Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
By Shawn Leonhardt for Guitar Tricks and 30 Day Singer
What makes a great guitar solo? Does it have to be from a specific genre and style or is it all about the technique of the player? Are slow and emotional guitar solos as great as virtuosic playing? And what makes a solo unique compared to intros, licks, and repetitive riffs? Since these questions have a variety of answers, in this guitar lesson we will look at different decades and music categories to help find the all time greatest guitar solos!
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Before it was Rock n Roll artists like Sister Rosetta Tharpe played a powerful form of blues rock that had not been seen before. There are no specific solos of hers that are the greatest, all her songs and recordings are worthy. The techniques and playing in her intros, licks, solos, and lead playing in general were inspired by gospel and backbeat syncopation and they are still the method of many players today!
Watermelon in Easter Hay – Frank Zappa
Zappa is the guitar master of Avant Garde experimental jazz rock, most of his work could have a place in the greatest guitar solos. The general consensus though is that his best solo of all was this oddly named title. To be clear his work is not for everyone, but his playing and emotion behind each note is pretty incredible in this piece. It starts out with a twangy but smooth tone but gets more shimmery and distorted as the song progresses. And to think the whole song is just two guitar chords!
Cult of Personality – Living Colour
Vernon Reid showed what a Floyd Rose Tremolo could do in this song by Living Colour, his solo shreds through some extreme pitch changes! This band had a funk metal vibe so their guitar playing has a mix of distorted heavy sounds but with a groove. The guitar is featured more than once and each time the urgency of the tone is backed up by the political message.
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Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
Brian May used effects and audio techniques to enhance his playing, which at times was not all that complicated even though it sounds amazing. The brief solo in “Bohemian Rhapsody” is not that difficult to play with some practice, however getting it to sound that pretty and epic is another story. Just listen to different versions online and you’ll notice they often do not have the same power and momentum build as in the original song.
Limelight – Rush
There are a number of different progressive rock examples of great guitar solos like Joe Satriani’s “Flying in a Blue Dream” but the most popular would probably be “Limelight.” Alex Lifeson mixes various effects like delay and reverb with whammy bends to get a flowing solo. There are a wide range of feelings during this solo like soaring, wailing, and epic vibes to carry us through the song.
Crazy On You – Heart
Classic rock is filled with so many great solos that it is not easy to pick the best, they are all awesome in their own ways. But Heart had a knack for writing great lyrics, intros, and solos like here in this hit. Nancy Wilson plays a few different catchy licks in this with a driving riff in the chorus and later a solo that propels the gritty tune along. It is the live versions of this song where her playing really shines, far greater than the studio and radio ones.
Cliffs of Dover – Eric Johnson
There are many brilliant instrumental and neo classical guitarists out there but by far the most popular guitar solo in that genre would be this one here! There is hybrid picking, string skipping, and melodic variations on the main riff. No matter what your genre is if you want to study guitar this song has plenty to discover for guitar techniques and style. This song is also a great jumping point for heavier bands of neo metal.
Thrill Is Gone – B.B. King
Often when we think of modern guitar solos there is shredding and high speed playing but all 3 Kings (B.B. King, Freddie King and Albert King) remind us that a great solo just needs the right notes and timing. Whether they are playing solos, riffs, or any other lead guitar there is an ocean of emotion behind each note. In this famous song here he manages to capture the spirit of vocals in his guitar, it sings along with him!
Wildwood Flower – Maybelle Carter
Maybelle Carter’s family was a huge influence on country and pop rock from the 1940s onward. None of her solos are fast or perfect but her picking style would show a generation how it was done to get both melody and rhythm at the same time. Guitarists like Maybelle Carter showed that with the right licks, riffs, and solos the guitar could be more than just accompaniment.
Parabola – Tool
Progressive metal has evolved over the years into many subgenres and styles but one thing that remains the same is the complexity of the music. The guitarist Adam Jones plays driving riffs and licks over a polyrhythmic song until the moments when the lead cuts through. There are multiple solo and lead guitar parts across this song that use motifs from past and modern metal music, Parabola encompasses a lot of the guitar skills necessary in the progressive style.
Beat It – Michael Jackson
Eddie Van Halen’s best solo ever is surely on “Eruption” where he uses every guitar technique and trick ever including tapping. That song is a masterclass in what makes a great guitar solo, but one could argue that his solo on “Beat It” was far more important. This song brought him wider appeal and helped start the genre fusion of metal, R&B, and Hip Hop. All the guitar features are still here in this solo, just setup for more pop rock!
Voodoo Child (Slight Return) – Jimi Hendrix
It’s hard to pick one greatest Jimi Hendrix solo but the public seems to believe this or “Little Wing” belongs in the spot. Whether you are studying how to solo, how to play the Jimi Hendrix Chord, or just play the best blues rock guitar ever this song is great to play and study. The opening riff and later solo have incredible tones, wails, and an overall feeling that pulls the listener in like no other tune since. It’s hard to find another guitar hit that is this great!
There are so many more great guitar solos written from a variety of artists like Prince, Dire Straits, Cream, Led Zeppelin, and more. The key to a great solo isn’t speed or even tone, often it is the intent of the player and their ability to rise through the mix. When a guitar rises above the other instruments and leads the way we get some amazing music! Whether you want to shred or just play smoothly, a great guitar solo is all about the feeling you create!
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