Top 10 Greatest Guitar Solos

[Muscletang]

Every guitarist has opinions on what some of the greatest recorded guitar solos are. While there are many that are commonly regarded as "great", there are lots of others that don't get as much attention. Not too long ago, the editors of Guitar World magazine put together a reader's poll, to find out what their readers considered to be the best guitar solos of all time. The results surely reflect the magazine's demographic (no jazz guitar solos, for example), but no one can argue the following 100 selections boast some great guitar work.

What follows is the list of all 100 songs selected, listed with the guitarist who played the solo, the band who released the album, and the album name.

http://guitar.about.com/library/bl100greatest.htm

I've decided to only post the top 10 and let everybody decide if they agree or not.

10.
song: Crossroads
guitarist: Eric Clapton
band: Cream
album: Wheels of Fire

9.
song: Crazy Train
guitarist: Randy Rhoads
band: Ozzy Ozbourne
album: Blizzard of Ozz

(Good song and all but I think there are better out there. I mean Ozzy is pretty good at the guitar but not top 10 to me.)

8.
song: Hotel California
guitarist: Don Felder/Joe Walsh
band: The Eagles
album: Hotel California

(I've never liked this song and personally could care less for it. I really don't think it deserves to be in the top 10. Ok I probably just pissed off a bunch of people.)

7.
song: One
guitarist: Kirk Hammet
band: Metallica
album: And Justice for All

(Yeah I think this should be in the Top 5 at least. If anything else it should have been over November Rain.)

6.
song: November Rain
guitarist: Slash
band: Guns n' Roses
album: Use Your Illusion I

5.
song: All Along the Watchtower
guitarist: Jimi Hendrix
band: Jimi Hendrix Experience
album: Electric Ladyland

(Contradiction? If Hendrix is the greatest guitarist ever then why is he so high? Don't get me wrong I'm a Hendrix fan but he seems awefully high up to be considered the greastest ever.)

4.
song: Comfortably Numb
guitarist: David Gilmour
band: Pink Floyd
album: The Wall


3.
song: Freebird
guitarist: Collins/Rossington
band: Lynyrd Skynyrd
album: Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd

(I like Skynyrd and like this song but...it doesn't deserve this spot by a long shot.)

2.
song: Eruption
guitarist: Eddie Van Halen
band: Van Halen
album: Van Halen

(If this were number one I wouldn't mind. I'll stick with number two though.)

1.
song: Stairway to Heaven
guitarist: Jimmy Page
band: Led Zeppelin
album: Led Zeppelin IV

(I'm a biased Zeppelin fan so I'm perfectly happy with this.)

[Gohan Ryu]

Although I like Metallica and G n' R I can't believe they'd be rated higher than Carlos Santana or Mark Knopfler.

[Muscletang]

Originally Posted by Gohan Ryu

Although I like Metallica and G n' R I can't believe they'd be rated higher than Carlos Santana or Mark Knopfler.

I can't believe Ozzy would be rated higher than Clapton.

[-Davo]

you forgot to add commercial in the title.

Classical Guitar > all

This countdown is re-done every week by some random radio station, and the results are always the same.

One is about 8, and Stairway to Heaven is always number 1.

Besides, everyone knows that -Davo writed the best music.

[blindside.AMG]

Meh, that's all pop music on that list. Like Davo said, there's a list like this every 30 seconds and it's always the same.

Tis a shame they didn't give any Dimebag solos an honorable mention.

Anyways, John Petrucci solos eat all those for breakfast. Everybody knows that!!!

[vinnym86]

Originally Posted by blindside.AMG

Anyways, John Petrucci solos eat all those for breakfast. Everybody knows that!!!

lol, u beat me to it!

I hate Top 10 lists... too bias. There are many musicians out there that should be on that list.
Buckethead, David Gilmour, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Robert Fripp, Satriani, Vai, Malmsteen, Duane Allman, etc...

i wouldn't even begin to be able to break it down to 10

Oh! and Nigel Tufnel?? lol (Spinal Tap!)

[Muscletang]

Ah but this list isn't about the best guitarist. We're talking about solos.

For example I know several people who think George Harrison was the greatest guitarist of all time. They feel though his role in the Beatles never allowed him to really show off his talent.

