1.
song: Stairway to Heaven
guitarist: Jimmy Page
band: Led Zeppelin
album: Led Zeppelin IV
2.
song: Eruption
guitarist: Eddie Van Halen
band: Van Halen
album: Van Halen
3
song: Freebird
guitarist: Collins/Rossington
band: Lynyrd Skynyrd
album: Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd
4.
song: Comfortably Numb
guitarist: David Gilmour
band: Pink Floyd
album: The Wall
5.
song: All Along the Watchtower
guitarist: Jimi Hendrix
band: Jimi Hendrix Experience
album: Electric Ladyland
6.
song: November Rain
guitarist: Slash
band: Guns n’ Roses
album: Use Your Illusion I
7.
song: One
guitarist: Kirk Hammet
band: Metallica
album: And Justice for All
8.
song: Hotel California
guitarist: Don Felder/Joe Walsh
band: The Eagles
album: Hotel California
9.
song: Crazy Train
guitarist: Randy Rhoads
band: Ozzy Ozbourne
album: Blizzard of Ozz
10.
song: Crossroads
guitarist: Eric Clapton
band: Cream
album: Wheels of Fire
11.
song: Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)
guitarist: Jimi Hendrix
band: Jimi Hendrix
album: Electric Ladyland
12.
song: Johnny B. Goode
guitarist: Chuck Berry
band: Chuck Berry
album: Chuck Berry Is On Top
13.
song: Texas Flood
guitarist: Stevie Ray Vaughan
band: Stevie Ray Vaughan
album: Texas Flood
14.
song: Layla
guitarist: Clapton/Allman
band: Derek and the Dominoes
album: Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
15.
song: Floods
guitarist: Dimebag Darrel
band: Pantera
album: The Great Southern Trendkill
16.
song: Heartbreaker
guitarist: Jimmy Page
band: Led Zeppelin
album: Led Zeppelin II
17.
song: Cliffs of Dover
guitarist: Eric Johnson
band: Eric Johnson
album: Ah Via Musicom
18.
song: Little Wing
guitarist: Jimi Hendrix
band: Jimi Hendrix Experience
album: Axis: Bold as Love
19.
song: Highway Star
guitarist: Ritchie Blackmore
band: Deep Purple
album: Machine Head
20.
song: Bohemian Rhapsody
guitarist: Brian May
band: Queen
album: A Night at the Opera
21.
song: Time
guitarist: David Gilmour
band: Pink Floyd
album: Dark Side of the Moon
22.
song: Sultans of Swing
guitarist: Mark Knopfler
band: Dire Straits
album: Dire Straits
23.
song: Bulls on Parade
guitarist: Tom Morello
band: Rage Against the Machine
album: Evil Empire
24.
song: Fade to Black
guitarist: Kirk Hammet
band: Metallica
album: Ride the Lightning
25.
song: Aqualung
guitarist: Martin Barre
band: Jethro Tull
album: Aqualung
26.
song: Smells Like Teen Spirit
guitarist: Kurt Cobain
band: Nirvana
album: Nevermind
27.
song: Pride and Joy
guitarist: Stevie Ray Vaughan
band: Stevie Ray Vaughan
album: Texas Flood
28.
song: Mr. Crowley
guitarist: Randy Rhoads
band: Ozzy Ozbourne
album: Blizzard of Oz
29.
song: For the Love of God
guitarist: Steve Vai
band: Steve Vai
album: Passion and Warfare
30.
song: Surfing With the Alien
guitarist: Joe Satriani
band: Joe Satriani
album: Surfing With the Alien
31.
song: Stranglehold
guitarist: Ted Nugent
band: Ted Nugent
album: Ted Nugent
32.
song: Machine Gun
guitarist: Jimi Hendrix
band: Jimi Hendrix
album: Band of Gypsies
33.
song: The Thrill is Gone
guitarist: B.B. King
band: B.B. King
album: Completely Well
34.
