20 Best Classic Rock Guitar Riffs Of All Time

"Sweet Home Alabama" has pretty much become the unofficial anthem for the entire Southern rock genre. In just a few minutes of music, Lynyrd Skynyrd can take someone from the Swiss Alps and make them feel like they're on the back porch in the middle of the American heartland.

Though much of the Southern value of the song comes from Ronnie Van Zant's impenetrable vocal delivery, the riff is what gives the song its laid back feel. This is a riff that's not looking to impress anybody, but rather to just set up a groove that gets people moving.

The riff is incredibly syncopated, with the guitar acting like the engine in the Skynyrd locomotive. The fact that this band also had three different guitarists at one point made for shows with an immaculate six-string symphony whenever they took the stage.

Even though the opportunities were there for great improvisation, Van Zant insisted that the songs be composed so the audience would latch on to the melodic structure of every song. Instead of just playing a mindless solo, even the lead breaks of this tune became legendary in their own right. In just three chords, Lynyrd Skynyrd managed to create a riff that actually sounded like the guitar had a Southern drawl.