50 Greatest Guitar Solos
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30) "Surfing with the Alien" (Joe Satriani) - Joe Satriani Surfing with the Alien, 1987
“We didn’t know where that song was going until one afternoon when we went to record the melody and I plugged a wah-wah pedal and a Tubedriver into my 100-watt Marshall,” says Joe Satriani. “Then, just on a whim, I said, ‘Let’s try this harmonizer.’ It was one of those Eventide 949s. The sound that came out of the speakers blew us away so much that we recorded the melody and the solo in about a half-hour and sat back and went, ‘Whoa! This is a song, man!’
“And then, of course, the Eventide broke down and we couldn’t fix it. We couldn’t do anything. We lost our tone. When we finally got it working again, we weren’t able to recreate the original effect. It just sounded different. So rather than screw up a wonderful-sounding performance that may have had a couple of glitches, we decided to just leave it, because it was just swinging.
That wasn’t the title track of the album for quite a while. It was going to be called The Lord of Karma. It wasn’t until we finished that track and added the jet noises that we realized that ‘Surfing’ was the song that summed up the feeling of the whole album.
“The whole thing with the Silver Surfer was purely by accident. It came about because the product manager at the record label, Jim Kozlowski, used to be called the Silver Surfer when he was a DJ in Boston. When I delivered the album, he said, “This is a great title. We should put the Silver Surfer on the cover.” I had no idea what he was talking about. I literally did not know anything about the comic book character.”
29) "For the Love of God" (Steve Vai) - Steve Vai Passion and Warfare, 1991
“The song is about how far people will go for the love of their god,” says Steve Vai. “When you discipline yourself to quit smoking, to run faster or to play better, you have to reach deep down into a part of you. That is a profoundly spiritual event. That’s when you come into contact with that little piece of God within you. That’s what I was trying to achieve with ‘For the Love of God’—I was trying to find that spot.”
28) "Mr. Crowley" (Randy Rhoads) - Ozzy Osbourne Blizzard of Ozz, 1981
“I’d have to say that ‘Mr. Crowley’ is my most memorable solo,” said Randy Rhoads. “I had spent hours trying to figure out a solo for the song, but wasn’t getting anywhere. I finally put something down. Then Ozzy came in and said, ‘It’s crap—everything you’re playing is crap.’ He told me to get in there and just play how I felt. He made me really nervous, so I just played anything. When I came back to listen to it, he said it was great, and I had to agree.”
27) "Pride and Joy" (Stevie Ray Vaughan) - Stevie Ray Vaughan Texas Flood, 1983
“Pride and Joy” was recorded during the same 48-hour period as “Texas Flood”; both had been Vaughan live standbys for many years. “Stevie wrote ‘Pride and Joy’ for this new girlfriend he had when he was inspired by their relationship,” says drummer Chris Layton. “Then they had a fight and he turned around and wrote ‘I’m Cryin’,’ which is really the same song, just the flip side, lyrically.”
When “Pride and Joy” was released as Texas Flood’s first single, it quickly put the then unknown Texas guitar slinger on the national blues-rock map. More cosmically, it also signaled that from-the-gut guitar music was not dead as a commercial and artistic force, no matter how many hits Culture Club and Flock of Seagulls had on Solid Gold. “When I heard that on the radio, I just said ‘Hallelujah,’ “ recalls Dickey Betts, whose Allman Brothers Band were prominent casualties of the age’s anti-guitar disease. “He was just so good and strong and he would not be denied. He single handedly brought guitar and blues-oriented music back to the marketplace.”
26) "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Kurt Cobain) - Nirvana Nevermind, 1991
“I was trying to write the ultimate pop song,” explained the late Kurt Cobain. “It’s such a clichéd riff—it’s so close to Boston’s ‘More Than a Feeling’ riff or ‘Louie Louie.’ When I came up with the guitar part, Krist [Novoselic, bass] looked at me and said, ‘That’s so ridiculous.’ So I made the band play it for an hour and a half.”
