According to thousands of Planet Rock listeners, one intro still rules them all…

From a single guitar riff that can stop you dead in your tracks to church bells that sound like the apocalypse itself — rock intros are where legends are made.

And now, after thousands of votes from Planet Rock’s 1.4 million listeners, we finally have the ultimate answer: the greatest rock song intro of all time.

Notably, the list is a total boys’ club — no Joan Jett, no Heart, no female rockers at all made the cut. So who took the crown? None other than Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” — the riff your mate swears they can play on guitar (badly), and the one Ritchie Blackmore cheekily admitted was nicked from Beethoven’s Fifth. It’s rock canon, and now it’s officially No. 1.

The full Top 50 is basically a who’s who of heavyweights. AC/DC dominate with five entries, including “Thunderstruck” at No. 3 and “Back in Black” at No. 7, proving once again that Angus Young has riffs coming out of his schoolboy shorts. Guns N’ Roses hit the runner-up spot with “Sweet Child O’ Mine”, while Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Rainbow and Metallica all storm the Top 10.

And let’s not forget the decades – the 1970s absolutely cleaned up, with 29 songs making the cut. Apparently, it was the decade where rock gods were just showing off at this point.

Here’s your lightning bolt Top 10:

• 10. Led Zeppelin – “Rock and Roll”

• 9. Metallica – “Enter Sandman”

• 8. Rush – “The Spirit of Radio”

• 7. AC/DC – “Back in Black”

• 6. Black Sabbath – “Black Sabbath”

• 5. Rainbow – “Stargazer”

• 4. AC/DC – “Hells Bells”

• 3. AC/DC – “Thunderstruck”

• 2. Guns N’ Roses – “Sweet Child O’ Mine”

• 1. Deep Purple – “Smoke on the Water”

So there you have it: the riff that launched a thousand dodgy guitar lessons is officially the greatest rock intro ever. Sorry to every dad at a barbecue, but your legacy is sealed.

Check out the full list here.