In Rolling Stone's June 12, 2008 issue they have an article titled "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time." I have a fondness for lists like this - here is a link to a post about Blender's top 100 indie rock albums and a link to a post about Blender's list of the top 500 songs in your lifetime.In any list like this, there is subjectivity. However, this Rolling Stone list is so full of ridiculous biases and blatant misses that I threw the magazine down in anger. For I am quite qualified to comment on this topic, basically having spent my entire life listening to and / or playing these types of guitar songs.
I will briefly digress on Rolling Stone's sins:
- pretending that random, 60's blues guitarists and obscure people like Paul Butterfield belong on the list
- selecting songs based mostly on politics... for example they take the Jimi Hendrix song "Machine Gun" (over "Crosstown Traffic") solely because Jimi referenced some anti-war protesters in his introduction
- picking useless Rolling Stones favorites like Bruce Springsteen and pretending that they should get here just because they are politically correct (these are guitar songs, remember)
- just missing out on trends that need to be hit hard... classic rock in the 70's, heavy metal in the 80's and grunge in the 90's. Sure there were a few hits, but way too many misses
Below is a list of all the Top 100 songs (per Rolling Stone) and my categorization of these rankings on a scale of 0-4 as follows:
| Score | Rank | Description |
| 0 | Way Off | Not even close |
| 1 | Close, No Cigar | No, but kind of close |
| 2 | Wrong Song | right artist, wrong song |
| 3 | Alright | We'll let it slide |
| 4 | Right On | Agree 100% |
My analysis is pretty straight-forward. If Rolling Stone put together the best list (in my opinion, but since it is our blog, my opinion is all that matters) then their score would be 4 (score) times 100 songs or 400. As it turns out, Rolling Stone batted very poorly... and less than an average of 2 (1.96 to be exact). Here is how it "broke down" (literally) - 27 right on, 15 that we'll let slide, 17 with the right artist, wrong song, 9 close, and 32 off by a MILE.
| Rank | Artist | Song | Score | Description |
| 1 | Chuck Berry | Johnny B Goode | 0 | Not even close |
| 2 | Jimi Hendrix | Purple Haze | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 3 | Cream | Crossroads | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 4 | Kinks | You Really Got Me | 3 | We'll let it slide |
| 5 | Rolling Stones | Brown Sugar | 1 | No, but kind of close |
| 6 | Van Halen | Eruption | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 7 | Beatles | While My Guitar Gently Weeps | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 8 | Led Zeppelin | Stairway to Heaven | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 9 | Allman Brothers | Statesboro Blues | 1 | No, but kind of close |
| 10 | Nirvana | Smells Like Teen Spirit | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 11 | Led Zeppelin | Whole Lotta' Love | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 12 | Jimi Hendrix | Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 13 | Derek & The Dominos | Layla | 3 | We'll let it slide |
| 14 | Bruce Springsteen | Born To Run | 0 | Not even close |
| 15 | The Who | My Generation | 0 | Not even close |
| 16 | Neil Young | Cowgirl In the Sand | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 17 | Black Sabbath | Black Sabbath | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 18 | Ramones | Blitzkrieg Bop | 3 | We'll let it slide |
| 19 | Prince | Purple Rain | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 20 | Impressions | People Get Ready | 0 | Not even close |
| 21 | White Stripes | Seven Nation Army | 3 | We'll let it slide |
| 22 | Beatles | Hard Days Night | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 23 | Yardbirds | Over Under Sideways Down | 0 | Not even close |
| 24 | Rage Against The Machine | Killing In the Name | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 25 | Rolling Stones | Can't You Hear Me Knockin' | 3 | We'll let it slide |
| 26 | B B King | How Blue Can You Get | 0 | Not even close |
| 27 | Paul Butterfield | Look Over Yonders Wall | 0 | Not even close |
| 28 | U2 | Where The Streets Have No Name | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 29 | AC DC | Back In Black | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 30 | Bill Haley | Rock Around The Clock | 0 | Not even close |
| 31 | Queen | Keep Yourself Alive | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 32 | Dire Straits | Sultan Of Swing | 3 | We'll let it slide |