25) "Aqualung" (Martin Barre) - Jethro Tull Aqualung, 1979
“Aqualung was a difficult and very tense album to record, but at the end of the day it was important,” says Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre. “Ian wrote the riff and verses to the song ‘Aqualung,’ but he felt it needed a new section for the guitar break. I said, ‘Why don’t we just play the verse chords in half-time for the first part of the solo, then pick it back up for the rest of the solo?’ It was a simple solution that really worked.”
“While I was playing the solo, which was really going well, Jimmy Page walked into the control room and started waving. I thought, ‘Should I wave back and mess up the solo or should I just grin and carry on?’ Being a professional to the end, I just grinned.”
24) "Fade to Black" (Kirk Hammett) - Metallica Ride the Lightning, 1984
“I was still using my black Flying V on Ride the Lightning, but ‘Fade to Black’ sounds different—it has a warmer sound—because I used the neck pickup and played through a wah-wah pedal all the way in the ‘up’ position,” says Kirk Hammett. “We wanted to double the first two solos and I did the first one no problem. But I had a much harder time doubling the second solo because it was slow and had a lot of space in it. Later, I realized that I actually harmonized it in a weird way—in minor thirds, major thirds and fifths. After cutting those two, I really wasn’t sure what to play for the extended solo at the end. I was really bummed out because we had been in Denmark for five or six months, and I was very homesick; we were also having problems with our management. Because of that, and since it was a somber song anyway, I thought of very depressing things while I did the solo—and it really helped. We didn’t double-track that solo, although I did play some arpeggios over the G-A-B progression. After that, I went back and did the clean guitar parts behind the verse, and James [Hetfield] played an arpeggiated figure while I arpeggiated three-note chords. The result was what I always have considered a very Dire Straits-type sound.”
23) "Bulls on Parade" (Tom Morello) - Rage Against the Machine Evil Empire, 1996
"That's me playing a solo by flicking the toggle switch band and forth," says Rage Against the Machine's innovative guitarist, Tom Morello. "The story behind that sound starts with me going over to Ibanez one day. They were making a guitar for a guy in another band, and it had a special feature on it that they wanted me to try out. So I tried it, and it didn't really seem to do much that was anything different from a normal guitar. But I noticed that when you set the toggle between the two pickup settings, there was a really peculiar, high-pitched noise, and you could manipulate the tone of it dramatically when you turned the tone knob. I asked them what the noise was, and they said it was just incidental, that the guitar had an internal pickup and it was picking up this weird noise that they were trying to get rid of. I said, 'Oh no, no-come here with that one.' [laughs] I gave them an idea of what I thought was possible with that noise, and they were kind enough to custom build a guitar for me with that feature in it."
22) "Sultans of Swing" (Mark Knopfler) - Dire Straits Dire Straits, 1978
“ ‘Sultans of Swing’ was originally written on a National Steel guitar in an open tuning, though I never performed it that way,” recalls Mark Knopfler. “I thought it was dull, but as soon as I bought my first Strat in 1977, the whole thing changed, though the lyrics remained the same. It just came alive as soon as I played it on that ’61 Strat—which remained my main guitar for many years and was basically the only thing I played on the first album—and the new chord changes just presented themselves and fell into place. It’s really a good example of how the music you make is shaped by what you play it on, and is a lesson for young players. If you feel that you’re not getting enough out of a song, change the instrument—go from an acoustic to an electric or vice versa, or try an open tuning. Do something to shake it up. As for the actual solo, it was just more or less what I played every night. It’s just a Fender Twin and the Strat, with its three-way selector switch jammed into a middle position. That gives the song its sound, and I think there were quite a few five-way switches installed as a result of that song.”
21) "Time" (David Gilmour) - Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon, 1973
“Working with Pink Floyd is an engineer’s dream, so I tried to take advantage of the situation,” says studio wizard Alan Parsons. “Dark Side of the Moon came at a crucial stage in my career, so I was highly motivated.”
Parsons’ attention to detail obviously paid off: He won a Grammy award for the best engineered album of 1973, and DSOTM went on to ride the charts for a record-breaking 14 years.
