The Top 25 Greatest Rock & Roll Guitar Solos of All-Time

Dedicated to those who have an axe to grind...

1) ACE FREHLEY/PAUL STANLEY, Kiss—“Detroit Rock City” (1976)  More Ace than Paul here, but this one has always been my favorite, and I can’t actually say why. It just is…
2) JIMI HENDRIX, Jimi Hendrix Experience—“All Along The Watchtower” (1968)  This was Jimi’s finest hour, musically.  Sadly, it was all downhill for him after this one, but when he wasn’t all drugged-out, he could make some amazing sounds with his fingers.
3) JOHN ENTWISTLE, The Who—“5:15” (Live-2000)  Greatest bass solo ever recorded!  A three-and-a-half minute roller coaster ride that'll render you awe-struck, dumb-struck, and downright dizzy, courtesy of the greatest bass player on the planet.
4) RANDY RHOADS, Ozzy Osbourne—“I Don’t Know” (1981)  I could list most any solo he ever did here and it would be appropriate.  Another favorite of mine is his solo on the live version of “Children Of The Grave” on the Tribute CD.  One can only imagine what this guy would have gone on to do, and if he were still with us, he would be even more revered than Eddie Van Halen is.  What a waste…
5) EDDIE VAN HALEN, Van Halen—“Eruption” (1978)  Speaking of the devil, one can only guess how many countless guitar players were inspired by this track…
6) ALLEN COLLINS, Lynyrd Skynyrd—“Free Bird” (1973)  I didn’t know until recently that he played this whole damn thing all by himself!  This guy was better than I ever realized...
7) BUDDY HOLLY, The Crickets—“Peggy Sue” (1957)  Short, sweet and petite, but very cool, and way ahead of its time.  Ol' B.H. had really cool initials, too!
8) DRAKE LEVIN, Paul Revere & The Raiders—"Louie, Louie" (Live-1965)  This rambunctious solo made Keith Richards and Dave Davies look like rank amateurs!
9) ERNIE ISLEY, The Isley Brothers—“That Lady” (1973)  Under “blistering” in the dictionary it says “listen to this”.  Every time I hear this lazer-like guitar work, it makes me think of a hot summer day.  This thing could melt the siding clean off your house!
10) DUANE ROLAND/DAVE HLUBEK/STEVE HOLLAND, Molly Hatchet—“Fall of The Peacemakers” (1983)  Sort of a poor man’s “Free Bird”, but still mighty fine guitar work.
11) ANGUS YOUNG, AC/DC—”Let There Be Rock” (1977)  Never ceases to amaze me how this little dude rolls around on stage like that and NEVER misses a note!
12) ACE FREHLEY, Kiss—”Let Me Go, Rock ‘N’ Roll” (Live-1975)  Space Ace gets to stretch his muscles and jam a bit—a rarity on a Kiss record.
13) DAVE EDMUNDS, Love Sculpture—“Sabre Dance” (1968/1994)  Khachaturian’s classical classic gets re-worked into a four-minute guitar solo by Sir Edmunds.  The cleaner, meaner ‘94 version (even with the drum machine) is every bit as cool as the original, too.
14) RANDY BACHMAN, Bachman-Turner Overdrive—“You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” (1974)  Not necessarily the solo here, but the sinewy guitar work throughout the entire song is downright awesome.
15) PETE TOWNSHEND, The Who—“Shakin’ All Over” (1970)  Pete isn’t particularly renowned for his lead guitar work as much as he is for his songwriting and power chords, but on the night The "'Orrible 'Oo" recorded Live At Leeds, he sounded like Jimi Hendrix.
16) RITCHIE BLACKMORE, Deep Purple—“Highway Star” (Live, 1973)  “Stupid-fast” is an apt description of the solo here on Made In Japan.  Fortunately in this case, speed don’t kill...
17) BILLY GIBBONS, Z.Z. Top—“La Grange” (1974)  Rev. Billy G. delivers a feedback-laden six-string sermon that would bring Godzilla to his knees.  Haw-haw-haw-haw, indeed!
18) NILS LOFGREN, Bruce Springsteen—“Tunnel Of Love” (1987)  This is the one that The Boss yodels along with, but for some reason, it really works!
19) JOHN ENTWISTLE, The Who—"My Generation" (1965)  “The Ox” gave the world its first Rock ‘N’ Roll bass solo here.  Often imitated, never equaled…
20) TED NUGENT—“Wang Dang Sweet Poontang” (Live-1978)  Ah yes, the good ol’ days when Ted talked through his guitar instead of out of his ass…
21) RANDAL CHOWNING, Ozark Mountain Daredevils—"Jackie Blue" (1975)  Just like "You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet", not only is the solo cool here, but the slide guitar throughout the entire song is downright hypnotic.  Just as an aside, when this first came out, I thought it was a chick singing this song, so imagine my surprise when I saw OMD on "The Midnight Special" with this bearded dude with a high voice singing it!
22) HENRY PAUL/HUGHIE THOMASSON/BILLY JONES, The Outlaws—"Green Grass & High Tides" (1975)  "Free Bird" inspired a wave of copy-cat triple-lead guitar solos that lasted over five minutes from other Southern bands, and this was the first (and best) of them.  No doubt all the Album Rock DJs back then loved this song because it lasted long enough to smoke a joint or two…
23) SCOTTY MOORE, Elvis Presley—"Hard Headed Woman" (1958)  Guitar solos were a rare commodity in the ‘50s, especially good ones!
24) DUANE ROLAND/DAVE HLUBEK/STEVE HOLLAND, Molly Hatchet—"Boogie No More" (1980) Yet another mini-"Free Bird", but a damn good one.
25) ACE FREHLEY, Kiss—"She" (Live-1975)  Another of the rare times when Kiss would just jam on stage and allow Ace to really cut loose.