Greatest rock guitarists
of all time


TM, ®, Copyright © 2019 Piero Scaruffi
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(For the 21st century better see this page)
  1. Jimi Hendrix
  2. Robert Quine
  3. Marc Ribot
  4. John Fahey
  5. Sandy Bull
  6. Keiji Haino
  7. Caspar Brotzmann
  8. Ian Williams (Don Caballero, Storm & Stress, Battles)
  9. Jeff Beck (Yardbirds)
  10. Joe Baiza (Saccharine Trust, Universal Congress)
  11. Bola Sete
  12. Vernon Reid (Living Colour)
  13. Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
  14. Keith Richards (Rolling Stones)
  15. Chuck Berry
  16. Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)
  17. Duane Allman (Allman Brothers)
  18. Steve Cropper (Mar Keys)
  19. Doug Martsch (Built To Spill)
  20. Greg Ginn (Black Flag)
  21. Munehiro Narita (High Rise)
  22. Duane Denison (Jesus Lizard)
  23. Link Wray
  24. Andy Hawkins (Blind Idiot God)
  25. Tom Verlaine (Television)
  26. Scott Tuma (Souled American)
  27. Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac)
  28. Helios Creed (Chrome)
  29. Nicky Skopelitis
  30. Robert Fripp (King Crimson)
  31. Arto Lindsay (Ambitious Lovers)
  32. Eddie Hazel (Funkadelic)
  33. Jody Harris (Raybeats)
  34. Blixa Bargeld (Einsturzende Neubauten)
  35. Gary Lucas
  36. Eddie VanHalen (Van Halen)
  37. Nels Cline (Geraldine Fibbers)
  38. David Lindley (Kaleidoscope)
  39. Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs)
  40. Allan Holdsworth
  41. Buckethead
  42. Gayle Ellett (Djam Karet)
  43. Alan Licht (Run On)
  44. Hank Marvin (Shadows)
  45. Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead)
  46. Mike Mcready (Pearl Jam)
  47. Roy Montgomery
  48. Randy Holden (Blue Cheer)
  49. Duane Eddy
  50. Karl Precoda (Dream Syndicate)
  51. Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits)
  52. Kirk Hammet (Metallica)
  53. Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine)
  54. Eric Clapton (Cream)
  55. Steve Vai
  56. Rudolf Sosna (Faust)
  57. Josh Homme (Kyuss)
  58. Leo Kottke
  59. J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr)
  60. Johnny Echols (Love)
  61. Wayne Rogers (Magic Hour)
(I did not include classical, jazz or folk guitarists)
The Best Guitar Solos
Also checkout the Spotify playlist by Colton Basinger
  1. Terry Kath: Free Form Guitar (Chicago)
  2. Alvin Lee: Goin' Home (Ten Years After)
  3. Peter Green: The End of The Game
  4. Syd Barrett: Interstellar Overdrive (Pink Floyd)
  5. Jimi Hendrix: Machine Gun
  6. Duane Denison: Monkey Trick (Jesus Lizard)
  7. Robert Fripp: Sailor's Tale (King Crimson)
  8. Wayne Coyne: Hell's Angel's Cracker Factory (Flaming Lips)
  9. Daniel Martin-McCormick: Native American (Mi Ami)
  10. Jimmy Page: Stairway to Heaven (with Led Zeppelin)
  11. Eric Clapton: Crossroads (with Cream)
  12. Chuck Berry: Johnny B Goode
  13. East Bay Ray: Holiday in Cambodia (Dead Kennedys)
  14. Jody Harris: My Uncle Bill
  15. Mike Bloomfield: His Holy Modal Majesty (with Al Kooper)
  16. Tom Verlaine: Marquee Moon (Television)
  17. Bill Harkleroad: One Red Rose that I Mean (with Captain Beefheart)
  18. Tom Morello: Killing In The Name (Rage Against The Machine)
  19. Mark Knopfler: Sultans Of Swing (with Dire Straits)
  20. Ron Asheton: 1969 (with the Stooges)
  21. Robby Krieger: Light My Fire (Doors)
  22. Kirk Hammett: One (Metallica)
  23. Adrian Belew: The Great Curve (Talking Heads)
  24. John Cipollina: Who do you Love (with Quicksilver)
  25. Marc Ribot: Jockey Full Of Bourbon
  26. Richard Thompson: Hard On Me
  27. Doug Marstch: The Plan (Built to Spill)
  28. Nels Cline: Side With The Seeds (with Wilco)
