never seen mentioned on any top riff list is Lil' Devil by The Cult. Sticking with the devil theme but a little more obscure Call Me Devil by WWIII. I can't complain, you put my favourite Sabbath riff, from my favourite Sabbath song at number two.
great choices andy - heres my top 20 - owner of a lonely heart yes - china grove the doobies - the moon upstairs mott the hoople - livewire motley crue - finding my way rush - dog eat dog ac dc - never in my life mountain - shock me kiss - sabbath bloody sabbath - top of the bill scorpions - pretty vacant sex pistols - master builder gong - love me two times the doors - cat scratch fever ted nugent - space station no five montrose - always on the run lenny kravitz / slash - yestedays rain the sweet - no sleep till brooklyn beastie boys - the rover led zep - this is life george harrison
the moon upstairs ✌👍
greatest lost riff ever noone ever talks about!!!@@davidpopplewell4102
The more I watch Andy’s videos, the more I realize that he’s my kindred spirit in regards to musical tastes/opinions. Great video as always.
Btw, “Dandelion” by Rain has some of my favorite riffs in modern prog music.
I wrote those riffs sir
Spoonman!!! Great choice.
STATUS QUO!!!
LOL- I can't wait to see what the curve ball is here, but I feel like maybe my comment was noted from a recent prior video where I said "Ritchie, Iommi and Page own this issue front to back", the issue being of best riffs or whatever variation on the theme was, and someone chimed in and added Angus/Malcom to the fold and that's not a bad point. Then I thought about it and as much as I wanted to find a better answer, and there's certainly players I like more doing different stuff in different styles, the issue of "riffs" in the way we think about them, those guys really do own the issue. There's some others obviously, but does Hendrix have a riff that carrys a tune like Iron Man or Smoke on the Water? Does SRV have one of those? Steve Howe? Fripp? McLaughlin? I don't think they do. Fripp actually kind of does, but it's too weird to meet the basic criteria. Anyway.. Whatever.
OMG my mind is blown and I will never get out of my mind the connection of Xanadu and Sweet Child O Mine ever again. Not sure if it ruins everything or makes both that much cooler
So pleased that you mentioned the "Right Off" riff - I love it, and your vocalisation of it was brill!
Wow Andy! After following along for an hour doing riff after riff with you, I now have to go out to the kitchen and wipe all the spit and snot off of the screen on my phone!!😮
"The Italian Opera Section" is actually in the song N.I.B. I will always think of it that way now, haha!
Never In My Life, unforgettable, Rice Pudding, Moby Dick, updated from Im Not Talkin, classic basic 1-4-5 it (though for Zep, Black Dog probably tops it, 3 amazing riffs). Politician was indeed Jack Bruce, great riff, I actually played on Ann Wilson’s remake. Power to Love (almost all of BOG). Agreed on In Rock. Back in Black’s greatest riff is also contained, not the main one, it just takes off. Great topic and selects, great vid.
Absolutely agree with you, Andy, about Bloodsucker by Purple - amazing track on an awesome album.
Andy, ....talkin' of Bon Scott being a priest, .... it's Sunday and your show was like a church service ... I loved it ....'Let there be Rock' as nr. 1 is a bit of a surprise , but .... AMEN
Re OhWell/ACDC Beatin' Around the Bush
Some omissions, imho.
Yes - Siberian Kathru
Mahavishnu Orchestra- Vital Transformation
Living Color - Cult of Personality
Santana - Batuka
Free - Wishing Well
Zappa - Eat That Question
Btw, I totally agree re Let There Be Rock. Absolutely my favourite riff of all time. The Ur Riff.
That was fun. The thing that binds us all is good old Rock and Roll.
Highly entertaining, as usual! I'm looking forward to tracking down some of the songs and checking out the surprising connections you mentioned. For some more contemporary monster riffs, check out "The Rex" by the Hedvig Mollestad Trio (from the 2013 Album "All Of Them Witches")!
Well done Andy!!! (mouthing everything and beatboxing)
Van Halen, ‘Panama’ riff? MSG ‘Into the Arena’, UFO, ‘Rock Bottom’?
Beatles’ Day Tripper/Paperback Writer need a special award, since they got TWO great riffs out of the same idea, as far as I can tell.
Aquallung introruff, iconicJethro Tull
This was epic in verbal/vocal performance!
