The Best Guitar Solos: 108 Hair-Raising Moments
The best guitar solos – from driving riffs to technical displays of mastery – make a song complete and more often than not, transcend the track entirely.
There are plenty of ways to play a great guitar solo: You can make jaws drop by shredding for minutes on end, or you can do a simple but unforgettable bit that makes a great song even greater. We’ve included both, and everything in between, on this list of 100 indelible, earth-shaking guitar solos – some that you could master with a little practice, some that you may not recreate in your wildest dreams.
While many of the best guitar solos are found in rock music – from classic to alternative and rockabilly to prog – we couldn’t leave out many of the blues, jazz, and country players who taught the rockers their licks.
One rule at the outset: No more than one solo from any one player, so a couple of members of well-known bands are represented by their greatest guest appearances. When in doubt, we opted for the most memorable solo, whether it’s part of a classic song or great overall performance.
Explore the best guitar gods of every era on vinyl here.
108: The Eagles: Hotel California
(Solo: Don Felder/Joe Walsh)
The Eagles were always about songwriting, so it makes sense that their greatest guitar moment is a non-flashy guitar solo that enhances the tune. “Hotel California” also solidifies how essential Don Felder was to the band. He crafted the opening instrumental section, which sets up tension for nearly two minutes before the band crashes in. And he makes the most of his guitar partnership with Joe Walsh in the finale, another slow-build that resolves with that circular riff – which fades out just as you’re savoring it.
107: Derek & the Dominos: Layla
(Solo: Eric Clapton/ Duane Allman)
The best parts of the Layla album were fuelled by the instant synchrony of Eric Clapton and Duane Allman. In the guitar break that closes the title song’s first half, they both reach for their highest and most desperate notes, as mixed by Tom Dowd to sound like one big guitar. In the closing section, Allman’s slide soars while Clapton does some fluid Eastern-style acoustic.
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106: Thin Lizzy: Waiting For An Alibi
(Solo: Gary Moore/Scott Gorham)
From the first harmony riff, you can hear how Gary Moore’s arrival energized Thin Lizzy. He and Scott Gorham both step out on the first guitar break: First Moore playing bluesy and tasty, then Gorham adding flash and Moore jumping back in to harmonize. Their dual playing on the outro sports the bagpipe-like sound that would later become Big Country’s trademark.
105: Judas Priest: Beyond The Realms Of Death
(Solo: Glenn Tipton/K.K. Downing)
There are plenty of outright shredder guitar solos in the Judas Priest catalog (we recommend “Painkiller’ for that), but Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing’s work here is on another level. Tipton’s first solo is grand and majestic in a Pink Floydian way, ending with a perfect shot of feedback. The closing Downing solo adds power to the majesty, hitting the wah-wah pedal at the peak.
104: Megadeth: Tornado Of Souls
(Solo: Marty Friedman)
Guitarist Marty Friedman’s showpiece is a classic example of how to build a guitar solo: it begins with some tasty melodic riffage that sets you up for the big onslaught that follows. Instead of diving right into the furious runs of notes, Friedman builds suspense until the peak. Kind of ironic that one of Megadeth’s classic guitar moments happens in the context of a relatively sensitive breakup song.
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103: Nirvana: Sappy
(Solo: Kurt Cobain)
For all the darkness in his lyrics (and soul), Kurt Cobain could come up with a perfectly exhilarating power-chord rocker when the mood struck. This one was so upbeat that he initially buried it as a bonus track on a benefit album. Shredding wasn’t for him; the solo here (like his other greatest solo on “In Bloom”) is 100 percent melody.
102: Ozzy Osbourne: Crazy Train
(Solo: Randy Rhoads)
Randy Rhoads has some of the finest solos of all time on Ozzy Osbourne’s debut album, Blizzard of Ozz. (“Mr. Crowley”?!) But we went for this one, which reflects Ozzy’s closet Beatles fandom. Randy Rhoads’ solo fits perfectly: He shreds, but with a strong sense of melodic development. The solo’s final peak is vicious and tuneful at once.
101: Lynyrd Skynyrd: Free Bird
(Solo: Allen Collins/Gary Rossington)
The star of this Southern rock monolith is of course Lynyrd Skynyrd’s lead guitarist Allen Collins, whose big solo takes the theme of the lyrics and soars into the heavens with it. But “Free Bird” has two unsung heroes: One ios co-guitarist Gary Rossington who plays that expressive slide in the sung section. The other is producer Al Kooper who keeps it all textural, with the acoustic guitars under the solo.
100: UFO: Rock Bottom
(Solo: Michael Schenker)
Thanks to its title alone, this 1974 single by UK hard rockers UFO would make the list, but thanks to rampaging Schenker solo, the song turns into a powerful shredfest.
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99: The Bonzo Dog Band: Canyons of Your Mind
(Solo: Neil Innes)
Most of the guitar solos here will make your jaw drop; only this one will make you laugh out loud. On this lounge-ballad sendup, Innes – later the songwriter of the immortal “Camelot Song” and other great Monty Python moments – plays a solo of (purposely) exquisite awfulness. It’s the sort of terrible solo that only a really good player could have dreamed up.
98: Supertramp: Goodbye Stranger
(Solo: Roger Hodgson)
Even though Supertramp wasn’t a guitar band, Roger Hodgson grabbed himself some standout moments. The most surprising one came on the finale of bandmate Rick Davies’ smooth pop song, where he cranked up the wah-wah and turned the song into a potent rocker.
97: The Police: So Lonely
(Solo: Andy Summers)
Andy Summers was generally a model of taste with The Police, usually avoiding flashy solos when some textural chords would do the job better. When he did play flashy, he made it count, calling on his blues roots. You wouldn’t think so much confident swagger could fit into a song called “So Lonely.”
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96: Art Neville: Cha-Dooky Doo
(Solo: Justin Adams)
Fuzz guitar in 1958? Sure enough. On this early single by the future Meter and Neville Brother, the studio guitarist plays some wild stuff that would have made Jeff Beck proud a decade later. The story goes that the guitarist was having amplifier trouble and started distorting at key points, so the producer decided the only solution was to turn it up and let it fully distort.
95: The Velvet Underground: Sister Ray
(Solo: Lou Reed)
Less a traditional guitar solo than a sonic orgy, which is of course appropriate to the lyric. The Velvet Underground was never a band for guitar heroics, but Lou Reed rises to the occasion about seven minutes in, with a solo that crosses an Eastern raga feel with punkish anarchy.
94: Link Wray: Rumble
(Solo: Link Wray)
No flash here, just some of the most threatening chord strums you’ll ever hear. “Rumble” was famously the first instrumental to be banned on AM radio, since parents feared that Link Wray’s switchblade guitar sound would inspire some real street fights. They may well have been right.
93: The Buckaroos: Chicken Pickin
(Solo: Don Rich)
Buck Owens’ axeman was one of the tastiest players country music ever had, and the Buckaroos had a sideline in instrumental hits. Here he has great fun with that chicken effect beloved by country pickers, even building a catchy tune around it.
92: The James Gang: The Bomber
(Solo: Joe Walsh)
This begins as a heavy rock song, but during the solo Joe Walsh gets good and spacey with a solo full of slide and echo effects, flowing into a wah-wah take on Ravel’s “Bolero.” His later work with The Eagles was solid, but this is the real deal.
91: The Smithereens: A Girl Like You
(Solo: Jim Babjak)
One of the hottest solos ever to appear in a power-pop song, this is simply a blast with its opening hit of power chords and the string-bending at the peak. You can even hear singer Pat DiNizio yelling “Go!” to kick it off.
90: XTC: Life Begins At The Hop
(Solo: Andy Partridge)
At its best, English New Wave was a treasure trove of short, memorable solos. The one here (played by Partridge rather than regular lead player Dave Gregory) is as catchy as the song itself, with Partridge muting the strings to give it a Hank Marvin sound and a 60s sock-hop feel that matches the lyrics. It’s especially effective when he un-mutes for the final lick, setting you up for the next chorus.
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89: Black Sabbath: Paranoid
(Solo: Tony Iommi)
Tony Iommi got plenty of chances to solo at length on the Black Sabbath classics, but this concise solo in a three-minute song says it all; once Iommi starts riffing, it’s nothing but frustration and release. No wonder so many punk rockers love these guys.
88: Albert Collins: Iceman
(Solo: Albert Collins)
Known as the master of the Telecaster, the Texas guitarist made his name with a string of 60s singles that featured stinging solos and “icy” song titles. He revisited those days with a 90s comeback album; the title tune finds his powers intact and gives him more time to solo than the early singles did.
87: Cheap Trick: Need Your Love
(Solo: Rick Nielsen)
The most guitar-slinging tune in the Cheap Trick catalog, “Need Your Love” features a concise killer of a power-chord solo about three minutes in. Later in the song, Rick Nielsen leads the band into a few minutes of jamming and riff-slinging for the pure fun of it.
86: Ten Years After: I’m Goin’ Home
(Solo: Alvin Lee)
Speaking of flash, Alvin Lee had more of it than just about any late-60s guitarist; his speed could be unbelievable. But his knowledge of rock history was just as impressive, and 10 Years After’s showpiece was essentially an amphetamined version of classic Elvis and Little Richard bits. Lee’s opening solo alone is a grabber.
