My Top Ten Guitar Solos of All Time

Written by Jim S.

So here’s my sure-to-be-controversial top ten list of guitar solos. (“Wot? No Angus Young?”) I numbered these 1 – 10 but it’s probably pretty arbitrary depending on the day. The difference from 1 – 10 isn’t leaps and bounds. They are all genius.

In personal preference I lean more towards the bluesy/melodic and less toward the “how-many-notes-per-second-I-can-shred.” This post gave me the opportunity to do something I’d never done before which is listen to these all back-to-back. Awesome! (Pictured: Larry Carlton.)

  1. Free Bird. Lynryd Skynyrd. Guitarists Allen Collins, Gary Rossington – “If I leave here tomorrow,” Collins’ girlfriend said during an argument, “would you still remember me?” I listed this as number one because it’s literally impossible for me to listen to it and not get excited. As noted in my post on this song, if I’m driving and I’m near home, I will keep driving till it’s over. Is the song a cliche of ’70s? Maybe. Don’t care. Love it to death. Not written – as is sometimes believed – for Duane Allman, but later dedicated to him by the band as they used to follow him around the South and watch him wherever he played. Listen to it here.
  2. Crossroads. Cream. Guitarist Eric Clapton. Two solos but I’ll go with the first one. What can I say? Every guitarist can either play this or knows itΒ or would like to play it. Rock “experts” who say it’s a bunch of blues cliches are missing the point. It’s the phrasing. It’s incendiary and has a tight structure. Even Eddie Van Halen who couldn’t play blues if his life depended on it learned this solo. Cream versionΒ here.
  3. Hotel California. Eagles. Guitarists Don Felder, Joe Walsh. I consider this the absolute perfect rock song. Prior to its release, not an Eagles fan. After it, yes. Joe Walsh added balls to a band that was sorely lacking in them. The intertwined solos are perfect and I do not know how they could possibly be improved upon. Listen to it here.
  4. Red House, Jimi Hendrix. Maybe the best blues song ever. Jimi is known for his psychedelia but he was a master bluesman. The intro solo is phenomenal and I spent hours and hours learning it, forty years after it came out. Thanks YouTube guy. You can listen to it here.
  5. Money. Pink Floyd. Guitarist, David Gilmour. His solo has three distinct sections: the first one sets the tone and would be fine and funky by itself. The second one switches over to a close, “dry” sound and the third one just soars off into the stratosphere. I know a lot of people prefer “Comfortably Numb.” But this is the one for me. Listen to it here.
  6. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed. Allman Brothers Band. Guitarists, Duane Allman, Dickey Betts.Β Although both solos are terrific, I’m thinking specifically of Duane’s solo here that comes in at about 7:47 on theirΒ At Fillmore East album. This is what made him such a master. Total passion, pure tone – the works. And the end of the solo is orgasmic. He admitted to thinking of Coltrane’s “sheets of sound” here. Dickey, great as he is, plays. But Duane soars. Listen to it here.
  7. Highway Star. Deep Purple. Guitarist, Ritchie Blackmore.Β As the title would have it, a terrific song for driving. Blackmore was classically trained and supposedly his solo is based on some Bach sequence. I don’t care if it’s based on The Three Stooges theme song. Some commenter on YouTube said, “If I ever decide to commit suicide by driving my car 150 mph straight into a wall, this is the song I’m gonna go with.” Damn straight. Listen to it here.
  8. Sultans of Swing. Dire Straits. Guitarist, Mark Knopfler. Both solos are terrific but I’m going with the first one because I just learned it! And I will tell you that it is not only a terrific solo but he is amazingly creative in his approach. Given that particular set of chords I wouldn’t have thought of this solo in a million years. Unusual bends, country-like sounds, sliding chords, arpeggiated chords. Just well thought out and exciting. All in a minor key. Listen to it here.
  9. Stairway to Heaven. Led Zeppelin. Guitarist, Jimmy Page. A lot of people think this is the greatest rock solo of all time. Page nailed this in, I think, three takes. Just improvised it. What makes a solo great, in part, is how well it fits the song. You can sing it. Listen to it here.
  10. Kid Charlemagne. Steely Dan. Guitarist, Larry Carlton. There could be a top ten list of just Steely Dan guitar solos. Walter Becker is a good guitarist but they always had the cream of the crop session guys who stepped up to the plate. There’s two solos, both outstanding. I’m going with the one at fadeout that starts at about 3:50. Again, perfect, jazzy solo by studio whiz Larry Carlton. (“Mr. 335” for his preferred guitar). And to prove that a solo doesn’t have to be long to be awesome, this one clocks in at about 40 seconds.

Honorable Mention: 25 or 6 to 4,” Chicago, (Terry Kath, guitarist), “Have You Ever Loved A Woman,” Derek and the Dominos, (Eric Clapton, guitarist); Aqualung, Jethro Tull, (Martin Barre, guitarist), “Sweet Jane intro,” Lou Reed (Steve Hunter/Dick Wagner, guitarists); “Texas Flood, ” Stevie Ray Vaughn; “Rock Around the Clock,” Bill Haley and the Comets (Danny Cedrone guitarist); Reelin’ In The Years,” Steely Dan (Elliot Randall, guitarist. Jimmy Page’s favorite solo.)

