Now, some of these tracks you'll notice might have another instrument that briefly leads in the song, but I created this playlist mainly to rock you from the get-go! Guns ’N Roses, Appetite For Destruction, 1987, 8 “Hot For Teacher” Wait – what? Eric Clapton, Behind the Sun, 1985, 32 Cold Shot Bill Withers - Lovely Day The Smiths, Meat is Murder, 1985, 44 Owner of a Lonely Heart Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, I Love Rock and Roll, 1981 Review these top 10 guitar riffs of the 1980s and decide if you agree. 10 “Hell’s Bells” Introducing the talk box to a generation of rock fans perhaps not familiar with the work of Peter Frampton or Joe Walsh, Richie Sambora used it to augment a killer riff that sets up one of the catchiest sing-along choruses of the era. In a stroke of marketing genius, Michael Jackson and producer Quincy Jones asked Eddie Van Halen – at the time, the undisputed king of rock guitar – to play a solo atop a viciously driving R&B rhythm. Konrad’s complete list of favorite riffs is below, along with the times at which they appear in the video. with Angus Young’s perfectly plied (and harmonically sinister) A minor, D/A, and C/A chords is sheer musical alchemy. Oh, and Steve Lukather’s rhythm-guitar groove ain’t bad, either! Keyboards provided synth parts that came to truly define how we watch movies and television (Miami Vice, anybody?). 33. Though glossier than previous Dire Straits hits, guitarist Mark Knopfler followed up this song’s synthy intro (and Sting’s haunting “I want my MTV” vocal line) with one hellaciously hooky riff that helped make the track the band’s best-selling single. 50. A call for political peace in the band’s home country of Ireland, the song was a hit in the U.K. but didn’t catch on in the U.S. (beyond the college-radio crowd) until released as a video shot during a performance at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheater. So much to remember, and all of it living among these new sensations of tiny records that they called “CDs” and something on the tube called “the MTV.” Quite simply, it was the age of excess. Tell us your top 10 guitar riffs of the 80s. Billy Idol, Rebel Yell, 1984, 35 She Sells Sanctuary When looking at the years 2010 to 2019 within the context of the electric guitar, the top 20 guitar solos - as voted by you - show us where the decade has taken guitar as a lead instrument. Also the excitement of learning and eventually mastering a challenging riff is unbelievably fulfilling. This is simply the idea that the riff is widely recognized, embodies the unique tone and feel of the 80s, and shaped a huge part of the 80s guitar culture. Although George Harrison and John Lennon kick off this legendary single-note passage playing in unison, it was Lennon who actually came up with the riff. Though assailed by the increasingly popular synthesizer in turn-of-the-decade pop music, real rock bands stuck with what worked – guitars, bass, and drums – and none purveyed the spirit better than AC/DC. The quiet type, Rhoads’ spoke loudly with his musical ability and stylistic curiosity, which melded to make him one of the greatest players of his generation, and for this track, he created a riff that to this day remains atop the “gotta learn it” list for every kid with his first guitar. The riff had to somehow “stand alone” in the musical structure of the song and the mix to make the list – in other words, when you play it almost everybody would know what song you were playing just based off the guitar part and you don’t “need” any other instrument to truly capture the song you are playing (a couple of my favorite examples of songs that were excluded for this reason would be Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” or the Alan Parsons Project’s “Eye in the Sky”). 24 “Livin’ On a Prayer” Johnny B Goode – Chuck Berry (simply one of the best classic riffs on gutiar) Go through this list of the best guitar riffs for beginners in order starting at number one, learn them and check each one off until you can play them all. Van Halen at its artistic peak; the band’s final album with original vocalist David Lee Roth was arguably its best work. And the guitars … oh my! 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