12 Best Ever Hard Rock Riffs

When bringing up examples of the greatest guitar player of all time, Eddie Van Halen tends to hold a special in the hearts of rock fans. The man is an absolute phenomenon in the music world who innovated the instrument in ways that no one had even thought were possible. Even when writing some of his namesake band's biggest hits, Eddie never shied away from letting his unique talent take center stage.

Coming off the band's landmark 80's album 1984, "Hot For Teacher" starts off with Alex Van Halen's drums before Eddie dives head first into one of his impressive tapping runs, which left any teenage kid with their mouth on the floor. Just when your musical brain couldn't fathom anymore, the riff strikes very quietly while we hear David Lee Roth prepare for us for the coming madness. Once the drums break, the riff explodes, which both shows Eddie's chops as a guitarist while still being held down by one of the best grooves of the group's career.

There may have been a thousand distinct guitar heroes popping up left and right in the 80's, but songs like "Hot For Teacher" show that you weren't going to mistake Van Halen for anybody else.