85: ZZ Top: Jesus Just Left Chicago
(Solo: Billy Gibbons)
Legend has it that Billy Gibbons uses a peso for a guitar pick, maybe that explains the stinging tone of his solo in this scorching slow blues number. For good measure, there’s also a hot solo, using slide this time, in “Waitin’ for the Bus,” the other half of this medley.
84: Chicago: Poem 58
(Solo: Terry Kath)
Plenty of musicians admired Chicago’s axeman Terry Kath, who really delivers here. This is a two-part song, and the first half is a long instrumental that finds Chicago in uncharacteristic power-trio mode – no horns, not even piano. Kath begins with a strummed lick that’s almost banjo-like, and the solo just keeps building with one hot riff after another.
83: John Lee Hooker and Canned Heat: Messin’ With The Hook
(Solo: John Lee Hooker)
John Lee Hooker never needed a band to lay down some of the grittiest blues guitar on record, and his groove is especially lowdown on this track – a personalized reworking of the Buddy Guy/Junior Wells classic “Messin’ With The Kid,” done during his sessions with Canned Heat. The Heat don’t appear on this track, but you know they were taking notes.
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82: Billy Idol: Rebel Yell
(Solo: John Goodsall or Steve Stevens)
We can’t be definitive here, since Goodsall – the Brand X guitarist who did plenty of sessions at the time – swears this is him, and regular Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens denies it. But Goodsall has a story that sounds right. He’d done one pass at the solo and thought it was perfect, then Idol’s producer moved the mikes around and told him to play the same thing again. This made Goodsall so ticked off that he just started slamming his fist on the fretboard. Of course, Idol loved the result.
81: John Martyn: Small Hours
(Solo: John Martyn)
When John Martyn played folk music, he was one of the most elegant players around – but then things really got interesting. The finale of 1977’s One World is an unearthly mood piece, where Martyn’s swirling solo is all hypnotic echoes. Music like this simply wasn’t being made in 1977.
80: The Replacements: I Will Dare
(Solo: Peter Buck)
Number one fan and Replacements supporter Peter Buck takes the lead from the song’s country-tinged riff and melody and applies those R.E.M. trademarks of jangly tone and lilting arpeggios for a lovely guitar solo.
79: St. Vincent: Surgeon
(Solo: Annie Clark)
This track puts Annie Clark’s imagination as a guitarist on full display. The song’s central riff is tricky and sets you up for a shredding guitar solo, but when the solo finally comes, she fires up the guitar synth and heads to headier territory. Instead of choosing between spacey textures and flashy fretwork, she gives you both at once.
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78: Paul McCartney & Wings: My Love
(Solo: Henry McCullough)
The ex-Grease Band guitarist didn’t last long in Wings thanks to his musical instincts; he was never a pop guy. But while he was there, he cut this gem of a solo, which gave a sweet ballad more grit than Paul McCartney probably intended – but he was smart enough to keep it. It’s clear that McCullough would have rather been playing the blues – but for these few minutes, he was.
77: 10cc: Feel the Benefit
(Solo: Eric Stewart)
Spare a thought for Eric Stewart, a great guitarist in a band that wasn’t really known for guitar rock. Their greatest hit, “I’m Not in Love” had no lead at all. Maybe that’s why he gave himself a long solo break on the finale of 10cc’s debut, Deceptive Bends. He plays some beautiful phrases as the song builds to its final peak, also giving himself a grand backing riff to play off of.
76: Joanna Connor: Walkin’ Blues
(Solo: Joanna Connor)
This was a viral sensation a few years ago, a clip with a woman in a purple dress playing an absolute scorcher of a slide-guitar solo. The clip went around the world a few times before the artist’s name got attached, but Chicago-area fans have long known Connor as a regional favorite with several albums out. She plays solos like this on a regular basis, but the Robert Johnson tune will forever be her calling card.
75: Creedence Clearwater Revival: Ramble Tamble
(Solo: John Fogerty)
John Fogerty was a master at concise solos, like the 20-second marvels in “Travelin’ Band.” But when he stretched out, he didn’t disappoint. On the opener from CCR’s Cosmo’s Factory, he poured on the tension and the distortion, delivering a monster sound from the deep swamps.
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74: Dinosaur Jr: Sludgefeast
(Solo: J Mascis)
Beginning with a wail of feedback, this tune had no problem living up to its title. At a time when alternative rock was getting cynical about everything, J Mascis reminded us how much fun full-tilt guitar heroics could be.
73: Mountain: To My Friend
(Solo: Leslie West)
Think of Leslie West and you think of a big guy with a whomping guitar sound to match. But he’s all nuance and sensitivity on this acoustic guitar solo, which has some Greek and Eastern flavors and builds steadily to its big climax (twice). Every 70s hard rock band needed a solo acoustic guitar track, but this was one of the finest.
72: George Benson: Take Five
(Solo: George Benson)
Before the Breezin’ album made him a star, George Benson had a rep as one of the more imaginative guitarists around. Two years before the hit, he did this audacious funk reworking of Dave Brubeck’s signature tune.
71: Fleetwood Mac: Rattlesnake Shake
(Solo: Peter Green)
Thanks to Peter Green (and sometimes Danny Kirwan and Jeremy Spencer), Then Play On ranks as one of blues-rock’s great guitar albums. Green gets a handful of big moments but we’re especially fond of his sputtering, chord-based solo at the end of this track. The frustration it speaks is much appropriate for the song’s subject matter.
70: Hüsker Dü: Reoccurring Dreams
(Solo: Bob Mould)
Hüsker Dü generally made their point and moved on fast, so this 14-minute instrumental was a real anomaly. It’s also one of the most intense guitar instrumentals we’ve ever heard, with Mould layering heavy, searing sounds that rampage through the subconscious. It ends the only way it possibly could, with a minute of piercing feedback.
69: The Butterfield Blues Band: East-West
(Solo: Mike Bloomfield)
Mike Bloomfied managed more visionary guitar on this 13-minute track than many players manage in their whole careers, getting two extended solo breaks. The first was among the first meetings of the Eastern raga style with West Coast psychedelia; the second is more tranquil and even has some surf influence between the lines.
68: Bonnie Raitt: Thing Called Love
(Solo: Bonnie Raitt)
By the time she moved toward pop success, Bonnie Raitt had developed one of the more distinctive slide guitar sounds in rock. And she’d learned how to make blues licks work in the context of an upbeat pop song. She’s gritty and concise here, and her solo cuts the one that Ry Cooder – no slouch himself – played on John Hiatt’s original.
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67: Adrian Belew: Big Electric Cat
(Solo: Adrian Belew)
At his best, Adrian Belew is wildly inventive and big fun at the same time. That’s the case on this solo track, which introduces his menagerie of sounds. If you wondered exactly what a big electric cat sounds like, now you know. But the two solo breaks also make creative use of the fuzzbox, not something he usually favored.
66: Jefferson Airplane: Somebody to Love
(Solo: Jorma Kaukonen)
Jorma Kaukonen basically solos all through this song, playing in and around Grace Slick’s vocalizing. The closing guitar solo is 30 seconds of pure psychedelia, opening with those three sustained wailing notes and closing with those sign-off chords that leave the song forever unresolved.
65: Sonic Youth: The Diamond Sea
(Solo: Thurston Moore)
This mysterious, extended piece is a textbook in building from tranquility to chaos. It begins as one of Sonic Youth’s prettiest tunes, and Moore’s first solo begins haunting and melodic. Over five minutes the melodies fall away, and the anger grows, until his guitar and Kim Gordon’s bass are in apocalyptic mode. One more verse and it all starts again, this time building from near silence to the most extreme of feedback.
64: David Bowie: The Width of a Circle
(Solo: Mick Ronson)
This eight-minute track shows the full scope of Mick Ronson’s brilliance, from the psychedelic Eastern flavor of the first solo break to the anthemic English sound of the middle one, and the Yardbirds blues-wailing at the end. David Bowie’s reinvention as a rock god begins here.
63: Bo Diddley: Who Do You Love
(Solo: Bo Diddley)
Bo Diddley’s trademark beat gets so much attention that his killer skills as a lead player sometimes get overlooked. “Who Do You Love” is enough to remedy that: the guitar solo is all raw nerve, one of those moments that made blues-rock possible.
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62: The Brian Setzer Orchestra: Jump, Jive An’ Wail
(Solo: Brian Setzer)
Brian Setzer has played some longer solos, but this quickie says it all – working wild rockabilly licks into an otherwise faithful version of the Louis Prima swing classic and employing some of the same string-bends that were his specialty in the Stray Cats. It proved that Setzer is a serious muso first, a cool cat second.
61: The Sex Pistols: EMI
(Solo: Steve Jones)
The secret weapon in the Sex Pistols was the fact that Steve Jones was a seriously great lead guitarist, even though showing off was the last thing he wanted to do. His best moments were chordal solos that amplified the aggression in the song – the second guitar solo in “Anarchy in the UK” was a prime example, and he pulls the same trick to even greater effect on “EMI.”
