This may seem like an odd way to start this article.
But I am not a guitar solo aficionado by nature.
Most of the time, I am aware of them but not always keyed in on the details. There are some, however, that resonate with me and have stuck with me through the years.
Here are 41 …
42 …
43 …
… 44 of them, in no specific order.
Bear in mind, this is not a “greatest guitar solos ever” list, just a list of ones that have gotten to me and even moved me for various reasons.
You will see that many are from a certain era that belies my age. There is a shortage of metal. Also, I limited it to one per guitarist.
Go ahead and gripe about what I left out and share some of your faves in the comment section. I love you all.
1. Larry Carlton – “Kid Charlemagne” (1976) – Steely Dan
I have heard that this is technically one of the most difficult guitar solos to play.
All I know is that harmonically it’s densely complex and yet at the same time totally accessible. Through it all, he makes it sound effortless.
2. Jimi Hendrix – “All Along the Watchtower” (1968) – Jimi Hendrix Experience
Which solo? I can’t pick.
How about all of them? Every single one is iconic. I’m only going to use that word once in this article, and this is it.
3. Paul McCartney – “Maybe I’m Amazed” (1970) – Paul McCartney
Sir Paul played all of the instruments on this, his first album.
So that means he played this beautiful solo that probably all of us know well enough to sing along. Oh, I can hear you.
4. Steve Lukather – “I Won’t Hold You Back” (1982) – Toto
An amazing guitarist that I’ll admit should probably be on this list for literally anything else.
But this brief lead line is the one that imprinted on me. It feels powerfully melancholic, like watching an eagle soar off into the distance and disappear knowing you won’t ever see it again.
5. Roger Hodgson – “Goodbye Stranger” (1979) – Supertramp
That rapid fire single-note pattern that begins the solo and extends through several bars is worth its weight in gold alone.
But it gets even better from there. One of my all-time favorites.
6. Terry Kath – “25 or 6 to 4” (1970) – Chicago
The first time I remember hearing a guitar solo with wah-wah effect as a kid.
It will always stick with me because of that, but there’s so much more here. The man was a true artist, a pairing of technical ability with a warmth that made it feel like you in the room with him.
7. Mark Knopfler – “Sultans of Swing” (1978) – Dire Straits
I remember first hearing this on the radio in the height of disco dominance.
I remember first hearing this on the radio in the height of disco dominance. It sounded like nothing else on the charts, or anything that had come before it. When he breaks into those Spanish-style arpeggiated chordal licks in the solo at the end, I still get kind of excited, even after having heard it hundreds of times throughout the years.
8. Eric Clapton – “Cocaine” (1977) – Eric Clapton
Nothing groundbreaking in this solo, just a clinic in down and dirty blues:
That slides right in with Jamie Oldaker’s ride cymbal-fueled drum groove. Clapton’s had flashier, but this is the one that makes me want to bob my head and scrunch up my face into a grimace, as if I’m playing along with him. That’s called “guitar face”, by the way.
9. Steve Gaines, Allen Collins, Gary Rossington – “That Smell” (1977) – Lynyrd Skynyrd
Given the choice of Skynyrd guitar solos, most would understandably head straight for “Freebird”.
But “That Smell” has always been it for me. The non-stop shredding back and forth at the end just shows how deep the talent went in this band. Extended jams don’t tend to hold my attention for long, but this one always does, ’til the bitter end.
10. Neal Schon – “Stone in Love” (1981) – Journey
All of the solos on here are A-1 prime.
But what’s going on at the end is utterly majestic and leaves me frozen in time from when I first heard it in high school.
11. Lindsey Buckingham – “Go Your Own Way” (1977) – Fleetwood Mac
The intensity of Lindsey’s closing solo rips through me to this day.
It may be the signature moment of the whole Rumours album, and that is saying something.
12. James Calvin Wilsey – “Wicked Game” (1989) – Chris Isaak
I’m sorry, were we discussing something?
I got pulled right into that hypnotically dreamy guitar with the impossibly long bends, and temporarily drifted away to wherever it felt like taking me. Seriously, if there is another guitarist that set the mood on a song more effectively than this, I can’t name them.
13. Tom Morello – “Like a Stone” (2003) – Audioslave
The various effects and techno wizardry here make this memorable.
But it’s also the towering melody that captures the imagination.
14. Jimmy Page – “Good Times Bad Times” (1969) – Led Zeppelin
So it was only a matter of time before we’d get to that blistering guitar explosion that blasts its way through the song’s midsection. You can have “Stairway to Heaven”. I prefer to be slammed against a wall by this every time.
