Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitar Songs

[michelej1]

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/20947527/the_100_greatest_guitar_songs_of_all_time/print

This is what makes a great rock & roll guitar sound: an irresistible riff; a solo or jam that takes you higher every time you hear it; the final power chord that pins you to the wall and makes you hit "play" again and again. Every song here has those thrills. But these are rock's greatest guitar moments because of what's inside the notes: hunger, fury, despair and joy, often all at once. You hear the blues, gospel and rockabilly that came before, transormed by the need to say something new and loud, right away. Rock & roll has been the sound of independence for half a century. The guitar is still its essential, liberating voice. These are the 100 reasons why.


#39 "Black Magic Woman"
Santana (1970)

A Fleetwood Mac cover, believe it or not, this song became a hit when Carlos Santana rearranged it as Latin rock on Abraxas. Santana's bristling solos exemplify elegance and fluidity, and guitarists from David Gilmour to Prince have modeled their style and timbre after his.

[aleuzzi]

Why Green's "Oh Well"--or even Buckingham's "Go Your Own Way" aren't included here is a mystery beyond comprehension.

I'd think "Oh Well" is far more influential and iconic than any number of the songs on the list.

[michelej1]

You know how these lists are. I think they do them because of the uproar of what they leave off, rather than what they put on the list.

They didn't say anything about FM's version of BMW, except to mention that's where Santana derived his.

Someone already wrote in to Stereo Gum about Lindsey http://stereogum.com/archives/rolling-stones-100-greatest-guitar-songs-of-all-ti_010114.html:


Something with Lindsey Buckingham needs to be in there, whether it be solo or with Fleetwood Mac. He is an underappreciated guitar player.
So many other that deserve to be on this list
Posted by: Greg at May 30, 2008 3:44 PM | Reply



Michele

[michelej1]

100 Tool - "Vicarious"
99 My Morning Jacket - "Run Thru"
98 Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Under the Bridge"
97 Queens of the Stone Age - "No One Knows"
96 Hüsker Dü - "New Day Rising"
95 Moby Grape - "Omaha"
94 Dire Sraits - "Money for Nothing"
93 My Bloody Valentine - "Only Shallow"
92 Mick Jagger - "Memo from Turner"
91 The Mars Volta - "Drunkship of Lanterns"
90 The Smiths - "How Soon Is Now?"
89 Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - "I Love Rock N Roll"
88 Quicksilver Messenger Service - "Mona"
87 King Crimson - "Red"
86 Jeff Beck - "I Ain't Superstitious"
85 Phish - "You Enjoy Myself"
84 John Mayer - "Gravity"
83 Sublime - "What I Got"
82 The Ventures - "Walk -- Don't Run"
81 Michael Jackson - "Beat It"
80 Steely Dan - "Kid Charlemagne"
79 Sonic Youth - "Silver Rocket"
78 Buddy Guy - "Stone Crazy"
77 Pearl Jam - "Even Flow"
76 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "American Girl"
75 Frank Zappa - "Willie the Pimp"
74 ZZ Top - "La Grange"
73 Blue Cheer - "Summertime Blues"
72 Weezer - "Say It Ain't So"
71 The Strokes - "Take It Or Leave It"
70 Smashing Pumpkins - "Bullet With Butterfly Wings"
69 Pink Floyd - "Money"
68 B.B. King - "The Thrill is Gone"
67 Bruce Springsteen - "Adam Raised A Cain"
66 Stevie Ray Vaughan - "Texas Flood"
65 The Police - "Message in a Bottle"
64 Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Freebird"
63 Guns n' Roses - "Sweet Child O' Mine"
62 Albert King - "Born Under a Bad Sign"
61 Sam And Dave - "Soul Man"
60 Funkadelic - "Maggot Brain"
59 Jeff Beck - "Freeway Jam"
58 Link Wray - "Rumble"
57 Grateful Dead - "Dark Star"
56 The Byrds - "Eight Miles High"
55 Cream - "White Room"
54 Stevie Ray Vaughan - "Little Wing"
53 Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Born on the Bayou"
52 Radiohead - "My Iron Lung"
51 Ozzy Osbourne - "Crazy Train"
50 Pixies - "Debaser"
49 Jimi Hendrix - "Machine Gun"
48 The Clash - "London Calling"
47 Van Halen - "Panama"
46 Dick Dale and the Del-Tones - "Miserlou"
45 The Beatles - "I Saw Her Standing There"
44 Sleater-Kinney - "Dig Me Out"
43 The Sex Pistols - "Holidays in the Sun"
42 John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers - "Hideaway"
41 Television - "Marquee Moon"
40 The Who - "I Can See for Miles"
39 Santana - "Black Magic Woman"
38 The Faces - "Stay With Me"
37 Elvis Presley - "That's All Right"
36 Pink Floyd - "Interstellar Overdrive"
35 The Stooges - "1969"
34 Aerosmith - "Walk This Way"
33 Metallica - "Master of Puppets"
32 Dire Straits - "Sultans of Swing"
31 Queen - "Keep Yourself Alive"
30 Bill Haley and His Comets - "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock"
29 AC/DC - "Back in Black"
28 U2 - "Where the Streets Have No Name"
27 The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - "Look Over Yonders Wall"
26 B.B. King - "How Blue Can You Get"
25 The Rolling Stones - "Can't You Hear Me Knocking"
24 Rage Against the Machine- "Killing in the Name"
23 The Yardbirds - "Over Under Sideways Down"
22 The Beatles - "A Hard Day's Night"
21 The White Stripes - "Seven Nation Army"
20 The Impressions - "People Get Ready"
19 Prince and the Revolution - "Purple Rain"
18 Ramones - "Blitzkrieg Bop"
17 Black Sabbath - "Black Sabbath"
16 Neil Young with Crazy Horse - "Cowgirl in the Sand"
15 The Who - "My Generation"
14 Bruce Springsteen - "Born to Run"
13 Derek and the Dominos - "Layla"
12 The Jimi Hendrix Experience - "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"
11 Led Zeppelin - "Whole Lotta Love"
10 Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
09 The Allman Brothers Band - "Statesboro Blues"
08 Led Zeppelin - "Stairway to Heaven"
07 The Beatles - "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
06 Van Halen - "Eruption"
05 Rolling Stones - "Brown Sugar"
04 The Kinks - "You Really Got Me"
03 Cream - "Crossroads"
02 Jimi Hendrix - "Purple Haze"
01 Chuck Berry - "Johnny B. Goode

