The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
As voted by Planet Rock listeners
Last updated 30th Aug 2022
We’re pleased to reveal The 75 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time as voted for by Planet Rock listeners.
Thousands of you had your say in the poll, which was an open vote meaning that any rock song in recorded history was eligible to be included in the countdown.
In a Bank Holiday Monday special, the results were aired throughout the day on-air on Planet Rock starting bright and early at 6am on Breakfast with Paul Anthony. Shortly after 5.30pm, Pink Floyd’s timeless 1979 anthem ‘Comfortably Numb’ was crowned the winner.
Testament to the fabled status of David Gilmour’s guitar solos on the track, ‘Comfortably Numb’ picked up 9.5% of the total votes – an astonishing tally considering it was an open vote.
In terms of decades, the 1970s proved to be the most popular for guitar solos with 32 songs on the countdown.
The 1980s and 1990s were both equally popular with 16 songs each in the list, while there are five songs from the 1960s and 2000s apiece. The 2010s is represented by one track.
Metallica are the most represented band on the countdown with five songs making the list - four solos from Kirk Hammett and one from James Hetfield.
AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple and Guns N’ Roses each have four songs in the list, while Led Zeppelin, UFO, Dire Straits and Ozzy Osbourne tracks appear three times.
The most popular guitarists on the countdown are Ritchie Blackmore (three songs with Deep Purple and two with Rainbow) and Slash (four with Guns N’ Roses and one solo song) with five tracks.
You can check out the full Greatest Guitar Solos list below, and also listen to the Top 10 again at the bottom of the page.
The 75 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time:
75) Pink Floyd – ‘Wish You Were Here’ (1975)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
74) Iron Maiden – ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’ (1982)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
73) Guns N’ Roses – ‘Paradise City’ (1987)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
72) Guns N’ Roses – ‘Estranged’ (1991)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
71) Bon Jovi – ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ (1986)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
70) Iron Maiden – ‘Powerslave’ (1984)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
69) UFO – ‘Lights Out’ (1977)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
68) Neil Young – ‘Like a Hurricane’ (1977)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
67) Judas Priest – ‘Beyond The Realms of Death’ (1978)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
66) Free – ‘All Right Now’ (1970)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
65) Extreme – ‘Play With Me’(1989)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
64) AC/DC – ‘Back in Black’ (1981)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
63) UFO – ‘Love To Love’ (1977)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
62) Led Zeppelin – ‘Whole Lotta Love’ (1969)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
61) Eric Johnson – ‘Cliffs of Dover’ (1990)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
60) Stevie Ray Vaughn – ‘Little Wing’ (1984, released posthumously in 1991)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
59) Pearl Jam – ‘Alive’ (1991)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
58) Metallica – ‘Nothing Else Matters’ (1991)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
57) Fleetwood Mac – ‘The Chain’ (1977)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
56) Dragonforce – ‘Through the Fire and Flames’ (2005)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
55) Thin Lizzy – ‘Emerald’ (1976)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
54) Dire Straits – ‘Brothers in Arms’ (1985)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
53) Steve Vai – ‘For the Love of God’ (1990)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
52) Deep Purple – ‘Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming’ (1996)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
51) AC/DC – ‘Thunderstruck’ (1990)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
50) Rainbow – ‘Gates of Babylon’ (1977)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
49) Metallica – ‘The Unforgiven’ (1991)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
48) Rush – ‘La Villa Strangiato’ (1978)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
47) Pantera – ‘Cemetery Gates’ (1990)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
46) Pink Floyd – ‘Shine on You Crazy Diamond’ (1975)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
45) Dire Straits – ‘Telegraph Road’ (1982)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
44) Peter Frampton – ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ (2003)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