Some of My faves:
Todd Rundgren’s “Black Maria”
The Doobie Brother’s “China Grove.”
Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4.”
Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman.”
The Beatle’s “Day Tripper.”
Oh Andy, Andy, Andy. You seldom disappoint me but you missed an opportunity to highlight Gentle Giant as the Prog riff meisters that they so clearly are - Cogs in Cogs, Just the Same,Peel the Paint and . . . Playing the Game, probably the greatest prog guitar riff ever! Go and give these a listen and I think you’ll have to agree that GG wear the crown when it comes to REAL prog riffs.
The riff that comes in halfway through "In A Glass House" and continues to the end of the track is my all time favourite.
Indeed. I think Gary Green is a bit of an unsung hero of prog riffing.
Bloodsucker is a better riff than Smoke on the Water?
God love ya, Andy, that’s a hot take!
Andy the scat meister.
Fantastic - for the past 40 years I've had a bit of a love/hate relationship with AC/DC however after what you've just said I'm going to be squarely in the love side - though I note that just about all your examples were Bon Scott era, whihc is my favourite.
And I'd never made that connection between Xanadu and Sweet CoM. I spose everyone nicks from everyone else though and either improves it or shines a light on the greatness that came before.
Schizoid Man! Symptom of the Universe! Frankenstein! Rice Pudding! Hit it and Quit it! Lark's Tongs Pt. 1! Paperback Writer! Soul Craft! ( Bad Brains ) A Passage to Bangkok!
Yes Frankenstein, monster riff! Also a good one to play in your local guitar shop is the riff from Carry on my Wayward Son by Kansas.
THESE are some good ones, in ho particular order,...except the first one mentioned which quite possibly is head and shoulders above anything else...:
Love is a rodeo - Golden Earring
Career of evil - Blue Öyster Cult
To cry you a song - Jethro Tull
Son and daughter - Queen
The Ocean - Led Zeppelin
Guts - Budgie
Ain't talkin' 'bout love - Van Halen
Back in the saddle - Aerosmith
back in black - Ac Dc
Give me the good earth - Manfred mann's band earth band
Into the void - Black sabbath
Burn - Deep Purple
Oh well - Fleetwood mac
Kvelertak - Kvelertak
Moonchild - Rory Gallagher
Changin' times - Nazareth
Alright now - Free
Runaway - Wishbone ash
Hand of fate - Rolling stones
I've got a feeling - The Beatles
Such a fun video!😆 So hard to limit to a top 20 when you start thinking about it! A few that jumped out to me
Metallica: Master of Puppets The Who: The Punk and the Godfather Judas Priest You've Got Another Thing Comin'
Alice in Chains: Man in the Box
Thanks! Most entertaining and loved the spiritual aspects of AC⚡️DC. Not meant tongue in cheek.
Andy, you're great
I appreciate that!
The Glorious Om Riff - Steve Hillage
Great analysis/picks.Agree In Rock is Purple’s best album .. just for the opening racket alone. The Burn 🔥 riff is pretty hard to beat but as you say Blood Sucker is phenomenal.
Snow blind has my favourite Sabbath Riff but there are so many.
Ritchie Blackmore said “Free are the only band Britain should feel proud to have” Fav’ free moment is on Free Live .. Mr Big, when Koss goes into the arpeggiated chords which back the stellar bass solo with Simon Kirk supporting on drums.
Yes...Andy Fraser i brilliant on that
Good job, Andy-and so many of my favourites in there!
Pretty Woman is simply a confirmation that Roy Orbison liked to listen to Lucille by Little Richard. So, can we give that one to one of the unsung heroes of rock n roll? It will make the Crimson omission easier to deal with. Pretty please?
Using Cutlery in a song may be great, but Cardiacs Using Scissors is even greater !
And i say that
All of Andy's video's are very entertaining, and it's his fault that i fell into music by Cardiacs and all of the associated bands and musicians.
Some of the best riffs ever that don't get mentioned in these discussions and I might upset some people with the amount of metal I've got here.