[aleuzzi]

You know how these lists are. I think they do them because of the uproar of what they leave off, rather than what they put on the list.



very good point

[totallycait]

You know how these lists are. I think they do them because of the uproar of what they leave off, rather than what they put on the list.

I think you're right. It also looks like they really tried to avoid having more than one song per artist on the list. There's a few exceptions (right away I see Eddie Van Halen three times) but that's a huge limitation.

[nicepace]

I really think either "Green Manalishi" or "Oh Well" belongs on this list.

But on the upside they have "You Really Got Me" by the Kinks at #4 which is not bad ... that song doesn't usually get the credit it deserves for creating a whole new guitar sound. The Kinks, if they are on these lists at all, usually come in around #80 or so, so I'm very pleased to see them (specifically guitarist Dave Davies) get some recognition.

[littlewolf]

Considering i have 74/100 of those songs
i find them to be a good selection of songs.
46/top 50,hardly any complaints from me.

Surprised to see Statesboro blues by Allman brothers band
since it's Whipping post that usually gets plaudits when it comes to them.
Great song though,propably my fave song off At Fillmore east.
Or In memory of Elizabeth Reed

[chiliD]

I think you're right. It also looks like they really tried to avoid having more than one song per artist on the list. There's a few exceptions (right away I see Eddie Van Halen three times) but that's a huge limitation.

Although never actually by his own name, Eric Clapton is represented 5 times.

Cream - "White Room" & "Crossroads"
John Mayall's Bluesbreakers - "Hideaway"
Derek & The Dominos - "Layla"
The Beatles - "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"

Jeff Beck three times:

"Freeway Jam"
"I Ain't Superstitious"
and with the Yardbirds on "Over Under Sideways Down"

Surprised to see Statesboro blues by Allman brothers band
since it's Whipping post that usually gets plaudits when it comes to them.
Great song though,propably my fave song off At Fillmore east.
Or In memory of Elizabeth Reed

My thoughts exactly...you can add "Jessica" & "Ramblin' Man" as well.

"Oh Well" not being on this list is a travesty.

And, why they chose SRV's version of "Little Wing" over Jimi's own and that there's not one of SRV's own tunes on the list is puzzling

[doodyhead]

All of these lists are slanted by who put them together and when

when playboy asked Richard Thompson to give a list for the 20 best songs of all time he knew they were just asking about rock and roll. They threw out his reply when he gave his answer back with the best songs since 1066

Is machine gun really the song you think of when you are thinking of a Hendrix riff?

doodyheads

respectfully

melandvinnie

PS what is the first song some young kid tries to play on a guitar?
"smoke on the water" or "sunshine of your love"
both missing from list

[Wouter Vuijk]

PS what is the first song some young kid tries to play on a guitar?
"smoke on the water" or "sunshine of your love"
both missing from list

Well, the first song I tried when I was a young kid: House of the Rising Sun by The Animals. Also not on the list.:mad::mad::mad::mad:

Furthermore, yesterday Bo Diddley passed away. His best known song "Mona" is on the list. However, not performed by the master himself, but a cover from Quicksilver Messenger Service (which was a good band, though).