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60: Jethro Tull: Aqualung
(Solo: Martin Barre)
Martin Barre always got his big moments in a way that enhanced the structure of Jethro Tull’s pieces. For this one, he and Ian Anderson came up with a structural device – playing the verse chords in half-time, then speeding them back up – that worked. The famous story is that Jimmy Page was looking on while Barre recorded this; Barre’s confirmed that he wanted to wrap the solo so he could wave hello.
59: The Smiths: How Soon is Now
(Solo: Johnny Marr)
The guitar part here is all about that one, despairing chord. It becomes part of a textural solo, where the mood is enhanced with the layered tremolo guitars and some backward pre-echo. Like most of Johnny Marr’s solos, it’s there to magnify the emotions of Morrissey.
58: Santana: Europa
(Solo: Carlos Santana)
“Europa” is one of the few Santana tunes in which Carlos holds the spotlight from beginning to end. This is a spiritually-themed instrumental that begins slow and graceful and has him playing through a Leslie speaker for a chorus or two. Before it’s over, you get all the Santana trademarks – the long sustain, the wailing wah-wah – but the spiritual feel is never lost.
57: The Allman Brothers Band: One Way Out
(Solo: Duane Allman/Dickey Betts) )
You could say that the Allman Brothers didn’t have two guitarists; they had one guitarist in two bodies. The exchange at the start of this guitar solo shows their synchrony as they answer each other’s phrases, but it’s Duane’s slide that keeps the spotlight. There are plenty of longer Brothers’ solos, but this one says it all in a couple minutes.
56: Booker T & the MG’s: Melting Pot
(Solo: Steve Cropper)
Steve Cropper was a master of the concise solo on countless Stax classics. Even on this extended track, he kept the guitar solo right to the point. Every one of his phrases is spare and tasty, and when he’s done soloing, he gets back to syncopated chords that light a fire under Booker T. Jones’ longer workouts.
55: Queens of the Stone Age: Little Sister
(Solo: Josh Homme)
Josh Homme has always been an unlikely mix of stoner-metal deity and power-pop nerd. His pop side wins out in this track, which was simply one of the catchiest tunes of the late 2000s. The song’s recurring triplet riff is part of the appeal, and he builds on that with a sitar-like solo that’s just weird enough to fit.
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54: Jeff Beck: Rice Pudding
(Solo: Jeff Beck)
A contender for the most brutal hard-rock track of its time, this Jeff Beck showpiece revolves around a monster riff that appears at the beginning, middle, and end. Everything Beck plays in-between is about building tension: nothing pretty or melodic, lots of slide wails, and feedback outbursts. At the end, he builds the tension to a peak, heading for the huge climax, and then…the tape cuts dead.
53: Rush: Red Barchetta
(Solo: Alex Lifeson)
Rush may be the only power trio where the lead guitarist often got overshadowed by the other two players. But this track is one of many reasons why Lifeson was an MVP himself: It’s his riffs that drive the song along, increasing the sense of freedom and danger at every turn. And when he gets the chance to play some flashy lead at midpoint, he doesn’t let you down.
52: Dire Straits: Sultans Of Swing
(Solo: Mark Knopfler)
Guitar heroics seemed to be the last thing anyone wanted to hear in 1978, especially in the UK when punk still reigned. Mark Knopfler still managed to sneak his way in, with a guitar sound that seemed to come from deep in the swamps – the swamps of London, of course. Everything about this track is tasty and spare, even the flash that Knopfler finally applies in his closing guitar solo.
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51: Meat Loaf: Bat Out of Hell
(Solo: Todd Rundgren)
What do you do when your song needs a motorcycle revving up, but you can’t afford to race one through the studio? You get your producer and guitar wizard to simulate the effect, which he then uses as the jumping-off point for a speed-demon guitar solo – exactly what a track about the power of teenage hormones calls for.
50: Sleater-Kinney: Let’s Call It Love
(Solo: Carrie Brownstein)
After developing one of the more original sounds in indie-rock, it was rather thrilling to hear Sleater-Kinney embrace classic rock on The Woods. Brownstein goes full-throttle Zeppelin in her extended solo here, that also takes in psychedelia, avant-jazz, and good old punk aggression.
49: Procol Harum: Whiskey Train
(Solo: Robin Trower)
Procol Harum’s axeman gets pegged way too often as a Jimi Hendrix disciple. But there’s absolutely no Jimi in his solo here, just a blues-rock power that’s all Trower’s own. The whole band’s on fire through this track and what a riff this song has.
48: The Beatles: Taxman
(Solo: Paul McCartney)
Here’s solid evidence of how democratic The Beatles were. On one of George Harrison’s greatest songs, he gives the guitar solo to Paul – who nails it with a sputtering burst of distorted energy that perfectly suits the song’s mood. “Taxman” also became one of the most iconic Beatles solos.
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47: Genesis: Dancing With the Moonlit Knight
(Solo: Steve Hackett)
The gentlemanly ex-Genesis guitarist has a fair claim to have invented tapping, and it was certainly a new thing at the time in 1973. This song covers the full range of dynamics – from Peter Gabriel’s a cappella intro, to the full-grandeur instrumental, and the quiet closing stretch – but Steve Hackett’s off-the-rails solo is the central peak.
46: Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Down By the River
(Solo: Neil Young)
Neil Young’s greatest guitar solos are less about the notes and more about how well he can layer sounds and sustain a groove with the band, especially if it’s Crazy Horse. You get plenty of that on this track, but you get some killer notes as well: It begins with almost nothing – the pure menace of one note played again and again – and builds to a pile of hulking riffs.
45: Rory Gallagher: Shadow Play
(Solo: Rory Gallagher)
The Irish firebrand tended to save some of his most impassioned guitar solos for the fastest tunes. On this track (best heard on the Stage Struck album), Rory Gallagher plays some elemental slide guitar while the rhythm section races away. It sounds like someone brought in a Delta bluesman to jam with a punk band.
44: Billy Cobham: Quadrant 4
(Solo: Tommy Bolin)
Tommy Bolin was an erratically brilliant guitarist whose habits sometimes got in the way, but not this time. Taking the first solo on Billy Cobham’s solo debut, Bolin comes in charging, using Jan Hammer’s keyboard riff as a jumping-off point. Bolin’s favorite effect was the Echoplex, which he uses during the solo’s climactic points, giving it that outer-space blastoff feel.
43: Deep Purple: Smoke on the Water
(Solo: Ritchie Blackmore)
Ritchie Blackmore’s best guitar solos were all speed and aggression ala “Highway Star,” but this one harks back to his days as a session man. Since Deep Purple likely knew they had a hit on their hands, Blackmore stays disciplined and plays a melodic stum – at least until he hammers on that one note at solo’s end, which sounds like he’s flipping off the band for making him stop.
42: Glen Campbell: MacArthur Park
(Solo: Glen Campbell)
Despite his membership in the Wrecking Crew, Glen Campbell wasn’t a flashy player by nature. When he first cut this Jimmy Webb classic in the studio, he didn’t even include the instrumental break. He more than made up for it on the many live versions, where the break featured his most daredevil playing.
41: Brian Eno: Baby’s on Fire
(Solo: Robert Fripp)
There’s no shortage of brilliant guitar solos in Robert Fripp’s work with King Crimson and elsewhere, but he may never have topped this violent outburst with Brian Eno. For all the fury in his playing, the sudden silences are every bit as crucial to its impact. It turns Eno’s lyric, – which could have been a bit of surrealist whimsy – into something genuinely scary.
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40: Cliff Richard & the Drifters: Move It
(Solo: Hank Marvin)
“Move It” made Cliff Richard the first UK Rock’n’roll star, but guitarist Hank Marvin and his Stratocaster really own the record. His cool rockabilly licks answer every one of Richard’s vocal lines, and his guitar solo is full of style. If one record was responsible for a generation of UK guitar heroes, this was it.
39: Steely Dan: Reelin’ in the Years
(Solo: Elliott Randall)
This was arguably one of the first songs to become a hit single specifically because of the guitar solo. New York hotshot Elliott Randall’s solo is arguably the catchiest thing in the song, and it really swings (note the variations he throws on the lick every time it comes around). Garage-band players who couldn’t master the solo could take solace in the fact that Steely Dan’s regular guitarists couldn’t either.
38: The White Stripes: Ball and Biscuit
(Solo: Jack White)
Jack White takes three solos on this seven-minute track, each one more furious than the last. So, the start of the third solo – after he’s already stomped on the fuzzbox, throttled the upper threats, and generally raised hell twice – features the most savage strong-bending of them all. Those wails toward the solo’s end must be the guitar screaming for mercy.
37: Roy Buchanan: Roy’s Bluz
(Solo: Roy Buchanan)
Blues-rock players don’t get more underrated than Roy Buchanan, who had fiery fingers and imagination to match. This blues showpiece (whose definitive version is on 1975’s Livestock) opens with some fast runs to show you who’s in charge, but then he starts twisting and teasing notes until he’s got it speaking in tongues.
36: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble: Life Without You
(Solo: Stevie Ray Vaughan)
There are plenty of roof-raising solos in Stevie Ray Vaughan’s too-small catalog like “Texas Flood,” but this one is a particular beauty, a solo that takes its time but drips with passion. Listen closely to the studio version for a great high-note wail that happens just as it’s fading.
