Chicks and guitars

I dig music.

This is not an earth shattering statement, I know. But I really do dig music.

Growing up, my dad would start every Saturday morning by crankin' up his album of choice that week (and yes, sometimes that album was actually an 8-track tape). My dad's music taste was eclectic; any given Saturday, my sisters and I could be awoken by anything from John Phillip Sousa to Iron Butterfly. Maybe The Mamas and the Papas or The Temptations? Or how about The Irish Rovers (bring on The Unicorn song!) or The Beach Boys? And let's not forget The U.S. Army Band or The Doors.

It was my dad's eclectic taste in music that influenced mine. On any given day, I will listen to pop, hip-hop, disco, electronica, rap, classical, jazz, country... it is why I loooooove iPod shuffle.

But here's the thing. As much as I enjoy all different kinds of music, I am a total sucker for guitar rock.

Yeah, there's something about a solid guitar riff that just, ummm, churns my butter. Play the beginning of "Stay With Me" by Faces, Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold", "Stop" by Jane's Addiction, "Barracuda" by Heart... good heavens, I'm sweatin' just writing those ones down. Seriously, if it's a solid guitar song, I will be immediately fired up. And if you go so far as to assume the obligatory power stance, ohhhhh fuggetabout it. Hell, I even fell for a guitar player and married him (and then I divorced him. That's what rock chicks do, after all.).

So that's why my interest was totally piqued when I saw Rolling Stone's Top 100 Guitar Songs of All Time and Yahoo! Music's 25 Most Infamous Guitar Riffs.

Now, I'm no guitar expert. Not by a long shot. But when I read through these lists, I immediately 1) disagreed with some of the choices and 2) couldn't believe some pretty obvious picks were left off the list. I know others felt the same way, because the beauty of Web 2.0 allows everyone and their dog to comment on every article published online.

But then I realized how hard it would be for me to pick my top 10 all-time favorite guitar riffs/songs. Seriously? Narrow it down to 10? I could pick 10 Led Zeppelin songs alone! What if I left off a critical Aerosmith song? Or Lenny Kravitz or Stone Temple Pilots? What about the middle of Janet Jackson's "Black Cat"? And I know glam rock gets no respect, but you have to admit that the beginning of Poison's "Talk Dirty to Me" puts a big smile on your face. And there's nothing like rockin' out to some Joan Jett or Ratt.

Yeah, those writers — the list makers — I give 'em a lot of credit for putting it out there for all the public to see. And whether or not you're on board with the lists, there's one thing we can all agree on: there's no shortage of ass-kickin' guitar rock out there. So rock on!!!!