20 Best Classic Rock Guitar Riffs Of All Time

The 60's were certainly not lacking in great riffs, but the feverish pace with which Jimmy Page would compose riffs put most other guitar players to shame. As mentioned in the beginning, any number of entries on this list could have been filled by Led Zeppelin cuts. Ever since the band's inception, Jimmy Page's knack for writing incredible guitar phrases was something that no one else had ever heard before.

There may be more celebrated rock guitar riffs like "Whole Lotta Love" or "Kashmir," but "Heartbreaker" is a song that has a completely different identity. The whole track has a bluesy format to its construction, but the end result sounds like the furthest thing from the blues. The slinky nature of the riff seems to tap into a more primal urge than anything else that Zeppelin had ever put out. The track also culminates in a Jimmy Page guitar solo that is full of some of the best licks he has ever laid down.

Zeppelin were already known as some of the most seasoned musicians in England at the time, but "Heartbreaker" was the moment where blues rock started to morph into the a harder entity. It's still blues, but just with a bit more strut in its step.