35: The Kinks: You Really Got Me
(Solo: Dave Davies)
Score one for sibling rivalry. As both brothers have told it, this guitar solo came about because Ray Davies drove his brother a little too hard in the studio; Dave responded with the most savage solo yet to appear on a British Invasion hit. Despite rumors, Jimmy Page didn’t play this solo; he was too much of a gentleman.
34: Muddy Waters: I Can’t Be Satisfied
(Solo: Muddy Waters)
Once Muddy Waters went electric, he worked with a string of guitar players, but on this seminal early single, he did the honors himself. The main slide lick here was influential – Keith Richards would gladly admit he borrowed it more than once – and note how hard Muddy attacks the acoustic on his solo. Maybe he had to bring in other guitarists because he was breaking too many strings.
33: Frank Zappa: Watermelon in Easter Hay
(Solo: Frank Zappa)
How often did Frank Zappa break character and play something gentle and elegant? More often than you’d think – but never quite as beautifully on this track, whose pretty tune, graceful improv, and shimmering tone all seemed to come out of nowhere in the context of Joe’s Garage. But since the hero escapes a totalitarian society by imagining guitar solos, it somehow makes sense.
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32: The Grateful Dead: Help On The Way/Slipknot!
(Solo: Jerry Garcia)
It’s typical of the Grateful Dead to place one of the most exploratory guitar pieces in the middle of a suite that boasts two of their catchiest tunes. The transition out of ‘Help On the Way’ is classic on its own, as Garcia changes the mood with some unexpected key changes. It sets up a solo that’s free-flowing but also has some real muscle, one of the few times the Dead’s fabled improvisation was fully captured in the studio. From there it’s a short trip to “Franklin’s Tower.”
31: Howlin’ Wolf: Wang Dang Doodle
(Solo: Hubert Sumlin)
Hubert Sumlin was arguably the blues guitarist most revered by 70s blues-rockers, and this track was one of the reasons. This is gritty Chicago blues, and Sumlin plays the kind of solo you’d expect in a song about razor-totin’ outlaws. In the solo he plays call and response with his high and low strings, then responds each time Howlin’ Wolf shouts, “All night long!”
30: Albert Lee: Country Boy
(Solo: Albert Lee)
An influence on the likes of Knopfler and Eric Clapton (who had Lee in his band for a time), Albert Lee has used this song as a solo springboard for a good 50 years. There’s a dazzling version on his first album with Heads, Hands & Feet (where he plays the lead on acoustic), and more recent electric ones on various Crossroads Festival albums.
29: Dick Dale & the Del-Tones: Miserlou
(Solo: Dick Dale)
One of the great ironies in music history is that surf guitar was invented by a kid who grew up in Massachusetts (but moved to LA just in time) and that it was partly inspired by his Lebanese heritage. “Miserlou” was originally a folk tune but once Dick Dale thought to play it on a Fender – with maximum volume and reverb – the sound of catching waves was born.
28: The Isley Brothers: That Lady
(Solo: Ernie Isley)
The Isley Brothers knew about guitar; in ‘64 they even hired a young Jimi Hendrix for a time. By the 70s, younger brother Ernie Isley had taken the slot and was doing guitar heroics of his own. His nasty solo covers more than half of this six-minute track and features all the most spacey sounds of a guitar synthesizer – except those hadn’t been invented yet. How he came up with this is anybody’s guess.
27: Pink Floyd: Shine On You Crazy Diamond
(Solo: David Gilmour)
How many classic albums open with five minutes of pure guitar solo? David Gilmour’s long intro here may just be the most beautiful moment in the entire Pink Floyd catalog, as Rick Wright frames it with just the right sustained synth chords. And of course, it ends on those four echoed notes that promise a memorable trip ahead.
26: Ricky Nelson: Hello Mary Lou
(Solo: James Burton)
This stinging, swampy tone would become James Burton’s trademark for decades to come. He later put it to good use with both Elvises (Presley and Costello) but few of his solos were iconic as this one. Richard Thompson and Mark Knopfler are among the avowed fans.
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25: The Rolling Stones: Sympathy for the Devil
(Solo: Keith Richards)
One of the greatest rhythm players that ever was, Keith Richards often let the other Rolling Stones’ guitarists take the big guitar solos. He got his rocks off for this one, which is less a linear solo than a series of sharp, furious interjections. We always guessed that he and Mick had an especially good dust-up that day.
24: Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane: Freight Trane
(Solo: Kenny Burrell)
Kenny Burrell could play virtually anything. Few other musicians can claim to be on peak-era tracks by Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett, and James Brown. But he was most natural in a bop setting. His free-flowing solo is a joy to hear, and his exchanges with John Coltrane afterward are just plain joyful.
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23: The Byrds: Eight Miles High
(Solo: Roger McGuinn)
“Eight Miles High” sees The Byrds in full flight, forever changing the possibilities of electric 12-string and inventing the “raga rock” subgenre. Roger McGuinn’s opening solo begins with one grabbing lick then immediately turns free-associative, and it’s all upward from there. Part of the credit goes to David Crosby, who introduced McGuinn to Ravi Shankar’s music (and did the same for George Harrison) and hammers away at one note to set up McGuinn’s entrance.
22: Pat Metheny Group: Are You Going With Me?
(Solo: Pat Metheny)
Pat Metheny was one of the first major players to embrace guitar synth, more for its expressive capacities than for the neat sounds it could make. He turns it loose on the live Travels version of his most popular tune, originally a lilting samba. On the extended solo, he uses the Roland synth to plead and wail, upping the song’s emotional ante.
21: Chet Atkins: Country Gentleman
(Solo: Chet Atkins)
This early 50s track captures the essence of Chet Atkins, right down to its title. The technique is certainly impressive, with the bent strings giving it an almost Hawaiian feel; and the elegant tone comes from Atkins’ own modifications on his D’Angelico Excel guitar. Yet the whole thing feels casual and friendly; it’s a tune you could whistle. Note the backup and mandolin solo by the team of Homer & Jethro, better known for their comedy.
20: Metallica: One
(Solo: Kirk Hammett)
On the surface, Metallica’s “One” is a pretty brutal song, about a severely wounded soldier who is unable to hear, speak, or see. So how come the guitar solo is so much fun? Kirk Hammett begins by tapping all over the place, then he throws some power chords atop Lars Ulrich’s machine-gun drumming. Finally, he and James Hetfield lock into some old-school harmony guitar, a classic-rock moment out of nowhere.
19: Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody
(Solo: Brian May)
Sure, the first thing everyone remembers about “Bohemian Rhapsody” is the opera section – but one reason we remember it is because Brian May’s guitar solo sets it up so well. The start of the solo demonstrates the synchrony between May’s guitar and Freddie Mercury’s voice. When Mercury sings “I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all,” May’s first phrase finishes that thought. He then builds tension with a couple quick runs before the three-note phrases at the end set the stage for the future operatics.
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18: Richard Thompson: Calvary Cross
(Solo: Richard Thompson)
This extended track was the first of many recordings to show Richard Thompson’s gifts as a guitarist: elegant tone, graceful flow, endless passion, and imagination. Note how his louder outbursts threaten to disturb the spiritual feel of the song, but only heighten it at every turn.
17: Cream: Sunshine of Your Love
(Solo: Eric Clapton)
Even at his feistiest, Eric Clapton was never a shredder. His grounding in the blues meant that his best solos were melodic and a bit elegant. So it went with this beautifully paced solo, which Slowhand uncharacteristically opens by quoting “Blue Moon,” then turns it sideways and builds tension with some minor key phrases, leading to the climactic flurry of notes at the end.
16: Elvis Presley: Hound Dog
(Solos: Scotty Moore)
If ever an Elvis track was basically an excuse for great guitar, this was it. Scotty Moore’s first solo is restrained and cool, full of rockabilly swagger. But Elvis still wound up in the next chorus so Moore gets good and nasty on his second solo, starting it off with that aggressive “Listen here!” type chord.
15: The Who: Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
(Solo: Pete Townshend)
Pete Townshend sure didn’t hold back on this guitar solo, cramming all kinds of great noises – feedback, air-raid sirens, and good old guitar destruction – into the brief space he had. Since the song is all about Mod bravado, he gave it the ultimate guitar break to match.
14: Led Zeppelin: Heartbreaker
(Solo: Jimmy Page)
Yes, we could have chosen “Stairway to Heaven” here, but to feature Jimmy Page’s most incendiary playing, we picked a song that already had one of the most grabbing riffs in the Zeppelin catalog. Once the song hits its first peak, he grabs control, the band drops away and Page takes off on a daredevil solo flight, then the band rejoins him for a further thrill ride.
13: Les Paul & Mary Ford: The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise
(Solo: Les Paul)
Les Paul is rightly celebrated for his innovations in sound and recording, but his playing was dazzling enough on its own. From the opening lick, this track gives you all the flying fingers that could fit on a pop record in 1951. The guitar solo swoops all over the heavens, and Mary’s brief vocal adds the right angelic touch.
