Top 10 Rock Songs with the Best Intro

Song intros are what make you want to listen to the song even more. Here are the top 10 greatest song intros.

The Top Ten

  1. Stay with Me - Faces

    Iron Maiden covers this, Foo Fighters cover this, Van Halen, Guns & Roses, Pearl Jam, even the Sex Pistols covered this song live.

    The roughest, loudest, and most fun rock band of the late '60s and early '70s.

  2. For Whom the Bell Tolls - Metallica

    I get goosebumps every time I hear this song. It's by far the greatest song intro ever written. The awesome bass guitar riff is just the best, and Lars absolutely nailed the drumming rhythm. The intro is just the right length to build suspense, and the energy is just exploding. Best song intro ever.

    The best intro ever. The bass intro makes the song more energetic, and I think this is the best Metallica song with the great bass lines from Cliff and the guitar work from Kirk. Vocals by James and yes, the crazy drumming of Lars.

  3. Sweet Child O'Mine - Guns N Roses

    For children of a certain generation, this was the song that made us want to learn to play the guitar. It was the first riff that was difficult enough to teach us the value of practice until we nailed it. Iconic. Inspirational. Seminal.

    THE reason I did this Google search. This is, in my humble opinion, THE BEST rock intro. I don't even like Slash, but he killed it here.

    Gotta love this one. When I was first getting into rock music, this was my favorite.

  4. Thunderstruck - AC/DC

    Just raw, fist-pumping, crowd-baiting rock 'n' roll. The purest distillation of everything AC/DC stood for.

    A very catchy intro. It's what attracted me to the song. But Sweet Child O' Mine is better. I'm surprised Master of Puppets' intro isn't on the list.

    The ultimate "pump up the crowd" song. The riff. The chant. It's legendary.

  5. Your Betrayal - Bullet for My Valentine

    This intro is definitely badass, but it should be number 2, and For Whom the Bell Tolls should be number 1 all by itself.

  6. Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne

  7. Smoke On the Water - Deep Purple

    The most legendary intro in rock history and the most obvious winner on this list.

  8. The Trooper - Iron Maiden

  9. Am I Evil - Diamond Head

  10. Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin

    Never heard something as amazing as this. The intro is absolute perfection. It's out of human reach. And I love how Jimmy Page improvises it on stage.

    The intro to this legendary song transcends any form of human greatness.

    Instantly known, even for those who don't like metal.

    11. The Newcomers
  11. ?

    Hallowed Be Thy Name - Iron Maiden

    It's actually a little distasteful that this song wasn't on the list until I added it. Come on, this is THE intro!

  12. ?

    To Live is to Die - Metallica

    13. The Contenders

  13. Battery - Metallica

  14. Baba O'Riley - The Who

    The Who were the first true masters of the intro, and this was their best. Remarkable considering it was very experimental. The power required by the synth loop machine, very advanced for the time, was so great that once the other instruments kicked in, the electricity to the synth was sapped, forcing Bonham to change his beat ever so slightly.

    The Who - masters of epic song intros.

  15. Fear of the Dark - Iron Maiden

  16. Money for Nothing - Dire Straits

    There's just nothing that compares. I dare ANYBODY to listen to that intro and not completely lose their composure, rocking the air guitar like there will be no tomorrow.

    No intro to any song ever has, or ever will, come close to this beauty.

    There's nothing much to say except this is one rocking intro!

  17. Layla - Derek & the Dominoes

    I'm sorry, have you listened to this song? Then you know it should be number one.

  18. Enter Sandman - Metallica

  19. Time - Pink Floyd

    I absolutely love the intro in this song. It's meant to take you on a journey.

  20. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

    The intro is absolutely amazing, and the song itself is even better. 1: Money for Nothing 2: Hell's Bells 3: Wish You Were Here.

  21. Holy Wars... The Punishment Due - Megadeth

  22. What Lies Beneath - Breaking Benjamin

  23. Caught Somewhere In Time - Iron Maiden

  24. Hero - Skillet

  25. Live & Learn - Crush 40

  26. Crawl - Breaking Benjamin

  27. Hotel California - Eagles

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