Guitar Center asked its store leaders to identify the songs customers play most often in its locations — and, surprisingly, Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” didn’t take the top spot.
The survey, conducted across Guitar Center stores nationwide, highlights the electric guitar riffs employees hear most frequently from customers testing instruments. The results reveal a mix of classic-rock staples and modern favorites — with a few long-standing guitar-store clichés ranking lower than expected.
“We went out to our store leadership with a survey and said, ‘Write your most overplayed songs and tell us about any anecdotes — whatever you have,’” Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto tells Rolling Stone.
“It actually turned out to be a really consistent list,” Dalporto adds. “Across stores and across regions, people are generally playing the same types of songs.”
So what came in at number one? Metallica’s “Master of Puppets,” followed by Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
Other well-known guitar-store staples — like Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water,” with its ubiquitous riff by Ritchie Blackmore, and Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” which features Randy Rhoads’ signature riff — might seem like obvious contenders. Dalporto notes that the former has been “torturing our associates for decades.”
The absence of “Stairway to Heaven” is notable. The song’s popularity among music-store guitarists was famously spoofed in the film Wayne's World, where a sign warns customers not to play the classic. Guitar Center even displayed similar signs in its own stores for years.
The company lifted that tongue-in-cheek ban last year after YouTuber Døvydas invited Dalporto to play “Stairway to Heaven” with him.
Dalporto says he sympathizes with employees who hear the same riffs day after day.
“These songs are played a lot,” he says. “They’re often not played well. So you hear them over and over. But when someone nails it, you can tell — and the store staff really appreciates it when someone is awesome.”
The 10 most-played riffs at Guitar Center
1. Metallica — “Master of Puppets”
2. Guns N’ Roses — “Sweet Child O’ Mine”
3. The White Stripes — “Seven Nation Army”
4. Nirvana — “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
5. John Mayer — “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room”
6. Metallica — “Enter Sandman”
7. Tool — “Schism”
8. Ozzy Osbourne — “Crazy Train”
9. Nirvana — “Come as You Are”
10. Deep Purple — “Smoke on the Water”