CKY: 96 Quite Bitter Beings (honestly this one is extraordinary, absolutely up there with the best riffs ever)
Dark Funeral: Thus I Have Spoken - Intro Riff
Avenged Sevenfold: The Beast and the Harlot
Killswitch Engage: My Curse
Arch Enemy: Heart of Darkness
Devil Driver: Clouds over California
Satyricon: King
Unearth: One Step Away (rhythm guitar during the solo)
QOTSA: The Sky is Fallin'
Alice in Chains: We Die Young
Pantera: There's a badass riff during Cemetary Gates
Primus: To Defy the Laws of Tradition
Daft Punk: Robot Rock (it's not a guitar but it's most definitely a riff, and an absolutely killer one at that)
Limp Bizkit: Break Stuff (not even joking with this one)
My favourite riffs that all this lot here will absolutely know:
My favourite Sabbath riff: Supernaut
My favourite AC/DC riff: Back in black
Favourite Zappa riff: Five Five Five, Willie the Pimp is a close 2nd.
Favourite Led Zeppelin Riff: Black Dog
Favourite Metallica riff: For Whom the Bell Tolls
Favourite Holdsworth Riff: Metal Fatigue
P.S. My own best riff, and the one that gave me tinnitus spending hours making it (be careful, it's mixed LOUD)
And the best riff ever? The Trooper by Iron Maiden
riffmason.bandcamp.com/track/the-nail
Haven't watched the vid yet!
The Riff from "My White Bicycle" - Tomorrow
🌠 I can't even begin 2 tell ya how good this is ...off the charts good...the vocal riff ege had me cracking up / dyin...I woulda put Whole Lotta Love ..on the list ..but u mentioned in the light ..which is also a good one ...Fantastic Video ...Father Zappa is cracking a Smile upstairs
Thanks so much!!
seriously..really good dude !.I'm friends with a female ac/dc tribute called hells belles they rock ..let there be rock !
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer
Fun video Andy and makes sense giving #1 to greatest Rock N Roll band ever. Foundations of Rock for sure with "Let There Be Rock".
The Rover !
For your consideration, an obscure little combo called the Rolling Stones, and the riffs from Satisfaction, Brown Sugar, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Bitch, Start Me Up, and Beast of Burden.
He blew it!
I Totally 100% Agree with
"Let There Be Rock" it is Epic Legendary and has a Gospel Preaching Vibe , but its like The Most Basic Riff but chuggin along with a Blueprint of Rock Music and the gaps with just Mark Evans and Phil Rudd behind Bon Preaching then Angus and Malcolm come in with The Rock Groove, I'm So Glad you get it, which is Born out of Blues& Gospel , ive been saying this since 77 It is Just So Perfect 👌 Let There Be Rock is Rock Music's own Anthem 😈 on my Favorite album of All Time along with Whole Lotta Rosie and Overdose 👌
Andy thinks NIB is in the song Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. He's gone too deep, poor fellow. Great list Andy.
Fun video! The vocalizations were pure entertainment. That's the way to do it! Lots of great and thoughtful choices out of so many options. You could do multiple parts of this concept and I'm sure people would enjoy it.
The Black Dog riff was John Paul Jones’s creation, though, just for the record! ;)
Very entertaining Andy. Enjoyed your vocal workouts.
Kick ass vid Andy-Merry Christmas -Geordie Dave -still in Thailand xx
Thought you were going to say War Pigs with the Sabbath tune... man. That's so heavy. They had so many too. AC/DC's catalogue is like the Hall of Riffs.
Ritchie Blackmore , Legendary
The greatest audience invented call and response riff is to the song Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again (by The Angels, Australian legends, aka Angel City in the USA), " no way, get fucked, fuck off". Classic and hilarious at a concert.
Top 20 vamps should be a video.
Great list, but in the style of an Andy Edwards rant I can't overstate how big an omission Budgie are from this list. They could easily have 10 of the places in the list of 20.
Andy, being from the states, it is difficult for me to pinpoint exactly what I find so highly entertaining by your content but your combination of knowledge and sense of humor is wonderfully entertaining for me. If you be so inclined to answer one question for me, I would very much appreciate it. As a musician and lover of music myself, I truly want to expand my interests deeper into the progressive genre. Given the knowledge that I am a huge fan of Rush, Pink Floyd and Iron Maiden, what albums would you recommend to me that would best meet that objective? Thanks in advance and please keep up your work. You are appreciated.
That LTBR riff comes from an old blues pattern 13567653.
Great talk. One cud do whole vids just on ritchie riffs or page or acdc
number of the beast
I think the source of the "In the beginning AC DC Riff" is from Johnny Cash Wonderful Time Up There! Please keep them coming
You inadvertently did Bombtrack. The dangers of ‘off the cuff a cappella’ lol
The trouble with that particular album is that ‘every’ track had a classic riff.
