Gibson.com’s Top 50 Guitar Solos: Full List, Readers Poll Revealed

[Scott]

FROM GIBSON.COM

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/Top-50-Guitar-Solos-...

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With today’s announcement of the Top 10 Guitar Solos of All Time, another Gibson.com Top 50 list is in the books. Below, check out the full rundown of all 50 solos that made the list. (You can get more
information on each of the entries here: #50-41, #40-31, #30-21, #20-11 and #10-1.)

Plus, take a look at the readers poll and the guitarists who scored multiple entries further down the page.

We’d like to send out a special thank you to every fan who voted in the poll, as well as musicians Bart Walsh (David Lee Roth) and Jeff Cease
(Black Crowes), and Gibson.com’s entire editing and writing staff.

This is how the full list turned out:

1. “Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
2. “Eruption,” Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)
3. “All Along the Watchtower,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
4. “Hotel California,” Eagles (Don Felder, Joe Walsh)
5. “Comfortably Numb,” Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)
6. “Free Bird,” Lynyrd Skynyrd (Gary Rossington, Allen Collins)
7. “Layla,” Derek and the Dominos (Eric Clapton, Duane Allman)
8. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” The Beatles (Eric Clapton)
9. “Johnny B. Goode,” Chuck Berry
10. “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Queen (Brian May)
11. “Crazy Train,” Ozzy Osbourne (Randy Rhoads)
12. “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers,” Jeff Beck
13. “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
14. “Hot for Teacher,” Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)
15. “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
16. “November Rain,” Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
17. “Mr Crowley,” Ozzy Osbourne (Randy Rhoads)
18. “Whole Lotta Rosie,” AC/DC (Angus Young)
19. “Like a Hurricane,” Neil Young and Crazy Horse
20. “Sultans of Swing,” Dire Straits (Mark Knopfler)
21. “Texas Flood,” Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
22. “One,” Metallica (Kirk Hammett)
23. “Cortez the Killer,” Neil Young and Crazy Horse
24. “Rock Around the Clock,” Bill Haley and His Comets (Danny Cedrone)
25. “Sweet Jane” (live), Lou Reed (Steve Hunter, Dick Wagner)
26. “Purple Rain,” Prince and the Revolution (Prince)
27. “Heartbreaker,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
28. “Jessica,” Allman Brothers Band (Dickey Betts)
29. “Machine Gun,” Jimi Hendrix
30. “Crossroads,” Cream (Eric Clapton)
31. “Time,” Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)
32. “Are You Experienced,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
33. “Race with the Devil,” Gene Vincent (Cliff Gallup)
34. “Don’t Believe a Word,” Thin Lizzy (Brian Robertson)
35. “Purple Haze,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
36. “Besame Mucho,” Wes Montgomery
37. “Sympathy for the Devil,” The Rolling Stones (Keith Richards)
38. “Blue Sky,” Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)
39. “My Sharona,” The Knack (Berton Averre)
40. “Marquee Moon,” Television (Tom Verlaine)
41. “Hitch a Ride,” Boston (Tom Scholz)
42. “The End,” The Beatles (Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon)
43. “Whole Lotta Love,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
44. “Train Kept A Rollin’” (live), Aerosmith (Joe Perry)
45. “Highway Star,” Deep Purple (Ritchie Blackmore)
46. “Dirt,” The Stooges (Ron Asheton)
47. “Off the Handle,” Rory Gallagher
48. “The Great Curve,” Talking Heads (Adrian Belew)
49. “The Messiah Will Come Again,” Roy Buchanan
50. “Beat It,” Michael Jackson (Eddie Van Halen)

Gibson.com Readers Poll – Top 25 Guitar Solos

Although the readers poll and the overall list agree on the greatest guitar solo in music history (along with many of the other choices), there are some
notable differences. For instance, solos by Terry Kath (Chicago), Marc
Bolan (T. Rex) and Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac) failed to make the
final cut. And, boy, you guys sure love your Allman Brothers, don’t
you? No less than one-fifth of the readers poll consists of Allman
tracks – even more than that if you count Duane Allman’s work on
“Layla.”

1. “Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
2. “Free Bird,” Lynyrd Skynyrd (Allen Collins, Gary Rossington)
3. “Blue Sky,” Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)
4. “Layla,” Derek and the Dominos (Eric Clapton, Duane Allman)
5. “Eruption,” Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)
6. “Whole Lotta Rosie,” AC/DC (Angus Young)
7. “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)
8. “20th Century Boy,” T. Rex (Marc Bolan)
9. “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
10. “Rude Mood,” Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
11. “Hotel California,” Eagles (Don Felder, Joe Walsh)
12. “Comfortably Numb,” Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)
13. “November Rain,” Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
14. “Back in Black,” AC/DC (Angus Young)
15. “Whipping Post,” Allman Brothers Band (Dickey Betts, Duane Allman)
16. “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
17. “Machine Gun,” Jimi Hendrix
18. “Crossroads,” Cream (Eric Clapton)
19. “Let There Be Rock,” AC/DC (Angus Young)
20. “Statesboro Blues,” The Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)
21. “Keep Yourself Alive,” Queen (Brian May)
22. “25 or 6 to 4,” Chicago (Terry Kath)
23. “All Along the Watchtower,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
24. “Heartbreaker,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
25. “Landslide,” Fleetwood Mac (Lindsey Buckingham) and “Dreams,” Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman) (tie)

The Top 50 Guitar Solos: Repeat Offenders

Some guitarists’ soloing greatness can’t be contained by one entry (or even three!). Check out these repeat offenders on Gibson.com’s Top 50 Guitar
Solos of All Time:

Jimmy Page: 4 (“Stairway to Heaven,” “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” “Heartbreaker” and “Whole Lotta Love”)
Jimi Hendrix: 4 (“All Along the Watchtower,” “Machine Gun,” “Are You Experienced” and “Purple Haze)
Eric Clapton: 3 (“Layla,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Crossroads”)
Eddie Van Halen: 3 (“Eruption,” “Hot for Teacher” and “Beat It”)
David Gilmour: 2 (“Comfortably Numb” and “Time”)
Duane Allman: 2 (“Layla” and “Blue Sky”)
Dickey Betts: 2 (“Jessica” and “Blue Sky”)
Randy Rhoads: 2 (“Crazy Train” and “Mr Crowley”)
Slash: 2 (“Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “November Rain”)
Neil Young: 2 (“Cortez the Killer” and “Like a Hurricane”)

[Niels (Mod)]

I love Jimmy Page, but IMO he's best at riffs, not solo's!!

But nice to see Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads on the lists.

[Scott]

The Knack? Really? as they say every Monday night on ESPN... C'mon Man!

I was glad to see Terry Kath on the list, he deserved that honor! Also loved the Scholtz mention for Hitch A Ride, which is a personal favorite.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Well, at least the readers poll showed Terry Kath some respect. It's unbelievable that 25 Or 6 To 4 didn't make the top 50 of the magazine's list. Another notable exception would be the solo on Reelin' In The Years by Steely Dan, but I can't think of the guitarists name right now. And obviously these folks have never heard Ace Frehley play.

[Jon]

Elliott Randall for that Steely Dan song, I believe.

[Scott]

You are correct sir!

[Jon]

What did I win?????

[Jon]

Yeah, nice that Terry Kath is on a list here. Still missed the boat with Eddie Hazel though. I would have put in "Emerald" for Thin Lizzy and wold have picked something different for Brian May, but what do I know?

[RJhog (Admin)]

Terry Kath only made the voters list, not the magazines...that's a shame.

[Jon]

Yeah, it is.