greatest guitar riff of all time

[Dr Skimeister]

Yeah, the best of the Seattle scene of the 90's was, IMHO, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden.

I'd have to say Pearl Jam. Eddie Vedder is a talented song writer.
But their best work was as Neil Young's back-up band on the "Mirror Ball" album.

 

[dmc]

I'd have to say Pearl Jam. Eddie Vedder is a talented song writer.
But their best work was as Neil Young's back-up band on the "Mirror Ball" album.

I still find myself listening to Ten all the time...

Talk about a kick ass riff... The opening to Even Flow is pretty good... _

 

[ERJ-145CA]

I'd have to say Pearl Jam. Eddie Vedder is a talented song writer.
But their best work was as Neil Young's back-up band on the "Mirror Ball" album.

I forgot Pearl Jam but that's probably because I only liked Ten, at the time it was ground breaking. AIC is in my top 3 favorite bands of all time and had one of the greatest singers. Listening to Rooster off my computer through the hotel clock radio as I type this. I hope my first officer in the next room doesn't mind AIC ' cause he might be hearing it through the wall.

 

[eastcoastpowderhound]

it was a moment thing...
At the time we craved something other then hair bands and the fruity ballads... Seattle just pummeled the music scene... I bought that stuff as soon as i could get my hands on it.. So raw and unproduced..

Take the Cinderella posters down and put up Nirvana and Pearl Jam..

completely agree...at that time mainstream rock was heading down a pretty sad road...add Poison, Winger, Warrant, and all that other crap I used to know all the words to and you get a musical genere that was in crisis...it needed the revolution that grunge brought.

I think the list is fairly accurate for a top 20 most popular or most recognizable riffs of all time...not necessarily the best or most difficult...but the ones that nearly everyone at the party/in the bar recognizes two chords into it.

 

[eastcoastpowderhound]

Yeah, the best of the Seattle scene of the 90's was, IMHO, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden.

Temple of the Dog...Eddie Vedder AND Chris Cornell. Pearl Jam would have to be on there too...the live versions of Once always get me amped. I still listen to this more than the latest stuff.

 

[Mildcat]

How can this list not have Crazy Train on it? Another one I would list would be Cream- Sunshine of Your Love. I would get rid of the White Stripes and Michael Jackson, and I never heard of Muse-Plug in Baby.

 

[Glenn]

Nirvana might possibly be the most overrated band of all time.

I love 90's music...love love love it. However, I tend to agree with you. I think Pearl Jam is good...but not as good as people make them out to be.

I really like Alice in Chains. I often don't think they get the credit they deserve. Then again, I listen to what I like; not because some list says it's good.

 

[Warp Daddy]

How can this list not have Crazy Train on it? Another one I would list would be Cream- Sunshine of Your Love. I would get rid of the White Stripes and Michael Jackson, and I never heard of Muse-Plug in Baby.

Yeah and BTW where the hell is Clapton's wah wah work on White room ? Michael effin Jackson on a guitar riff list ????? man that's a stretch can anybody NAME his guitar player without Googling it ???

 

[Mildcat]

Yeah and BTW where the hell is Clapton's wah wah work on White room ? Michael effin Jackson on a guitar riff list ????? man that's a stretch can anybody NAME his guitar player without Googling it ???

Didn't Eddie VanHalen play guitar on Beat it? Jennifer Batten Played guitar for him too. I'm not a Michael Jackson fan at all, just remember seeing this hot woman totally shredding on guitar. :grin:

Definitely agree with you Warp on White Room. Another one of my favorite riffs I would put up there is Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well. Fleetwood Mac had balls when Peter Green was with them.

 

[Warp Daddy]

Didn't Eddie VanHalen play guitar on Beat it? Jennifer Batten Played guitar for him too. I'm not a Michael Jackson fan at all, just remember seeing this hot woman totally shredding on guitar. :grin:

Definitely agree with you Warp on White Room. Another one of my favorite riffs I would put up there is Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well. Fleetwood Mac had balls when Peter Green was with them.

Mcat u da man ----------You're right on BOTH scores -------------- i did not realize Van Halen did that gig.Gotta give Fleetwood Mac a listen don't think i 've heard Petrer Green's stuff --if so i need a memory check

My problem with FM is i'm old enough to remember when Stevie Nicks was apretty hot Babe not a parody

 

[jaywbigred]

Well, it's a list of the "Greatest" guitar riffs of all time, so it would boil down to the definition of "greatest," which could be interpreted a number of ways. I think this list is decent, but it could have paid a little more homage to the riff's genesis straight out of blues by including Muddy Waters or Elmore James, imo.