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12: George Harrison/Jeff Lynne/Tom Petty/Prince: While My Guitar Gently Weeps
(Solo: Prince)
This Rock & Roll Hall of Fame performance was one of the most glorious moments of Prince’s career, and the one everybody shared after his passing. The occasion was George Harrison’s induction, with Harrison’s son and a few of his closest friends onstage. Prince proceeded to steal the show with a brilliant solo that quoted Clapton’s original one but with three times the flash. And, of course, he looked great doing it.
11: Guns N’ Roses: Sweet Child O’ Mine
(Solo: Slash)
Many might pick “November Rain.” But we have a soft spot for this classic, because just when Guns N’ Roses were poised to be the kings of hard rock in the 90s, they showed their sense of rock history. Slash’s resounding guitar intro cribs a bit of an Eastern feel from George Harrison and Jeff Beck, he even comes close to quoting Beck’s “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers” in the first half of the solo. But the solo’s second half – where he gets nasty on wah-wah – is all his.
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10: Television: Marquee Moon
(Solo: Tom Verlaine)
It must have been tough pulling off long guitar workouts for the jaded folks at CBGB, but Tom Verlaine managed it on a regular basis. The song’s shimmering main riff is reason enough for its inclusion here, but the main guitar solo is even better: Note Verlaine’s stinging sitar-like tone and his refusal to play fast for its own sake, making every phrase count.
9: Benny Goodman & His Orchestra: Solo Flight
(Solo: Charlie Christian)
The electric guitar was still a new thing when Charlie Christian got hold of one in 1935 and he was known for absorbing the sounds of the groups he played with. Note the horn-like tones in this Goodman piece; Goodman then returns the favor with a clarinet solo, taking off from the sound of the guitar.
8: Sister Rosetta Tharpe: Up Above My Head
(Solo: Sister Rosetta Tharpe)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s been called the mother of electric guitar, and the best evidence is on a YouTube video of a 1963 performance. During this hymn, she absolutely proto-shreds while a full choir claps along. There’s a bit of Muddy, a bit of Chuck Berry, and a whole lot of jubilation before she calls out “Let’s do that again!”
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7: The Beatles: Something
(Solo: George Harrison)
This moment of George glory is simply one of the most sensuous guitar solos there is. Its slinky slides and sashays add a carnal element to a song that was already one of his most romantic. It wouldn’t of course be the last time that Pattie Boyd would inspire this kind of display.
6: Michael Jackson: Beat It
(Solo: Eddie Van Halen)
You could make a case for “Eruption” as the definitive Van Halen track, but it still didn’t match the influence of this track, where he put all those harmonics and hammer-ons into the ultimate rock/R&B crossover record. Everything’s perfect down to the dying note he plays under Michael Jackson’s vocal re-entry, and the solo’s so tight that you immediately need to hear the record again.
5: Funkadelic: Maggot Brain
(Solo: Eddie Hazel)
If all the guitarists who picked up on Hendrix’s influence, few did it sooner or better than P-Funk lead guitarist Eddie Hazel, who employed the full arsenal of fuzz and wah-wah effects on this apocalyptic epic. It was however darker than anything in Hendrix’s catalog, steeped in Vietnam-era dread and the after-effects of LSD. A showcase both for Clinton’s free-associative verse and Hazel’s guitar, the song ran 10 minutes on record and regularly topped a half-hour onstage.
4: B.B. King: The Thrill Is Gone
(Solo: B.B. King)
The best part of B.B. King’s breakthrough hit single was the part they didn’t play on AM radio. For the last two minutes, his guitar Lucille steps up and wails. King’s sound is unmistakable, but this is above all an emotive solo, working off the sentiments of the lyrics, down to the pleading tones at the end.
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3: Chuck Berry: School Day
(Solo: Chuck Berry)
Take your pick of the Chuck Berry classics, there’s great guitar on them all. But “School Day’ stands out for its indelible intro, and for the way Chuck’s guitar answers each one of his vocal phrases, building anticipation for that moment when the song’s hero finally gets to the juke joint. The guitar solo fittingly arrives at that point in the song, and it’s pure rocking elation.
2: Wes Montgomery: No Blues
(Solo: Wes Montgomery)
The first half of this 12-minute track (on the 1965 live album Smokin’ at the Blue Note) just may be the apex of jazz guitar. Wes Montgomery goes off on a different melodic tangent every few bars, from single-note riffs to block chords to his trademark octaves; yet somehow the band always knows what was coming. Once Wynton Kelly steps forward on piano, even Wes’ rhythm chords are perfect.
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1: Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze (Woodstock version)
(Solo: Jimi Hendrix)
Picking one Jimi Hendrix solo is an impossible task. Do you go with “All Along the Watchtower”? “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”? Or perhaps the iconic “Star-Spangled Banner” Woodstock moment? What most folks don’t remember is that Hendrix went onto even greater glory in the medley that follows. He drives the band hard through “Purple Haze,” and then it happens; the big cadenza that explodes out of the song. For three-plus minutes he shoots fireworks into the heavens, ramping it up every time you’re sure he can’t get any higher. Then he lands on a cloud, with the beatific piece we now know as “Villanova Junction.” It’s a historic performance that still brings gasps after all these years.
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John Smith
May 16, 2017 at 11:46 am
I really miss the absolute amazing solo of Richie Sambora in Bon Jovi’s “Dry County”.
Ric Kincaid
May 17, 2017 at 7:46 pm
I can’t understand Stevie Ray Vaughan not showing up on this list anywhere.
Vince Loff
February 18, 2018 at 12:58 am
His version of Voodoo Child should have been on that list!!
John Bindert
February 18, 2018 at 4:13 am
#55 Texas Flood
Jack
June 29, 2019 at 2:49 am
And no Rick Derringer, no Ronnie Montrose, no Bill Nelson, no Frank Marino. You can usually tell when these lists are written by someone who doesn’t play guitar.
Dave Bodley
September 11, 2020 at 6:25 pm
Couldn’t agree more Jack. No Jerry Miller of Moby Grape either
Joris
May 17, 2017 at 8:32 pm
Amazing list, though very anglosaxen. What about Jan Akkerman and Focus, or George Kooymans from Golden Earring, to name two internationally acclaimed rockers from Holland?
Gene Makely
May 17, 2017 at 9:06 pm
NO Marshall Tucker Band(Toy Caldwell), Funkadelics ( George Clinton/Eddie Hazel) Tommy James, Robin Trower (Bridge of Sighs), Joe Bonamassa, Ritchie Blackmore etc etc. Willie nelson WTF?
Phil S. Tine
September 22, 2017 at 9:22 am
Yeah….Willie Nelson. If you had ears you’d realise what a fine guitarist he is.
The Kid
May 17, 2017 at 11:36 pm
Ritchie Blackmore Highway Star, Lady Double Dealer, Burn, Kill The King, on and on and on….Michael Schenker Rock Bottom, Lights Out, Desert Song, Rock You To The Ground…on and on and on…Everyone has their own list I suppose
Eric Priebe
May 18, 2017 at 12:30 am
#1 guitar solo from the Beatles was not performed by a never of the band. Eric Clapton performed that solo.
Mark S.
May 18, 2017 at 2:21 am
Best Guitar Solos ? I started reading down through the list and forgot what the list was – It wasn’t until I got into the top 35 until I started to say, Well, Okay. I’m thinking 36 through 100 should be embellished with quite a bit more substance.
Mike Duane Kopp
May 18, 2017 at 2:40 am
Stevie Ray Vaughn “Riveria Paradise.”
Dave Williams
May 18, 2017 at 4:25 am
Maggot Brain by Funkadelic. Badge by Cream.
John
January 24, 2020 at 12:00 pm
Just came to the comments to see if anyone would mention maggot brain. Should definitely have made this list
R King
May 18, 2017 at 5:21 am
this is only ONE opinion!
Phil S. Tine
September 22, 2017 at 9:25 am
Precisely!!! What a waste of time these lists are. Just people’s opinions of their favourites, nothing more.
AbleMable
May 18, 2017 at 5:27 am
Seriously…the Edge(U2lveral times???
Steven Montalbano
May 18, 2017 at 5:28 am
This is not a good representation of this category. I can name so many better examples of guitar work, mostly live. Sympathy for the Devil live, Get your Ya Ya’s
Out just to name one, Lou Reed live Intro to
Sweet Jane. Mountain Jam., Hendrix Hear my Train Coming. I can go on and on. Not good research on your part..
Diana
May 18, 2017 at 7:33 am
Alvin Lee on “I’d Love to Change the World.” Such quick fingers!!!
dave montville
February 16, 2018 at 10:24 pm
going home woodstock
Jimmy Jazz
May 18, 2017 at 8:00 am
Nice list, digging the vids! 🙂
Steve Philbrick
May 18, 2017 at 8:28 am
Mick Ronson’s played the solo on David Bowie’s: ‘The Width Of A Circle’ (from The Man Who Sold The World, 1970)
Alan Smith
May 18, 2017 at 9:40 am
Nils Lofgren Blacck Books,stunning 4 minute solo after the lyrics.beathtaking.
michael olpp
May 18, 2017 at 10:06 am
forgotten, the very best of all:
mick taylor
in: i started walking
on:
barewires
from john mayall’s bluesbreakers
don egan
May 18, 2017 at 3:14 pm
I’m surprised that only the artist /band is named not the guitarist not always always the same
Oleg Kirianov
May 18, 2017 at 6:19 pm
Jerry Garcia by Peggy O.
