# The Best Richard Thompson Guitar Solos

> The 18 best Richard Thompson guitar solos, ranked. #1 is The Calvary Cross (1975), then Shoot Out the Lights and Sloth. Every video starts at the solo.

Canonical URL: <https://greatestsolos.com/list/richard-thompson-guitar-solos/>

Richard Thompson fused British folk modes, bagpipe-like ornaments and hybrid picking into a lead guitar voice unlike anyone else's. From Fairport Convention to his solo work, his solos are prized for their bite, invention and emotional intensity.

Informed by: [Premier Guitar](https://www.premierguitar.com/lessons/richard-thompson-the-thinking-mans-guitar-hero), [Vintage Guitar](https://www.vintageguitar.com/75677/richard-thompson-3/), [Steve Hoffman Music Forums](https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/recommend-a-few-richard-thompson-guitar-solos.268799/)

1. [The Calvary Cross](https://greatestsolos.com/song/richard-linda-thompson-the-calvary-cross/) — Richard & Linda Thompson · solo by Richard Thompson · 1975
2. [Shoot Out the Lights](https://greatestsolos.com/song/richard-and-linda-thompson-shoot-out-the-lights/) — Richard & Linda Thompson · solo by Richard Thompson · 1982
3. [Sloth](https://greatestsolos.com/song/fairport-convention-sloth/) — Fairport Convention · solo by Richard Thompson · 1970
4. [A Sailor's Life](https://greatestsolos.com/song/fairport-convention-a-sailors-life/) — Fairport Convention · solo by Richard Thompson · 1969
5. [Tear-Stained Letter](https://greatestsolos.com/song/richard-thompson-tear-stained-letter/) — Richard Thompson · solo by Richard Thompson · 1983
6. [Can't Win](https://greatestsolos.com/song/richard-thompson-cant-win/) — Richard Thompson · solo by Richard Thompson · 1988
7. [Matty Groves](https://greatestsolos.com/song/fairport-convention-matty-groves/) — Fairport Convention · solo by Richard Thompson · 1969
8. [Did She Jump or Was She Pushed?](https://greatestsolos.com/song/richard-and-linda-thompson-did-she-jump-or-was-she-pushed/) — Richard and Linda Thompson · solo by Richard Thompson · 1982
9. [Night Comes In](https://greatestsolos.com/song/richard-and-linda-thompson-night-comes-in/) — Richard and Linda Thompson · solo by Richard Thompson · 1975
10. [Hand of Kindness](https://greatestsolos.com/song/richard-thompson-hand-of-kindness/) — Richard Thompson · solo by Richard Thompson · 1983
11. [1952 Vincent Black Lightning](https://greatestsolos.com/song/richard-thompson-1952-vincent-black-lightning/) — Richard Thompson · solo by Richard Thompson · 1991
12. [For Shame of Doing Wrong](https://greatestsolos.com/song/richard-and-linda-thompson-for-shame-of-doing-wrong/) — Richard and Linda Thompson · solo by Richard Thompson · 1975
13. [Mr. Lacey](https://greatestsolos.com/song/fairport-convention-mr-lacey/) — Fairport Convention · solo by Richard Thompson · 1969
14. [Walk Awhile](https://greatestsolos.com/song/fairport-convention-walk-awhile/) — Fairport Convention · solo by Richard Thompson · 1970
15. [I Feel So Good](https://greatestsolos.com/song/richard-thompson-i-feel-so-good/) — Richard Thompson · solo by Richard Thompson · 1991
16. [Valerie](https://greatestsolos.com/song/richard-thompson-valerie/) — Richard Thompson · solo by Richard Thompson · 1986
17. [Cooksferry Queen](https://greatestsolos.com/song/richard-thompson-cooksferry-queen/) — Richard Thompson · solo by Richard Thompson · 1994
18. [Al Bowlly's in Heaven](https://greatestsolos.com/song/richard-thompson-al-bowlly-s-in-heaven/) — Richard Thompson · solo by Richard Thompson · 1986

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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/)