[vinnym86]

David Gilmour (Pink Floyd): Time, Shine on you Crazy Diamond...
John Petrucci (Dream Theater): In the name of God, Change of Seasons, The Mirror, etc.
Stevie Ray Vaugh: Texas Flood
Zakk Wylde (Ozzy): No More Tears
Buckethead: Big Sur Moon
Duane Allman: Blue Sky, Layla
Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple): Highway Star
almost forgot: Trey Anastasio!?

ok, some solo's that deserve to be up there, no particular order

[blakscorpion21]

Originally Posted by Muscletang

http://guitar.about.com/library/bl100greatest.htm

I've decided to only post the top 10 and let everybody decide if they agree or not.

10.
song: Crossroads
guitarist: Eric Clapton
band: Cream
album: Wheels of Fire

9.
song: Crazy Train
guitarist: Randy Rhoads
band: Ozzy Ozbourne
album: Blizzard of Ozz

(Good song and all but I think there are better out there. I mean Ozzy is pretty good at the guitar but not top 10 to me.)

8.
song: Hotel California
guitarist: Don Felder/Joe Walsh
band: The Eagles
album: Hotel California

(I've never liked this song and personally could care less for it. I really don't think it deserves to be in the top 10. Ok I probably just pissed off a bunch of people.)

7.
song: One
guitarist: Kirk Hammet
band: Metallica
album: And Justice for All

(Yeah I think this should be in the Top 5 at least. If anything else it should have been over November Rain.)

6.
song: November Rain
guitarist: Slash
band: Guns n' Roses
album: Use Your Illusion I

5.
song: All Along the Watchtower
guitarist: Jimi Hendrix
band: Jimi Hendrix Experience
album: Electric Ladyland

(Contradiction? If Hendrix is the greatest guitarist ever then why is he so high? Don't get me wrong I'm a Hendrix fan but he seems awefully high up to be considered the greastest ever.)

4.
song: Comfortably Numb
guitarist: David Gilmour
band: Pink Floyd
album: The Wall


3.
song: Freebird
guitarist: Collins/Rossington
band: Lynyrd Skynyrd
album: Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd

(I like Skynyrd and like this song but...it doesn't deserve this spot by a long shot.)

2.
song: Eruption
guitarist: Eddie Van Halen
band: Van Halen
album: Van Halen

(If this were number one I wouldn't mind. I'll stick with number two though.)

1.
song: Stairway to Heaven
guitarist: Jimmy Page
band: Led Zeppelin
album: Led Zeppelin IV

(I'm a biased Zeppelin fan so I'm perfectly happy with this.)

10. clapton is an amazing guitarist, this spot is well deserved.
9. Same as 10.
8. Great solo, not that technical, but damn good.
7. master of puppets is better.
6. slash = overrated
5. never was a hendrix fan, overrated if you ask me.
4. this solo can bring you to tears, lol.
3. great song, great solo, but not number 3 great. its just too repetitive.
2. overrated
1. amazing song, definitley not a number one solo though.

[thrasher]

There's no question that Comfortably Numb is the greatest solo ever. I would also argue that Dave Gilmour is the greatest soloist ever, head and shoulders above anyone and everyone. I would put 3 or 4 Gilmour solos in the top 10, easy.

As far as November Rain, what a kroc of shit. That song is terrible. So sappy and corny.

The rest of the solos on that list are all pretty damned good, but the list is admittedly very narrow in its coverage of music styles. Many a jazz/blues guitarists have written solos on par with those, and would never see a list like this.

[elementskater15]

whoa...master of puppets is #51 on that top 100 list where smells like teen spirit is number 20 something. I'll admit I like Nirvana better than metalica, but the solo in SLTS isnt that great. I vote that this be the song list on the next guitar hero..

[TexasF355F1]

The thing that intrigues me about this list is not who belongs where, but that guitar solos are almost non-existent in todays music.

What a pity.

[blakscorpion21]

^ i heard that. you just gotta find the right stuff though. most good metal bands still have solos.

[vinnym86]

^ Jeff Loomis

[blindside.AMG]

Whoops, didn't click the link. Turns out Dimebag made the list more than a couple times. Awesome. He still belongs in the top 10 though.