kinda strange question. lol
like asking "what is your favorite sentence" or "what is your favorite 6 letter word"
here is a link to a video i love with tens of thousands of riffs in it that i love mostly equally.

but seriously ,what is your favorite sentence?
here is another video with ten thousand riffs i love fairly equally

and another ten thousand riffs i love equally as the others

by the way what is your favorite note?

here is my favorite riff of like, super simple shit homes.

my fav trash bucket sounding guitar riffs

here my fav "lower than bass" guitar riffs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb5OMOqJRWc

 

Last edited: Jan 20, 2018

I can't avoid with these two:

 

It's too hard! ^^

No particular order:

Slayer - Raining Blood
GnR - Sweet child O mine
Pennywise - I can't choose only one... ^^
ACDC - Hells Bells
Metallica - Motorbreath

 

To this day, the solos in Van Halen's Ain't Talkin' Bout Love makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up - As does the guitar in Floyd's Shine on you Crazy Diamond and Dogs.

Incidentally, the Van Halen track also has a great riff....

 

1. Anything by George Lynch (80s Dokken days)
2. Anything by Warren DeMartini (80s Ratt days)

 

Once I heard that intro riff in the Pink Cream 69 song, I was hooked!
Lay It Down also one of my favorite intro riffs.

 

Where's the "like all" button?

How about D.Darell "Floods" solo? Oh man...

 

Mine would be Van Halen's - Eruption as most will say that one takes it. But as of recently Van Halen's - Best of both worlds has
been up there lately.
I also like the Larry Carlton and Steve Lukather - Room 335.

 

Excellent choices my friend.

Lynch: When Heaven Comes Down
Lightning Strikes Again
Unchain The Night
Too High To Fly

DeMartini: Lay It Down ...nothing more need be said

I think a lot of people are mistaking licks & solos for riffs. I know it's not a rule, but in my opinion a riff needs to have at least one chord (power chord) or two notes played at the same time in it to count as a riff. To me riffs are more about chords whereas licks are more about individual notes. For example, I would consider Black Dog more of a lick than a riff.

As for a classic that hasn't been mentioned yet. Balls To The Wall by Accept is a classic!