Play it again, Slash: Guns N' Roses riff voted No 1 by a new generation

For a generation of music fans it is an instantly recognisable prelude to one of the great hair-flailing, hard rock anthems of the past 20 years. Now the opening bars of "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses have been named the greatest ever guitar riff.

The track, first released as a single in 1988, was chosen ahead of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by godfathers of grunge Nirvana, pushing a batch of hoary old classics from the top.

Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple are placed third and fourth respectively, having topped the poll the last time Total Guitar magazine carried out the exercise five years ago.

"Sweet Child O' Mine" proved to be a creative high point for the band that was famed for its debauched, drug-addled lifestyle. The song itself is a gentle lament compared with the group's normally ear-splitting, expletive-rich output.

Although the singer Axl Rose continues to work under the Guns N' Roses banner, his bandmates - including Stoke-born guitarist Slash - have long since departed. Fans have been waiting for a decade for a promised new album.

Not a single track from the past decade made it into the top 10, while tracks from the late 1980s and early 1990s are still making an impact.

The only vintage track to have climbed to the upper reaches of the list is "Voodoo Chile", the 1970 chart-topper by Jimi Hendrix.

Among celebrities surveyed for the poll, to be published on Wednesday in the magazine's June issue, was the actor Ricky Gervais, who chose the Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar".

"What this poll shows is that the so-called canon of classic rock - the Led Zeppelins, Eric Claptons, Jimi Hendrixes - is as popular as ever, but is being added to all the time," said Total Guitar's editor, Scott Rowley. "To a new generation of guitarists, Metallica are more important than the Rolling Stones, Guns N' Roses more thrilling than the Sex Pistols, Black Sabbath better than The Beatles.

"Riffs are an interesting measure of tastes as they're usually very catchy. They're the hook of the song, so this isn't about who's the flashiest guitarist. It's more about the guitarists and songs."

GUITAR LOVERS' TOP 10

1 (8) Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses

2 (9) Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

3 (1) Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin

4 (2) Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple

5 (6) Enter Sandman - Metallica

6 (3) Layla - Derek and the Dominoes

7 (-) Master of Puppets - Metallica

8 (19) Back in Black - AC/DC

9 (17) Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) - Jimi Hendrix

10 (5) Paranoid - Black Sabbath

Position in last poll in brackets