Mike F
May 18, 2017 at 10:31 pm
Rory Gallagher on ‘Cant Believe its True’, Rory Gallagher album 1971. That’s whey he was the best in the world. works from: Gary Moore, Walter Trout, SRV, Popa Chubby, John MacLauchlan and many more missed off.
Steven Jackson
May 19, 2017 at 2:06 am
How about Steve Hackett’s AMAZING guitar solo during the classic Genesis track ‘Firth of Fifth’.
T. Shaw
May 21, 2017 at 1:35 pm
How is it possible to completely skip the true master lead guitar player….perhaps ever. Not including Buddy Guy makes me believe that you fundamentally misunderstand exactly what a “Guitar Lead” actually is….
Listen to B.G.’s “Too Damn Bad”…He will give you an education about 10 seconds. In the words of Keith Richard’s, “Now THAT’S the shit man….”
ALSO, E.C.’s departure from decades of bubble gum, to one of a Master Bluesman….His 1991 cover of Willie Dixon’s “Don’t Know Which Way To Go” (w/Buddy Guy on vocals only) might just leave you in some strange emotional shock that lies in a mix between painful awe and wondrous respect….
Derek and the Dominoes’ “Layla”???
That was Duane Allman baby…
And….
Your #1 Names a group that didn’t do the lead work on the “#1” song….
That was E.C. bro….
Might also want to spin SRV’s cover of “Taxman”….
Your overlooking Jesse Ed in the Taj Mahal band…Statesboro Blues, Leaving Trunk, etc. Duane began playing bottleneck slide after listening to Jesse Ed Davis. I believe he is doing guitar work in all of the George Harrison songs that you mentioned from “A.T.M.P”..
Stephen Lobb
May 21, 2017 at 1:57 pm
Some of these songs don’t even HAVE guitar solos in them!
If you fancy hearing a couple of truly good ones, from very different bands, try John Mayall’s version of “Stormy Monday” (with Eric Clapton), badly recorded in a club – but still spellbinding – and “Too Good To Be True” by The Tom Robinson Band
László Jacsmenyík
May 21, 2017 at 6:07 pm
Ten Years After, alias Alvin Lee
noggin th' nog
February 19, 2018 at 9:05 pm
Woodchoppers Ball x1000
Russ P
May 21, 2017 at 8:16 pm
Ritchie Blackmore’s solo in Highway Star didn’t even make the top 100? Give me a break! Makes me wonder if the person who made this list even knows the difference between a riff and a solo.
Dave JOnes
May 21, 2017 at 8:31 pm
Alan Parker’s solo on the Walker Brothers ‘No Regrets’ deffo deserves a mention surely.
Tony
October 24, 2018 at 12:59 am
Agree 100 percent
Mark
May 22, 2017 at 10:36 am
Agree wholeheartedly with #1
AKONI
May 22, 2017 at 8:55 pm
HENDRIX PALI GAP FROM ISLE OF WRIGHT FESTIVAL THE 60 SECONDS BEFORE PALI GAP NO ONE CAN REPLICATE THAT RIFF ….
Rick
May 22, 2017 at 10:28 pm
No SRV? Layla at #15? Try #1. At least my guitar gently weeps was Clapton
Larry
May 23, 2017 at 3:58 am
Seriously… Mountain’s Mississippi Queen didn’t make the top 100? Bogus list!
John Chodzko
May 23, 2017 at 5:39 am
Super Session – Mike Bloomfield- Albert’s Shuffle
Bruno
May 23, 2017 at 3:41 pm
What a load of nonsense.
Kari
May 23, 2017 at 4:05 pm
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EI260rJ7cKw
Colosseum Skelington Clem Clempson 1994
Neil Scarratt
May 23, 2017 at 6:20 pm
Alvin Lee any,Dave Clempson Lost Angeles Colosseum, Santana any,Gilmour, Thin Lizzy,Rory,Jimi,Wishbone Ash,Selling England By The Pound,Rockin the Fillmore Humble Pie,freebird,Ackermann,Led Zeppelin,Sabbath,Deep Purple,Stevie Ray,Fleetwood Mac,Zappa,Krieger,Benson,Berry,Quo,Prince,George,Keef,Townshend,Davies,Beck. THE LIST GOES ON AND ON
Bjorn
May 23, 2017 at 7:47 pm
Cream, Sitting on Top of the World on Wheels of Fire, Clapton slow blues peaking solo.
Paul Biutterfield Blues Band, Got a Mind to Give Up Living on East-West, Mike Bloomfield slow blues peaking solo.
Jimi Hendrix Experience, Bleeding Heart on The Jimi Hendrix Concerts, Jimi slow blues peaking solo.
Clifford Bowen
May 23, 2017 at 8:06 pm
FBI. By Mick Rondon, from Ian Hunter live!
Ziggy Stardust.
Doctor Doctor, UFO
WILLIAM’S TALE, MANOWAR
Jelly Jelinsky
May 23, 2017 at 8:55 pm
Excuse me, whats about the VALENTYNE SUITE ??????
CLEM CLEMPSONs solo is so wonderful………………………
The Lone Cadaver
May 23, 2017 at 11:09 pm
The Pretty Things (Pete Tolson) Religion’s Dead
Alice Cooper (Glen Buxton) Long Way To Go
Genesis (Steve Hackett) Firth Of Fifth
The Who (Pete Townshend) Heaven And Hell
Ed
May 24, 2017 at 2:17 am
Eric Clapton/Cream – “Crossroads” from “Wheels of Fire”
Lesley West/Mountain = “For Yasgur’s Farm+ and “Theme for an Imaginary Western” from “Climbing”
Larry Carlton/Steely Dan – “Kid Charlemagne” from “The Royal Scam”
Martin Barre/Jethro Tull – “Aqualung”
David Gilmour/Pink Floyd – “Comfortably Numb” from “The Wall”
Arthur
May 24, 2017 at 12:58 pm
Sweet Jane from Rock & Roll Animal, No Lullaby from Jethro Tull, No Regets – Walker Brothers ,Blue Guitar from The Moody Blues,All along The Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix,Feel So Good from Chuck Mangione, most of Jimmy Pages work with Led Zeppellin. Then theirs the guys like David Gilmour, Mike Campbell ,George Harrison & Elliot Easton who know exactly what play in a song.
Arthur
May 24, 2017 at 1:20 pm
Sweet Jane from Lou Reeds “Rock& Roll Animal”, All Along The Watchtower- Jimi Hendrix, No Lullaby – Jethro Tull, Feels So Good – Chuck Mangione, No Regrets – The Walker Brothers. Then there’s the guys like Brian May , Elliot Easton ,Mike Campbeii , George Harrison who know exactly what’s required on a recording. Almost anything that Jimmy Page did for Led Zeppelin.
Firannion
May 24, 2017 at 8:30 pm
Not one by Richard Thompson? Not even ONE?
Charlie Gardner
February 21, 2018 at 2:29 pm
Right. The Way That It Shows. If Love Whispers Your Name. Hard on Me. She Never Could Resist a Winding Road. Can’t Win. 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. Sloth. Calvary Cross. A Sailor’s Life. Any version of Valerie you can find.
Bob
May 25, 2017 at 12:14 am
My Top guitar solo has to be Robert Fripp (with treatments by Brian Eno) on Baby’s On Fire from the Here Come the Warm Jets release from 1973.
Ed Carter
May 25, 2017 at 5:29 pm
Steely Dan: Reelin’ in the Years
CCR: Keep on Chooglin’
Ed Carter
May 25, 2017 at 5:54 pm
NO VAN HALEN??!?!?!?!
Fred Hoff
June 14, 2017 at 9:31 am
your list is garbage
Adam
June 14, 2017 at 3:00 pm
BADGE – Clapton, come on man.
Adam
June 14, 2017 at 3:02 pm
Also almost anything Trey from Phish. He deserves to be up there in the top 10 for sure.
Robert Poole
December 16, 2020 at 6:41 pm
Any list of greatest guitar solos where Randy Rhoads is omitted is a joke. He could play rings around virtually everyone on here. Same goes for George Lynch.
Tony Machado
June 14, 2017 at 5:47 pm
Crossroads by Cream
It’s My Own Fault- Johnny Winter And
I Don’t Need No Doctor- Humble Pie
SWLABR- Cream
Voodoo Child- Hendrix
Blue Sky- Allman Brothers
How much were you paid to come up with this list?
Many songs listed did not have a guitar solo.
Sell outs….
Rob
June 14, 2017 at 8:16 pm
“Time” by Pink Floyd,”Locomotive Breath” by Tull,tons of Johnny Winter,Alvin Lee,Al DiMeola,and so many more-beauty is in the ear of the beholder in this case.
Bob Rodrick
June 14, 2017 at 8:19 pm
There’s a guitar solo in “Smells Like Teen Spirit?” Where?! And that merits a top ten spot?!?!
