Rock Guitar Solos
That you have to hear
This is a list of (mostly) rock guitar solos that I think are not only great, but important in some kind of historical way and/or influential to many of today's guitar players. Many of them are classic rock staples, almost (if not completely) cliche'd at this point, but I think that in most cases there's a good reason why they have become staples. Obviously this kind of list is subjective, and compiled entirely on the whims of my own taste. But I think most guitar fans would agree with most of these.
If you are a student of the guitar at all, I encourage you to hit your favorite (legal) music download service and grab a recording of every one of these songs.
It would be impossible to rank these, so I just listed them in alphabetical order by song title.
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"Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" by Carlos Santana. This song is a great example of Santana's unique phrasing and tone. It's one of those solos that most players imitate quite closely when they play this song, because everybody has heard it a million times, and to do it much differently would just sound wrong to most people. (From the album Abraxas) |
| "Bold As Love" by Jimi Hendrix. This song contains some of Jimi's best playing. The rhythm guitar part during the verses, as well as the HUGE solo at the end, show a side of Jimi that he isn't as known for--melodic and delicate (but big and powerful too). (From the album Axis: Bold as Love) |
| "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd (David Gilmour on guitar). The first solo in this tune is absolutely epic. Soaring and melodic, with every note perfectly timed. The solo is so perfect that he plays it pretty much exactly the same way every time he plays it, because to do it any other way would only suffer in comparison. It's also an EXCELLENT example of the fact that you don't have to play fast to play a great solo. (From the album The Wall) |
"Crazy Train" by Ozzy Ozbourne (Randy Rhodes on guitar). Randy Rhodes is another great guitarist who I haven't mentioned much on this site (I guess because I've never been that much of a metal-head). But he was an amazing guitar player, one of the first rock players to have been classicaly trained and to bring that influence into rock and roll. He played a lot of great solos--this is one of his most famous. (From the album Blizzard of Ozz) |
| "Dazed and Confused" (live) by Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page on guitar). This is another one of those solos that was absolutely mind-opening to me when I first heard it. It's a half-hour long, and takes you through all kinds of territory. The original arena-rock guitar onslaught. (From the album The Song Remains The Same) |
| "Crossroads" by Cream (Eric Clapton on guitar). It's tough to pick out Clapton's "best" solo, but this is definitely one of his most famous. I have heard this solo played note-for-note by Eddie Van Halen and also Lynrd Skynrd. (From the album Wheels of Fire ) |
| "Eruption" by Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen on guitar). This is the guitar solo that spawned an entire generation of guitar shredders in the 1980's. It's mind-boggling--it shows off many of Eddie's tricks in the space of about two minutes. Many of these tricks were revolutionary at the time. (From the album Van Halen I) |
"Heartbreaker" by Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page on guitar). It isn't easy to to pick out Jimmy Page's "best" solo, but this is certainly a good candidate. The whole band drops out for a while, leaving Jimmy to tear it up on his own. (From the album Led Zeppelin II) |
"Jessica" by the Allman Brothers (Dicky Betts on lead guitar). This is one of my all-time favorite Allman Brothers songs. Intricately composed, plus a soaring major-key guitar solo like only Dicky Betts can play. (From the album Brothers and Sisters) |
| "Led Boots" by Jeff Beck. This song blew me away the first time I heard it, and almost singlehandedly made me want to check out jazz. The solo is blistering--he tweaks sounds out of a guitar that I've never heard anyone else make. (From the album Wired) |
| "Machine Gun" by Jimi Hendrix. If this list were an attempt at ranking the best guitar solos ever (which it is NOT), Jimi's solo on this track would EASILY make #1 in my book. It encompasses everything that was great about Hendrix--raw power, feedback, almost human-sounding noises. I'm getting goosebumps right now just thinking about it. (From the Jimi Hendrix album Band of Gypsies) |
"Nowhere Man" by the Beatles (George Harrison on guitar). As I have said elsewhere on this site, Harrison was not known for blistering guitar solos, but he had a knack for playing the perfect thing at the perfect time. This solo is a great example of this. It's another one of those solos that, if you were playing this song, you would have to play the solo exactly, because to do it any other way would just sound wrong. (From the album Rubber Soul) |
| "Reba" by Phish (Trey Anastasio on guitar). It's hard for me to pick out my favorite Trey solo, but the version of Reba on the album Lawn Boy has to be one of the best solos he ever laid down on a studio recording. It captures all of the things I love about his playing--soaring, singing tone, monster chops, and a build-up to the end that is nothing less than mind-blowing. (From the album Lawn Boy) |
| "Reelin' In The Years" by Steely Dan (Walter Becker on guitar, I think). I was never a huge Steely Dan fan, and I don't know their catalog that well. I think that true Steely Dan fans might even disagree about this being one of their best songs, but I love this guitar solo. Very melodic with some really cool (and tricky) licks in it. (From the album Can't Buy A Thrill) |
| "Saint Stephen/The Eleven" by the Grateful Dead (Jerry Garcia on guitar). Garcia is another player whose best solo would be impossible to pick out. But this is a great one to be sure, one of my all-time favorites from the time that I first heard it, before I even became a fan of the Dead. Jerry is on fire through this whole jam. (From the album Live/Dead) |
| "Stairway To Heaven" by Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page on guitar). OK, I know it's a cliche, but the fact is that this is a GREAT guitar solo. In fact, it's so good that Frank Zappa took this solo and rearranged it for a horn section note-for-note on his version of the song that appears on the album The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life. Page stuck pretty close to the original most of the time when he played it live. (From the album Led Zeppelin IV) |
| "Statesboro Blues" by the Allman Brothers (Duane Allman on slide guitar). Every solo that Duane Allman played was great, but this is one of his best. It kicks off the album, and gets the house rockin' right off the bat. (From the album The Allman Brothers At Fillmore East) |
| "Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits (Mark Knopfler on guitar). This is just a fantastic guitar solo--clean sound, perfect phrasing, and some surprisingly fast chops from a player who is normally known for his restraint. For the record, I once saw Knopfler onstage with Eric Clapton, and Knopfler schooled EC right before my very eyes. (From the album Dire Straits) |
| "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynrd Skynrd (a bunch of different guitarists). I know this one is a classic rock cliche, but have you ever listened closely to the solos in this song? They're unbelievable, and VERY difficult to imitate. (From the album Second Helping) |
| "Texas Flood" by Stevie Ray Vaughan. It's tough to pick SRV's best solo because pretty much every solo he played was great. But this solo has it all--HUGE tone, monster chops, and some interesting chordal stuff. (From the album Texas Flood) |
| "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" by Jimi Hendrix. Ok, I know that Jimi has shown up on this list 3 different times (and I could've come up with a couple more too). But that shows how amazing and influential the guy was. This is another epic solo that pulls out all the stops. (From the album Electric Ladyland) |
| "White Room" by Cream (Eric Clapton on guitar). Another great EC solo, this one leaning heavily on the wah-wah pedal. Screaming guitar, thundering drums & bass. If that ain't rock and roll, nothin' is. (From the album Wheels of Fire) |
