Greatest Rock Guitar Riffs


A British guitar magazine recently polled it readers to compile a list of the greatest guitar riffs. Guns 'N Roses "Sweet Child of Mine" came in at the number spot. Here's a link to the poll results. As you can see the list is entirely metal oriented.

My list would include:

The Chuck Berry intro
The Chuck Berry rhythm
The Bo Diddley beat
Temptations - My Girl
Kinks - You Really Got Me
Steely Dan - Reelin' In the Years
Sam & Dave (Steve Cropper) - Soul Man
Stone Temple Pilots - Plish
Beatles - I Feel Fine intro
Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze intro

Is it my fault that nearly all the great riffs are pre-1980?

What's on your list?
128x128onhwy61
You're all forgettin' probably the greatest riff of all time:

Oh Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison

Honorable mentions:

Day Tripper - The Beatles
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
Dirty Water (Oh Boston You're My Home!) - The Standells
Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones
Dang - this has got to be one of the stupidest threads I've looked at in years. Can you all imagine how expensive this is gonna get?

Started to go through the mental list, but started to show some years (and a senior moment or two 'cause I probably can't remember about half of what I'd put here). Then I went to the "magic closet" - the one where all the vinyl's stored. OMG - what a mistake! Dang - this is gonna be one expensive evening now. Already got the turntable and cartridge choices figured out, now just gotta get 'em & set 'em up... Stupid, stupid thread. Stupid, stupider me for going to that closet...

Tkmetz done real good there, & Marakenetz and Wellfed hit some classics (FZ furever). Also Santana (Samba Pa Ti? Song of the Wind?), Joe Walsh, Bromberg somewhere, Schon, Knopfler, prob. Beck, more Tull than just Aqualung (Barre done darned good), and I'm just going to have to hook everything up and listen again and we'll get back to this thread in a year or so with a better list (yup, got a bunch of time saved up from work ;~). Stupid thread...
freebird lynyrd skynyrd
comfortable numb pink floyd
eruption van halen
lunatic fringe red ryder
tush zztop
fire from the sky elo
The Stones - "Jumpin Jack Flash" or "Brown Sugar"

Clapton - "Layla"

Robin Trower - "Daylight Again"

Black Sabbath - "Supernaut"

Neil Young - "Ohio" & "Cinnamon Girl"

The Who - "Pinball Wizard"

Free - "Allright Now"

Grand Funk Railroad - "Rock n Roll Soul"

Spooky Tooth - "The wrong place,wrong time" (off of "Last Puff")?

Wishbone Ash - "The King will come"

Jethro Tull - "Cross-eyed-Mary"

Frank Zappa - "Crew Slut"
I originally thought it said horsehead so while reponding here to a genuinely hlarious answer to a well..... so imagine my delight at actually assimilating some letters and seeing...it was .. actually .... hose. Im still laughing. This is the best answer i have read yet on AG and Mr , you deserve the title , keep posting my friend.