If your favourite riff is not in the top 100 list
email me and I will put your favourite up on
"YOUR CHOICES"
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THE GREATEST RIFF CREATORS
(digitaldreamdoor.com 2005 list)

1. Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
2. Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath)
3. Angus Young (AC/DC)
4. Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple)
5. Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen)
6. Jimi Hendrix
7. Eric Clapton (Cream)

8. Keith Richards (Rolling Stones)
9. Slash (Guns N Roses)
10. Randy Rhoads (Ozzy)
11. James Hetfield (Metallica)
12. Pete Townshend (The Who)
13. Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits)
14. Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine)
15. Chris Cornell (Soundgarden)

The above 2 lists are with courtesy of
Digital Dream Door Site
They are not compiled by myself.

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GUITAR RIFFS
YOUR CHOICES


"Riviera Paradise"

Stevie Ray Vaughan
Lead guitarist ~ Double Trouble
This is a soulful instrumental is included on his 1989 album "In Step". After a full day of recording material for the album, Stevie asked his producer to leave the tape running and to turn down the lights. All alone, in the studio he recorded this haunting guitar track on his Fender Strat. His band, Double Trouble added the backing later, including an organ foundation from Reese Wynans. On the Austin City Limits performance, Stevie introduced this by saying it was "For all the hurting people in the world". In June 1989, their "In Step" album was released and earned them a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Performance. Tragically a year later on August 27th 1990, Stevie Ray was killed in a helicopter crash following a performance in East Troy, Wisconsin.

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"Reelin' in the Years"

Elliott Randall
Lead guitarist ~ Steely Dan/top sessionist
"Reelin' in the Years" was released as the sixth track on their 1972 album, Can't Buy a Thrill. The song was written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker and features Fagen on vocals. The song was also a No. 11 hit on the Pop singles chart in 1973. In March 2005, 'Q' magazine placed the song at number 95 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has reportedly said that top session guitarist Elliott's guitar solo on "Reelin' In the Years" is his favorite solo of all time. That solo was also ranked the 40th best guitar solo of all time by the readers of Guitar World magazine. Elliott has also worked with such as The Doobie Brothers, Tom Rush, Elkie Brooks, Carly Simon, Carl Wilson, Peter Wolf, Peter Frampton, James Galway, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and The American Symphony Orchestra, among many others. He was also a music consultant for Saturday Night Live and Oliver Stone and did projects with producers Gary Katz, David Kershenbaum, The Tokens, Steve Lillywhite, Eddie Kramer and Jerry Wexler.

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"The Sails of Charon"

Ulrich Jon Roth
lead guitarist ~ Scorpions
"The Sails of Charon" written by Ulrich Jon Roth, is a track on "Taken By Force" the fifth studio album by German heavy metal band Scorpions that was released in 1978. This was the final of five Scorpions albums to feature guitarist Ulrich Jon Roth. By this time it can be clearly heard that Uli composed songs were influenced more and more by classical music and Jimi Hendrix. Uli left the band in 1979 to persue his own style and music genre, forming his own band named Electric Sun which released three albums. Scorpions eventually replaced him with Matthias Jabs.

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"No One Like You"

Matthais Jabs
lead guitarist ~ the Scorpions
"No One Like You" is a song by the German rock band Scorpions, it first appeared on the band's 1982 album Blackout, and was one of three hits from the album. The song reached No.65 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and #1 on the US Rock Tracks chart, it is also a playable track in the video game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s. Matthais Jabs joined the Scorpions after Ulrich Roth left in 1978. The first album Matthias recorded with the Scorpions was "Lovedrive", released February 25th 1979. His guitar playing contributed significantly to their signature sound. He favours Gibson Explorer guitars and in the late 1980s designed a model for them, called the Explorer 90, it's bady is 90% the size of a regular Explorer.

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"Big City Nights"

Rudolf Schenker
rhythm/lead guitarist ~ the Scorpions
"Big City Nights" by German hard rock band Scorpions, was released as the 6th track of their 1984 and 9th album "Love at First Sting", it was released as the third single from the album. "Big City Nights" was composed by band members Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine. The song was covered on the Fozzy album Happenstance. In most Scorpions songs, guitar solos are performed by lead guitarist Matthias Jabs, but there are exceptions, "Wind of Change", "Still Loving You", "As Soon As The Good Times Roll", "Through My Eyes" and "Big City Nights". Rudolf was a founding member of Scorpions, he is the rhythm, and occasional lead guitarist and one of the main song-writers of the band. After starting out with a Fender Stratocaster, he is primarily known for playing Gibson Flying Vs and, more recently, Dean Vs. . Rudolf's goal is not to become the best or the fastest guitarist, but to be a very good composer.

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"No One Knows"

Josh Homme
lead guitarist ~ Queens of the Stone Age
"No One Knows" by American hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age aka QOTSA or just Queens, was written by band members Josh Homme and Mark Lanegan. It was the first single and second track from their third album, Songs for the Deaf, and was released on November 26th 2002. It was critically acclaimed, receiving a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 2003 Grammy Awards. Founding member, lead guitarist and multi-musician Josh Homme developed a style of riff-oriented, heavy music, described as 'robot rock', he wanted to create a heavy sound based on a solid jam, and just pound it into your head. His earliest musical influences included crossover hardcore punk bands Black Flag, Charged GBH, and Discharge, as well as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and ZZ Top.

