# The Most Emotional Guitar Solos of All Time > The Most Emotional Guitar Solos of All Time: #1 is Purple Rain by Prince, then November Rain and Little Wing. Every video starts at the solo. Canonical URL: Emotional does not have to mean sad. These are the solos that sound like they mean it: the release at the end of Purple Rain and November Rain, Carlos Santana singing through Europa and Samba Pa Ti, Steve Vai's Tender Surrender and Neil Young's slow burn on Cortez the Killer. They are chosen for feel, not speed, and every video starts at the solo. 1. [Purple Rain](https://greatestsolos.com/song/prince-purple-rain/) — Prince · solo by Prince · 1984 2. [November Rain](https://greatestsolos.com/song/guns-n-roses-november-rain/) — Guns N' Roses · solo by Slash · 1991 3. [Little Wing](https://greatestsolos.com/song/jimi-hendrix-little-wing/) — Jimi Hendrix · solo by Jimi Hendrix · 1967 4. [Little Wing](https://greatestsolos.com/song/stevie-ray-vaughan-little-wing/) — Stevie Ray Vaughan · solo by Stevie Ray Vaughan · 1991 5. [Tender Surrender](https://greatestsolos.com/song/steve-vai-tender-surrender/) — Steve Vai · solo by Steve Vai · 1995 6. [Europa](https://greatestsolos.com/song/santana-europa/) — Santana · solo by Carlos Santana · 1976 7. [Samba Pa Ti](https://greatestsolos.com/song/santana-samba-pa-ti/) — Santana · solo by Carlos Santana · 1970 8. [Cemetery Gates](https://greatestsolos.com/song/pantera-cemetery-gates/) — Pantera · solo by Dimebag Darrell · 1990 9. [Easter](https://greatestsolos.com/song/marillion-easter/) — Marillion · solo by Steve Rothery · 1989 10. [Cortez the Killer](https://greatestsolos.com/song/neil-young-cortez-the-killer/) — Neil Young · solo by Neil Young · 1975 11. [Gravity](https://greatestsolos.com/song/john-mayer-gravity/) — John Mayer · solo by John Mayer · 2006 12. [Watermelon in Easter Hay](https://greatestsolos.com/song/frank-zappa-watermelon-in-easter-hay/) — Frank Zappa · solo by Frank Zappa · 1979 13. [Always with Me, Always with You](https://greatestsolos.com/song/joe-satriani-always-with-me-always-with-you/) — Joe Satriani · solo by Joe Satriani · 1987 14. [Bridge of Sighs](https://greatestsolos.com/song/robin-trower-bridge-of-sighs/) — Robin Trower · solo by Robin Trower · 1974 15. [Drive Home](https://greatestsolos.com/song/steven-wilson-drive-home/) — Steven Wilson ft. Guthrie Govan · solo by Guthrie Govan · 2013 16. [The Unforgiven](https://greatestsolos.com/song/metallica-the-unforgiven/) — Metallica · solo by Kirk Hammett · 1991 17. [Coming Back to Life](https://greatestsolos.com/song/pink-floyd-coming-back-to-life/) — Pink Floyd · solo by David Gilmour · 1994 18. [Dreams](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-allman-brothers-band-dreams/) — The Allman Brothers Band · solo by Duane Allman · 1969 ## Quick answers ### What makes a guitar solo emotional? Phrasing more than speed. Emotional solos usually follow the melody like a singer would. They leave space between phrases, and they rely on bends, vibrato and dynamics to shape each note. That is why a slow solo like Purple Rain or Europa can hit harder than a flurry of notes. ### Who played the solo on Little Wing? Jimi Hendrix wrote and recorded Little Wing in 1967. Stevie Ray Vaughan's instrumental version came out after his death on The Sky Is Crying in 1991. Both versions are on this list. ### Do emotional guitar solos have to be slow? No. Cemetery Gates and November Rain both build to fast passages, and they still land emotionally because the fast notes come as the climax of a melody the solo has already set up. --- 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/)