The opening guitar riff to Muse‘s “Plug In Baby” has been voted the best guitar riff of the 21st century. But relax — nobody’s forgotten that a century consists of 100 years or anything.
The U.K.’s Total Guitar magazine conducted a poll, asking its readers to nominate their favourite riff of the past 10 years. “Plug In Baby” topped the poll, and Muse actually appeared twice in the top 10. The riff from “Knights Of Cydonia” was ranked fifth.
“I think Muse won because [singer/guitarist] Matt Bellamy is a guitar hero for the 21st century,” Total Guitar editor Stephen Lawson said. “He’s genuinely innovative, a real creative type who comes up with unique guitar parts.
“I’m sure it helps that his riffs are catchy, too.”
Muse weren’t the only band to have two entries in the top 10, though. Avenged Sevenfold’s “Afterlife” and “Beast And The Harlot” came in at #3 and #10, respectively.
Here’s Total Guitar‘s list of the top 10 riffs of the 21st century:
1. Muse — “Plug In Baby”
2. Velvet Revolver — “Slither”
3. Avenged Sevenfold — “Afterlife”
4. Dream Theater — “The Dark Eternal Night”
5. Muse — “Knights Of Cydonia”
6. Queens Of The Stone Age — “No One Knows”
7. The White Stripes — “Seven Nation Army”
8. Machine Head — “Halo”
9. The Killers — “Mr. Brightside”
10. Avenged Sevenfold — “Beast And The Harlot”
Muse are touring in support of last year’s The Resistance, and you can see them here:
Oct. 5 Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
Oct. 6 Milwaukee, WI @ Bradley Center
Oct. 8 Oklahoma City, OK @ Ford Center
Oct. 11 Cincinnati, OH @ US Bank Center
Oct. 12 Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
Oct. 21 Quebec City, QC @ Pepsi Coliseum
Oct. 23 Long Island, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
Oct. 24 Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
Oct. 26 Raleigh, NC @ RBC Center
Oct. 27 Charlottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Center
Dec. 5-6 Brisbane, Australia @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Dec. 9-10 Sydney, Australia @ ACER Arena
Dec. 14-15 Melbourne, Australia @ Rod Laver Arena
Dec. 19 Perth, Australia @ Bassendean Oval
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