5 of the Best Guitar Riffs From the 1990s You’ll Still Recognize Today

Some guitar riffs are so legendary and so iconic that even the mildest fans will recognize them from a distance. These guitar riffs from the 1990s are some of the very best to come out of that decade, and we think they’re worth revisiting again and again. And maybe a few more times after that.

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1. “Enter Sandman” by Metallica

Few guitar riffs are as closely associated with Metallica as Kirk Hammett’s pummeling riff from “Enter Sandman”. Where other bands could have slipped into obscurity several albums into their career, Metallica got a new lease on life (and a new wave of fans) with this killer 1991 track.

2. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana

One of the best guitar riffs to come out of the 1990s has to be Kurt Cobain’s immediately recognizable melodic riff for “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. Honestly, we’d say that this particular guitar riff is the quintessential 90s riff; though we understand non-fans of grunge would likely disagree.

Still, this catchy riff is still so addicting to listen to today. And many young guitarists who came up in the 90s likely learned that little intro before they even learned chords.

3. “Today” by Smashing Pumpkins

This Siamese Dream riff from James Iha is just one part of a greater whole. The guitar riff, the melody, the vocals, and even the drums on “Today” make it an absolute bop. But we admit that it wouldn’t be nearly as iconic of a song without Iha’s killer guitar riff. 

Fun fact: This riff was originally not part of “Today” and was added later on in the song’s production.

4. “American Jesus” by Bad Religion

The guitar riff in “American Jesus” by Bad Religion is one of the best guitar riffs of the 1990s, if not the best riff to come out of 1993. This Recipe For Hate hit was unsurprising, considering how well the band had maintained their punk rock power from the 1980s to the 1990s. Brett Gurewitz is on another level in this song.

5. “Alive” by Pearl Jam

This wouldn’t be a decent list of the best guitar riffs from the 1990s without mentioning at least one Pearl Jam track. We decided to go with “Alive” from the band’s powerhouse debut Ten. “Alive” was the band’s very first single as well, and it was a great song to start a decades-long career with. Surprisingly enough, this song was originally just a little demo before it got a proper release on Ten. 

Stone Gossard’s riff is unapologetically grunge, but not anything like the cookie-cutter fuzz fodder you’d hear from many other bands at the time.

Photo via Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” Music Video

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