song: Paranoid Android
guitarist: Jonny Greenwood
band: Radiohead
album: OK Computer
35.
song: Cemetery Gates
guitarist: Dimebag Darrel
band: Pantera
album: Cowboys From Hell
36.
song: Black Star
guitarist: Yngwie Malmsteen
band: Yngwie Malmsteen
album: Rising Force
more: Black Star tab
37.
song: Sweet Child O’ Mine
guitarist: Slash
band: Guns n’ Roses
album: Appetite for Destruction
38.
song: Whole Lotta Love
guitarist: Jimmy Page
band: Led Zeppelin
album: Led Zeppelin II
39.
song: Cortez the Killer
guitarist: Neil Young
band: Neil Young
album: Zuma
40.
song: Reelin’ In the Years
guitarist: Elliot Randall
band: Steely Dan
album: Can’t Buy a Thrill
41.
song: Brighton Rock
guitarist: Brian May
band:Queen
album: Sheer Heart Attack
42.
song: While My Guitar Gently Weeps
guitarist: Eric Clapton
band: The Beatles
album: The White Album
43.
song: Sharp Dressed Man
guitarist: Billy Gibbons
band: ZZ Top
album: Eliminator
44.
song: Alive
guitarist: Mike McCready
band: Pearl Jam
album: Ten
45.
song: Light My Fire
guitarist: Robby Krieger
band: The Doors
album: Doors
46.
song: Hot For Teacher
guitarist: Eddie Van Halen
band: Van Halen
album: 1984
47.
song: Jessica
guitarist: Dickey Betts
band: The Allman Brothers
album: Brothers and Sisters
tab: Jessica tab
48.
song: Sympathy for the Devil
guitarist: Keith Richards
band: The Rolling Stones
album: Beggar’s Banquet
49.
song: Europa
guitarist: Carlos Santana
band: Santana
album: Amigos
50.
song: Shock Me
guitarist: Ace Frehley
band: Kiss
album: Love Gun |
51.
song: Master of Puppets
guitarist: Kirk Hammet
band: Metallica
album: Master of Puppets
52
song: Star Spangled Banner
guitarist: Jimi Hendrix
band: Jimi Hendrix
album: Jimi Hendrix: Woodstock
53
song: Since I’ve Been Loving You
guitarist: Jimmy Page
band: Led Zeppelin
album: Led Zeppelin III
54
song: Geek USA
guitarist: Billy Corgan
band: Smashing Pumpkins
album: Siamese Dream
55.
song: Satch Boogie
guitarist: Joe Satriani
band: Joe Satriani
album: Surfing With the Alien
56.
song: War Pigs
guitarist: Tony Iommi
band: Black Sabbath
album: Paranoid
57.
song: Walk
guitarist: Dimebag Darrel
band: Pantera
album: Vulgar Display of Power
58.
song: Cocaine
guitarist: Eric Clapton
band: Eric Clapton
album: Slowhand
59.
song: You Really Got Me
guitarist: Dave Davies
band: The Kinks
album: Kinks
60.
song: Zoot Allures
guitarist: Frank Zappa
band: Frank Zappa
album: Zoot Allures
61.
song: No More Tears
guitarist: Zakk Wylde
band: Ozzy Osbourne
album: No More Tears
62.
song: Money
guitarist: David Gilmour
band: Pink Floyd
album: Dark Side of the Moon
63.
song: Black Hole Sun
guitarist: Kim Thayil
band: Soundgarden
album: Superunknown
64.
song: Little Red Corvette
guitarist: Prince
band: Prince
album: 1999
65.
song: In Bloom
guitarist: Kurt Cobain
band: Nirvana
album: Nevermind
66.
song: Blue Sky
guitarist: Allman/Betts
band: The Allman Brothers
album: Eat a Peach
tab: Blue Sky tab (from Allmanbrothersband.com)
67.
song: Beat It
guitarist: Eddie Van Halen
band: Michael Jackson
album: Thriller
68.
song: Starship Trooper
guitarist: Steve Howe
band: Yes
album: The Yes Album
69.
song: And Your Bird Can Sing
guitarist: George Harrison
band: The Beatles
album: Revolver
70.
song: Purple Haze
guitarist: Jimi Hendrix
band: The Jimi Hendrix Experience
album: Are You Experienced?
