# The 25 Best Hard Rock Guitar Solos of All Time > The 25 best hard rock guitar solos of all time, ranked. #1 is Eruption by Van Halen, then Sweet Child O' Mine and Highway Star. Canonical URL: 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](https://bombaylives.substack.com/p/100-greatest-guitar-solos), [Chaospin – The 30 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time](https://chaospin.com/the-30-greatest-guitar-solos-of-all-time-definitive-rankings-from-rock-history/), [Classic Rock (Louder) – The 100 greatest guitar solos in rock](https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-100-greatest-guitar-solos-in-rock), [Digital Dream Door – 250 Greatest Rock Guitar Solos](https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_guitarsolo.html), [That Eric Alper – The 25 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time](https://www.thatericalper.com/2025/07/11/the-25-greatest-guitar-solos-of-all-time/), [Magazyn Gitarzysta – 100 solówek wszech czasów \[100 solos of all time\]](https://magazyngitarzysta.pl/muzyka/wywiady/1928-100-solowek-wszech-czasow), [guitarguitar – Top 50 Guitar Solos of All Time](https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/news/141664/), [Guitarhabits – 50 of The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time](https://www.guitarhabits.com/50-of-the-greatest-guitar-solos-of-all-time/), [Guitarist / MusicRadar – The 20 Greatest Guitar Solos Of All Time](https://www.musicradar.com/guitarist/the-20-greatest-guitar-solos-of-all-time-403987), [GuitarMetrics – 25 Best Guitar Solos of All Time (Ranked)](https://guitarmetrics.com/blogs/mastering-your-guitar-skills/25-best-guitar-solos-of-all-time), [Guitar Player – The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time (GuitarPlayer.com readers' poll)](https://www.guitarplayer.com/news/the-greatest-guitar-solos-of-all-time), [Guitar Solo Legends – The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time — Ranked (2026)](https://guitarsololegends.com/), [Guitar Tricks – 200 Best Guitar Solos of All Time](https://www.guitartricks.com/blog/200-Best-Guitar-Solos-of-All-Time), [Guitar World – Readers' Top 50 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time](https://www.guitarworld.com/uncategorized/copy-top-50), [Guitar World – The 50 greatest guitar solos of all time](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-50-greatest-guitar-solos-of-all-time), [Guitar World – The greatest guitar solos of the 21st century... so far](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/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】 \[The strongest guitar solos worth preserving in history, chosen by guitar lovers: Top 20\]](https://kobalog.net/entry/guitar-solo-ranking), [Musician Tuts – The 51 Best Guitar Solos Of All Time](https://musiciantuts.com/best-guitar-solos/), [Music in Minnesota – 38 Best Guitar Solos Of All Time](https://www.musicinminnesota.com/best-guitar-solos/), [NME – 50 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time](https://www.nme.com/lists/50-greatest-guitar-solos-1255), [Orchestra Central – 30 Best Guitar Solos of All Time](https://orchestracentral.com/best-guitar-solos-of-all-time/), [Planet Rock – The Top 40 Greatest Guitar Solos Ever](https://www.hellorayo.co.uk/planet-rock/news/rock-news/the-top-40-greatest-guitar-solos-ever), [Planet Rock – The 75 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time](https://www.hellorayo.co.uk/planet-rock/news/rock-news/the-greatest-guitar-solos-of-all-time), [Ranker – The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time](https://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-guitar-solos/johnwarner), [Rolling Stone – The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-guitar-solos-1235519961/), [SensCritique – Top 100 des meilleurs solos de guitare \[Top 100 best guitar solos\]](https://www.senscritique.com/top/resultats/les_meilleurs_solos_de_guitare/192866), [SiriusXM (countdown transcribed on PRS Guitars forum) – 50 Baddest Guitar