Top 50 Guitar Solos

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Gibson have published another one of their “Top” lists, one from themselves, and one was put together with the help of votes from fans.

Firstly, here's the Top 50 according to Gibson:

1. “Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

2. “Eruption,” Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)

3. “All Along the Watchtower,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience

4. “Hotel California,” Eagles (Don Felder, Joe Walsh)

5. “Comfortably Numb,” Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)

6. “Free Bird,” Lynyrd Skynyrd (Gary Rossington, Allen Collins)

7. “Layla,” Derek and the Dominos (Eric Clapton, Duane Allman)

8. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” The Beatles (Eric Clapton)

9. “Johnny B. Goode,” Chuck Berry

10. “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Queen (Brian May)

11. “Crazy Train,” Ozzy Osbourne (Randy Rhoads)

12. “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers,” Jeff Beck

13. “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” Guns N’ Roses (Slash)

14. “Hot for Teacher,” Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)

15. “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

16. “November Rain,” Guns N’ Roses (Slash)

17. “Mr Crowley,” Ozzy Osbourne (Randy Rhoads)

18. “Whole Lotta Rosie,” AC/DC (Angus Young)

19. “Like a Hurricane,” Neil Young and Crazy Horse

20. “Sultans of Swing,” Dire Straits (Mark Knopfler)

21. “Texas Flood,” Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble

22. “One,” Metallica (Kirk Hammett)

23. “Cortez the Killer,” Neil Young and Crazy Horse

24. “Rock Around the Clock,” Bill Haley and His Comets (Danny Cedrone)

25. “Sweet Jane” (live), Lou Reed (Steve Hunter, Dick Wagner)

26. “Purple Rain,” Prince and the Revolution (Prince)

27. “Heartbreaker,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

28. “Jessica,” Allman Brothers Band (Dickey Betts)

29. “Machine Gun,” Jimi Hendrix

30. “Crossroads,” Cream (Eric Clapton)

31. “Time,” Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)

32. “Are You Experienced,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience

33. “Race with the Devil,” Gene Vincent (Cliff Gallup)

34. “Don’t Believe a Word,” Thin Lizzy (Brian Robertson)

35. “Purple Haze,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience

36. “Besame Mucho,” Wes Montgomery

37. “Sympathy for the Devil,” The Rolling Stones (Keith Richards)

38. “Blue Sky,” Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)

39. “My Sharona,” The Knack (Berton Averre)

40. “Marquee Moon,” Television (Tom Verlaine)

41. “Hitch a Ride,” Boston (Tom Scholz)

42. “The End,” The Beatles (Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon)

43. “Whole Lotta Love,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

44. “Train Kept A Rollin’” (live), Aerosmith (Joe Perry)

45. “Highway Star,” Deep Purple (Ritchie Blackmore)

46. “Dirt,” The Stooges (Ron Asheton)

47. “Off the Handle,” Rory Gallagher

48. “The Great Curve,” Talking Heads (Adrian Belew)

49. “The Messiah Will Come Again,” Roy Buchanan

50. “Beat It,” Michael Jackson (Eddie Van Halen)

1. “Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

2. “Free Bird,” Lynyrd Skynyrd (Allen Collins, Gary Rossington)

3. “Blue Sky,” Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)

4. “Layla,” Derek and the Dominos (Eric Clapton, Duane Allman)

5. “Eruption,” Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)

6. “Whole Lotta Rosie,” AC/DC (Angus Young)

7. “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)

8. “20th Century Boy,” T. Rex (Marc Bolan)

9. “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” Guns N’ Roses (Slash)

10. “Rude Mood,” Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble

11. “Hotel California,” Eagles (Don Felder, Joe Walsh)

12. “Comfortably Numb,” Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)

13. “November Rain,” Guns N’ Roses (Slash)

14. “Back in Black,” AC/DC (Angus Young)

15. “Whipping Post,” Allman Brothers Band (Dickey Betts, Duane Allman)

16. “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

17. “Machine Gun,” Jimi Hendrix

18. “Crossroads,” Cream (Eric Clapton)

19. “Let There Be Rock,” AC/DC (Angus Young)

20. “Statesboro Blues,” The Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)

21. “Keep Yourself Alive,” Queen (Brian May)

22. “25 or 6 to 4,” Chicago (Terry Kath)

23. “All Along the Watchtower,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience

24. “Heartbreaker,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

25. “Landslide,” Fleetwood Mac (Lindsey Buckingham) and “Dreams,” Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman) (tie)

You can get more detailed information on the songs in the list from the Gibson Lyfestle website.

Related:

Top 100 Guitar Solos

3 thoughts on “Top 50 Guitar Solos”

  1. I don't think you can make
    ControlFreak

    I don’t think you can make everyone happy with a list like this, but really ..

    Nothing by Satriani? (Summer Song works)
    Nothing by Rush? (Spirit of Radio maybe)
    Nothing by Santana? (Europa)
    Nothing by Yes? (too many to list)
    No Jethro Tull or Black Sabbath? (Aqualung and Paranoid might not be top 20, but they deserve spots more than plenty of other songs here)
    No Eric Johnson? (Cliffs of Dover)

    Instead we have ..

    Like a Hurricane? (love the song, but really?)
    While My Guitar Gently Weeps? (it’s ok, but easily 50 better solos out there)
    Johnny B Goode? (ok .. maybe .. but top 20? No)
    Sweet Jane? (again I love the song/version .. but the solo is just ok)

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