[doodyhead]

spoonful
by cream


respectfully to Wiiie Dixon and Chester Burnett,


doodyhead

[chiliD]

Well, the first song I tried when I was a young kid: House of the Rising Sun by The Animals. Also not on the list.:mad::mad::mad::mad:

Furthermore, yesterday Bo Diddley passed away. His best known song "Mona" is on the list. However, not performed by the master himself, but a cover from Quicksilver Messenger Service (which was a good band, though).

I disagree that "Mona" is Bo's best known song...I would say that "Bo Diddley" (his self titled song) is his best known, with "I'm A Man" a close second and "Who Do You Love?" right close to that, too.

Is machine gun really the song you think of when you are thinking of a Hendrix riff?

Considering Band Of Gypsys was the first Hendrix album I ever owned, "Machine Gun" IS one of the first ones I do think of, actually. :nod:


PS what is the first song some young kid tries to play on a guitar?
"smoke on the water" or "sunshine of your love"
both missing from list

Well, for me, considering I'm older than dirt and from SoCal, it was "Walk Don't Run" & "Pipeline" (with "Mr. Moto" & "Miserlou" close behind)

Heck, you don't NEED a guitar to play "Smoke On The Water"...you can play it on a touch tone telephone. (2, 5, 8...2, 5, 0, 8...2, 5, 8...5, 2) :D

[doodyhead]

Considering Band Of Gypsys was the first Hendrix album I ever owned, "Machine Gun" IS one of the first ones I do think of, actually. :nod:
"
the one I think of is "message of love" or "who knows", buddymiles notwithstanding


Well, for me, considering I'm older than dirt and from SoCal, it was "Walk Don't Run" & "Pipeline" (with "Mr. Moto" & "Miserlou" close behind)

Heck, you don't NEED a guitar to play "Smoke On The Water"...you can play it on a touch tone telephone. (2, 5, 8...2, 5, 0, 8...2, 5, 8...5, 2) :D[/QUOTE]

this would qualify you for guitar hero

as far as Bo, I still like "Who do you love" the best.
this is why I hate lists but it is such fun to pick at em


doodyhead

[doodyhead]

I would include
Oh Well
The Green manalishi
Rolling Man
Albatross
Stop Messing round

plus Supernatural from the bluesbreakers

I dont think it is fair to include live cuts in the voting.

so I would remove songs like Crossroads

remember, these are just popularity contests and in most of these cases based on identifyable riffs which is not what PG was ever about

respectfully,

doodyhead

[michelej1]

Heck, you don't NEED a guitar to play "Smoke On The Water"...you can play it on a touch tone telephone. (2, 5, 8...2, 5, 0, 8...2, 5, 8...5, 2) :D

You totally made me go get my phone to try that out.

Another trick is that you can actually dial the phone without hitting the buttons. If you make the sound of musical notes with your voice, the phone will recognize them.

Michele

[Ms Moose]

All of these lists are slanted by who put them together

doodyheads

respectfully

melandvinnie

The english magazine Record Collector have made a similar list in their may and june issue this year: "The Twang's the Thang - 70 Years of Electric Guitar" the headline says, and the article continues: "...Guitarists take many forms: the tecnically brilliant virtuoso, the three cord garage thrasher; but they all trace their electric lineage back to 70 years ago this month, when the first piece of electric guitar music was recorded."(George Barnes and Big Bill Broonzy Sweetheart Land, Vocalion 1938). "We have attempted to trace a history of the electric guitar, choosing one recording for every year. We have chosen those who did something new, and inspired others to follow...."

In this two part article Eric Clapton with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers are headlining for the year 1966, but there is no mention of Peter Green (the Guitarists Guitarist) here or the following years - and he - like few others - "inspired others to follow"!

Arrrg-g

Ms Moose

[librax2]

You totally made me go get my phone to try that out.

Another trick is that you can actually dial the phone without hitting the buttons. If you make the sound of musical notes with your voice, the phone will recognize them.

Michele

OMG, when I was in college back the 60s, there was a blind guy who would whistle the tones into a phone and get the phone to dial any number you wanted. And this was before touch tone phones. Needless to say, he was very popular in our dorm until the phone company caught on to him.

[librax2]

I really think either "Green Manalishi" or "Oh Well" belongs on this list.

But on the upside they have "You Really Got Me" by the Kinks at #4 which is not bad ... that song doesn't usually get the credit it deserves for creating a whole new guitar sound. The Kinks, if they are on these lists at all, usually come in around #80 or so, so I'm very pleased to see them (specifically guitarist Dave Davies) get some recognition.

I completely agree with you about the Kinks. They rarely get credit for their work. I was in England when "You Really Got Me" came out and it really got me.

Oh Well certainly should be represented. Green Manalishi while an exceptional song is probably not a guitar influence. The song doesn't rest on it's guitar work. Every part drums, guitar bass and voice are integral to the song. You can't one part out and say that's the part that makes the song.