I couldn't agree more with those of you feel AIC is underrated. I also couldn't agree less with those of you that think Nirvana is overrated. I think Pearl Jam is appropriately rated. But its all opinion, you're entitled to think what you like!

 

[deadheadskier]

it was a moment thing...
At the time we craved something other then hair bands and the fruity ballads... Seattle just pummeled the music scene... I bought that stuff as soon as i could get my hands on it.. So raw and unproduced..

Take the Cinderella posters down and put up Nirvana and Pearl Jam..

I agree completely; 100% about timing.

Kurt Cobain is viewed as a legend, yet I think Dave Grohl is a far more talented musician. I'm not saying I like Foo Fighters better than Nirvana; I'm not much a fan of either. I do however think Dave is a more talented individual. Even if he was to suffer the same tragic fate as Kurt, I don't think he'll ever be an icon like him.

 

[riverc0il]

Yeah and BTW where the hell is Clapton's wah wah work on White room ? Michael effin Jackson on a guitar riff list ????? man that's a stretch can anybody NAME his guitar player without Googling it ???

Slash has played with MJ quite a bit. I have no objection to MJ on a guitar riff list. MJ has had some pretty bad jams (bad in a good way, that is). Badump dump, Badump dump.... that Beat It riff does stick in your head.

 

[riverc0il]

I agree completely; 100% about timing.

Kurt Cobain is viewed as a legend, yet I think Dave Grohl is a far more talented musician. I'm not saying I like Foo Fighters better than Nirvana; I'm not much a fan of either. I do however think Dave is a more talented individual. Even if he was to suffer the same tragic fate as Kurt, I don't think he'll ever be an icon like him.

Good music is sometimes about talent. Music people love is rarely about talent. Talent has so little to do with rock bands these days.... so few rock bands have really talented musicians. Most of the best musicians I have seen are not well known and never will be. They either don't write their own music or are not in a band that is going to make it or don't care to make it or don't have the image to make it or whatever.

Nirvana overrated? Overrated how? Not since the Beatles has any one band has such a huge influence on so many people. And think of how long the Beatles were around... Nirvana had that impact with just two studio albums and one live album. Who that grew up in the 90s can not hum every single track from Nevermind? I was a freshman in High School when Nevermind hit it big, if I remember correctly. I didn't "get it" then and I hated the Nirvana groupies who were obsessed. I didn't get into Nirvana until Cobain did himself in but when they were big... I hated them because I couldn't get away from them. So that is the perspective I come from when I say there is no way they are Overrated... that of someone that once believed Nirvana was overrated. They are just too influential and captured the mood of a generation too well to be that easily dismissed.

 

[witch hobble]

Seems more like a "most iconic" list. In which case I would certainly vouch for "Smells Like....".

Useless bullshit lodged in brain from childhood: the guitarist who played on many of Billy Idol's hits later played with Michael Jackson. Now....'scuse me, while I google this guy.

 

[witch hobble]

Alright, I'm back and better educated.

Steve Stevens is his name. Played on MJ's "Dirty Diana". Rock un Roll, ya?

And Muse? WTF? I had to educate myself about that song too. I don't know how that slipped in there.

I suspect the list was made by a baby boomer, classic rock format type who consulted his nephew for a few token newer riffs. Snooze.

 

[MR. evil]

Good music is sometimes about talent. Music people love is rarely about talent. Talent has so little to do with rock bands these days.... so few rock bands have really talented musicians. Most of the best musicians I have seen are not well known and never will be. They either don't write their own music or are not in a band that is going to make it or don't care to make it or don't have the image to make it or whatever.

Nirvana overrated? Overrated how? Not since the Beatles has any one band has such a huge influence on so many people. And think of how long the Beatles were around... Nirvana had that impact with just two studio albums and one live album. Who that grew up in the 90s can not hum every single track from Nevermind? I was a freshman in High School when Nevermind hit it big, if I remember correctly. I didn't "get it" then and I hated the Nirvana groupies who were obsessed. I didn't get into Nirvana until Cobain did himself in but when they were big... I hated them because I couldn't get away from them. So that is the perspective I come from when I say there is no way they are Overrated... that of someone that once believed Nirvana was overrated. They are just too influential and captured the mood of a generation too well to be that easily dismissed.