  29. Roger McGuinn: Eight Miles High (with the Byrds)
  30. Michael Karoli: Mother Sky (with Can)
  31. Fred Frith: Beautiful as the Moon, Terrible as an Army with Banners (Henry Cow)
  32. Alan Parker: Hurdy Gurdy Man (with Donovan)
  33. Eddie Van Halen: Eruption (Van Halen)
  34. Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Chile
  35. Robert Fripp: St Elmo's Fire (with Brian Eno)
  36. Robert Quine: Blank Generation (with Richard Hell)
  37. Dylan DiLella: The Mother Of Virtues (with Pyrrhon)
  38. David Lindley (Kaleidoscope): A Beacon From Mars (4:46-7:23, 8:52-9:26)
  39. Slash: Sweet Child O' Mine (with Guns N' Roses)
  40. Mike Bloomfield: East-West (with Paul Butterfield)
  41. Jimmy Page: Communication Breakdown (Led Zeppelin)
  42. Ritchie Blackmore: Highway Star (with Deep Purple)
  43. Helios Creed: Mondo Anthem (Chrome)
  44. Santana: Soul Sacrifice
  45. Pink Floyd: Comfortably Numb
  46. Eric Clapton: Presence of the Lord (with Blind Faith)
  47. Duane Allman: Statesboro Blues (with Allman Brothers)
  48. Rudolf Sosna: Miss Fortune (with Faust)
  49. Stevie Ray Vaughan: Texas Flood
  50. J Mascis: Kracked (Dinosaur Jr)
  51. Matthew Bellamy: Knights Of Cydonia (Muse)
  52. Jimmy Page: Whole Lotta Love
  53. Blixa Bargeld: Cabin Fever (with Nick Cave)
  54. Eddie Hazel: Maggot Brain (Funkadelic)
  55. Gregg Ginn: Drinking and Driving (Black Flag)
  56. Paul "Doyle" Caiafa: We are 138 (Misfits)
  57. Joshua Homme: God is in the Radio (Queens of the Stone Age)
  58. Peter Frampton: Lines on my Face
  59. Joe Walsh: Hotel California (with the Eagles)
  60. Joe Satriani: Surfing with the Alien
  61. Duane Allman: Whipping Post (Allman Brothers)
  62. Tom Morello: Bulls on Parade (Rage Against the Machine)
  63. Mike McCready: Alive (Pearl Jam)
  64. Duane Allman: Layla (with Derek and the Dominos)
  65. Eric Clapton: White Room (with Cream)
  66. Annie Clark: Surgeon (St Vincent)
  67. Kirk Hammett: Fade to Black (Metallica)
  68. Martin Barre: Aqualung (Jethro Tull)
  69. Eric Johnson: Cliffs of Dover
  70. Jeff Beck: Cause We've Ended As Lovers
  71. Gorden Mack: Katy Song (Red House Painters)
  72. Jimi Hendrix: All Along the Watchtower
  73. Billy Gibbons: Sharp Dressed Man (ZZ Top)
  74. Dimebag Darrell: Floods (Pantera)
  75. Keiji Haino: Fuwafuwa (with Fushitsusha)
  76. Dr Know: Banned In DC (Bad Brains)
  77. Neil Young: Cortez the Killer
  78. Trent Reznor: The Ruiner (Nine Inch Nails)
  79. Tom Herman: Humor Me (Pere Ubu)
  80. Zack Hubbard: Open Sesemji (Stabscotch)
  81. Johnny Greenwood: Paranoid Android (Radiohead)
  82. Trey Anastasio: Stash (with Phish)
  83. D Boon: Maybe Partying Will Help (Minutemen)
  84. Harold Kelling or Glenn Phillips: Lawton (with the Hampton Grease Band)
  85. Yngwie Malmsteen: Black Star
  86. Ash Bowie: My Kimono (Polvo)
  87. Doug Martsch: Velvet Waltz (Built to Spill)
  88. J Mascis: Get Me (Dinosaur Jr)
  89. Eric Clapton: All Your Love (with the Bluesbreakers)
  90. Brian Setzer: Stray Cat Strut (Stray Cats)
  91. Tom Verlaine: Venus (Television)
  92. Peter Laughner: Final Solution (Pere Ubu)
  93. Wayne Kramer: Looking At You (MC5)
  94. Scotty Moore: Hound Dog (with Elvis Presley)
  95. Marty Friedman: Tornado of Souls (Megadeth)
  96. Danny Cedrone: Rock Around The Clock (Bill Haley And the Comets)
  97. Brian May: Bohemian Rhapsody (with Queen)
  98. Mike Bloomfield: Like a Rolling Stone (with Bob Dylan)
  99. Jody Harris: I Can't Stand Myself (Contortions)
  100. Neil Schon: Stone in Love (with Journey)
  101. Tom Scholz: More Than A Feeling (with Boston)
  102. Allen Collins: Free Bird (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