Kevin
June 14, 2017 at 9:42 pm
Intro: Sweet Jane…Lou Reed…Rock n Roll Animal
chris kelsch
June 14, 2017 at 10:54 pm
johnny winter….”it’s all over now”…….roy Buchanan…..”I’m a ram”
Carmine Livardo
June 14, 2017 at 10:56 pm
Frampton/Rolling Stone. Mick Ralph’s I’m a Cadillac El Camino Mark Farner Inside Looking Out. Eddie Van Halen Eruption just to add a few!
Jim
June 15, 2017 at 12:05 am
No Highway Star?? What about Todd Rungren on Bat Out Of Hell? Jan Akkerman’s Hocus Pocus? Too many missing from this list
Jane Gallup
June 15, 2017 at 1:40 am
Try listening to anything by the late great Chris Whitley.
Jschell
June 15, 2017 at 4:53 am
While theee certainly are some good choices, the vast majority are really poor selections. Wow! The Carpenters?!? Michael Jackson?!? And no Stevie Ray?
Mike
June 15, 2017 at 6:45 am
This is the worst list ive ever seen. How could you leave out martin barre’s aqualung solo ans schenker’s rock bottom and blue sky by the allmans.
Christo
June 15, 2017 at 5:05 pm
David Lindley – Running on Empty (Jackson Browne)
Mick Taylor – his live stuff from Ya-Yas
Clapton – Crossroads (live)
Anything from Hendrix Royal Albert Hall (live) album – how did he manage all that?!
And of course Prince ‘While My Guitar’ – the sheer audacity of it
Bringers of joy, all of them
Bill butterman
June 16, 2017 at 7:25 am
intro on Lou Reeds Rock n Roll animal by Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter.
Paul
June 16, 2017 at 3:30 pm
No AC/DC track ????!!!!!!!
Joe
June 18, 2017 at 12:26 am
Trapeze-MAKES YOU WANNA CRY, Mel Galley lead; Steve Howe -Yes-AMERICA
victor
July 5, 2017 at 7:30 pm
While I am glad to see a few Harrison solos on the list and Clapton’s WMGGW as #1. This is a God Awful list.
Dave
July 5, 2017 at 8:27 pm
Once again you people confirm that you know little to nothing about music. Most of these songs do not have a meaningful “guitar solo” in them. Moreover, the ranking is laughable. You might want to listen to a song before you put it on a list such as this. Shameful!
Gorm Brunso
July 5, 2017 at 10:30 pm
Ten Years After
I Can’t Keep From Crying Sometimes
Album: Recorded Live
Jackie
July 5, 2017 at 11:54 pm
Ronnie Montrose-Voyager, Richie Sambora,. Wanted Dead or Alive, David Gilmore, Neal Schon, Stevie Stevens to add to the list.
Kerry
July 6, 2017 at 12:28 am
I was thinking when I first opened the list the best solo I’ve ever seen was done by Prince and the funny thing is he was doing number one on this list. He did it at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Tom Petty and friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SFNW5F8K9Y
Bob Conway
July 6, 2017 at 3:53 am
Yes, I love #1 but the example is G’s acoustic version sans solo….and Kerry is right Prince “shredded the crap out of it at the HOF show. But I wrote to note the absence of Alvin Lee and !0 Years After “Goin Home” from Woodstock. Or was “tripping” outlawed by the selection committee?
Jw Piatak
July 6, 2017 at 4:49 am
Loggins & Messina Angry Eyes ?
piet
July 6, 2017 at 5:03 am
Rory Gallagher ‘millions miles away’…
Colloseum ‘ Lost Angeles’
Jim Smith
July 6, 2017 at 2:41 pm
Lots of “NO SRV” – #55 although the solo from Montreux ’82 is far superior.
Jim Smith
July 6, 2017 at 2:44 pm
A vote for Alvin Lee (Ten Years After) “Goin’ Home” from Woodstock.
Nick
July 6, 2017 at 7:25 pm
Duane Allman’s solo on Boz Scaggs’ “Loan Me A Dime”.
dman
July 6, 2017 at 8:04 pm
Smells Like Teen Spirit?? I didn’t know there was a guitar solo on that song. Just because the writers like a song doesn’t mean that song has a great solo. This list is flawed big time. Slash’s solo on Sweet Child of Mine is still one of my favorites. Glad to see him get #5. I always loved the guitar solo on Edie Brickell’s “What I am”, too.
ttsxii
July 7, 2017 at 12:37 am
Just went thru my IPOD. Most of the original list was pretty good. I listened to Do It Again by The Beach Boys. Are you kidding?
Alice Cooper No More Mr. Nice Guy
Bruce Springsteen Prove It All Night
Buffalo Springfield Mr. Soul
Commander Cody Hot Rod Lincoln
Dave Edmunds Get Out of Denver
Doobie Brothers Takin IT to the Street
Fleetwood Mac Go Your Own Way
Free Wishing Well
Gary Moore Still Got the Blues for You
Heart Crazy On You
Stevie Nicks Edge of Seventeen
Yardbirds Mr You’re A Better Man Than I
Jackson Browne Late for the Sky
John Hiatt Perfetly Good Guitar
Little Feat Dixie Chicken
Paul Revere Him or Me What’s It gonna Be
Richard Thompson Shoot Out the Lights
Rod Stewart Stay With Me
Stranglehold Ted Nugent
Thin Lizzy The Boys Are Back in Town
Tom Petty American Girl
The Tubes White Punks On Dope
10cc Wall Street Shuffle
Ralf Hanke
July 7, 2017 at 5:39 pm
The Beatles are overrated. Since 1970.
john bennett
September 28, 2017 at 2:44 am
Whatever
Brian McGraw
July 7, 2017 at 8:47 pm
I’m glad Rory Gallagher was on the list.
Phil
July 8, 2017 at 7:27 pm
I can’t believe I didn’t see Terry Kath from Chicago on 25 or 6 to 4. The studio version was great, but some of the live versions were even better. Total f up not to have him in the top 100.
dom
July 9, 2017 at 10:04 am
There’s no guitar solo in #62!!! Who is the guy listening to a flute solo thinking it’s a guitar solo???
dom
July 9, 2017 at 10:06 am
No Paul Kossoff?
Bill
July 10, 2017 at 4:57 am
NO disrespect to Jimmie (Hell, he wrote the song), BUT Stevie Ray playing Voodoo Chile at the El Mocambo is flat out the BEST guitar playing I have ever heard, period. Sharpest, clearest and most precise (with Stevie edge on it) rendition of Voodoo Chile I have ever heard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoB_YBXXEOU
Angela Toon
July 10, 2017 at 8:22 am
Water melon in Easter hay Frank Zappa absolutely the best guitar solo I’ve ever heard. Off Joe’s garage, it’s fantastic
amoebathehun
November 12, 2017 at 7:52 pm
Where’s John Petrucci’s solo from the live version (at Budokan), of Hollow Years?
James
November 19, 2017 at 10:36 pm
I think we needed some Genesis on here.
The Lamia
Firth of Fifth
Blood on the Rooftops
The Knife
The Musical Box
The Return of the Giant Hogweed
The Fountain of Salmacis
Seven Stones
Supper’s Ready
Dancing With the Moonlit Knight
Ripples…
Los Endos
Second Home By the Sea
Ken
December 19, 2017 at 4:25 pm
May be the worst, most pitiful list I’ve ever seen and that includes Rolling Stone’s top 100 albums of all-time which is putrid.
Matt
December 19, 2017 at 6:45 pm
“All Right Now” You can’t be serious. Complete and absolute insidious trash of a song.
Alex
December 20, 2017 at 1:55 am
Gary Moore Scott Gorham or Brian Robertson,Thin Lizzy …. Elliot Easton of the Cars, Steely Dan Reeling in the years solo….Michael Schenker, UFO Mick Ronson Moonage Daydream…Terry Kath Chicago….
Sergio
December 20, 2017 at 11:49 pm
“The Bells of Rhymney” by The Byrds.
Adam Farber
January 1, 2018 at 10:59 pm
Blue Sky by the Allman Brothers without a doubt one of the best guitar dueling solos ever, it is fantastic!
Chris
January 13, 2018 at 11:15 pm
In Every Dream Home a Heartche
Halli
January 23, 2018 at 10:07 pm
Where was Rory Gallagher in this list
inmo sedom
February 16, 2018 at 6:55 pm
Steve Howe-YES “America”/”South Side of the Sky”.
Rob
February 16, 2018 at 7:47 pm
Ronnie Wood you can’t always get what you want live Stones
Michael Meyers
February 16, 2018 at 8:01 pm
Johnny Winter – Be Careful With A fool
Bill
February 16, 2018 at 9:05 pm
Too many to list. Listen to the guitar in “every” song. They are all good.
joe lestardo
February 16, 2018 at 9:56 pm
Interesting, some right on some ? order is questionable but others are a Stretch at Best! you should let the reader fill in the blanks, it won’t be a better or worse than what you came up with.
Jeff Burley
February 17, 2018 at 2:59 pm
I am sorry but your number 1 pick should not even be in the top 100. The song is nice, but as far as a guitar solo, there is none. That is a rhythm guitar part, not a solo part. So, with that said, I doubt any of your picks should be considered relevant.
Avro Arrow
January 20, 2020 at 5:23 pm
I couldn’t agree more. I also can’t understand how Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb is ranked at..21?
