1.Screwdriver

2.Guitar

3. Lets go Crazy

4.Billy

5.Poor Goo

these are the best ones ive heard? any more?

1. Never Take The Place Of Your Man

2. Bambi

3. Electric Chair

4. Im Yours

5. Plectrum Electrum

Can it be a cover? If so his cover of creep is AMAZING!

[Edited 6/28/16 14:55pm]

I know we have all heard it a million times but I still love the riff in Joy in Repetition Live

Oh so many!

Does the single introductory guitar note on "Erotic City" count?

R.A.V.E.

Colonized Mind Live is another favorite.

Connected said:

Oh so many!

Does the single introductory guitar note on "Erotic City" count?

Yes. Yes it most certainly does.

Peach

Endorphinmahine

Chaos & Disorder

Let's Go Crazy

Bambi

Honorable Mention:

Poor Goo

Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad

Computer Blue...I'm Yours....Zannalee...Interactive....Endorphin Machine

[Edited 7/2/16 17:49pm]

When Doves Cry intro

Never Take the Place

U Got the Look

Let's Go Crazy

Guitar

I remember the first time I heard Guitar. I wondered if the Edge had gotten a writing credit. Just joking, but there is a resemblance to U2's I Will Follow in the lead riff.

rookparade said:

bookwomen said:

Most of his best riffs became surrounded by so many other ideas and instruments, rather than being a single-note rockin' riff, and I think he preferred to use single-note driven riff ideas on bass guitar instead... but here are a few off the top of my head:

- PlectrumElectrum

- Controversy

- The Everlasting Now

- Musicology

- Lovesexy

rogifan said:

rookparade said:

When Doves Cry intro

Never Take the Place

U Got the Look

Let's Go Crazy

Guitar

I remember the first time I heard Guitar. I wondered if the Edge had gotten a writing credit. Just joking, but there is a resemblance to U2's I Will Follow in the lead riff.

He does a killer version of Guitar at 2011 North Sea Jazz Festival. In fact there's a lot of killer guitar work at that show - Joy in Repetition, The Love We Make, Alphabet Street, Guitar, I like it There, Bambi. At one of the Manchester gigs with 3rdeye he did a killer Purple Rain solo.

I also really enjoy the 2011 Unbria Jazz 11 that he did a few nights later. Some great guitar work.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps, surely.

bookwomen said:

Spayne said:

While My Guitar Gently Weeps, surely.

That's a solo, really, not a riff. I think the OP might be looking for the best hook on a guitar, opposed to a solo. However, WMGGW does rate as one of his best live performance solos. There's a great one on "The Love We Make" and "Empty Room" on YouTube. It might be Northsea or Montreux, or a similar festival performance.

Bambi

Screwdriver

Family Name
Guitar
When Doves Cry (intro)

[Edited 6/29/16 11:50am]

can someone please explain to the dummies on here the difference between a Riff and solo?

kidmelody2012 said:

can someone please explain to the dummies on here the difference between a Riff and solo?

From Wikipedia and Me

A Riff is It's a brief, recognizable section of a song that's usually repeated on guitar.

A Solo is usually longer and is unaccompanied by other instruments except maybe percussion

A lead guitarist plays solos

a Rhythm guitarist plays riffs

The beginning of Erotic City is a Riff, While My Guitar Gently Weeps is a Solo

Looking at this list we did blur the lines but it all sounds good

Kiss

Let's Go Crazy (Reloaded)

Peach

U Got The Look

Bambi

.

Top 5, so obvious.

[Edited 7/1/16 3:37am]

The riff in Rebirth of the Flesh gives the song a monstrous start before slowly shifting to the background. It gives way to a solo with the riff getting picked up by the bass. How the studio track was never released, I'll never know.

No Endorphine Machine on this list yet?

How can anyone talk about Prince's greatest GUITAR riffs and not have Endorphinemachine on the list? Some of the riffs mentioned are much more synth than guitar. The 1st time I heard this song was when he performed at the VH1 honors in '94. I never heard a riff from him before or after that was this good. Completely blew my mind.

Top pure guitar riffs:

1) Endorphinemachine

2) Bambi

3) U Got The Look

4) She's Always In My Hair

5) Controversy (when played live. Studio had more synth than guitar)

6) Dreamer