Do ya (Move)? Hey hey my my? Cocaine? Can't you hear me knocking? Aqualung? Layla? Sweet Jane? Sweet Peace & Time (H.Pie)? The Nile Song (P.Floyd)? Cold Ethyl (Cooper)? Train In Vain? 12XU (Wire)? Too drunk to f_ck (Dead Kennedys)? Let the children play (Santana)? The great escape (L. Coryell)?
I'm glad you mentioned that basic rock and roll riff at the end of the video because in the early part of this video I was thinking that why everyone always leave out 1950s form these. Even without considering the basic riff you mentioned (which probably originates from boogie woogie piano pieces), there are some riff meisters in the 1950s. Just as an example, there's Eddie Cochran who had hit songs that were very riff oriented (Summertime Blues, C'mon everybody, Something Else,...). Btw. when you were singing the "Italian opera" part of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, I think what you were singing was actually from NIB which I guess is somewhat similar to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath's "opera" part.
Yes, major mistake...i got carried away
The like is for 'Bloodsucker' alone. That was the first riff I thought of when seeing the title, honestly!
Really hard to narrow it down to a list of 20, and then rank them, but I Soft Machine Hazard Profile would have to be on it. Holdsworth's riff on that is epic.
there could be only one.. Let There be Rock is such a special song. unique in so many ways.
Leslie West - Never In My Life / Crossroader / M'Queen.
Sylvia, mate ! Sylvia, mate !
Check out "Test Drive" The Bunnys - Mid 60's Japanese Surf Rock. The Bass Riff and tone is amazing
"Yours is no disgrace" By Yes
There must be some irony in complaining about Ian Gillan mimicking guitar sounds (on Made in Japan) during this video....
You ask where Angus' riff "lesson" in Let There Be Rock comes from, and it's "Guitar Boogie" by Arthur Smith, released in 1945. It has of course been discussed as one of the foundational corner stones of what later became rock'n'roll for flippin' ages. Covered by a veritable boatload of people etc etc etc...
... the highlight was your short ramblings on Right off ... and all those repercussions ... you could do a special on that riff ... Sly and the familly, Chic, Queen ...it's the Archetypical, Spinal Tab
Just for the record, a list of greatest guitar riffs without one from the man lierally known as the human riff is incomplete.
Can’t complain with the top 2
Rush s. Xanandu is fsntastic
Tough one picking out the best Van Halen riff.
I use a different metric. Hot for teacher makes me grin from ear to ear 😁
Sunshine of Your Love, Jack Bruce.
This riff uses all the notes of the Blues Pentatonic. So all other riffs are obsolete.
@@Marsupilami-b7h - It certainly feels that way. I started playing guitar on a borrowed Harmony f-hole archtop (from Chicago) in 1969 and I discovered, to my delight, that guitar tuning has evolved to serve the pentatonic scale. In exploring the world's music I find, in bouts of confusion, that to go back to basics takes me back to blues, from which every scale I have ever immersed myself takes me home.
The Guess Who - American Woman. The Who - the Seeker.
As I said in the previous riff video, it has to be Getcha Rocks Off by Def Leppard. Not only does the riff start the song, but it does what all good riffs should do, it keeps going under the verse vocal.
... the stealer ... ace tune
How about Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear the Reaper.
I've just realized that the Angus' " magic wand" in Let there be rock, it sounds like he is trying to imitate a bagpipe, reminding people that the Young brothers are Scottish.
By the way, check out The shining by Sabbath. Riffs for days man!
I know he don't like the Stones but can't you hear me knocking is one of the best riffs ever,there's a reason they call him keef riff hard
Your Ian Gillan scared my cat away.
This was highly entertaining...good job with it.
Your greatest riff of all time, I would say, is a bass progression and not really a riff. I also think it’s a crime that you didn’t list the two part riff that starts Hocus-Pocus, by Focus.
Great channel keep it up. You make music infectious!
Can't argue honestly with your choices, but I feel like we might have been able to fit the iconic riffs from Aqualung, Hocus Pocus, Limelight, ETI/Godzilla/Reaper, Hell's Bells, and even Carry On Wayward Son in there somewhere? Music is wonderfully diverse, init?
I was surprised you didn't have Train Kept A Rollin' in there.