The Greatest Guitar Riffs of All Time

According to MME employees! These are the favorite riffs of Kevin, Wes, Joani, and Hoss.

"Honey Bee" - Tom Petty

Kevin: "The tone of that guitar and the way the drums come in make me want to ride around in an old ragtop with the top down and a Telecaster in the back seat."

Check out an article from a 1995 edition of Guitar Player, which talks about Mike Campbell using a Gibson ES-335 on this track! 

https://www.thepettyarchives.com/archives/magazines/1990s/1995-03-guitarplayer

"Heartbreaker" - Led Zeppelin

Wes: "This riff has a groove to it that I've loved since I was a kid. It's a simple blues-scale riff, but it has so much attitude! Jimmy Page was the king of riffs in the late '60s and the '70s, and I think this is his greatest one."

Check out this article, which discusses how the song was "the first recorded occasion of Page utilizing his patented Gibson Les Paul / Marshall Stack combo. That alone sets it in a class of its own."

https://www.rhino.com/article/single-stories-led-zeppelin-heartbreaker

Buy a Les Paul here!

Buy a Marshall here!

"Elephant Talk" - King Crimson

Joani: "King Crimson got me into prog rock!"

Check out that Chapman Stick in the intro from Tony Levin.

Short article on the track: https://www.dgmlive.com/albums/elephant-talk

"Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Hoss: "I first heard this in 1983 on WMMT. I went to Record Rack and bought Electric Ladyland on cassette, and it changed my whole world!"

An article on getting the tone of this track using a Boss GT-1:

https://rolandcorp.com.au/blog/jimi-hendrix-voodoo-chile-slight-return-tone-dissected

Buy a Boss GT-1 here!

Buy a Strat here!

"Blackberry" - The Black Crowes

Kevin: "I was a senior in high school when I heard this riff. I was in love with vintage guitars and that tone made me want to play!!"

"Damage Control" - John Petrucci

Wes: "The opening riff was the meanest riff I'd ever heard at 15. John Petrucci's performance on G3: Live in Tokyo blew my mind at that age and it still does! I love the tone of an Ernie Ball Music Man JP6 through a Mesa/Boogie."

"Never Fight A Man With A Perm" - IDLES

Joani: "This riff makes me want to get up and kick a door down!"

"Bridge of Sighs" - Robin Trower

Hoss: "I heard this one in 1984 on WMMT, and I called them and asked if it was Jimi Hendrix. When I found out it was Robin Trower, I went and bought the album on cassette as soon as I could."