But while Parsons takes credit for many of Moon’s sonic innovations, he says the massive guitar sound on the album can be attributed to only one man: David Gilmour. “David was very much in control of his sound system,” says Parsons. “We rarely added effects to his guitar in the control room. Generally speaking, the sound on the album is pretty much what came out of his amp. As I recall, he used a Hiwatt stack, a Fuzz Face and an Italian-made delay unit called a Binson Echorec.”
Gilmour confirms: “For most of my solos, I usually use a fuzz box, a delay and a bright eq setting. But to get that kind of singing sustain, you really need to play loud—at or near the feedback threshold.”
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terryivie
January 22, 2013 at 4:53pm
# 1 and # 2 on the money anyways. One notable mention for Donald Brian "Buck Dharma" Roeser for the live version of Astronomy.
Shobhit Bhatnagar
September 01, 2012 at 7:37am
Are you kidding us with "All along the watchtower " at 5# if there is any "Jimmy Hendrix" song which need to be in top 5 is "Purple Haze" which didn't even crack the top 50 in their list
2nd why the hell is "You really got me" by "Kinks" at 59# it is one of the most influence guitar riffs ever played. Placing song like "November rain" in top 10 doesn't make any sense . As much as i have listened "Queen" "Keep yourself Alive" is their best guitar riff. Where the hell is "Back in Black" by "AC/DC" one of the most important guitar solos ever in rock history. This is such a weird list. At the end "Rolling stone magazine 100 guitar solos" is pretty accurate and meaningful list. However they have some misleading choice but it is far better than this piece of shit
bobspitz
July 20, 2012 at 1:37pm
I suppose you’ve never heard Power of Soul on the Band of Gypsies album. Try listening to the solo starting 20 seconds in, then fix your dismal list.
kpm-fs
April 05, 2012 at 4:17pm
No John Fruscante in the list!? Some of his solo albums (Not with the RHCP) have some truly unbelievable solos!
Kevin
Right to Buy Mortgages
p40ampa
January 27, 2012 at 4:26pm
We can agree to disagree between Skynard and Floyd & I'll have to be ok with that, but Eruption is just shredding and showing off, which is ok if that's what you're into, but what I think makes a great solo is how it affects you. When Comfortably Numb kicks into that solo or any of Gilmore's solos for that matter, everything else kind of takes a back seat for a few minutes. He makes it speak to you, whether it's plaintive in one of the Animals solos or dreamy like numb. It's played perfectly and it makes you feel.
jctoo
January 21, 2012 at 4:49pm
Strange list by any standard ... no Glen Buxton, George Kooymans, Manny Charlton, Tommy Shaw, Robin Trower, etc, etc ... they didn't even make the top 100 ... I suppose I just don't get it
Loridans1
September 15, 2011 at 4:57am
How could anyone playing guitar with the Eagles have even a top 100 (or 500?) ranking, much less top 10!?! I'll give credit for getting #1 correct, but leaving out influential work by talented guitarists such as Richard Thompson, George Harrison, Zal Yanovsky, Steve Howe, Syd Barrett, John Cippolina, Peter Green, Steve Jones (maybe?) and John Fogerty, while putting something by Ace F. at #50??
DominoDm
August 14, 2011 at 1:15am
This list is pretty much all classic rock. I understand that most good solos are in the classic rock genre, but it would be nice to see more modern guitar players.
It lacks shred solos like petrucci and michael romeo, and it would be awesome to have seen a BOC buck dharma solo on there.
And why is kurt cobain on here???
Overall, a decent list, but could use some improvement.
frogos
July 15, 2011 at 11:31am
Carlos Santana Amigos, 1976,how can i dont remember it,one of the best all time for me and for many.---forex signals
honorablecbm
June 28, 2011 at 11:44am
Wow, no Buckethead in the top 50? Soothsayer or even Nottingham Lace are better than quite of few of the songs listed....
johnsonsmith
May 13, 2011 at 7:11am
Santana on songs like these can make you feel there's something to silence and beauty. This song must be the UN's national anthem. Payday lenders
johnsonsmith
May 12, 2011 at 9:00am
Statesboro Blues from the Allman Bros Fillmore album is missing in the list. The best slide guitar solo ever recorded. And for Stevie Ray, the all time great performance is Testify.
