Recently, the editors at Rolling Stone picked Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode as the greatest guitar song of all time - or at least until they do another such list. And that magazine's readers have now voiced their opinion and named Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit as the coolest guitar anthem ever.
Radiohead's Paranoid Android came in at number two, but classic rockers such as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and The Rolling Stones made their mighty presence felt. Here's the full list:
1. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
2. Radiohead - Paranoid Android
3. Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven
4. Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child Of Mine
5. Deep Purple - Smoke On The Water
6. Chuck Berry - Johnny B Goode
7. Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)
8. Metallica - One
9. The Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps
10. Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze
11. Rolling Stones - Satisfaction
12. The Beatles - Helter Skelter
13. White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
14. Van Halen - Eruption
15. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird
16. White Stripes - Ball And A Biscuit
17. Guns N' Roses - November Rain
18. Pink Floyd - Money
19. Queens Of The Stone Age - No One Knows
20. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge
21. Pearl Jam - Even Flow
22. Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way
23. Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name
24. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
25. Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock
Feel like breaking a guitar? Tell us how you feel - hey, we love making our own lists.
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Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar World, Guitar Player, MusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.
“I have this heart-first attachment to it”: Miley Cyrus on the Pink Floyd classic that served as the unlikely inspiration for her “hypnotising and glamorous” new album
“One of the most important guitars in rock and roll history and formative to The Beatles’ sound, has made history”: George Harrison’s Futurama electric sells for a record $1.27 million at auction