The riffs on this page are the tried and true “standards” for Rock guitar music. Walk into any music shop and you’ll find a line of people trying out the guitars for sale and I’ll bet they will be playing one of the top 10 riffs on this page.
Presenting The Top Rock Guitar Riffs…
10.) “Enter Sandman” by Metallica
Old school Metallica fans would probably pick a different riff from their catalog. As far as the general public is concerned, this is the riff that is the most recognizable from the band. It’s easy to play, too!
9.) “Back In Black” by AC/DC
This is blues based hard rock at it’s best.
8.) “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses
This is a fun riff to play. It’s very tricky to learn, but it will sound great once you get it going.
7. ) “Proud Mary” by Creedence Clearwater Revival
CCR has so many great songs. This is just one of them…
6.) “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath
Slow, plodding, heavy music from Ozzy and company.
5.) “Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple
Admit it. This was the first rock guitar riff you learned.
4.) “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne And Randy Rhoads
Randy Rhoads infused Classical music with hard rock with spectacular results.
3.) “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix
Hendrix let you know something different was happening from the opening seconds of Purple Haze.
2.) “Stairway To Heaven” by Led Zeppelin
This is probably the most overplayed riff in guitar history.
1.) “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry
This is the quintessential rock guitar riff. It inspired everyone from Elvis, to The Beatles, to Marty McFly.
What Do You Think?
Do you agree or disagree with this list? Let us know in the comments below!