Congratulations to Heart, whose 1977 anthem 'Barracuda' defeated 31 other amazing songs to win our first-ever March Riff Madness readers poll.

Nearly half a million votes were cast during the five rounds of this competition, as we used a bracket system to cut the field of competitors in half each week. You certainly can't say the Wilson sister-fronted group benefited from an easy draw. Look at the monster groups and riffs they defeated on their way to the finals: Van Halen's 'Unchained,' Guns N' Roses' 'Welcome to the Jungle,' Motley Crue's 'Kickstart My Heart,' and Aerosmith's 'Walk This Way.'

Once in the finals Heart squared off against another sibling act, the Kinks, and 1964's almighty 'You Really Got Me' -- which, terrifyingly, more than one reader identified as a cover of a Van Halen song in our Facebook comments pages. The two riffs battled neck and neck all week, but in the final hours Heart pulled away for a convincing 53 percent to 47 percent victory.

Thanks to everybody who voted and shared these polls with their friends. We had a blast and are looking forward to doing something similar next year!

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