Vinyl Nostalgia 
Creating a list of the „best” songs or musical artists, and even more so giving it the all-time best rank, is a purely subjective matter. The same applies to the ranking of the best guitar, drum or bass solos. Therefore, this list should be treated solely as a representation of the author’s preferences and views and nothing more.
I chose 10 themes, or guitar melodies (often repeated musical phrases in songs), which, in my opinion, firstly had a great influence on the music of their era, and secondly, became a kind of canon based on which generations of guitarists hone their skills.
10. Layla – Derek & the Dominos
In 2004, „Layla” was placed 27th on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time and is widely considered one of the best rock love ballads. It was released in 1970 and is still played by radio stations around the world.
9. Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
„Sweet Home Alabama” comes from the 1974 album Second Helping. It has become a kind of anthem of the southern US music scene, and at the same time a showcase of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd. The riff was used by Metallica in one of their later songs („The Four Horsemen”).
8. Paranoid – Black Sabbath
„Paranoid” is to Black Sabbath what „Whole Lotta Love” is to Led Zeppelin: a melodically simple song whose riff is catchy and stays with the listener for decades. The song was released in 1970 on the group’s second album (of the same title).
7. Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
Released on the second album Nevermind (1991), this song over time (mainly thanks to frequent broadcasts on MTV) became a big hit and is still Nirvana’s showcase. In 2021, Rolling Stone magazine ranked „Smells Like Teen Spirit” number five on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
6. Money for Nothing – Dire Straits
Apparently, Mark Knopfler tried to recreate the sound of ZZ Top leader Billy Gibbons’ guitar in „Money For Nothing”, and the listener has to wait over a minute and a half for the riff itself (in the album version, Sting sings in the intro). Either way, this song became one of the biggest hits of the 90s (it was released on the album Brothers in Arms in 1985).
5. I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction) – The Rolling Stones
The song was first released as a single in the United States in June 1965, and was also included on the American version of the Rolling Stones’ fourth studio album, Out of Our Heads. Keith Richards’ phenomenal riff and Mick Jagger’s powerful vocals made it number 2 on Rolling Stone’s 2004 list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. In the new version of the ranking from 2021, it dropped to 31st place.
4. Sunshine of Your Love – Cream
„Sunshine of Your Love” is the biggest hit of the British super group Cream. Recorded in 1967, it was based on a distinctive bass riff by Jack Bruce, to which Eric Clapton played a brilliant guitar. The song has been covered by countless artists and without hesitation it deserves a strong, high position on this list.
3. Iron Man – Black Sabbath
The second song on this list from the album Paranoid by Black Sabbath, based on one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in the history of rock: simple, sultry and very metal.
2. Smoke on the water – Deep Purple
Hardly any piece of music can boast its own bas-relief with the musical notation of a guitar riff. The famous song by Deep Purple has one in the town of Montreux in Switzerland, where it was composed.
1. Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin’s first real hit (from 1969), although radio stations did not want to play its full version, and after a dozen or so years the text was found to be plagiarism by a court. Even apart from the psychedelic substance itself, instrumentally „Whole Lotta Love” is a real masterpiece demonstrating the class and excellent skill of the musicians.
If I wanted to make a longer list, the next places would certainly include: „My Sharona” by The Knack, the underrated but powerful „Hey Bulldog” – The Beatles, „La Grange” by ZZ Top, „Highway To Hell” or „Back To Black” from the repertoire of AC/DC, „Master of Puppets” by Metallica (the finale of season 4 of the TV series Stranger Thing!) or even one of the songs from the first album Budgie.
You can argue for hours whether „Smoke On The Water” should not be at the top of this list because it is indeed probably the most recognizable phrase in the history of world rock, but for me both „Whole Lotta Love” and „Iron Man” could easily be on the first place of the podium. These three are unrivaled and every boy, picking up the guitar before trying to tackle the solos from „0Wish You Were Here” or „Stairway To Heaven”, tries to play one of these three riffs. For me, Jimmy Page’s subjectively distorted guitar is most strongly associated with the time when the greatest rock standards were created, thanks to which I wanted to start a rock band.