Payday loans
soapboxjoe2
March 05, 2011 at 8:44pm
La Villa Strangiato is not on the horizons of anyone contributing to this list. Check out IV: "A Lerxst in Wonderland" and you might think you've missed something BIG in the World of Guitar playing.
billyockam
March 04, 2011 at 9:19pm
Uli - Sails of Charon
also
when Fast Eddie Clark fell off his stool on Motorhead's "We are the Road Crew"
marocup
February 08, 2011 at 12:39pm
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العاب بلاي ستيشن PlayStation 1.2.3 |
قسم الافلام والمسلسلات والمسرحيات العربية |
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افلام انمي و كرتون |
ركـــن تطويــــر المنتديات |
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megatallica8690
September 19, 2010 at 12:14pm
ok Kirk hammett does belong on this list, but where the heck is megadeth's tornado of souls solo?! That is the greatest effing solo of all time! I don't care if you don't like metal, listen to that solo and tell me it isn't way better than almost all of these solo's.
koosh25
January 07, 2010 at 12:32pm
I DONT CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS-JIMMY PAGE IS THE GREATEST GUITAR PLAYER OF ALL TIME-HE DESERVED #1! NO ON HAS BEEN SO VERSATILE AND TOUCHED SO MANY PEOPLE EMOTIONALLY WITH THEIR MUSIC. THE MUSIC STANDS THE TEST OF TIME AND STILL ROCKS!
jwoods
November 21, 2009 at 12:22pm
can be heard in 'Victim of Changes' by Judas Priest from about '76. Why anyone would even *want* to see Nirvana on this list blows my mind. Nirvana is one of my favorite bands of all time, but even Cobain knew his guitar playing was sub-par. The solo in the song that's listed basically just follows the rhythm guitar of the entire song. I know a 9 year old that could replicate that solo on his first try.
staffsbantam
October 24, 2009 at 7:28am
Of course not everybody will agree, and I am no different.
No Steve Morse?
No Chris Rea?Mark Knopfler - Brothers in Arms (Mandela Concert)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vUDmFjWgVo
lunchbox43
October 09, 2009 at 1:02pm
i think the list is rated pretty good cuz if you look at the top ten alot of the songs start out slw and get really haeavy and have long complicated guitar solos
winter
June 20, 2009 at 10:15pm
I know alot of younger players don't like "pretty" but for me the most articulate, well composed, tone rich, best use of theme and variation, best use of vibrato, note selection, plain good taste is in the first solo (the second one ain't too shabby either) in "Theme For an Imaginary Western" off Mountain Climbing and only the version on that album.
And he ends it with a whistling sustained harmonic like the cherry on top of a hot fudge sundae. For me, that solo is religion. I've listened to it thousands of times and somehow still haven't tired of it. Try it, you'll be glad you did. Alot of players; Van Halen, Satch have expressed their fondness for West's style. He just has that ...somethin!!!
abeman
October 03, 2009 at 6:55pm
I'll second that about Leslie West. I'd be more than a little ashamed to call myself a rock enthusiast and leave Mountain out of my collection. What are they teaching these kids in school today? ;-) Check out tracks 4, 5 and 6 on this playlist here:
http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/mountain/concerts/fillmore-east-june-27-1971.html
drkoob
February 20, 2009 at 7:26pm
I would say you missed one of Jimi's best, the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock. And another Woodstock piece, Alvin Lee and Ten Year's After "I'm Going Home." Take if from a guy who was there, nothing like 'em. Ever!
paulsh
February 15, 2009 at 4:44am
How about Donald (Buck Dharma) Roeser's "Dominance and Submission" with Blue Oyster Cult and Ronnie Montrose's "Black Train"?
