Four notes can outlive a whole catalogue. Some of these were written in a hotel room, one by accident in a studio.
1Smoke on the WaterDeep Purple's four-note 1972 riff, the first thing millions of guitarists ever learn.1000pts
2Sweet Child o' MineSlash's circular 1987 exercise-turned-intro that opened Guns N' Roses to radio.999pts
3Money for NothingMark Knopfler's 1985 Dire Straits tone, half riff and half studio accident.742pts
4Purple HazeJimi Hendrix's 1967 opening, tritone and all, that reset what a guitar could sound like.742pts
5Iron ManTony Iommi's plodding 1970 Black Sabbath line, often called the birth cry of heavy metal.621pts
6Smells Like Teen SpiritKurt Cobain's four-chord 1991 figure that ended the hair-metal decade overnight.548pts
7Walk This WayJoe Perry's 1975 Aerosmith strut, later the bridge between rock and hip-hop.548pts
8Back in BlackAngus Young's 1980 AC/DC riff, written weeks after the band nearly ended.464pts
9Whole Lotta LoveJimmy Page's swaggering 1969 Led Zeppelin figure, built on a descending blues push.464pts
10Seven Nation ArmyJack White's 2003 bass-octave line, now sung by football crowds worldwide.464pts
11Enter SandmanMetallica's 1991 clean-to-heavy build, the riff that carried metal onto daytime radio.365pts
12Sunshine of Your LoveCream's 1967 riff, Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce trading a blues phrase in unison.249pts
13Master of PuppetsThe 1986 Metallica title track's down-picked E-string gallop, thrash at full speed.249pts
14Crazy TrainRandy Rhoads' 1980 riff on Ozzy Osbourne's solo debut, neoclassical metal in miniature.249pts
15LaylaThe 1970 Derek and the Dominos hook, Clapton and Duane Allman doubling the line.249pts
16(I Can't Get No) SatisfactionKeith Richards' fuzzbox hook from 1965, reportedly written half-asleep in a hotel.0pts