| 33 | Metallica | Master Of Puppets | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 34 | Aerosmith | Walk This Way | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 35 | Stooges | 1969 | 0 | Not even close |
| 36 | Pink Floyd | Interstellar Overdrive | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 37 | Elvis Presley | That's All Right | 0 | Not even close |
| 38 | The Faces | Stay With Me | 0 | Not even close |
| 39 | Santana | Black Magic Woman | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 40 | The Who | I Can See For Miles | 0 | Not even close |
| 41 | Television | Marquee Moon | 0 | Not even close |
| 42 | John Mayall | Hideaway | 0 | Not even close |
| 43 | Sex Pistols | Holiday In The Sun | 3 | We'll let it slide |
| 44 | Sleater Kinney | Dig Me Out | 0 | Not even close |
| 45 | Beatles | I Saw Her Standing There | 0 | Not even close |
| 46 | Dick Dale | Miserlou | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 47 | Van Halen | Panama | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 48 | Clash | London Calling | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 49 | Jimi Hendrix | Machine Gun | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 50 | Pixies | Debaser | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 51 | Ozzy Osbourne | Crazy Train | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 52 | Radiohead | My Iron Lung | 3 | We'll let it slide |
| 53 | Creedence | Born On The Bayou | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 54 | Stevie Ray Vaughan | Little Wing | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 55 | Cream | White Room | 1 | No, but kind of close |
| 56 | Byrds | Eight Miles High | 0 | Not even close |
| 57 | Grateful Dead | Dark Star | 0 | Not even close |
| 58 | Link Wray | Rumble | 0 | Not even close |
| 59 | Jeff Beck | Freeway Jam | 0 | Not even close |
| 60 | Funkadelic | Maggot Brain | 0 | Not even close |
| 61 | Sam And Dave | Soul Man | 0 | Not even close |
| 62 | Albert King | Born Under A Bad Sign | 0 | Not even close |
| 63 | Guns N' Roses | Sweet Child O' Mine | 3 | We'll let it slide |
| 64 | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Freebird | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 65 | Police | Message In A Bottle | 3 | We'll let it slide |
| 66 | Stevie Ray Vaughan | Texas Flood | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 67 | Bruce Springsteen | Adam Raises A Cain | 0 | Not even close |
| 68 | B B King | The Thrill Is Gone | 0 | Not even close |
| 69 | Pink Floyd | Money | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 70 | Smashing Pumpkins | Bullet With Butterfly Wings | 3 | We'll let it slide |
| 71 | The Strokes | Take It Or Leave It | 1 | No, but kind of close |
| 72 | Weezer | Say It Ain't So | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 73 | Blue Cheer | Summertime Blues | 1 | No, but kind of close |
| 74 | Z Z Top | La Grange | 3 | We'll let it slide |
| 75 | Frank Zappa | Willie The Pimp | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 76 | Tom Petty | American Girl | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 77 | Pearl Jam | Even Flow | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 78 | Buddy Guy | Stone Crazy | 0 | Not even close |
| 79 | Sonic Youth | Silver Rocket | 0 | Not even close |
| 80 | Steely Dan | Kid Charlemagne | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 81 | Michael Jackson | Beat It | 1 | No, but kind of close |
| 82 | Ventures | Walk, Don't Run | 3 | We'll let it slide |
| 83 | Sublime | What I Got | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 84 | John Mayer | Gravity | 0 | Not even close |
| 85 | Phish | You Enjoy Myself | 1 | No, but kind of close |
| 86 | Jeff Beck | I Ain't Superstitious | 1 | No, but kind of close |
| 87 | King Crimson | Red | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 88 | Quicksilver Messenger Service | Mona | 0 | Not even close |
| 89 | Joan Jett | I Love Rock N' Roll | 3 | We'll let it slide |
| 90 | Smiths | How Soon Is Now | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 91 | Mars Volta | Drunkship Of Lanterns | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 92 | Mick Jagger | Memo from Turner | 0 | Not even close |
| 93 | My Bloody Valentine | Only Shallow | 0 | Not even close |
| 94 | Dire Straits | Money For Nothing | 1 | No, but kind of close |
| 95 | Moby Grape | Omaha | 0 | Not even close |
| 96 | Husker Du | New Day Rising | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 97 | Queens of the Stone Age | No One Knows | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 98 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Under The Bridge | 4 | Agree 100% |
| 99 | My Morning Jacket | Run Thru | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| 100 | Tool | Vicarious | 2 | right artist, wrong song |
