One of the most present pieces of rock and metal music since its creation, is the electric guitar, and the electric guitar’s biggest time to shine is during guitar solos, when a guitar gets to stand on its own and show the character of the song. What makes for a great guitar solo? Is it mind-melting precision or bone-chilling soul? Is it the way it can leave you in awe, wondering, How did he do that? Or is it something that you can sing from memory, a melodic passage that weaves itself into the DNA of the song? Or, are the greatest solos ever played the ones that somehow manage to do all of the above?

In my opinion, the following solos are the top 10 greatest guitar solos of all time:

#10 “Bohemian Rhapsody” By Queen

Bohemian Rhapsody is a song that is so iconic, i challenge you with finding one person who hasn’t heard this song that has lived for more than five years, but how iconic this song is also does it some discredit making you numb to the skill of the musicians involved.

#9 “Freebird” Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd

A truly iconic guitar solo that pushes the limit of what a guitar solo should be, and where you draw the line at a solo or an instrumental piece with a few lyrics.

#8 “All Along the Watchtower” By Jimi Hendrix Electric ladyland

One of the best guitar players of  all time Jimi Hendrix displays in one song what makes him one of the best with his prodigious guitar playing ability, that no one has been able to exactly replicate since.

#7 “Stairway to Heaven”

Stairway to Heaven is a song that defines an iconic guitar solo, everyone knows this song, and you would have a hard time finding a guitar player that hasn’t at least attempted to play this song.

#6 “Parisienne Walkways” By Gary Moore Back on the streets

Gary Moore is one of the best guitar players of all time and this song definitely demonstrates where this belief would come from, with an emotional song filled with mostly just guitar and a few lines of vocals. Gary Moore displays how you can create a full song relying on mainly guitar.

#5 “Crazy Train” By Ozzy Osbourne Blizzard of Ozz

A true classic in every sense of the word, this song will be one that people will likely remember for hundreds of years not only for the memorable singing of Ozzy Osborne but also the masterful playing of Randy Rhoads.

#4 “Detroit Rock City” By KISS Destroyer

This song is one of the bands best it shows the best that KISS has to offer in terms of catchy music and instrumental talents, and the corresponding harmonic guitars of Ace Frehley  and Paul Stanley. A song that truly captures the energy of the band

#3 “The Boys Are Back In Town” By Thin Lizzy Jailbreak

Thin Lizzy’s breakout hit The Boys are Back in Town has cemented itself as a rock anthem, this solo is the perfect representation of the Thin Lizzy twin guitar sound that set them apart from other bands. This solo is hands down one of the most memorable solos of all time. 

#2 “ Mean Street” By Van Halen Fair Warning

This solo is one of the most powerful solos ever it displays the pure driving force of Van Halen, and the true skill of the man himself Eddie Van Halen who is known for his technical ability with a guitar, and defining a future generation of guitar players.

#1 “November Rain” By Guns N’ Roses Use Your Illusions I

This song should be the dictionary definition of awesome guitar solos, it features three of Slash’s best guitar solos, ranging from mellow and feely, to hard and heavy, these solos feature everything that makes a guitar solo amazing, feeling and emotion, technical ability, and heart. This solo knows exactly what it needs to do and accomplishes, its not five minutes of trying to hit as many notes as possible, it keeps in touch with the song and shows how much you can get out of a few drawn out notes.