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"Godspeed"

Joseph Milligan
lead guitarist ~ Anberlin
"Godspeed" by alternative rock band Anberlin released on December 26th 2006, also appeared on their third album "Cities", released later, February 20, 2007. It's about different stories through rock and roll history where drugs played a major downfall or death in the persona's life, such as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Nico, Moon, Vicious, etc, etc. .Anberlin has released four studio albums and an EP in their six years of existence and have sold over 400,000 albums. Lead guitarist Joseph Milligan was a founder band member in 2002, and still with the band today. Prior to Anberlin, he was guitarist with the band “SaGoh 24/7” (SaGoh – Servants after God’s own heart).

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"Woman"
and
"Joker & the Thief"

Andrew Stockdale
lead guitarist ~ Wolfmother
"Woman" is a song by Australian hard rock band Wolfmother, featured on their 2005 debut studio album Wolfmother. It was released as the band's fourth single in Australia on 17 June 2006, and later in the United Kingdom on 17 July. "Woman" won the award for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 49th Grammy Awards in 2007, and in Australia, the song was ranked No.45 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004. "Woman" was featured in the soundtracks of The Game Plan, Major League Baseball 2K7, MotorStorm, Madden NFL 07, Tony Hawk's Project 8 and Pure, and is a playable song in Guitar Hero II. Lead guitarist and singer Andrew Stockdale, was a co-founder of Wolfmother in 2000 and is the only original member left. His guitar antics and stage persona are commonly traced to Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi and The Jimi Hendrix Experience's namesake, while his style can often be compared to progressive rockers Pink Floyd.
"Joker & the Thief"
"Joker & the Thief" is the sixth single by Australian hard rock band Wolfmother, and the sixth and final from their debut album Wolfmother, released in the Autumn 2006 The music video for the song was nominated for the "Best Rock Video" and "Video of the Year" awards at the 2007 MTV Australia Awards. The title is a reference to the characters in the famous Bob Dylan song "All Along the Watchtower". It is featured in the films Jackass Number Two, Shoot 'Em Up and Shrek the Third, and video games Need for Speed: Carbon and MLB 07: The Show, as well as Mitsubishi and Peugeot commercials.
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"Peace Frogs"

Robby Krieger
lead guitarist ~ The Doors
"Peace Frog" by The Doors which appears on the album "Morrison Hotel". It was released on vinyl in February 1970 by Elektra/Asylum Records and produced by Paul Rothchild. "Peace Frog" was originally called "Abortion Stories"; guitarist Robby Krieger gave the song its more tame title, "Peace Frog." The bloody images (There's blood in the streets, it's up to my ankles/There's blood on the streets, it's up to my knee, etc.) originated, like many songs of The Doors, from the poetry of Jim Morrison . Bobby's's fingerstyle approach to the electric guitar, eclectic musical tastes, and songwriting helped establish The Doors as a successful rock band in the 1960s.

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"I'm But a Wave to..."

Paul Masvidal and Jason Gobel
lead guitarists ~ Cynics
"I'm But a Wave to..." is off the American metal band Cynic's 1993 album "Focus". About 2 minutes in, there's an incredible sounding riff between the two guitarists Paul Masvidal and Jason Gobel. The guitar parts of Paul Masvidal and Jason Gobel intertwine, bringing to mind such guitar duos as Television's Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, or Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew from King Crimson. Only rarely do both guitars play the same part simultaneously; most of the time both guitars have their distinct own parts that tie together to form a fabric of harmonies and melodies

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"Possum Kingdom"

Vaden Todd Lewis
lead guitarist ~ Toadies
"Possum Kingdom" was the first single from the Toadies' 1994 album Rubberneck. It was the most successful single released by the 90's grunge band Toadies, reaching No. 4 on the Modern Rock Charts. The song's origins lie in folklore from the band's native state of Texas and was named after Possum Kingdom State Park, in Palo Pinto County. "Possum Kingdom" is also featured in the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II. As well as playing with The Toadies, Vaden also plays with the Burden Brothers

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"YOUR CHOICE"
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SHREDDERS . TOP GUITARISTS . GUITAR SOLOS

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SOME MORE RIFF INFO


TOTAL GUITAR
MAGAZINE
20 BEST GUITAR RIFFS
Reader's Poll from
'Total Guitar' May 2005

1. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses by 36%
2. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
3. Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
4. Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple
5. Enter Sandman - Metallica
6. Layla - Derek & The Dominoes/Eric Clapton
7. Master Of Puppets - Metallica
8. Back In Black - AC/DC
9. Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) - Jimi Hendrix
10. Paranoid - Black Sabbath

11. Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne
12. All Right Now - Free
13. Plug In Baby - Muse
14. Black Dog - Led Zeppelin
15. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love - Van Halen
16. Walk This Way - Aerosmith w Run DMC
17. Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream
18. No-One Knows - Queens Of The Stone Age
19. Paradise City - Guns N' Roses
20. Killing In The Name - Rage Against The Machine
courtesy of BBC news

Guns 'n' Roses with 36%
What really annoyed me about the BBC article reporting this,
they had a pic of Axl Rose NOT Slash!!
Here we go again ... front man got the publicity yet again

Former Guns n Roses lead guitarist Slash is one of my personal favourite power guitarists, among many. Slash's early guitar influences were Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page & Rory Gallagher. Band influence was Aerosmith. He was born 1965 in Hamstead, London, bought up in Stoke on Trent, UK, and moved to USA at the age of 11. He is a self taught guitarist, his gran gave him his first guitar at 15yrs. He devoted 12 hours a day to playing his guitar!! (school went out of the window!) After Guns 'n' Roses split he formed his own band 'Snakepit' and now plays lead with Velvet Revolver ... More

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"YOUR CHOICE"
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