The 25 Greatest Hard Rock Guitar Solos

Hard rock turned the guitar solo into the main event, from Ritchie Blackmore's Bach-inspired runs to Eddie Van Halen's tapping. This ranking weighs how often and how high each solo appears across published guitar-solo lists, plus a few modern entries that editors and readers have since added.

Informed by: Bombay Lives (Substack) – 100 Greatest Guitar Solos, Chaospin – The 30 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time, Classic Rock (Louder) – The 100 greatest guitar solos in rock, Digital Dream Door – 250 Greatest Rock Guitar Solos, That Eric Alper – The 25 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time, Magazyn Gitarzysta – 100 solówek wszech czasów [100 solos of all time], guitarguitar – Top 50 Guitar Solos of All Time, Guitarhabits – 50 of The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time, Guitarist / MusicRadar – The 20 Greatest Guitar Solos Of All Time, GuitarMetrics – 25 Best Guitar Solos of All Time (Ranked), Guitar Player – The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time (GuitarPlayer.com readers' poll), Guitar Solo Legends – The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time — Ranked (2026), Guitar Tricks – 200 Best Guitar Solos of All Time, Guitar World – Readers' Top 50 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time, Guitar World – The 50 greatest guitar solos of all time, Guitar World – The greatest guitar solos of the 21st century... so far, Kobalog – ギター好きが選んだ、歴史に残したい最強のギターソロランキング、トップ２０！！【完コピ必須】 [The strongest guitar solos worth preserving in history, chosen by guitar lovers: Top 20], Musician Tuts – The 51 Best Guitar Solos Of All Time, Music in Minnesota – 38 Best Guitar Solos Of All Time, NME – 50 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time, Orchestra Central – 30 Best Guitar Solos of All Time, Planet Rock – The Top 40 Greatest Guitar Solos Ever, Planet Rock – The 75 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time, Ranker – The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time, Rolling Stone – The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time, SensCritique – Top 100 des meilleurs solos de guitare [Top 100 best guitar solos], SiriusXM (countdown transcribed on PRS Guitars forum) – 50 Baddest Guitar Solos, Sweetwater inSync (recap of Guitar World readers' poll) – The 100 Best Guitar Solos, Terra / Cifra Club – Os 50 melhores solos de guitarra da história [The 50 best guitar solos in history], TheTopTens – Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time, Thomann – 25 Iconic Guitar Solos, uDiscover Music – The Best Guitar Solos Of All Time: 108 Amazing Moments, WatchMojo – Top 10 Guitar Solos

1. 1
   Eruption

   Van Halen · solo by Eddie Van Halen · 1978
2. 2
   Sweet Child O' Mine

   Guns N' Roses · solo by Slash · 1987
3. 3
   Highway Star

   Deep Purple · solo by Ritchie Blackmore · 1972
4. 4
   November Rain

   Guns N' Roses · solo by Slash · 1991
5. 5
   Whole Lotta Love

   Led Zeppelin · solo by Jimmy Page · 1969
6. 6
   Heartbreaker

   Led Zeppelin · solo by Jimmy Page · 1969
7. 7
   Blackbird

   Alter Bridge · solo by Mark Tremonti & Myles Kennedy · 2007
8. 8
   Smoke on the Water

   Deep Purple · solo by Ritchie Blackmore · 1972
9. 9
   Brighton Rock

   Queen · solo by Brian May · 1974
10. 10
    Hot for Teacher

    Van Halen · solo by Eddie Van Halen · 1984
11. 11
    Walk This Way

    Aerosmith · solo by Joe Perry · 1975
12. 12
    Stranglehold

    Ted Nugent · solo by Ted Nugent · 1975
13. 13
    Shock Me

    Kiss · solo by Ace Frehley · 1977
14. 14
    Child in Time

    Deep Purple · solo by Ritchie Blackmore · 1970
15. 15
    Rock Bottom

    UFO · solo by Michael Schenker · 1974
16. 16
    Back in Black

    AC/DC · solo by Angus Young · 1980
17. 17
    Let There Be Rock

    AC/DC · solo by Angus Young · 1977
18. 18
    Get The Funk Out

    Extreme · solo by Nuno Bettencourt · 1990
19. 19
    You Shook Me All Night Long

    AC/DC · solo by Angus Young · 1980
20. 20
    Lazy

    Deep Purple · solo by Ritchie Blackmore · 1972
21. 21
    Wanted Dead or Alive

    Bon Jovi · solo by Richie Sambora · 1987
22. 22
    Still In Love With You

    Thin Lizzy · solo by Gary Moore & Brian Robertson · 1974
23. 23
    Paradise City

    Guns N' Roses · solo by Slash · 1987
24. 24
    Thunderstruck

    AC/DC · solo by Angus Young · 1990
25. 25
    Rise

    Extreme · solo by Nuno Bettencourt · 2023