Favourite Rock Riffs Of All Time..?

Was watching this earlier:

[youtube]invnCfdq-fk[/youtube]

and, yes there's some classics in there, but there are some impressive omissions. No Van Halen, for example. Surely 'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love' is a firm member of the best rock riffs of all time? As should War Pigs, but hey. Of course, music is subjective but so many people seem to confuse 'best' with 'favourite'! Or 'most-famous'!

So, what are your favourite (not 'best'!!) five guitar riffs of all time? Which five riffs just make you go 'woahhh!'? They don't have to be classics or well-known, just favourites.

Mine would be (in no particular order):

Mean Street - Van Halen
Erotic Nightmares - Steve Vai (no idea why I love that riff so much)
Ace Of Spades - Motorhead
American Woman - The Guess Who (NOT the Lenny Kravitz version!)
Get It On - Kingdom Come

Of course there are hundreds of classics and I'm not looking to argue over it, just ask your favourites. Although picking just one Van Halen riff for me was damn difficult!

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In no particular order:

Gojira - The heaviest matter of the universe (The verse riff, starts at 00:45~) it's just so groovy.
Steve Vai - Gravity Storm (The first minute of that song is insane)
Meshuggah - Future Breed Machine (the intro riff with the weird squeaky sound over it. so intense!)
Children Of Bodom - Triple Corpse Hammerblow (so melodic, i love it. 20 seconds in)
Lamb Of God - Ghost Walking (Crazy grooves!)

it seems the two of us have a very, very different taste in music and riffs. nice :p
- small edit, actually gojira.. the entire song is just mad grooves. =P

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weeeeeel list like that are always down to personal taste, but how on earth did they leave out the first true rock riff "You really got me" by the Kinks?? And for me, I would put "All right now" by the Free in there somewhere, if that is not an iconic riff then I don't know....

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The deal is 5 and only 5...

"Little wing" by Hendrix (And [u]only him[/u]...)
"Skillet" by "the time" (Album - Pandemonium)
"L'hotel particulier" by Serge Gainsbourg (Album "Melody Nelson - Track #5 and #7 too)
"Lovely Jane" by "The DAG" (Album - Righteous)
"Can't stop" By The RHCP

These tracks influence my play.

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"Black Betty" RamJam
"Sign O the Times" Prince
"Uzeb Club" Uzeb
"Carry on my wayward son" Kansas
"Voodoo Child" Hendrix

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Here i a little less heard of:
"Homesick" by Atlanta Rhythm section

Some oldies:
In a Gadda da Vida by Iron Butterfly
Whole Lotta love by Led Zeppelin
21'st Century Schizoid Man by King Crimson
Heartbeat by King Crimson

And "Black Betty" is originally a leadbelly song....no kidding
And while wer'e at it: Led zeppelins "Gallows Pole" is also ledbelly

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"Rock Candy" Montrose https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtDO3qBo72M

"Boom Boom out go the Lights" Pat Travers Live https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4XbV3gCm2Y

"Tush" ZZ Top https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jB_QM73Slk

"Mississippi Queen" Mountain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFhM1XZsh6o

"Boom Boom" Big Head Todd and the Monsters, written by John Lee Hooker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g523ypkK-Y

Old school songs that could get the blood pumping fast.

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Rick Derringer - Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo
AC/DC - Back in Black
Derek & the Dominoes - Layla
Dream Theater - Forsaken
Allman Brothers - Statesboro Blues
Edgar Winter Group - We All Had A Real Good Time

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Allman Brothers - Statesboro Blues
Doors - Roadhouse Blues

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Lotsa great ones already; here are a few more:

Man on the Silver Mountain - Rainbow

Cat Scratch Fever - Ted Nugent

Outshined - Soundgarden

Figure it Out - Royal Blood

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Cream - Sunshine of your love
Ten Years After - Love like a man
Grand Funk Railroad - Heartbreaker
AC/DC - Back in Black
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Chuck Berry - Johnny Be Good
Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze
Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water
Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love
Jimi Hendrix - Woodoo Child

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cmon now, Neil Young Hey Hey My My

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Stones - Satisfaction

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So many great (and classic) riffs! Sooooo hard to have chosen five!

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Gimme Shelter > Rolling Stones with lisa fischer on vocals
comftably numb> pink Floyd
harder than a rock> AC/DC
Wiess Heim> Rainbow
Kashmere> Led Zepplin
Estranged> Guns'n'Roses

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paint it black the Stones
train train/new ways Jeff Beck group
Statesboro blue Allman bros.
little wing Hendrix
Whipping post Allman bros.
tons more but you said top 5

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Guys, just a question: What do you understand under "Riff"? Does every song have a riff or are only certain type of songs considered a "riff"?

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For me Riff is melody , the hub of the track that usually repeats...but mainly gives it that distinctive sound on a track that's draws you in. That's what I tend to focus on in a song I like.

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lets see...


You Really Got Me: VH

Limelight: Rush

Photograph: Def Leppard

You Shook Me All Night Long: AC/DC



The Trooper: Maiden

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these are the heros of rock...like them all...
maybe you forgott AC/DC ..."touch to much"...

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