DominoDm
August 14, 2011 at 1:07am
Dominance and submission has to be one of my favorite songs (and solo) of all time. Just my opinion, I think Buck is best on "Buck's Boogie"
analugb
February 10, 2009 at 3:54pm
I think jimmy page IS the best... not only because of one solo, but because all his music history
alexg124
February 09, 2009 at 12:07pm
Nirvana? wow and its not just that its on the list but its above songs that have OBVIOUSLY superior solos. i dont even count the solo from smells like teen spirit as a solo, its more like a small very simple riff.
cobainfan001
February 07, 2009 at 8:04pm
How can Sympathy for the Devil be on the worst solos list AND the best?
helimike
February 07, 2009 at 10:56am
Eruption is clearly #1. Satriani and Vai are awesome as well. I can't help but wonder why Michael Schenker is missing(Rock Bottom and Lights Out off UFO Strangers in the Night are both STELLAR performances).
dmaple08
February 06, 2009 at 9:37am
I am very disappointed.....Guitar player magazine has gotten so user friendly AND/OR politically correct that "some" true guitar work has been completely set aside.
It appears to me that these picks although some are good have been randomly picked, put in a shaker an fell out in no particular order. No disrespect to Cobain, but A GUITARIST??????? Come on. I know kids who pick up the guitar there first time and play that way. Where's the "LOVE" for real guitar playing.Trower, Beck, Trucks, Mayer, Metheny, Lifeson, Mayer, Gilbert, Howe, Marino, Livgren .....I could go on and on!
Thank You for letting me vent.
Darren Maple
pooploser
February 05, 2009 at 8:02pm
where would steve vai be without frank zappa. yeah and is smells like teen spirit even consider a real solo, he has better solos than in that song.
paulles2special
February 04, 2009 at 5:34pm
for a second i thought yall were'nt gonna put free bird in there but you did......thats awesome pleased with the 50.
windex
February 04, 2009 at 1:56am
No mention of Ernie Isley "Summer Breeze" Isley brothers? One of the best.
vanhalenfreak
February 02, 2009 at 4:54am
jimmy page didn't even write stair way to heaven
the band Taurus wrote the tune about 4 years before
page did
Page should coff up and tell the truth
cannibalist
February 01, 2009 at 5:21pm
Why in the HELL is the solo to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" even in the running?
tunesdoons
February 01, 2009 at 12:37pm
He is an Idol to many on this list. UFO's Rock Bottom
should be in the top 10 on this list. Anybody that has heard Schenkers solo in this song would have to agree.It also has rock guitars greatest song opening riff.
the_maka179
February 01, 2009 at 9:50am
are ever hear about sea of lie by michael romeo that the best solo in the history of the electric guitar ,plase fir your list.
raijin2448
March 26, 2010 at 8:18pm
I'm surprised Michael Romeo's solo from Ayreon's 2000 album, Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator, wasn't in the listing. He plays a chromatic rift in it that is technically impossible for crying out loud.
bmurphy821
January 31, 2009 at 8:04pm
I am very disappointed and shocked with these picks, how can you possibly not include Ritchie Blackmore, Buck Dharma, Tony Iommi.
bmurphy821
January 31, 2009 at 8:16pm
you idiot blackmore is 15, but there still is no Dharma or Iommi.
wahhey
January 31, 2009 at 5:11pm
50 plus years of Rock and Roll music and Dimebag Darrell is on this list twice? Slash twice? I would have to say this is a wake up call that your music collection has way to much metal in it. There's more to guitar than diminished and harmonic minor scales. It's really hard to pick up a guitar magazine if you are over 25.
Ace Frehley ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha .......
maybeyeah
January 31, 2009 at 12:12pm
It appears you're keeping this to commercial releases, there have been a zillion blazing Jerry Garcia solos, many of which blow a lot of what you list away. Granted it isn't the type of thing you'll hear on commercial radio but so what? They're commercial releases, the "Vault" and "Dick's Picks" stuff. Throw a dart at any of those and you're bound to hit a killer Jerry solo.
drp
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