71.
song: Maggot Brain
guitarist: Eddie Hazel
band: Funkadelic
album: Maggot Brain
72.
song: Walk This Way
guitarist: Joe Perry
band: Aeorosmith
album: Toys in the Attic
73.
song: Stash
guitarist: Trey Anastasio
band: Phish
album: A Picture of Nectar
74.
song: Lazy
guitarist: Ritchie Blackmore
band: Deep Purple
album: Machine Head
75.
song: Won’t Get Fooled Again
guitarist: Pete Townsend
band: The Who
album: Who’s Next
76.
song: Cinnamon Girl
guitarist: Neil Young
band: Neil Young and Crazy Horse
album: Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
77.
song: Man in the Box
guitarist: Jerry Cantrell
band: Alice in Chains
album: Face Lift
78.
song: Truckin’
guitarist: Jerry Garcia
band: The Grateful Dead
album: American Beauty
79.
song: Mean Street
guitarist: Eddie Van Halen
band: Van Halen
album: Fair Warning
80.
song: You Shook Me All Night Long
guitarist: Angus Young
band: AC/DC
album: Back in Black
81.
song: Sweet Jane
guitarist: Hunter/Wagner
band: The Velvet Underground
album: Loaded
82.
song: 21st Century Schizoid Man
guitarist: Robert Fripp
band: King Crimson
album: In the Court of the Crimson King
83.
song: Scuttle Buttin’
guitarist: Stevie Ray Vaughan
band: Stevie Ray Vaughan
album: Couldn’t Stand the Weather
84.
song: Santeria
guitarist: Brad Nowell
band: Sublime
album: Sublime
85.
song: Moonage Daydream
guitarist: Mick Ronson
band: David Bowie
album: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
86.
song: Whipping Post
guitarist: Allman/Betts
band: The Allman Brothers
album: The Allman Brothers Band
87.
song: Cult of Personality
guitarist: Vernon Reid
band: Living Color
album: Vivid
88.
song: Kid Charlemagne
guitarist: Larry Carlton
band: Steely Dan
album: The Royal Scam
89.
song: Killing in the Name
guitarist: Tom Morello
band: Rage Against the Machine
album: Rage Against the Machine
90.
song: Let it Rain
guitarist: Eric Clapton
band: Eric Clapton
album: Eric Clapton
91.
song: Heard It Thu Grapevine
guitarist: John Fogerty
band: CCR
album: Cosmo’s Factory
92.
song: Stray Cat Strut
guitarist: Brian Setzer
band: Stray Cats
album: Built for Speed
93.
song: The End
guitarist: Robbie Krieger
band: The Doors
album: The Doors
94.
song: Working Man
guitarist: Alex Lifeson
band: Rush
album: Rush
95.
song: Yellow Ledbetter
guitarist: Mike McCready
band: Pearl Jam
album: Jeremy
96.
song: Honky Tonk Women
guitarist: Keith Richards
band: The Rolling Stones
album: Let it Bleed
97.
song: Cherub Rock
guitarist: Billy Corgan
band: Smashing Pumpkins
album: Siamese Dream
98.
song: Under a Glass Moon
guitarist: John Petrucci
band: Dream Theater
album: Images & Words
99.
song: Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers
guitarist: Jeff Beck
band: Jeff Beck
album: Blow by Blow
100.
song: Three Days
guitarist: Dave Navarro
band: Jane’s Addiction
album: Ritual de lo Habitual |
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whoever made this list is an idiot
waht about SLIPKNOT
SYNYSTER
or any of the others
DUMMIES for lack of a bertter word
Being an old timer I’ve seen live Hendrix, Clapton, Peter Green, George Harrison, Taj Mahal, The Stones, Cream, Pink Floyd and many others in the 60′s and 70′s. You can’t ever say what are the best 100 Guitar Solos. You can say what are your favourite may be. I have been lucky to have lived through an age of guitar music that I doubt we will see again.
