# The Top 20 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time

> The Top 20 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time: #1 is Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin, then Comfortably Numb and Hotel California. 20 solos, ranked.

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The 20 greatest guitar solos of all time, ranked by consensus across 80 published lists from Rolling Stone, Guitar World, Classic Rock and more. The top five: Stairway to Heaven (Jimmy Page), Comfortably Numb (David Gilmour), Hotel California (Don Felder & Joe Walsh), Eruption (Eddie Van Halen) and Free Bird (Allen Collins & Gary Rossington).

Updated October 2026 · ranked from 80 published lists

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. [Hotel California](https://greatestsolos.com/song/eagles-hotel-california/) — Eagles · solo by Don Felder & Joe Walsh · 1976
4. [Eruption](https://greatestsolos.com/song/van-halen-eruption/) — Van Halen · solo by Eddie Van Halen · 1978
5. [Free Bird](https://greatestsolos.com/song/lynyrd-skynyrd-free-bird/) — Lynyrd Skynyrd · solo by Allen Collins & Gary Rossington · 1973
6. [Sweet Child O' Mine](https://greatestsolos.com/song/guns-n-roses-sweet-child-o-mine/) — Guns N' Roses · solo by Slash · 1987
7. [All Along the Watchtower](https://greatestsolos.com/song/jimi-hendrix-all-along-the-watchtower/) — Jimi Hendrix · solo by Jimi Hendrix · 1968
8. [Bohemian Rhapsody](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-bohemian-rhapsody/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1975
9. [Sultans of Swing](https://greatestsolos.com/song/dire-straits-sultans-of-swing/) — Dire Straits · solo by Mark Knopfler · 1978
10. [Highway Star](https://greatestsolos.com/song/deep-purple-highway-star/) — Deep Purple · solo by Ritchie Blackmore · 1972
11. [November Rain](https://greatestsolos.com/song/guns-n-roses-november-rain/) — Guns N' Roses · solo by Slash · 1991
12. [While My Guitar Gently Weeps](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-beatles-while-my-guitar-gently-weeps/) — The Beatles · solo by Eric Clapton · 1968
13. [Crazy Train](https://greatestsolos.com/song/ozzy-osbourne-crazy-train/) — Ozzy Osbourne · solo by Randy Rhoads · 1980
14. [Crossroads](https://greatestsolos.com/song/cream-crossroads/) — Cream · solo by Eric Clapton · 1968
15. [Beat It](https://greatestsolos.com/song/michael-jackson-beat-it/) — Michael Jackson · solo by Eddie Van Halen · 1982
16. [Johnny B. Goode](https://greatestsolos.com/song/chuck-berry-johnny-b-goode/) — Chuck Berry · solo by Chuck Berry · 1958
17. [Layla](https://greatestsolos.com/song/derek-and-the-dominos-layla/) — Derek and the Dominos · solo by Eric Clapton & Duane Allman · 1970
18. [Voodoo Child (Slight Return)](https://greatestsolos.com/song/jimi-hendrix-voodoo-child-slight-return/) — Jimi Hendrix · solo by Jimi Hendrix · 1968
19. [Purple Rain](https://greatestsolos.com/song/prince-purple-rain/) — Prince · solo by Prince · 1984
20. [One](https://greatestsolos.com/song/metallica-one/) — Metallica · solo by Kirk Hammett · 1988

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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/)