To mark the announcement of NME’s 50 Greatest Guitar Solos today I have pulled together some of the most recent top guitar solo lists from some of the leading websites on the interwebs.
Expect some hot debate, cliches and perhaps learn a thing or two.
NME’s 50 Greatest Guitar Solos [link]
The odd thing about this list is that most of the people interviewed on their promotional video actually said they hated guitar solos!
Top 5
- Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
- Stairway To Heaven – Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
- All Along The Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix
- Killing In The Name – Rage Against The Machine (Tom Morello)
- Knights Of Cydonia – Muse (Matt Bellamy)
#1 - Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns N’ Roses
Omissions: Pink Floyd’s ‘Comfortably Numb’, Metallica’s ‘One’ and Pantera’s ‘Floods’.
Guitar World’s 50 Greatest Guitar Solos [link]
Top 5
- Stairway To Heaven – Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
- Eruption – Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)
- Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd (Allen Collins, Gary Rossington)
- Comfortably Numb – Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)
- All Along The Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix
#1 - Stairway To Heaven – Led Zeppelin
Omissions: Dire Straits ‘Brothers In Arms’, Angus Young (AC/DC) and Tony Iommi.
Music Radar’s 20 Greatest Guitar Solos Of All Time [link]
A topic of fierce debate is this one. Most definitely a young internet following voted!
Top 5
- Blackbird – Alter Bridge (Mark Tremonti, Myles Kennedy)
- Eruption – Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
- November Rain – Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
- Comfortably Numb – Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)
#1 – Blackbird – Alter Bridge
Omissions: Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck and Pantera.
Gibson.com’s 50 Top Guitar Solos [link]
Top 5
- Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
- Eruption – Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)
- All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix
- Hotel California – Eagles (Don Felder, Joe Walsh)
- Comfortably Numb – Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)
#2 - Eruption – Van Halen
All in all it will always come down to a matter of fierce debate and personal opinion. Some people love the widdly widdly solos, others hate them with a passion. Enjoy!