I have just found a young girl here in the UK. She is just finishing her degree at University and then, I think, heading for the good time. Have a look at her on youtube. Her version of Stormy Monday has had over 50,000 hits and this is a kid who has never been promoted.
She is called Chantel McGregor and you cam see her here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBp53TdYvQI
If Iron Maiden its not in this list, you can take for granted that its fake.
where is the buckethead… this list is so inaccurate… where is the iron maiden as well any of bucketheads or maidens solos easily blows stairway outta the water… i mean seriously have you not listened to jordan or soothsayer both buckethead songs… and epically amazing…. or dance of death, aces high,fear of the dark… all epic iron maiden songs .. if your gonna have the top 100 solos atleast pick decent music… i mean stairway come on… jimmy is good but he aint got nothing on Adrian smith or buckethead… hands down prob worst list ive seen
why a7x or synyster gates isnt that list ?
synyster gates is awesome
Red Hot Chilli Peppers?
The Eagles?
this list looks damn good to me. relax people. there is no pain, you are receding…
wtf fade to black is better then stairway to heaven and eruption. hammett put his heart in that solo which makes it better then these two songs. also “One” is possibly the most creative guitar solo because the solo is morse code.
is this listed as top 100 solos? it looks like top100 rock solos to me. to have a list of solos that does not include any fusion guitar players is insane. i can come up with 100 solos from just john mclaughlin, al dimeola and larry coryell that are better than any on this list. if you add the great pure jazz solos the list jumps up to about 250 solos better than any of these. no joe pass,kenny burrell or grant green? now lets talk about blues players. roy buchannen, duke robbillard or ronnie earl all have done solos better than any of these. come on people expand your horizons. please understand these are good solos that are listed but top 100 of all time, give me abreak.
5 what should be well known rock solos better than any on this list. 1. robert fripp, babys on fire from brian enos here come the warm jets. 2. denny dias, the sitar solo on do it again from the first steey dan album. 3. rick derringer, the slide solo on show biz kids from cant buy a thrill by steely dan. 4. steve howe, the opening solo from sibereran khautru on the yes album close to the edge. 5. tommy bolin, the closing solo on savahna women from the album teaser. the best guitar duet ever, al dimeola and larry coryell, the song is called prince of the sea from the lenny whit album venusian summer.
Listen, I love everything on this list. But anyone who knows anything about guitar and modern rock knows that this list is absolute trash.
Vai, Mustaine, Satriani, Gilbert, Blackmore, Buckethead and Batio should be scattered all OVER this list. Page, Hendrix, and Clapton are given their correct props though.
Where’s Megadeth???
Dave Mustaine is a legend. Marty Friedman is a legend. They should most definitely be on this list.
where’s wishbone ash and eloy ??
where in the hell is “the devil went down to gergia” from stevie ouimette, it’s like a battle guitar solo
and “ORION” from metallica, this list is wrong
The hell with lists. They just piss everyone off.
why the F*** buckethead is not here???…FUCK!!! THIS!!! LIST!!!…HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!….can anybody or “someone” remove this list out of my face???. . .buckethead is the best of them all!!!!!!
