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musicNEWS: Top Guitar Solos and Riffs of All Time


05-02-04 Keavin
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Just how much difference does an ocean make in the taste of rock fans? We get a glimpse of that with two recent readers polls from magazines geared towards musicians. In the U.S. Guitar World polled their readers to create a list of The Top 100 Guitar Solos Of All Time. In the U.K. Total Guitar magazine asked their readers to pick the Top 100 Guitar Riffs of all time. 

What�s in a solo? That was the question posed to Guitar World readers. Their verdict, �Stairway to Heaven,� �Eruption,� �Freebird,� �Comfortably Numb,� and �All Along The Watchtower� came out on top. 

But what about the core of any good rock song�the riff? UK fans decided their favorites in a poll for Total Guitar magazine that put �Sweet Child of Mine,� "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Whole Lotta Love," "Smoke On The Water," and "Enter Sandman" at the top. 

Below are the Top 20 of each list. 

Guitar World�s Top 20 Solos of All Time:

01. �Stairway To Heaven� - Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
02. �Eruption� - Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen)
03. �Freebird� - Collins/Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
04. �Comfortably Numb� - David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
05. �All Along The Watchtower� - Jimi Hendrix
06. �November Rain� - Slash (Guns N� Roses)
07. �One� - Kirk Hammett (Metallica)
08. �Hotel California� - Don Felder/Joe Walsh (Eagles)
09. �Crazy Train� - Randy Rhads (Ozzy Osbourne)
10. �Crossroads� - Eric Clapton (Cream)
11. �Voodoo Chile� - Jimi Hendrix
12. �Johnny B. Goode� - Chuck Berry
13. �Texas Flood� - Stevie Ray Vaughan
14. �Layla� - Clapton/Allman (Derek and the Dominos)
15. �Floods� - Dimebag Darrel (Pantera)
16. �Heartbreaker� - Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
17. �Cliffs Of Dover� - Eric Johnson
18. �Little Wing� - Jimi Hendrix
19. �Highway Star� - Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple)
20. �Bohemian Rhapsody� - Brian May (Queen)

Total Guitar�s Top 20 Riffs Of All Time:

01. Guns N' Roses � "Sweet Child O' Mine"
02. Nirvana � "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
03. Led Zeppelin � "Whole Lotta Love" 
04. Deep Purple � "Smoke On The Water"
05. Metallica � "Enter Sandman"
06. Derek & The Dominoes - "Layla"
07. Metallica - "Master Of Puppets"
08. AC/DC � "Back In Black"
09. Jimi Hendrix � "Voodoo Child"
10. Black Sabbath � "Paranoid"
11. Ozzy Osbourne � "Crazy Train"
12. Free � "All Right Now"
13. Muse � "Plug In Baby"
14. Led Zeppelin � "Black Dog"
15. Van Halen � "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"
16. Aerosmith � "Walk This Way"
17. Cream � "Sunshine Of Your Love"
18. Queens Of The Stone Age � "No One Knows"
19. Guns N' Roses � "Paradise City"
20. Rage Against The Machine � "Killing In The Name"
 


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