# The Best Brian May Guitar Solos

> The 20 best Brian May guitar solos, ranked. #1 is Brighton Rock (1974), then Bohemian Rhapsody and Killer Queen. Every video starts at the solo.

Canonical URL: <https://greatestsolos.com/list/brian-may-guitar-solos/>

Playing a home-built Red Special through Vox AC30s with a sixpence for a pick, Brian May created one of rock's most distinctive guitar voices. His layered, orchestral solos with Queen are as composed and memorable as the vocal melodies they accompany.

Informed by: [Wikipedia: Brian May](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_May), [Wikipedia: Queen discography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_discography)

1. [Brighton Rock](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-brighton-rock/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1974
2. [Bohemian Rhapsody](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-bohemian-rhapsody/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1975
3. [Killer Queen](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-killer-queen/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1974
4. [We Will Rock You](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-we-will-rock-you/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1977
5. [Tie Your Mother Down](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-tie-your-mother-down/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1976
6. [The Show Must Go On](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-the-show-must-go-on/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1991
7. [Who Wants to Live Forever](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-who-wants-to-live-forever/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1986
8. [Keep Yourself Alive](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-keep-yourself-alive/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1973
9. [Now I'm Here](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-now-im-here/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1974
10. [Somebody to Love](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-somebody-to-love/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1976
11. [Hammer to Fall](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-hammer-to-fall/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1984
12. [Innuendo](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-innuendo/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1991
13. [The Prophet's Song](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-the-prophet-s-song/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1975
14. [It's Late](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-it-s-late/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1977
15. [Father to Son](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-father-to-son/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1974
16. [Dragon Attack](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-dragon-attack/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1980
17. [Too Much Love Will Kill You](https://greatestsolos.com/song/brian-may-too-much-love-will-kill-you/) — Brian May · solo by Brian May · 1992
18. [Star Fleet](https://greatestsolos.com/song/brian-may-friends-star-fleet/) — Brian May + Friends · solo by Brian May · 1983
19. [Liar](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-liar/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1973
20. [Bijou](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-bijou/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1991

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GreatestSolos ranks the greatest guitar solos by consensus across published lists. Agent guide: [llms.txt](https://greatestsolos.com/llms.txt) · [Sitemap](https://greatestsolos.com/sitemap.xml) · [Dataset (CSV)](https://greatestsolos.com/data/greatest-guitar-solos.csv) · [How we rank](https://greatestsolos.com/method/)