| RS Rank | Artist | Song | Update |
| 7 | Beatles | While My Guitar Gently Weeps | Replace with Revolution… basically popularized fuzz |
| 16 | Neil Young | Cowgirl In the Sand | Ever Hear of "Hey Hey My My" (in Cobain's suicide note, no less) |
| 17 | Black Sabbath | Black Sabbath | Replace with Paranoid (invented the faster heavy metal riff) |
| 19 | Prince | Purple Rain | How about "Let's Go Crazy" with its riff and solo? |
| 22 | Beatles | Hard Days Night | Replace with Helter Skelter… Manson killed for it |
| 31 | Queen | Keep Yourself Alive | Killer Queen… but close |
| 33 | Metallica | Master Of Puppets | If you have room for one Metallica song it has to be "Whiplash" |
| 36 | Pink Floyd | Interstellar Overdrive | "Run Like Hell" - how can you not take it for that opening riff, alone |
| 49 | Jimi Hendrix | Machine Gun | "Crosstown Traffic" blows your speakers out |
| 53 | Creedence | Born On The Bayou | "Heard It Thru The Grapevine"… for the long stoner jam |
| 66 | Stevie Ray Vaughan | Texas Flood | "Love Struck Baby" basically put Stevie on the map |
| 72 | Weezer | Say It Ain't So | Good song.. But better is "Hash Pipe" |
| 75 | Frank Zappa | Willie The Pimp | I'll leave this for blog-mate Dan the Zappa fan |
| 77 | Pearl Jam | Even Flow | "Jeremy" basically defined the genre with the harmonics intro |
| 87 | King Crimson | Red | Need more whammy bar from Adrian Belew… how about "Thela Hun Gingeet" |
| 91 | Mars Volta | Drunkship Of Lanterns | Very close… but "Cicatriz esp" is even better |
| 99 | My Morning Jacket | Run Thru | Try "It Beats For U" even with its Prince-like spelling |
| 100 | Tool | Vicarious | Change to Parabola |
These fixes make a big improvement on the list... but what about the rest of them? Here are 41 songs to replace the crappy ones I noted up above.
| Artist | Song | Notes |
| Deep Purple | Smoke On The Water | This is hands down #1 |
| Heart | Barracuda | Riff is immense |
| Days of the New | Downtown | Power acoustic |
| Motorhead | Ace of Spades | Can't beat it |
| Ted Nugent | Cat Scratch Fever | For Sure Top #10 |
| Alice In Chains | Man In the Box | Helped invent grunge |
| Soundgarden | Black Hole Sun | Grunge classic |
| Helmet | Unsung | Power riff to end power riffs |
| Jay Z | 99 Problems | Power Rubin rap riff |
| Def Leppard | Photograph | Remember the 80's? |
| AC DC | Whole Lotta Rosie | Simple riff, power |
| Ten Years After | I'd Love To Change the World | An absolutely iconic riff |
| Motley Crue | Kick Start My Heart | That riff will wake you up |
| Thin Lizzy | Boys Are Back in Town | You can hear the dual guitar solo in your head |
| Rush | 2112 | Did they miss the 70's? Probably didn't like Peart's lyrics |
| Joe Satriani | Surfing with the Alien | All the "Satch" you need |
| Alice In Chains | Dem' Bones | Perfect quick power song |
| Scorpions | The Zoo | T.I. would be no where without this |
| B-52's | Rock Lobster | Now that's a funky riff |
| Violent Femmes | Blister In the Sun | Just think of that jangly open riff in your head |
| Bon Jovi | Wanted Dead or Alive | Remember the 80's? |
| Ratt | Round and Round | An iconic riff |
| Ozzy Osbourne | Over the Mountain | the Randy Rhodes solo is perfect |
| Foghat | I Just Wanna Make Love To You | blazing solo |
| Steppenwolf | Magic Carpet Ride | Invented "Heavy Metal Thunder" |
| Blue Oyster Cult | Don't Fear the Reaper | The first song you learn on guitar |
| Buckcherry | Lit Up | Can't believe that singer's alive |
| Elastica | Connection | One hit wonder but power riff |
| Blur | Song 2 | Right between the eyes |
| Judas Priest | Breaking the Law | One for Beavis and Butthead |
| Megadeth | Peace Sells | Top 10 riff |
| Muse | Hysteria | My life, my favorite riff |
| Outlaws | Green Grass and High Tides | Did you forget those solos? |
| Pat Travers | Snortin' Whiskey Drinking Cocaine | Insane riff, early Buckcherry 'tude |
| Silversun Pickups | Well Thought Out Twinkies | Reason this song dominated the video list |
| Stone Temple Pilots | Sex Type Thing | Put STP on the map |
| Tool | Aenemia | Crazy power riff |
| Van Halen | Ain't Talkin' Bout Love | Put VH on the map like Eruption |
| Yes | Starship Trooper | Crazy little jig fill… to boot |
| Emerson Lake & Palmer | From the Beginning | Admit it… sounds good |
| Boston | More Than A Feeling | Cobain "borrowed" this riff |
Even I don't have enough energy and time on my hands to come up with this list ranked 1-100. However, here is my take on the top 10, in no particular order:
- Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze (like a broken watch, even RS is right a couple times / day)
- Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water (CAN'T BELIEVE THAT RS MISSED THIS ONE... didn't they ever pick up a guitar?)
