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Holy Hukanui & I both agree that Gibson guitars are awesome. 

Many of the greats have strapped on these weapons of mass destruction and done something with them no one else had ever thought of. This list is a non-bias list, meaning any guitar make was considered by the staff and crew at www.gibson.com 

Although the order may not be the same as what I personally would have had it, it is a pretty impressive list. 

The Top 5 Guitar Solos of All Time (according to Gibson.com): 

5. “Comfortably Numb,” Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)

Relations between feuding Floyds, Gilmour and Waters, were at their worst when Gilmour came to lay down his classic guitar work on “Comfortably Numb.” A great song, without any guitar work, Gilmour wanted it bare bones and minimal while Waters wanted orchestration. Somehow yielding to pressure, Gilmour adapted his original guitar vision into one of the most sonically beautiful guitar tracks of all time. The touch and feel he gives to the brain-warping solo is that of a master at the top of his game. – Andrew Vaughan 


 

4. “Hotel California,” Eagles (Don Felder, Joe Walsh)

Don Felder, who came up with the music for this ’70s classic, had to call home to listen again over the phone to his original guitar demo in order to remember the guitar solo he plays on the record with fellow Eagles guitar-slinger Joe Walsh. With a reggae-like, tropical feel, the left-field song needed a climactic finish, and when Walsh suggested a ‘“da-da-da-da-da-da-dum” line, Felder and he went to work. With Felder on the higher harmony lines and Walsh on the lower part, the two players blended in a sea of descending harmonies making this one of the most audacious and memorable twin guitar duals in rock and roll history. – Andrew Vaughan 

 

3. “All Along the Watchtower,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience 

Although written by Bob Dylan, “All Along the Watchtower’s” ownership was transferred to Jimi Hendrix as soon as the guitar god’s version was released in 1968. An “overwhelmed” Dylan was all too happy to comply, saying, “He found things that other people wouldn’t think of finding in there.” While some of those things might be the vigorous opening and Hendrix’s wild vocal delivery, Dylan also had to be talking about the guitarist’s mind-blowing middle passage. The minute-long solo takes one unbelievable turn after another, drawing on blues, rock and soul, and merging Hendrix’s ridiculous technical ability with his knack for melody and smart use of woozy effects. It’s one, big psychedelic rocketship that blasts you somewhere else – the Vietnam War, your high school parking lot, a lazer light show, outer space, anywhere. You can get lost in that solo and, quite happily, not find your way back out for days. It’s no wonder Dylan started playing the song Hendrix’s way. – Bryan Wawzenek 

 

2. “Eruption,” Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)

 

You’ve heard of the Big Four? With apologies to Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax, I’m referring to the original Big Four: “Mona Lisa” (Leonardo da Vinci), “David” (Michelangelo), “The Thinker” (Auguste Rodin) and, of course, “Eruption” (Eddie Van Halen). The first time I heard “Eruption,” I remember asking my friend to play it again for me because I wasn’t sure what I had just heard. “Oh, it’s a guitar, and it’s being played by one guy!” he assured me. It was too difficult for these young ears to comprehend that the symphonic cacophony I had just heard came from one man, one guitar and no overdubs. “Eruption” was an epiphany to me as a fledgling guitarist, as well as to millions of music fans everywhere. Nearly 30 years (and a zillion guitar solos) later, I’ve yet to hear its equal. – Sean Patrick Dooley 

 

  

1. “Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page) 

Haters have railed against this song for years because of its ubiquitous presence on FM playlists, but the power of Page’s presence in this Renaissance-ballad-turned-hard-rock-Valhalla is undeniable. From the tender acoustic fingerpicking of the song’s intro to the power chord barrage at the end, “Stairway” is the ultimate showpiece for one of rock’s ultimate guitarists. After allowing the spotlight to shine on John Paul Jones’ multi-track maypole-dance recorders, Robert Plant’s illustrative lyrics and vocal flourishes and John Bonham’s thunderous entrance to the parade, Page finally commands it for himself with the solo to end all solos. Bathed in reverb, as though they were crashing down from the heavens themselves, Page’s notes bend and blur in a rising movement that blows into the final verse with a goosebump-raising speed flurry. If you ask me, what makes for a good solo is its ability to propel the song forward; not to distract from the song for the sake of technical showboating, but to actually contribute to the musical ideas put forth in the composition – and to enhance them. Page’s solo on “Stairway” does just that. It takes the folkie intro piece and provides a Bifröstian bridge to the thunderous end verse. Hammer of the Gods, indeed. – Michael Wright
 

 

Votes for the Top 50 Guitar Solos of All Time were included from Michael Wright, Bryan Wawzenek, Andrew Vaughan, Sean Patrick Dooley, Russell Hall, Ted Drozdowski, Paolo Bassotti, Dave Hunter, Bart Walsh (David Lee Roth), Jeff Cease (Black Crowes, Eric Church) and the Gibson.com Readers Poll.

 

 

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