15. Justin Hayward – “The Story in Your Eyes” (1971) – The Moody Blues
Hayward’s lead guitar work is not in the discussion enough when it comes to what to love about this band.
His solos are often brief, like this eight-bar burner that lasts about 10 seconds, but they go hard and leave their mark. And may I add that the stuff he’s doing at the end of the song is pretty epic.
16. Carlos Santana – “She’s Not There” (1977) – Santana
With so many classic all-time great solos, it is very hard to choose when it comes to Santana.
But when everything comes to a halt on this song and that screaming, ground shaking guitar comes in, how can you not?
17. Tom Scholz – “Peace of Mind” (1976) – Boston
The solo after the bridge is a tradeoff of licks back and forth that I probably know by heart:
Leading to a wonderfully harmonious twin guitar attack that’s reprised even more effectively at the end. I was always sad when the last note would fade out.
18. David Gilmour – “Comfortably Numb” (1979) – Pink Floyd
The concluding solo ranks high on most “all time greatest” lists.
And it’s easy to understand why. If you’re not moved by it, then you need to listen again.
19. Dickey Betts – “Jessica” (1973) – The Allman Brothers
I remember cranking this in my car:
Probably driving over the speed limit, and marveling at the glory of a two minute-plus guitar solo that can best be described as noble and triumphant.
20. Tony Peluso – “Goodbye to Love” (1972) – The Carpenters
In the midst of recording this languid, somber ballad, it was somehow deemed vital that the song have a loud, fuzzed-out guitar solo smack dab in the middle.
Mind you, this was not a thing at the time, and certainly not for The Carpenters. Peluso was brought in, and initially played something soft and sweet, trying to stay out of the way. He said Richard told him ‘No, no, no, not like that. Play the melody for five bars and then burn it up! Soar off into the stratosphere.
“Go for it!'” So he did, and fired off this beauty. In doing so, he inadvertently helped create what very well might be the prototype for the power ballad. And the Carpenters apparently got more than a few angry letters over what they did to the song. Yessss, soft rock fans. Feel the hatred. Let it consume you.
21. Roger McGuinn – “Eight Miles High” (1966) The Byrds
There are three solos featuring Roger’s 12-string, at the song’s open, in the middle, and at the end.
They all start with the same 4-note figure and are very similar, so I won’t try to choose between them, and just call it one giant, Coltrane-inspired psychedelic masterpiece. There certainly doesn’t appear to have been anything quite like it in mainstream rock at the time. Mind-blowing.
22. Matthias Jabs – “No One Like You” (1982) Scorpions
Scorps.
C’mon. Gotta include this scorcher.
23. Eddie Van Halen – “Eruption” (1978) Van Halen
Does it count as a solo when it’s all but the first two seconds of the song?
Why yes, it does. My favorite parts are probably the classical elements, but honestly, don’t make me choose. The whole thing is just a masterwork for the ages, and this was the second song on their flippin’ debut. Rock would never be the same.
24. Amos Garrett – “Midnight at the Oasis” (1973) Maria Muldaur
The whole song brings a smile to my face.
But that guitar solo is just a sonic delight in an unexpected locale.
25. Randy Rhoads – “Crazy Train” (1980) – Ozzy Osbourne
Just masterful. If this was indeed a list of greatest guitar solos, this would probably be at the top.
It totally rocked the summer of 1981. I feel like it was constantly playing, probably because I recorded it off the radio on a cheap tape recorder. I remember being at a bowling alley and a friend of mine and I were singing Randy’s solo together. It didn’t matter that the song was not playing at the time. It was now just a part of us.
26. Buck Dharma – “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” (1976) – Blue Öyster Cult
Riveting solo in the only part of the song that doesn’t have cowbell.
27. Don Felder and Joe Walsh – “Hotel California” (1976) – Eagles
Yeah, I’m sick of this song too, but its last lyric could very well apply to the instrumental outro that follows.
We can stop listening, but we will never fully get away from those guitars. I can’t help but recall the initial magical feeling of hearing them duke it out, particularly when they finally get together in the end. An indelible part of the soundtrack of my childhood.
28. Ted Turner – “The King Will Come” (1972) – Wishbone Ash
The whole song rips and the guitar solos are transcendent.
Judgment day never sounded better.
29. Elliot Easton – “Just What I Needed” (1978) – The Cars
Gets in and out and just nails it.