For some reason I always assumed you were older than me. Looms like we are about the same age or I may be a bit older. I was a junior when Nevermind was released as it was great! I was already a Nirvana fan when that album was released. Many of my friends were into alt music before it was popular and one of them gave me a copy of the Bleach album about 6 months before Nevermind went big. While I always like Nirvana alot, I was / am a much bigger PearlJam fan.

 

[riverc0il]

Now Pearl Jam.... talk about a band that is over rated.

*ducks and runs*

:lol:

 

[deadheadskier]

Good music is sometimes about talent. Music people love is rarely about talent. Talent has so little to do with rock bands these days.... so few rock bands have really talented musicians. Most of the best musicians I have seen are not well known and never will be. They either don't write their own music or are not in a band that is going to make it or don't care to make it or don't have the image to make it or whatever.

Probably why I listen to primarily 'jam band' type music. I put that in quotations because much of it gets lumped under that title, but depending on the band it could just as well be called: progressive rock, blues, folk, bluegrass, funk, jazz fusion.......on and on. The singular element that wraps it all together under the one umbrella are often very long songs loaded with improvisation.

The two 'superstars' of the jam band world are Phish and the Gratefule Dead. Like their music or not, Trey Anastasio and Jerry Garcia are two of the most technically proficient and creative guitarists to ever live; especially Garcia. His mastery of so many different styles of music; Blues, Folk, Jazz, Bluegrass is perhaps unmatched. Clapton has referred to him as the greatest guitarist to ever live. People also don't realize how amazing of a banjo and peddle steel player he was.

Nirvana overrated? Overrated how? Not since the Beatles has any one band has such a huge influence on so many people.

In pop music, perhaps, but I'd argue that Led Zeppelin, U2, Michael Jackson and Madonna to name four off the top of my head that have had a bigger influence in the world of pop music. I'd put Nirvana in the league of say Van Halen or the Police. I'm roughly the same age as you, maybe a few years older and by my recollection, both Van Halen and the Police were equally as huge for a few year period as Nirvana. Guns n Roses I would say was even bigger.

Throw the Grateful Dead in there while your at it for 'counter culture' influence. No band in history has been seen live by more people and recorded more than the Grateful Dead. They not only have inspired countless musicians, but a whole damn culture that still exists today almost 15 years after Jerry has passed.

And think of how long the Beatles were around... Nirvana had that impact with just two studio albums and one live album. Who that grew up in the 90s can not hum every single track from Nevermind? I was a freshman in High School when Nevermind hit it big, if I remember correctly. I didn't "get it" then and I hated the Nirvana groupies who were obsessed. I didn't get into Nirvana until Cobain did himself in but when they were big... I hated them because I couldn't get away from them. So that is the perspective I come from when I say there is no way they are Overrated... that of someone that once believed Nirvana was overrated. They are just too influential and captured the mood of a generation too well to be that easily dismissed.

I chalk that up to the fact that they were the first of that Seattle genre that was discovered and promoted heavily. Thank MTV for that. The staying power they've had based off such a small body of work is no doubt, impressive. Then again, does the average Joe know anything outside of Ten from Pearl Jam? Nope. Who's to say Nirvana would've had much staying power beyond those three years. At that time, don't forget that you're talking about a small age group of the population that were into Nirvana, pretty much folks 30ish and under. Michael and Madonna were loved by all ages.

I'm not trying to diminish their work, but Nirvana IMO wasn't as good as some of the other bands that came out of Seattle, they were just promoted better. I thought many other bands, especially Pearl Jam and the Screaming Trees were better in that genre.

 

[riverc0il]

Good points all, DHS. Though I think Nirvana's influence amongst more than a narrow sliver of the population would have been different had Nirvana lasted as long as those other performers and bands you mentioned. Lets not kid ourselves though, marketing and promotion made all of those bands what they are. You can't influence people musically if they don't know you exist. I am strongly influenced by an artist like Madonna while also realizing that the genius of her music was in the producers and song writers instead of her. I really enjoyed U2 up until Pop and especially Actung, but I think they had more duds for songs than really good ones.

I think that influence is all about positioning the right act at the right time, not so much about the music itself. I think Nirvana was the right act at the right time more than almost any other band out there regardless of musical talent or why they got to be in a position of such influence. I still remember the mass depression of high school kids when Cobain shot himself.