- Ted Nugent - Cat Scratch Fever (Also missed, even the Pantera cover version beats 1/2 their picks)
- Helmet - Unsung (a monster song, also missed)
- Ozzy Osbourne - Over the Mountain (also missed completely, that solo is mesmerizing)
- Heart - Barracuda (also missed, can't you hear that chunky riff in your head?)
- Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear the Reaper (I don't know what to say... absolutely iconic even with the cowbell)
- Van Halen - Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love (the hit that put them on the map with the guitar sound that revolutionized everything)
- Prince - Let's Go Crazy (for a pop artist he plays a hell of a guitar, and that middle solo is great, also missed completely)
- Alice In Chains - Man in the Box (that sound is as responsible for grunge as Kurt)
So... out of my top 10 (which I really don't think are that controversial, for the most part) - only 1 was also picked by RS.
All in all Blender is much better and takes more chances than RS... even when I disagree with Blender, I generally respect their choices.
Cross Posted at Chicago Boyz
11 comments:
Great post! I can't really put a Zappa song in there though, essentially the entire "Guitar" collection would be my first choice if I had to pick one. Funny you mentioned the Zap, I was just listening to Guitar a week ago.
Great post! Much effort put in I know. How about Alive from Pearl Jam, some great duel guitar solos, especially in the live (highly played) version. Probably their best song. Glad you added you picks, including Rush, Soundgarden and the like.
Carl, your fingertips should be blistered from typing this one. Very well done.
There are way too many great tunes left off this list. RSM has it's head up it's ass as usual. But hey, Jann Wenner? Who knew?
Nothing from the Country & Western side or even Country Rock? Maybe I am still too bitter out here in my small town.
Conspicuously absent, anything from:
The Allman Brothers (Duane Allman or Dickie Betts)
Ten Years After (Alvin Lee)
Mountain (Leslie West)
Marshall Tucker band (Toy Caldwell)
Robin Trower (himself)
Just a few great guitar bands not included IMHO.
WAIT! What? No Skynyrd either?
You know... I had ten years after on there right until the end. I took off the allman brothers out of spite to RS. They DID have Skynyrd on there with freebird.
I didn't have MTB but I did have the outlaws.
Am a big Robin Trower fan... did you know that their most popular singer died? The guy that sang on bridge of signs?
I am shocked that there isn't a Pavement song on this list.
-Just kidding...Great post, Carl. That's an impressive knowledge of music on your behalf!
...I like your top-10 WAAAAY better..
Sorry, but I disagree, Johnny B. Goode invented the rock and roll guitar hero...
and it blended Elmore James, T-Bone Walker and the swing horn sections all together. It was a great step to go toward the future.
To put it simply , if nobody ever had invented the automobile we would have no Ferrari.
If Rock music began in the early Fifties Chuck Berry pretty much invented rock and roll guitar (with less important help from, among others, Bo Diddley, Scotty Moore, Cliff Gallup, Link Wray and Eddie Cochran ) so why not acknowledge him with that?
Sorry for my english but I'm not mothertongue....
Johnny Bye Bye
This could probably go on forever. How could this whole thing even be valid when Aqualung by Jethro Tull and Journey to the Center of the Mind by the Amboy Dukes are left off by RS and Chicago Boyz. Nothing by Jefferson Airplane? Has Les Dudek's City Magic become totally forgotten? I'm just getting started.
This whole thing makes me so angry that I just threw down my keyboard in anger (had to type the last sentence with my replacement keyboard).
... and I just noticed that no one thinks Sunshine of Your Love by Cream isn't a GREAT guitar song? Gotta be top 10. Great googly moogly! Wake up and smell the Fuzz Tone and Wah Wah, you dead beats!
I better calm down, I already ruined one keyboard.
One of my all-time favorite guitar songs is Sausalito Summer Nights, which got to 68 on the Billboard charts, by Diesel, a 70's band from Holland. Killer. Give it a listen. Definately on my top 100.
Gotta really agree with Gerry, not having an Alvin Lee, Leslie West or Robin Trower song is insulting the guitar gods.
Good choices there. I would add "Do You Feel Like We Do" from Frampton Comes Alive, since it was groundbreaking. And you could just about do a random pick from any of Robin Trower's first four albums and kill about half the list. A song from a Mick Jagger solo album? They have to be kidding.
i was actually looking for lenny kravitz's "are you gonna go my way?".. oh well, it has a great riff but kinda sucks in its own way..
Ohhh so you say that Chuck Berry and BB King's songs are not even close to being great guitar tracks? You make me laugh
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