12 Best Ever Hard Rock Riffs

Aerosmith had hit upon their real sound once they released Toys in the Attic, whose hits like "Walk This Way" made them one of the biggest names in hard rock. While many tracks from that album could have made this list, "Back in the Saddle" was the sound of a band that knows they found their groove and were going to take it to the ends of the Earth.

The song opens up the band's album Rocks with a slow build, as the drums get you prepared for something massive about to hit you. Once the groove drops, the riff definitely lives up to its intro, as it slithers across your eardrums as Steven Tyler's wail warps your brain. The inherent heaviness of the riff comes from the fact that it isn't even a guitar. While Joe Perry does play the riff, the sound is coming not from his typical Les Paul, but instead off of a six-string bass, which gives the tune its fat sound.

The steel-toed swagger that comes off this riff set a new standard for rock guitarists, with everyone from Kurt Cobain to James Hetfield to Slash ranking it among the reasons they play guitar. In just one song, Aerosmith took their blues rock foundation and turned it into some of the heaviest grooves known to man.