30. Trevor Rabin – “Owner of a Lonely Heart” (1983) – Yes
Guitars weren’t doing this in songs on the radio in 1983.
Totally unique and out there, and hard to forget.
31. Robert Quine – “Love Comes In Spurts” (1977) – Richard Hell and the Voidoids
The solo is made up of dissonant chords and that’s basically it.
But its harsh edginess accentuates the frenetic desperation of the lead vocal perfectly.
32. Skunk Baxter – “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” (1974) – Steely Dan
So many stand-out guitar solos by a myriad of guitarists on the Dan’s records.
But this one just weaves around the complex chord changes so artfully, it’s gotta be near the top.
33. Louie Shelton – “Valleri” (1968) – The Monkees
Session player that pulled the flamenco stuff out of his hat as a joke when they hit record.
Was told it was perfect and to keep going. Good call.
34. Danny Cedrone – & His Comets
It always amazes me that this incredible solo existed in 1954.
Are we sure Marty McFly didn’t pop in from the future and teach it to him? And the dude got paid $21, fell down the stairs a couple of months later and died. None of that seems right.
35. Stevie Ray Vaughan – “China Girl” (1983) – David Bowie
Sure, Stevie Ray’s work on his own stuff is much more substantial.
But none of it resonates with me like the solo here, as well as the short bit of a low part at the end of the song. Ah, that tone is perfect.
36. Craig Ross – “Are You Gonna Go My Way” (1993) – Lenny Kravitz
The guitar riff upon which the song is built slaps hard enough as it is.
But then that solo comes in and just takes it right over the top. Always knocks me out.
37. Rivers Cuomo – “Say It Ain’t So” (1994) – Weezer
The song’s simmering angst boils over at the end of the bridge:
Spilling right into Cuomo’s solo that manages to be resplendent while still incapsulating the uneasy sentiment of the song.
38. Andy Summers – “Bring on the Night” (1979) – The Police
Summers’ guitar solos and/or lack of them, used to sometimes frustrate me.
I was expecting more. He gave less. And what he gave could feel out of sorts and not fitting what was going on. If it makes any sense at all to say this, I have come to understand that in not fitting, it fit perfectly.
39. Gary Richrath – “157 Riverside Avenue- Live on U.S. Tour-1976” (1977) – REO Speedwagon
This was playing at the very first party I was invited to in high school.
Had no idea what to do with myself, so I was just playing checkers with someone and listening to the rapid-fire riffing back and forth between Richrath’s guitar and Kevin Cronin’s scatting.
Pretty much every lead Richrath is playing is virtuoso stuff. That breakout solo at the end when everything else just stops is simply stratospheric and predates what a good amount of metal was soon going to sound like. If you only associate REO with sappy ballads of the junior high dance variety, dig deeper.
40. Berton Averre – “My Sharona” (1979) – The Knack
The rise of this song coincided with the beginning of high school for me.
It starts out as something new and different, just like my changed environs. Then came the switch in feel and that incredibly tight guitar solo that seemed instantly legendary. Suddenly it hearkened back to the good old rock and roll we knew and loved, giving us something to grab a hold of as we plunged into the great unknown that would be the 80s.
41. Mike McCready – “Yellow Ledbetter” (1992) – Pearl Jam
The gentle rhythm guitar intro conveys an intimacy:
Which provides the backdrop for Eddie Vedder’s impassioned vocals, that feel deeply meaningful, despite the fact that they are nearly unintelligible, or maybe because of it. McCready responds in kind with an emotive solo that penetrates the soul and would become the aural version of comfort food for Gen-Xers.
42. Hugh Burns – “Baker Street” (1978) – Gerry Rafferty
Yeah, I know. “Baker Street” is all about that bigger than life saxophone.
But lest we forget, there is a guitar solo in there as well, and that ‘pee-oo, pee-oo, pee-oo, pee-ooo’ opening riff embedded itself into my musical consciousness in the summer of ’78 and never left. It will always be overshadowed, but it’s great all the same.
43. Miles Zuniga – “The Way” (1998) – Fastball
This song didn’t sound like much else out there at the time.
It has a cool retro vibe, and also feels like it could also be a tango if it so desired. The two very similar surf-y guitar solos were supposedly inspired by the song “Secret Agent Man”. Works for me.
44. Brian May – “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975) Queen
The song has been beaten to death.
But Brian May’s solo before the faster “I see a silhouetto of a man” section will always be awe-inspiring. If I had to pick one guitar solo to try and convert a rock atheist, this might be it.
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