This is the third or fourth top 100 Guitar Players website that I looked at, and not one of them had Django Reinhardt any where on there list’s. I think what we should do is take everyone of these guitarists and chop off three of there fingers and see how good they are. Hell they couldn’t do Django with the five they have. Thre is also three other guitarist that should recieve special attention for top 100 guitarists and they are, Biréli Lagrène, Stochelo Rosenberg, and Larry Coryell. Biréli and Stochelo hold the title for playing Django material, and Larry Coryell is credited for starting fusion/jazz guitar. Also, ask Jimmy Page who he thinks the best Guitar player of all time is, I bet he will say Django Reinhardt.
where the hell is Mr Buckethead,noway this is a fake top 100 greatest guitar solos list,i’m sure there is another one where i found more than 5 songs by buckethead; Nottingham Lace,and his master piece Big sur moon and the amazing Too many humains and other songs,by the way why cant i find any Yngwie malmsteen or Michael angelo batio songs ??????!!!!!!!!!!!
Fuck You guys!!!!!
i would like to see you guys play stariway to heaven live!!! That is the hardest solo in the world!!!!
trani by kings of leon …..
savage
and dont patronize me by saying something about sex on fire …thats a horrible song but trani is unreal
trani is one of the few songs in the last years that is a solo that knowswhen to quit and doesnt milk it for three minutes …
and it was written in 2003
not a bad list, but maybe some more EVH, steve vai and joe satriani would be good.But Jordan by Buckethead should be on this list, even if it places number 10o, that solo redefines technical accuracy, his use of the killswitch and sweep picking and tapping makes it one of the coolest sounding solos ever.
It’s too bad GW Williams wasn’t yet famous as he is becoming today.
He’s be number 1 on acoustic and I think number 3 on electric guitar.
He’s come a long ways in the past couple years. And he’s fast becoming my favorite guitar player ever.
GW Williams is amazing, he has to be the greatest guitarist of all time, his new album is climbing the charts, every radio station here in the deep southern states are playing his new 2010 CD release.
His new acoustic guitar son titled, Acoustic Guitar Rock N Roll Blast Off , is fast becoming a world wide hit. He’s created a new guitar style.
I also like his song, Electric Rock Guitarist, and Rock N The Blues Electric Style.
One things is for sure, his new album has over 24 million downloads online and being sold in stores.
That’s solid baby !!
estay cagao komo puede estar smells like then spirit en el 26 cuando ay muchos mejores komo el de seek and destroy
Can’t believe you left out “That Lady” by the Isley Bros! One of the greatest guitar solos ever and it didn’t even make the list. Please listen to it and then reconsider. Thanks!
Seriously, Nirvana??!! They were at the forefront of grunge – the movement that was responsible for killing the guitar solo!!! Not to mention his solos don’t even belong in the top 1000 in the first place!
If you think these solos are good. Search on youtube Losing September – Warthog. You won’t be disappointed. Peace
I think there is at least one angle on this list that is constantly being glossed over. I’ve read as many of the comments as I could stomach and, thanking those who took the time to write articulate and thought out opinions, I have to say I am a little disappointed with the mass hysteria. Let’s face it, it’s a public opinion poll taken from a highly commercial magazine… thinking you’re going to get opinions from people defining abstract, independent, or otherwise unknown artists is a fallacy.
Now, back to this point which has been glossed over – I think we can safely dissect any potential list into any infinite number of categorical fields to better define what the ‘best guitar solos’ may or may not have been. Unmentioned, these fields might include (but are not limited to), attributes like; the influence they may have had in their time period and how they shaped music that came after them, the emotional connotation that the artist was able to render in his/her craft, the impact (both commercial and metaphysical) they had on popular music and “the masses” at the time, worldwide recognition of a now infamous slice of guitar history, and of course technical artistry (which again, could be split into many hundreds or possibly thousands of subcategories).
