The Greatest Riffs of the 21st Century (So Far)

illustration by Harry Campbell

A great rock riff does more than rattle your spine—it creeps deep into your head. To make its way into the canon of great riffs alongside, say, “Purple Haze” or “Smoke on the Water,” a riff has to be more than just acrobatic, fierce or played at high volume. It has to become ubiquitous, a touchstone, a shared reference point for guitar freaks and casual fans alike. So below are 10 riffs that, in this young century, have been benchmarks in utter rockness and have corkscrewed their way into the collective consciousness with a persistent thud, crunch or squeal.

1. “Seven Nation Army” - The White Stripes First amongst equals in an oeuvre that includes stompers like “The Hardest Button To Button,” “Blue Orchid,” and “Icky Thump,” this is the flagship riff in Jack White’s fleet of sonic destroyers.

2. “Take Me Out" - Franz Ferdinand Perhaps the standout riff in the post-post-punk genre.

3. “No One Knows" - Queens of the Stone Age Like Jack White, Josh Homme has a nearly bottomless bag of riffs, but this is the one that has reached the greatest level of saturation.

4. “Are You Gonna Be My Girl" - Jet Largely disposable band; utterly unforgettable riff.

5. “Float On" - Modest Mouse A feel-good riff for the ages.

6. “American Idiot" - Green Day With what sounds like a lost Sex Pistols riff, Green Day kicks off its greatest album with its greatest fretboard statement.

7. “Talk" - Coldplay The best U2 riff of the 21st century (on par with “I Will Follow” and “Gloria”), strangely, was not written by U2. Actually, it wasn’t written by Coldplay either! They borrowed it from Kraftwerk’s “Computer Love.”

8. “Last Resort" - Papa Roach From the maligned depths of nü-metal comes a fugue-like riff that can’t be ignored.

9. “Hate to Say I Told You So" - the Hives The early garage-rock boom of the first part of the decade witnessed a renewed interest in riff-oriented songs. This trademark Hives track led the charge.

10. "Circle of Cysquatch" - Mastodon OK, maybe not ubiquitous, but damn.

To read Riffs Under Radar, Jeff Leven's special, web-exclusive supplement to this story, click here.