1 Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

2 Guns n'Roses: Sweet Child O'Mine
"It started out as a prank in rehearsal and it's not even Slash's favourite GnR riff. One of the riffs you're most likely to hear played wrong in guitar shops the world over."

3 Led Zeppelin: Whole Lotta Love
"Five Led Zep riffs get your votes."

4 Deep Purple: Smoke on the Water
"There are guitar riffs and there are institutions."

5 Derek and the Dominos: Layla
"Actually penned by Duane Allman but performed by Clapton."

6 AC/DC: Back in Black
"People who don't own a single AC/DC album are most likely to play air guitar to this."

7 Metallica: Enter Sandman
"Somehow we're still not sick of it - and neither are you."

8 Beatles: Day Tripper
"Guitar hooks don't come much catchier."

9 Nivana: Smells Like Teen Spirit
"Nothing ignites a moshpit in a rock club quite like the catchy, visceral opening riff and the avalanche of distortion and pounding drums that follows."

10 Rolling Stones: (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
"Keith Richards insists the riff came to him in his sleep: 'It was just a little sketch because the fuzz tone was there to denote what the horns would be doing.'"

11 Black Sabbath: Paranoid
12 Muse: Plug In Baby
13 Van Halen: Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
14 Kinks: You Really Got Me
15 White Stripes: Seven Nation Army
16 AC/DC: Highway to Hell
17 Led Zeppelin: Heartbreaker
18 Black Sabbath: Iron Man
19 Led Zeppelin: Black Dog
20 Michael Jackson: Beat It (Slash)
21 Beatles: Paperback Writer
22 Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze
23 AC/DC: Whole Lotta Rosie
24 Chuck Berry: Johnny B Goode
25 Metallica: Sad But True
26: Led Zeppelin: Rock and Roll
27: Guns n'Roses: Welcome to the Jungle
28: Rage Against the Machine: Killing in the Name
29: Ozzy Osbourne: Crazy Train (Randy Rhoads)
30: Pantera: Walk
31: Cream: Sunshine of you Love
32: Beatles: I Feel Fine
33: Led Zeppelin: The Ocean
34: Radiohead: Airbag
35: Neil Young: Hey Hey My My
36: Pink Floyd: Money
37: Rolling Stones: Start Me Up
38: Megadeth: Symphony of Destruction
39: Stooges: I Wanna Be Your Dog
40: Sonics: Have Love Will Travel
41 Muse: New Born
42 Motley Crue: Dr Feelgood
43 Living Colour: Cult of Personality
44 Clutch: Profits of Doom
45 Queen: Tie Your Mother Down
46 Red Hot Chili Peppers: Under the Bridge
47 Jimi Hendrix: Foxy Lady
48 Iron Maiden: The Trooper
49 Manic Street Preachers: Motorcycle Emptiness
50 Beatles: Ticket to Ride

Slash picks best riffs:

"A killer riff... something that's memorable, something that digs in, something that obviously has the right note selection to make something just sound f***ing attractive, I guess. It's got to have a great sound and it's got to have a great attack. There's a lot of different elements but I think the most important thing is something that's really catchy and something that sticks with you."

Slash's favourites?

"LED ZEPPELIN had probably the biggest cache of killer riffs, more than any other band. I was thinking 'Whole Lotta Love'. I remember when that record came out -- f**k, I was a little kid. But you know, 'Black Dog' is another one. ZEPPELIN had probably the biggest cache of killer riffs, more than any other band, y' know. I could go on... there's so many great riffs it's hard to go, this is the one."

Which Slash riffs is he most proud of?

"I've always dug 'Paradise City', I always thought it was great. 'Rocket Queen' was something that I was pretty fond of. And 'Jungle''s great. Everybody seems to like 'Sweet Child O' Mine' and that's a pretty cool riff, but I'd probably opt for 'Welcome To The Jungle' over 'Sweet Child O' Mine'."

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