Top Riffs of the 80s (Top Story)

12/30/2010
. Top Riffs of the 80s was a top story in November. Here it is again as we recap 2010: Gibson has picked their top 10 riffs of the 80s. Here are the top three: 3. Ozzy Osbourne (featuring Randy Rhoads), "Crazy Train" In the 1980s, you couldn't throw a dead cat in a music store without hitting some kid playing this Randy Rhoads warhorse. The churning, sinister opening section hurls the song forward and creates a momentum that never lets up, even as Ozzy takes it off the rails.

2. The Rolling Stones, "Start Me Up" - Twelve years after "Honky Tonk Women," Keith Richards could still conjure an open-tuned gem like no one else. This 1981 classic is so stirring that nearly 30 years later you're still unlikely see a football stadium not use it to psych their fans up for a kickoff.

1. AC/DC, "Back in Black" - Perhaps the greatest riff-oriented album of all time is the band's 1980 farewell to dearly departed singer Bon Scott. Brothers Angus and Malcolm Young cooked up some of the greatest riffs of their career on this magnum opus (including "You Shook Me All Night Long," "Hell's Bells" and "Have a Drink on Me"), but none is more memorable than the hard and heavy title track. - full list

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