Best Rock Riff

[wolfy]

What is it? There are so many...pick a few of your favourites.

[YOUTUBE="erJc4dzZ3IA"]AC/DC Highway to hell[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Hirsch63]

Are you talking about a riff within the song or the whole song?

 

[iamathousandapples]

[YOUTUBE="z60P0J3ojpI"]Sonata Arctica 8th Commandment[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Kingfisher]

Peace Frog, by The Doors

i love the riff that opens the song, and the bass line that drives the rest of the song.

there are tons of great riffs though. i am sure i will think of some more.

 

[wolfy]

Are you talking about a riff within the song or the whole song?

Within. Forms the base.

 

[murkrow]

[youtube=ypWAWaigpJo]Supernaut[/youtube]

wait... how do I do a youtube embed?

 

[wolfy]

wait... how do I do a youtube embed?

[YOU/TUBE="erJc4dzZ3IA"]AC/DC Highway to hell[/YOU/TUBE]

Click youtube in the menu.
Paste the code into the pop up
Put a title between the brackets.

 

[Hirsch63]

Within. Forms the base.

Here we differ. A great riff supports and does not overwhelm the song. This is not to say that a great riff does not exist outside of a composition...it certainly can, but it would not serve the the piece, the piece serves it..in which case why not just do an instrumental?

Scotty Moore at Sun Records sets the standard. Stax records guitar work is not necessarily dominant but crucial....Steve Cropper, oh yeah. Brian May is a genius at providing just the right amount of content with dynamic phrasing. Joe Perry is equally gifted. David Gilmour's work shows exceptional sensitivity...The guitar player for the Cars compositonal acumen still impresses. Albert Collins the "Ice Man" and recently Tommy Castro...

Look there'll always be guitar gods....but a band member who can help send a 3 minute song deep into your memory after all the other 10 minute self-indulgent solos are forgotten that's a storyteller.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

Such a hard topic, anything we put is at best a stab in the dark. Yet...

YouTube - Jumping Jack Flash - Rolling Stones (HD) (Shine a Light 2008)

 

[Kasper]

Too many, waaaaay too many. Here's some;

[youtube="k7la0SndoCI"]Hysteria - Muse[/youtube]

[youtube="P-AYAv0IoWI"]Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses[/youtube]

[youtube="WElvEZj0Ltw"]Welcome home (Sanitarium) - Metallica[/youtube]

[youtube="TBOGqaiVLUs"]Walk This Way - Run DMC ft. Aerosmith[/youtube]

[youtube="dXO3OMGKPpw"]Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana[/youtube]

[youtube="Z7wSMlu7QxU"]Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers[/youtube]

[youtube="Mu9xx5Ri278"]Eye Of The Tiger - Survivor[/youtube]

 

[Tallulah]

[YOUTUBE="N9i2fqxSjTI"]Zeppelin -- Black Dog[/YOUTUBE]


[YOUTUBE="0pjH_1vBixc"]Zeppelin -- Trampled Underfoot[/YOUTUBE]

YouTube - Heart - Barracuda (HQ)

 

[wolfy]

Supernaut

Supernaut
I love that song. I love it how it feels like you're being whacked on the head repeatedly by it. I really love it.

I had a friend in High School who lived in a small wooden house. I'd go around to his house and he'd bring out his Sabbath collection. He'd turn it right up to 10 and the whole house would shake. It was glorious. His Mum would come in with snacks, she was so used to it. He moved on to V8 engines. Black Sabbath and V8 chevy engines in old beaten up Holdens.

Why are loud things so great?

Here's another favourite

Ozzy Crazy Train

 

[OrionzRevenge]

If best equates to most recognized around the world...
Then you can't beat Richards!!![YOUTUBE="MejtR81RzCo"]He will bury all of us they say![/YOUTUBE]

 

[Shimmy]

Old, heavily unoriginal by now, but still great.

[YOUTUBE="2WX_4FNoto4"]Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water[/YOUTUBE]

Here are some less obvious ones.

[YOUTUBE="4H0BMfqFP9c"]Foo Fighters - Everlong[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE="sbqIyeed4g"]Beastie Boys - Sabotage[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE="abKjC7EX2Zs"]B.R.M.C - Spread Your Love[/YOUTUBE]

 

[run]

[YOUTUBE="vC_LVodJfDw"]What it is[/YOUTUBE]

 

[LucrativeSid]

Van Halen - Aint Talking Bout Love
Corrosion of Conformity - Clean My Wounds
CKY - 98 Quite Bitter Beings
Nirvana - Lithium
Black Sabbath - Iron Man

Hard to say. I like all kinds of music from every time period. Rhythm guitar is what I play.

 

[EJCC]

Do they have to be guitar riffs?

Faves right now:
Anything by the Jimi Hendrix Experience
King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man (sax/etc. riff)
Ben Folds - Zak and Sara (piano riff)
Tool - The Grudge (bass riff)
Yes - Roundabout (bass riff)
Bloc Party - Banquet

And I dunno if this counts as rock but...
Southern Culture on the Skids - Camel Walk

Shimmy! I LOVE the Everlong riff!!

 

[run]

Ben Folds? Kate.

 

[simulatedworld]

a few favorites:

rage against the machine - killing in the name (verse)

hendrix - foxey lady (intro/verse)

tool - aenima (intro)

zeppelin - good times bad times (verse)

incubus - just a phase (verse is this awesome jazzy swing, I love it)

metallica - sad but true (main pre-verse part...it grooves much better than their speed metal older shit)

beatles - something (lead-in to verse)

the who - pinball wizard intro!

queen - the entire bohemian rhapsody solo is like one big long instantly recognizable riff.

rush - spirit of the radio (intro)

van halen - ain't talkin' bout love (intro, it's a shame the rest of this song is painfully bad)

radiohead - subterranean homesick alien (intro, and also that lead guitar part where greenwood comes in over the lyric "I tell all my friends but they'll never believe me"

weezer - that little 9-note lead melody about 3 seconds long in the bridge of "buddy holly" going back into the last chorus

system of a down - question! (verse riff is terrific, so is melody and prechorus harmonies are GORGEOUS)

smashing pumpkins - drown. I am in love with that riff.

MODEST MOUSE - THE STARS ARE PROJECTORS, GO LISTEN TO THIS SONG RIGHT NOW:

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjjixLqGyFE"]Modest Mouse - The Stars Are Projectors[/YOUTUBE]

 

[EJCC]

a few favorites:

rage against the machine - killing in the name (verse)

hendrix - foxey lady (intro/verse)

tool - aenima (intro)

zeppelin - good times bad times (verse)

the who - pinball wizard intro!

radiohead - subterranean homesick alien (intro, and also that lead guitar part where greenwood comes in over the lyric "I tell all my friends but they'll never believe me"

system of a down - question! (verse riff is terrific, so is melody and prechorus harmonies are GORGEOUS)

Seconded.

Ben Folds? Kate.

Hell yes. I can play that riff on the piano

Oh, and I forgot to mention Baba O'Reily! That's a big one.