# Critics' Picks: The Best Guitar Solos According to Critics

> Critics' Picks: The Best Guitar Solos According to Critics: #1 is Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin, then Comfortably Numb and While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

Canonical URL: <https://greatestsolos.com/list/critics-picks/>

Scored only from editor-written lists by music magazines, guitar magazines and expert critics such as Rick Beato.

1. [Stairway to Heaven](https://greatestsolos.com/song/led-zeppelin-stairway-to-heaven/) — Led Zeppelin · solo by Jimmy Page · 1971
2. [Comfortably Numb](https://greatestsolos.com/song/pink-floyd-comfortably-numb/) — Pink Floyd · solo by David Gilmour · 1979
3. [While My Guitar Gently Weeps](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-beatles-while-my-guitar-gently-weeps/) — The Beatles · solo by Eric Clapton · 1968
4. [Hotel California](https://greatestsolos.com/song/eagles-hotel-california/) — Eagles · solo by Don Felder & Joe Walsh · 1976
5. [Sweet Child O' Mine](https://greatestsolos.com/song/guns-n-roses-sweet-child-o-mine/) — Guns N' Roses · solo by Slash · 1987
6. [Eruption](https://greatestsolos.com/song/van-halen-eruption/) — Van Halen · solo by Eddie Van Halen · 1978
7. [Johnny B. Goode](https://greatestsolos.com/song/chuck-berry-johnny-b-goode/) — Chuck Berry · solo by Chuck Berry · 1958
8. [Free Bird](https://greatestsolos.com/song/lynyrd-skynyrd-free-bird/) — Lynyrd Skynyrd · solo by Allen Collins & Gary Rossington · 1973
9. [Purple Rain](https://greatestsolos.com/song/prince-purple-rain/) — Prince · solo by Prince · 1984
10. [Bohemian Rhapsody](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-bohemian-rhapsody/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1975
11. [Sultans of Swing](https://greatestsolos.com/song/dire-straits-sultans-of-swing/) — Dire Straits · solo by Mark Knopfler · 1978
12. [Beat It](https://greatestsolos.com/song/michael-jackson-beat-it/) — Michael Jackson · solo by Eddie Van Halen · 1982
13. [All Along the Watchtower](https://greatestsolos.com/song/jimi-hendrix-all-along-the-watchtower/) — Jimi Hendrix · solo by Jimi Hendrix · 1968
14. [Marquee Moon](https://greatestsolos.com/song/television-marquee-moon/) — Television · solo by Tom Verlaine · 1977
15. [Sympathy for the Devil](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-rolling-stones-sympathy-for-the-devil/) — The Rolling Stones · solo by Keith Richards · 1968
16. [Something](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-beatles-something/) — The Beatles · solo by George Harrison · 1969
17. [Maggot Brain](https://greatestsolos.com/song/funkadelic-maggot-brain/) — Funkadelic · solo by Eddie Hazel · 1971
18. [Crossroads](https://greatestsolos.com/song/cream-crossroads/) — Cream · solo by Eric Clapton · 1968
19. [Ball and Biscuit](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-white-stripes-ball-and-biscuit/) — The White Stripes · solo by Jack White · 2003
20. [Highway Star](https://greatestsolos.com/song/deep-purple-highway-star/) — Deep Purple · solo by Ritchie Blackmore · 1972
21. [You Really Got Me](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-kinks-you-really-got-me/) — The Kinks · solo by Dave Davies · 1964
22. [Paranoid Android](https://greatestsolos.com/song/radiohead-paranoid-android/) — Radiohead · solo by Jonny Greenwood · 1997
23. [Crazy Train](https://greatestsolos.com/song/ozzy-osbourne-crazy-train/) — Ozzy Osbourne · solo by Randy Rhoads · 1980
24. [Let There Be Rock](https://greatestsolos.com/song/ac-dc-let-there-be-rock/) — AC/DC · solo by Angus Young · 1977
25. [Machine Gun](https://greatestsolos.com/song/jimi-hendrix-machine-gun/) — Jimi Hendrix · solo by Jimi Hendrix · 1970

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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/)