43) Slash – ‘Anastasia’ (2012)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
42) The Beatles – ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ (1968)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
41) Pink Floyd – ‘Time’ (1973)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
40) Genesis – ‘Firth of Fifth’ (1973)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
39) Deep Purple – ‘Smoke on the Water’ (1972)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
38) AC/DC – ‘Let There Be Rock’ (1977)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
37) Megadeth – ‘Tornado of Souls’ (1990)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
36) Ozzy Osbourne – ‘No More Tears’ (1991)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
35) Metallica – ‘Fade To Black’ (1984)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
34) Marillion – ‘Easter’ (1990)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
33) Joe Bonamassa – ‘India / Mountain Time’ (2008)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
32) Ozzy Osbourne – ‘Crazy Train’ (1980)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
31) Cream – ‘Crossroads’ (1968)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
30) AC/DC – ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’ (1977)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
29) Led Zeppelin – ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’ (1970)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
28) Queen – ‘Brighton Rock’ (1974)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
27) Metallica – ‘One’ (1989)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
26) Extreme – ‘Get The Funk Out’ (1990)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
25) Thin Lizzy – ‘Still In Love With You’ (1974)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
24) Metallica – ‘Master of Puppets’ (1986)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
23) The Jimi Hendrix Experience – ‘Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)’ (1968)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
22) Joe Bonamassa – ‘Sloe Gin’ (2007)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
21) Ozzy Osbourne – ‘Mr Crowley’ (1980)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
20) Derek & The Dominoes – ‘Layla’
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
19) Gary Moore – ‘Still Got The Blues (For You)’ (1990)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
18) Prince - ‘Purple Rain’ (1984)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
17) Deep Purple – ‘Child in Time’ (1970)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
16) Bon Jovi – ‘Dry County’ (1992)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
15) The Jimi Hendrix Experience – ‘All Along The Watchtower’ (1967)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
14) Deep Purple – ‘Highway Star’ (1972)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
13) Gary Moore – ‘Parisienne Walkways’ (1979)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
12) UFO – ‘Rock Bottom’ (1974)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
11) Dire Straits – ‘Sultans of Swing’ (1978)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
10) Queen – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (1975)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
9) Rainbow – ‘Stargazer’ (1976)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
8) Guns N’ Roses – ‘Sweet Child ‘O Mine’ (1987)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
7) Van Halen – ‘Eruption’ (1978)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
6) Guns N’ Roses – ‘November Rain’ (1991)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
5) Eagles – ‘Hotel California’ (1976)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
4) Led Zeppelin – ‘Stairway To Heaven’ (1971)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
3) Alter Bridge – ‘Blackbird’ (2007)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
2) Lynyrd Skynyrd - ‘Free Bird’ (1973)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
1) Pink Floyd – ‘Comfortably Numb’ (1979)
The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
Listen to the 10 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time:
10) Queen – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’:
9) Rainbow – ‘Stargazer’:
8) Guns N’ Roses – ‘Sweet Child O' Mine’:
7) Van Halen – ‘Eruption’:
6) Guns N’ Roses – ‘November Rain’:
5) Eagles – ‘Hotel California’:
4) Led Zeppelin – ‘Stairway To Heaven’:
3) Alter Bridge – ‘Blackbird’:
2) Lynyrd Skynyrd - ‘Free Bird’:
1) Pink Floyd – ‘Comfortably Numb’:
- Galleries
- Pink Floyd
- Iron Maiden
- Guns N' Roses
- Bon Jovi
- UFO
- neil young
- Judas Priest
- eric clapton
- extreme
- AC/DC
- Led Zeppelin
- Pearl Jam
- Metallica
- Fleetwood Mac
- thin lizzy
- dire straits
- steve vai
- deep purple
- jimi hendrix
- Rainbow
- rush
- Pantera
- peter frampton
- The Beatles
- Genesis
- Megadeth
- Ozzy Osbourne
- marillion
- joe bonamassa
- cream
- Queen
- gary moore
- Prince
- van halen
- Alter Bridge
- Eagles
- Lynyrd Skynyrd