The lesson here? Well boys and girls, this is simply another way of defining the subjective nature of such a list. Thankfully some people out there are open minded enough to accept that. Yes I’d like to see (among others) Mark Knopfler, Steve Vai, John Frusciante, or Paul Gilbert on the list (to name a very select few out of the hundreds I’m sure we could all agree on)… but, as the article clearly states at the outset, “These rankings should be representative of the thoughts and opinions of Guitar World’s readership”. If you can’t understand what that statement means, perhaps you should have stopped reading at that point and simply compiled your own list. To those who made intelligent comments and articulated good suggestions of notable absences, as well as offering a smattering of background and depth – thank you. It is appreciated.
my top seven guitar solos:
1. stairway to heaven, Led Zeppelin
2. the unforgiven, Metallica
3. enter sandman, Metallica
4. Riff Raff, AC/DC
5. jump, Eddie Van Halen
6. you shook me all night long, AC/DC
7. november rain, Guns n’ roses
Angus Young kills them ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
another awesome solo, through the fire and flames, dragon force.
peace
Buckethead sucks…if he should be on hear, then any of the Dragonforce songs should be on here. Both are studio/machine players.
My top 5:
Fade to Black (metallica)
One (metallica)
Orion (metallica)
Laid to Rest (metallica)
Stairway to Heaven (led zepplin)
If you want to email me for guitar tabs, or actual descriptions of different metal/rock bands, or just feel like arguing, email me at konohafounder@yahoo.com
I guess they never heard the solo in the song Blackbird from Alter Bridge.
Somewhat OK List: Has Potential But Kinda Weak In Points!
True That Stairway To Heaven Is A Brilliant Solo But I Would NEVER EVER Place It Number One!
And Just One Question: Where The FUCK Is Child In Time By Deep Purple?
Stop Being A Loser And Download This SSSWWWWEEEETTTT Song Now And Listen To The Solo NOW!
…. And One More Thing: Wheres Painkiller & Touch Of Evil By Judas Priest?
…. And Stranger In A Strange Land By Iron Maiden?
The young boy Pedro Castilho in the music OVERDOSE.
The best guitar player of world now!
One correction that I can offer: Solo on Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women” was played by Mick Taylor. Keith Richards played rhythm guitar.
No Omar Rodriguez-Lopez?
donde esta zappa?
donde quedaron stratovarius?
donde esta rata blanca?
quien chingados hace esta lista?
Where is Iron Maiden – Phantom of the Opera? It has got brilliant guitar solo!
where is the fastest off them all mr.Johhny Winter?????
I must say the list is great–But Jacqueline Mannering(18 year old)that rules the guitar isn’t on it !
If Maggot Brain isn’t in the top 10 the list isn’t even worth reading.
Number 37. Sweet Child O’ Mine is my favourite!
The guitarist on “Cortez the Killer”was Frank Sampedro, not Neil Young.
I cringe every time I see someone saying that Buckethead is the greatest. The fact that he and Dragonforce are uttered on this page says that a lot of the commenters here play too much Guitar Hero. A good guitar solo isn’t something that is maniacly fast and/or hard to play but nothing more; in my opinion (and I mean strictly in my opinion), how “good” a guitar solo is is dependent upon the emotions it portrays and those it evokes in you. That being said, I’ve developed a fixation on Dream Theater over the last couple of years–my nominees for top 100s are Voices and (for the curious Rock Band fans) the ending of Octavarium, both by Dream Theater of course. The latter is beautifully dramatic, and the solo in Voices strikes me as a moment of stunned disbelief/wonder. If you’re like me and like to “feel” music rather than hear it, you should try listening to them with a clear mind. They are, however, relatively long songs… Have fun kids.
Great to see Gilmore and Page, and to tell you the truth i have not heard everyone on that list but i have heard most of them.
Now i have also heard Alvin Lee’s “The bluest blue” and “Lost in love”.
The first has a ( 3:25 ) solo and the second, well, the whole ( 4:07 ) song is a solo.
I thought you could make a list of the best guitar solos and not include ” Lost in love “.
But no you can not
Um, what about John Petrucci?
Megadeth should have about 5 songs in the list above
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