Solos](https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/siriusxm-50-baddest-guitar-solos.58286/), [Sweetwater inSync (recap of Guitar World readers' poll) – The 100 Best Guitar Solos](https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/100-best-guitar-solos/), [Terra / Cifra Club – Os 50 melhores solos de guitarra da história \[The 50 best guitar solos in history\]](https://www.terra.com.br/diversao/musica/os-50-melhores-solos-de-guitarra-da-historia,3ee288e3b4dfedc7eb7aa47aff76bb0cdsmn7fqb.html), [TheTopTens – Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time](https://www.thetoptens.com/music/greatest-guitar-solos/), [Thomann – 25 Iconic Guitar Solos](https://www.thomannmusic.com/blog/inspire/25-iconic-guitar-solos/), [uDiscover Music – The Best Guitar Solos Of All Time: 108 Amazing Moments](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/best-guitar-solos-ever/), [WatchMojo – Top 10 Guitar Solos](https://www.watchmojo.com/articles/top-10-guitar-solos) 1. [Eruption](https://greatestsolos.com/song/van-halen-eruption/) — Van Halen · solo by Eddie Van Halen · 1978 2. [Sweet Child O' Mine](https://greatestsolos.com/song/guns-n-roses-sweet-child-o-mine/) — Guns N' Roses · solo by Slash · 1987 3. [Highway Star](https://greatestsolos.com/song/deep-purple-highway-star/) — Deep Purple · solo by Ritchie Blackmore · 1972 4. [November Rain](https://greatestsolos.com/song/guns-n-roses-november-rain/) — Guns N' Roses · solo by Slash · 1991 5. [Whole Lotta Love](https://greatestsolos.com/song/led-zeppelin-whole-lotta-love/) — Led Zeppelin · solo by Jimmy Page · 1969 6. [Heartbreaker](https://greatestsolos.com/song/led-zeppelin-heartbreaker/) — Led Zeppelin · solo by Jimmy Page · 1969 7. [Blackbird](https://greatestsolos.com/song/alter-bridge-blackbird/) — Alter Bridge · solo by Mark Tremonti & Myles Kennedy · 2007 8. [Smoke on the Water](https://greatestsolos.com/song/deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water/) — Deep Purple · solo by Ritchie Blackmore · 1972 9. [Brighton Rock](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-brighton-rock/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1974 10. [Hot for Teacher](https://greatestsolos.com/song/van-halen-hot-for-teacher/) — Van Halen · solo by Eddie Van Halen · 1984 11. [Walk This Way](https://greatestsolos.com/song/aerosmith-walk-this-way/) — Aerosmith · solo by Joe Perry · 1975 12. [Stranglehold](https://greatestsolos.com/song/ted-nugent-stranglehold/) — Ted Nugent · solo by Ted Nugent · 1975 13. [Shock Me](https://greatestsolos.com/song/kiss-shock-me/) — Kiss · solo by Ace Frehley · 1977 14. [Child in Time](https://greatestsolos.com/song/deep-purple-child-in-time/) — Deep Purple · solo by Ritchie Blackmore · 1970 15. [Rock Bottom](https://greatestsolos.com/song/ufo-rock-bottom/) — UFO · solo by Michael Schenker · 1974 16. [Back in Black](https://greatestsolos.com/song/ac-dc-back-in-black/) — AC/DC · solo by Angus Young · 1980 17. [Let There Be Rock](https://greatestsolos.com/song/ac-dc-let-there-be-rock/) — AC/DC · solo by Angus Young · 1977 18. [Get The Funk Out](https://greatestsolos.com/song/extreme-get-the-funk-out/) — Extreme · solo by Nuno Bettencourt · 1990 19. [You Shook Me All Night Long](https://greatestsolos.com/song/ac-dc-you-shook-me-all-night-long/) — AC/DC · solo by Angus Young · 1980 20. [Lazy](https://greatestsolos.com/song/deep-purple-lazy/) — Deep Purple · solo by Ritchie Blackmore · 1972 21. [Wanted Dead or Alive](https://greatestsolos.com/song/bon-jovi-wanted-dead-or-alive/) — Bon Jovi · solo by Richie Sambora · 1987 22. [Still In Love With You](https://greatestsolos.com/song/thin-lizzy-still-in-love-with-you/) — Thin Lizzy · solo by Gary Moore & Brian Robertson · 1974 23. [Paradise City](https://greatestsolos.com/song/guns-n-roses-paradise-city/) — Guns N' Roses · solo by Slash · 1987 24. [Thunderstruck](https://greatestsolos.com/song/ac-dc-thunderstruck/) — AC/DC · solo by Angus Young · 1990 25. [Rise](https://greatestsolos.com/song/extreme-rise/) — Extreme · solo by Nuno Bettencourt · 2023 --- 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/)