So that’s my list. Comments, alternate lists more than welcomed.

19 thoughts on “My Top Ten Guitar Solos of All Time”

  1. Great list! No arguments here. A couple I haven’t heard. Thank you. Some of my top 10. Van Halen – Hot For Teacher, Guns n Roses – Sweet child o Mine (not the intro), Def Leppard – Animal

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    1. LOVE Hot for Teacher. Plus Alex’s drumming is awesome on that one. The whole song is perfection. Just missed the list.

      As to G n’R, have to give that one another listen. And never been much of a Def Leppard fine but I’ll check it out.

      BTW, after your first comment is approved, you’re a full-fledged member of the group, er, community, or whatever this is. πŸ™‚ Welcome aboard. Comment at will.

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  2. Cracking list and idea (I might have to poach it and think of my own).
    Great to see a bit of Knopfler in there too! I’ve recently peen picking my way around 5:15am (having used some of his vids to learn his picking technique) and while I can find the notes his tone will always escape me – there’s something beautifully warm in his playing that other as-many-notes-as-fast-as-you-can players lack. Probably a bit over-exposed to Sultans over here (and can only think of this guy when I hear it now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=capnRe9RICQ) so might lean towards Brothers…

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    1. Feel free to poach. Certainly not trademarked. πŸ˜€ I think a lot of Knopfler’s warm sound comes in no small measure from never using a pick. And yes, ‘Sultans’ is a bit overdone. But I tell you I never get tired of it. And those solos! That fast bit at the end isn’t even the hardest part in learning them. And that guy in the video is awesome. Not only does he nail the whole song, he throws in some of his own ‘chicken-pickin’at the end.

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  3. I LOVE Kid Charlemagne. They had some great solos. My favourite, though, is Peg from Aja. Apparently they auditioned about 20 guitarists for that solo before finding the perfect one, and boy is it perfect πŸ˜‰

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  4. Just this past week I figured out how to play the outro solo to ‘Charlemagne.’ (Well, with a little help from tablature and YouTube). It’s tough but boy is it clever. When I play it, it’s rough but you’d recognize it. Far from perfect, but anyone would give me a B for effort if nothing else. πŸ˜€

    Yeah, the solo in ‘Peg’ is by a guy named Jay Graydon. He is practically legendary for that solo and when you look him up, despite a lot of session work, that’s pretty much all he IS famous for. But in the world of musicians, being the guy that nailed a perfect Steely Dan solo puts you in a certain category. Because Fagen/Becker are such notorious perfectionists. But it doesn’t always have to be an SD song. A guy named Amos Garrett is known only because of his sultry solo on ‘Midnight at the Oasis.’

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  8. Great post idea, Jim. I totally concur on many in your list, particularly “Crossroads.” The fact that Clapton played this live, no studio tricks, and turned a Robert Johnson song into his own, makes this song/solo legendary. And since we’ve been talking Steely Dan… how about the nifty solo on “Your Gold Teeth II” from KATY LIED? I’m pretty sure Denny Dias plays it. If you ever learn the tablature for this, let me know!

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  9. Yes, that’s Denny Dias and yes that’s a great solo. I’m studying jazz guitar now and so that would be quite the challenge I can tell you that. Funny but I hadn’t looked at this particular list in a while. I just realized I’ve since learned to play most of these solos or at least, bits of a given song. (E.g., “Red House” intro.) I would love to learn the “Free Bird” solo but that would take a while to piece together. And definitely Terry Kath’s solo from “25 or 6 to 4.” I play along with a backing track and I steal pieces from the solo. But nowhere near having it yet.

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  10. Very entertaining read. For me, although EC kills it with both Cream solos, it always felt like the first was just the warm-up to the second solo. His phrasing and vibrato in the second are nothing short of phenomenal. But what really takes it to another level is that Jack Bruce is seemingly matching him note for note laying down the bass and Ginger Baker’s thundering drums just seem to bring that second solo to a crescendo.

    Paul Kossoff / Free doing an amazing job of Crossroads from (I think this is correct) Live at Sunderland. A little looser than the Cream version, but quite brilliant IMHO.

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    1. Your comment wound up in spam but I salvaged it. Agreed on Clapton solos. You wonder if he played that one regularly or just dreamed it up on the spot. And Bruce and Baker match him pound for pound. I still sometimes listen to Cream while driving around. Haven’t heard the Kossoff version. Will do. Thanks

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        1. Boy are you right on that. Kossoff nails it and doesn’t at all try to emulate Clapton. And the song sounds way better with Rodgers singing it. Thanks!

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  11. I’m almost amazed, and am at least surprised, that the list is close to my own idea of the greatest solos of all time. They are the solos that I would want to play. The only one that I worked on, years ago at the start of my playing, along with these, is “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (EC/Beatles). A little known song that I also really like is Noel Paul Stookey’s full band version of Jingle Bells on the live album One Night Stand. And the live solo on Let It Be on Paul McCartney’s Tripping the Live Fantastic. (I’d like to hear about “favorite short guitar breaks.” My favorite is Devil with a Blue Dress break, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels.)

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    2. You know, as I was listening to the Mitch Ryder tune, that short break popped into my head. Yeah, I like that too. There’s also a crazy solo later. Thanks for that. Would that hold up as an entire post or garner interest? Not sure. Have to think about that.

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