Steve Nimrod
February 17, 2018 at 7:34 pm
No Monte Montgomery – are you mad?
Christopher Nowak
December 6, 2019 at 12:00 am
What about WES Montgomery?!!
Steve
February 17, 2018 at 8:30 pm
Who put this list together? Comfortably Numb not in the top 5 I think you better dtick to Spice Girls or Bucks Fizz because you are clueless
Evandro
February 18, 2018 at 12:29 am
David Gilmour should be at the top of the list, number one.
noggin th' nog
February 19, 2018 at 9:15 pm
Marillion’s Steve Rothery emotes rather well on Easter.
Top 50 at least 🙂
Nathan
February 21, 2018 at 1:38 pm
Not a terrible list. The one you definitely missed Buckingham Green by Ween. My personal favorite.
Matthew Kell
March 27, 2018 at 1:07 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zSZBAcQ-5M Soft Machine from Hazard Profile Part One -From about 3 minutes in to 9 minutes is the best soloing I have yet heard on a guitar.
Tim
April 1, 2018 at 3:38 pm
Bewildering lack of Jeff Beck in the top 100!!
Barry Darkins
May 24, 2018 at 11:07 pm
Nothing by Neal Schon, notably “Daydream”, or Gary Moore (the most versatile player ever). I’m sorry but how on earth can any Rolling Stones song feature in a list like this. They’re the luckiest 3rd rate pub band ever. There’s nothing by Aerosmith (the joe Perry solo at the end of “NoMore, No More) and Francis Dunnery’s solo on “You’ll Never Get To Heaven should be in the top 5. I could go on, and on, and on….but I won’t.
Ray Zannetti
June 5, 2018 at 7:04 am
Crying by Joe Satriani, Al Dimeola’s Dark Eyed Tango, Gary Moore’s The Loner, Europa by Carlos Santana, Avalon by Frank Marino, Skynyrd’s That Smell just to name a few. I could go on, but that’s just my opinion.
Lou DECHANT
June 5, 2018 at 7:49 am
Day of the Eagle – Robin Trower
spaski
June 8, 2018 at 3:45 pm
so where is Pretty Things “October 26”?
spaski
June 8, 2018 at 3:56 pm
and Prince’s “Not a King” of course,especially the version on the North Sea Jazz Festival,where i wrongly assumed he was doing a soundcheck..
Bob Loving
July 15, 2018 at 9:07 pm
Seriously ,you all must be on something! I know he died early and far too young but what the Hell, no Terry Kath?!?! 25 or 6 to 4 guitar solo was outstanding and even Hendrix said” I`m pretty good, but you gotta look for this guy Terry Kath he`s amazing” paraphrased to a point but all true.
Blair
July 17, 2018 at 11:21 pm
Where’s Eric Clapton’s “Presence of the Lord”?
Ross Syme
July 17, 2018 at 11:36 pm
Jimmy Page said his favorite solo was done by Elliott Randall on Steeley Dans Reelin in the Years. No where to be found on your list.
Vincenzo Macinante
July 26, 2018 at 7:06 am
Deep Purple – You Keep On Moving
Greg Mussio
September 9, 2018 at 11:18 pm
Evidently, this list was put together by non-guitarists. Profoundly misinformed.
Alfredo
November 16, 2018 at 8:09 pm
Man! At least one person that mention Steve Rothery from Marillion. For God sake, he’s got at least five songs every top guitar list should have. Easter is one of them and The web, sugar mice, this strange engine and way lot more…
Todd Keiper
November 25, 2018 at 2:46 am
Fake news – no RUSH
Strömma
January 13, 2019 at 1:57 am
Great list. But the second solo on Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd, Another brick in the wall) is way better than any of these, and it didn’t even make the list? Seriously?
jim
January 20, 2019 at 3:42 am
No Robert Quine (Matt Sweet) or Robert Fripp (Babys on fire).
Your list is terrible, Filler solos.
Jakob
February 8, 2019 at 9:10 pm
Is it just me or are Gary Moore the most underrated guitarist of all time??? 🙁
Vito
February 10, 2019 at 8:26 pm
One obscure song by Santana, not sure there was even a guitar in that song. Lou Reed’s Sweet Jane.
Leozza
April 4, 2019 at 11:04 pm
Terry Kath,probably the best guitar player of his time, Gary Moore so underrated, no Clem Clemson… and too much Harrison with all the love we can have… It’s not a real and believable list.
Stacey
April 5, 2019 at 12:22 am
Yes!!! Where is Terry Kath???!!
Stacey
April 5, 2019 at 12:20 am
I cannot believe that Terry Kath of Chicago didn’t make this list. He was absolutely incredible!
michael
April 8, 2019 at 3:46 am
I absolutely agree with you Stacey he’s always left out.Even Hendrix was in awe of him.thanks for remembering Terry he was the driving force of Chicago and made them all better musicians!!
Thomas Ziegler
April 6, 2019 at 8:44 pm
Frank Zappa – Inca Roads
Sdorst
April 26, 2019 at 6:22 am
Comfortably Numb by David Gilmour is definitely one of the greatest guitar solos ever. My personal favorite.
Prince’s performance of WMGGW on the HOF show is phenomenal, but Clapton’s version on the White Album is classic, and Prince’s version couldn’t exist without it. They both get my vote!
Nic
June 3, 2019 at 12:18 pm
Larry Carlton’s solo on Steely Dan’s Kid Charlemagne is by far NUMBER ONE. EVER.
Isaac
July 25, 2019 at 7:17 am
Where are #s 84 & 85? The list skips right from 86 to 83.
Alden
October 13, 2019 at 1:13 am
If you’re going to include guitar solos from Neil Young songs, then you must include both Like a Hurricane and Cortez the Killer. Both of those solos blow Southern Man out of the water.
Christopher Nowak
December 6, 2019 at 12:12 am
What about Danny Cedrone’s solo on ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK.
This solo has influenced Hendrix, Townhsend and the band TEN YEARS AFTER.
He was definitely ahead of his time!!
Christopher Nowak
December 6, 2019 at 12:15 am
I think any solo by the talented french girl TINA S.would blow any of these listed solos away!!
Avro Arrow
January 20, 2020 at 5:28 pm
Well hell, if you’re going to go outside of the Rock genre, you may as well rank Flamenco solos as well. Those guys can hit like 20 notes per second.
How Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb only hit #21 and you ranked “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” TEN places ahead of it blows my mind. Even more mind-blowing is that Time isn’t on the list. I’m guessing that you only included the album version of Comfortably Numb (which wasn’t Gilmour’s best Album solo, Time was) but the live version (specifically from the 1994 Pulse Tour) is proof that David Gilmour is a living god.
Mr. Opinion
September 13, 2020 at 10:53 pm
How is Steve Howe not on this list?
Ever heard of John Petrucci?
Ron
February 10, 2021 at 4:26 am
Steve Lukather of Toto had a huge part in “Beat It!” Apparently the writer of this didn’t do their homework!
Andy R
August 26, 2021 at 11:25 pm
Uriah Heep’s Mick Box playing this amazing three-part solo in the last quarter of the song “Salisbury”. My personal all time favourite. Not anywhere on this list. Crap list 😉
Greg Lindstrom
September 29, 2021 at 6:36 pm
Just like any of the Click bait “best of” lists this is a terrible list that leaves out so many performances and guitar players it is pathetic. No denying the following cut by Danny Gatton is one of the greatest ever along with many of his recordings. This is from “The Humbler” album, named from a comment by sessions guitar player Amos Garrett who saw the show and called it a humbling experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT2FqTIKbOE
Alejandro Guerrero
March 4, 2022 at 11:04 pm
Dry County is a song by Bon Jovi, with an excellent solo by Richie Sambora, spectacular is the qualifier, it was not even taken into account.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UX-G_JSmio
Steve
March 13, 2022 at 3:28 pm
The Pretenders
James Honeyman-Scott
Tattooed Love Boys
1:32 – 2:12
Bernard O’Hara
March 3, 2023 at 9:33 pm
Re no 40 – Move It – Hank Marvin wasn’t even on the record. It was a session guitarist – Ernie Shear. If you want to pick a record that inspired thousands of would be guitarists, pick out Apache – on which Hank most definitely did play…
Bill
November 2, 2023 at 6:44 am
This is the single worst list of supposedly “great” solos that I have ever seen.
I’m going to point out one player in particular that it’s a joke that he’s not anywhere on the list. But truth be told, the entire list is just pathetic all the way around.
That one player that I’m going to single out who should have had multiple solos listed on here is Neal Schon.
The guitar solos that Schon plays in songs like “Stone In Love” and “Who’s Crying Now” are among the greatest solos by anyone ever.
But as I said, the entire list is just one bad joke!
I could go on and on with other players/solos who should be on this list who are not.
Steve Kimberley
February 28, 2024 at 3:34 pm
The entry for Gary Moore at no 106, (as part of Thin Lizzy) does in no way represent Gary’s best guitar solo, not even close. He should be in the top 5, with several possible tracks eg. Parisienne Walkways, Story of the Blues, Ive still got the blues for you, The Loner, and several other possibilities.
In addition, nothing from Joe Bonamassa, or Joe Satriani? Both should be in the top 10!