BBC Radio 2 - 100 Greatest Guitar Riffs

[RB]

A panel of guitar music experts, made up of Radio 2 presenters, music critics and record producers were selected to pick the 100 guitar riffs, they are: Janice Long – Radio 2 Presenter, Bob Harris – Radio 2 Presenter, Richard Allison - Radio 2 Presenter, Gideon Coe – 6 Music Presenter, Steve Levine – Music Producer, Paul Sexton – Music journalist and broadcaster, Sunday Times, Radio 2, Sian Llewellyn – Editor, Classic Rock Magazine.

For the purpose of this vote a guitar riff has been defined as 'the main hook of a song and must be played principally by a guitar. It often begins the song, but is repeated throughout it, giving the song its distinctive voice.'

& it's one riff per artist.

Final top 100 positions decided by votes from BBC Radio 2 listeners & broadcast yesterday.

The 100 Greatest Riffs Of All-Time:

100. Get Lucky – Daft Punk
99. Unbelievable – EMF
98. Loser – Beck
97. Are You Gonna Be My Girl – Jet
96. Rocks – Primal Scream
95. Bohemian Like You – The Dandy Warhols
94. Jack & Diane – John Mellencamp
93. Lonely Boy – The Black Keys
92. September – Earth, Wind & Fire
91. The One I Love – R.E.M.
90. Wheels – Foo Fighters
89. C’mon Everybody – Eddie Cochran
88. Ma-Ma-Ma Belle – Electric Light Orchestra
87. Eye Of The Tiger – Survivor
86. That Lady – The Isley Brothers
85. Mr Tambourine Man – The Byrds
84. Words of Love – Buddy Holly
83. Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley
82. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll – Rainbow
81. Boom Boom – John Lee Hooker
80. I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll – Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
79. Born To Be Wild – Steppenwolf
78. Cannonball – The Breeders
77. Runnin’ Down A Dream – Tom Petty
76. A Girl Like You – Edwyn Collins
75. My Sharona – The Knack
74. Block Buster! – Sweet
73. Rumble – Link Wray
72. Every Breath You Take – The Police
71. Oh, Pretty Woman – Roy Orbison
70. Boys Don’t Cry – The Cure
69. There She Goes – The La’s
68. Theme From Shaft – Isaac Hayes
67. Shakin’ All Over – Johnny Kidd & The Pirates
66. Pride (In The Name Of Love) – U2
65. Need You Tonight – INXS
64. Are You Gonna Go My Way – Lenny Kravitz
63. Marquee Moon – Television
62. Song 2 – Blur
61. Misirlou – Dick Dale
60. Take Me Out – Franz Ferdinand
59. Good Times – Chic
58. Peter Gunn – Duane Eddy
57. Mannish Boy – Muddy Waters
56. Sharp Dressed Man – ZZ Top
55. Walk This Way – Aerosmith / Aerosmith & RUN-D.M.C.
54. Don’t Believe A Word – Thin Lizzy
53. Beat It – Michael Jackson
52. Killing in The Name – Rage Against The Machine
51. Should I Stay Or Should I Go – The Clash
50. Spoonman – Soundgarden
49. Milk & Alcohol – Dr. Feelgood
48. Life In The Fast Lane – Eagles
47. Atomic – Blondie
46. Stay With Me – Faces
45. Run To You – Bryan Adams
44. Apache – The Shadows
43. Fools Gold – The Stone Roses
42. Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen
41. Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love – Van Halen
40. Under The Bridge – Red Hot Chili Peppers
39. I Can’t Explain – The Who
38. No One Knows – Queens of The Stone Age
37. Cigarettes & Alcohol – Oasis
36. Hocus Pocus – Focus
35. No Surprises – Radiohead
34. Don’t Fear The Reaper – Blue Oyster Cult
33. Pretty Vacant – Sex Pistols
32. She Sells Sanctuary – The Cult
31. One Vision – Queen
30. Alive – Pearl Jam
29. The Riverboat Song – Ocean Colour Scene
28. Day Tripper – The Beatles
27. I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction) – The Rolling Stones
26. Paranoid – Black Sabbath
25. Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes
24. Sunshine Of Your Love – Cream
23. Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
22. Oh Well – Fleetwood Mac
21. All Right Now – Free
20. Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
19. Livin’ On A Prayer – Bon Jovi
18. The Spirit Of Radio – Rush
17. Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry
16. Enter Sandman – Metallica
15. Do I Wanna Know? – Arctic Monkeys
14. 20th Century Boy – T. Rex
13. Motorcycle Emptiness – Manic Street Preachers
12. Purple Haze – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
11. Ziggy Stardust – David Bowie
10. Money – Pink Floyd
9. You Really Got Me – The Kinks
8. Money For Nothing – Dire Straits
7. Down Down – Status Quo
6. How Soon Is Now? – The Smiths
5. Layla – Derek And The Dominoes
4. Smoke On The Water – Deep Purple
3. Back In Black – AC/DC
2. Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns ‘N’ Roses
1. Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin

[RB]

Interesting to note that the cover story in the new issue of Total Guitar magazine (biggest guitar mag in Europe) asks whether these really are the 100 greatest riffs of all time (http://www.musicradar.com/totalguitar/). They do a 13 page feature with write ups on each entry. The following 21 are rated as 'questionable' :

99. Unbelievable – EMF : riff is most annoying part of song
97. Are You Gonna Be My Girl – Jet : too much like "Lust For Life", "You can't hurry Love" (Supremes) & "American Girl" (Tom Petty)
96. Rocks – Primal Scream : riff or chord? a Stones pastiche
95. Bohemian Like You – The Dandy Warhols : too much like "Brown Sugar"
94. Jack & Diane – John Mellencamp : just a chord progression
93. Lonely Boy – The Black Keys : "Strange Times", "I Got Mine" & "Gold on the Ceiling" all better
92. September – Earth, Wind & Fire : not even one of the biggest riffs of it's genre
90. Wheels – Foo Fighters : "Monkey Wrench", "Stacked Actors", "Enough Space", "Weanie Beanie" & "Rope" all more worthy
88. Ma-Ma-Ma Belle – Electric Light Orchestra : probably only included because of presence of T Rex mate Marc Bolan
86. That Lady – The Isley Brothers : fine line between repetition & intro solo
83. Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley : rythm part
72. Every Breath You Take – The Police : over "Message in a Bottle" is borderline insanity
66. Pride (In The Name Of Love) – U2 : more of a blueprint of what was too come. "Where the Streets have no Name" better
61. Misirlou – Dick Dale : too much of a melody
54. Don’t Believe A Word – Thin Lizzy : "Emerald", "Jailbreak" & "The Boys are back in Town" better
44. Apache – The Shadows : instrumental track not riff
40. Under The Bridge – Red Hot Chili Peppers : more of a guitar based melody than true riff. "Scar Tissue", "Give it Away" or "Funky Monks" all better
37. Cigarettes & Alcohol – Oasis : too much like "Get It On"
35. No Surprises – Radiohead : too much of a slow burner. "Paranoid Android" & "My Iron Lung" better
17. Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry : more of a lead solo than riff
6. How Soon Is Now? – The Smiths : more of a classic tone than riff. "Hand in Glove" & This Charming Man" better

They also mention these as harshly overlooked :

Blind - Korn (1994)
Breaking the Law - Judas Priest (1980)
Cochise - Audioslave (2002)
Crazy Train - Ozzy Osborune (1980)
Plug in Baby - Muse (2001)
The Trooper - Iron Maiden (1983)
Pixies - Where is my Mind? (1988)