This morning on my way to work I listened to Tush from ZZ Top, one of my favorite guitar riffs. When you can recognize a song after just a few notes, most of the times it means it’s good. This made me think about other rock riffs I like. And while it’s of course impossible to do great rock music justice in one list, following are 20 of my favorite riffs in no particular order:
- Tush (ZZ Top)
- Day Tripper (The Beatles)
- (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones)
- You Really Got Me (The Kinks)
- My Generation (The Who)
- Are You Gonna Go My Way (Lenny Kravitz)
- Black Night (Deep Purple)
- Highway to Hell (AC/DC)
- Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas)
- Oh, Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison)
- Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
- (Don’t Fear) The Reaper (Blue Öyster Cult)
- Whiskey, Beer & Wine (Buddy Guy)
- Rebel Rebel (David Bowie)
- Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) (Jim Hendrix)
- Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin)
- Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll (Rainbow)
- Rock You Like A Hurricane (Scorpions)
- Whipping Post (The Allman Brothers Band)
- Owner Of A Lonely Heart (Yes)