  103. John Squire: I Am The Resurrection (Stone Roses)
  104. Steve Lukather: Rosanna (with Toto)
  105. Eric Clapton: While My Guitar Gently Weeps (with the Beatles)
  106. Frank Zappa: Nine Types of Industrial Pollution
  107. Joan Jett: I Love Rock N Roll
  108. Hughie Thomasson: Green Grass And High Tides (Outlaws)
  109. Kirk Hammet: The Unforgiven (Metallica)
  110. Scott Gorham: Dancing In The Moonlight (Thin Lizzy)
  111. Steve Hackett: Firth Of Fifth (Genesis)
  112. Alex Lifeson: La Villa Strangiato (Rush)
  113. Richie Sambora: Wanted Dead Or Alive (Bon Jovi)
  114. Eddie Clarke: Ace Of Spades (Motorhead)
  115. Pete Townsend: Anyway Anyhow Anywhere (Who)
  116. Ritchie Blackmore: Child In Time (Deep Purple)
  117. Marc Ribot: Way Down in the Hole (with Tom Waits)
  118. Mick Taylor: All Down the Line (Rolling Stones)
  119. Ritchie Blackmore: Stargazer (Rainbow)
  120. Slash: November Rain (Guns N' Roses)
  121. Elliot Randall: Reelin' in the Years (Steely Dan)
  122. Errol Davis: Parting Song For The Torn Sky (Crystal Antlers)
  123. John Reis: Luau Drive Like Jehu
  124. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez: Goliath (with Mars Volta)
  125. Robin Trower: Too Rolling Stoned
  126. David Gilmour: Time (Pink Floyd)
  127. Dave Davies: You Really Got Me (Kinks)
  128. Paul Kossoff: All Right Now (Free)
  129. Kurt Cobain: Serve the Servants (Nirvana)
  130. Billy Corgan: Soma (Smashing Pumpkins)
  131. Keith Richards: Sympathy For The Devil (Rolling Stones)
  132. Angus Young: Let There Be Rock (AC/DC)
  133. Stefan Koglek (Colour Haze): Periscope
  134. Tony Iommi: Paranoid (Black Sabbath)
  135. Prince: Purple Rain
  136. Nick Valensi: Reptilia (Strokes)
  137. Richard Thompson: Can't Win
  138. Adrian Belew: Elephant Talk (King Crimson)
  139. Robert Fripp: 21st Century Schizoid Man (King Crimson)
  140. Robert Quine: Waves of Fear (with Lou Reed)
  141. Mike Akerfeld: The Leper Affinity (Opeth)
  142. Gary Lucas: King Strong
  143. Allan Holdsworth: Zarabeth
  144. Rudolf Sosna: Meadow Meal (with Faust)
  145. Fred Tackett: 16 Shells from a 30-ought Six (with Tom Waits)
  146. Mike Oldfield: Little Red Robin Hood Hit The Road (with Robert Wyatt)
  147. Harold Kelling or Glenn Phillips: Halifax (with the Hampton Grease Band)
  148. Erik Braunn: In A Gadda Da Vida (Iron Butterfly)
  149. Roger Miller: Fun World (with Mission of Burma)
  150. Munehiro Narita: Pop Cycle (with High Rise)
  151. Billy Gibbons: La Grange (ZZ Top)
  152. Phil Manzanera: Gun (with John Cale)
  153. Vernon Reid: Cult of Personality (with Living Colour)
  154. Steve Wilson: Signify (Porcupine Tree)
  155. Steve Howe: Starship Trooper (Yes)
  156. Greg Lake: Battlefield (Emerson Lake & Palmer)
  157. Dave Gilmour: Echoes (Pink Floyd)
  158. Mick Taylor: Can't You Hear Me Knocking (Rolling Stones)
  159. Steve Turner: You Got It (Mudhoney)
  160. Jay Robbins: Savory (Jawbox)
  161. Ira Kaplan: Sugarcube (Yo La Tengo )
  162. Andrew Whiteman: Cause=Time (Broken Social Scene)
  163. Eddie Hazel: Red Hot Mama (Funkadelic)
  164. Joshua Homme: Sky Valley Part III (Kyuss)
  165. Dave "The Edge" Evans: Bullet The Blue Sky (with U2)
  166. Jeff Tweedy: Spiders (with Wilco)
  167. Billy Corgan: Cherub Rock (Smashing Pumpkins)
  168. Neil Young: Down by the River
  169. Rick McCollum: Brother Woodrow (Afghan Whigs)
  170. Adam Reich: Fatal Flaw (Titus Andronicus)
  171. Todd Rundgren: Utopia
  172. Carrie Brownstein: What's Mine Is Yours (Sleater-Kinney)
  173. D Boon: This Ain't No Picnic (Minutemen)
  174. Von Lmo: X+Z=0
  175. David Byrne: Regiment (with Brian Eno)
  176. Che Chen: There's No Such Thing As A King Bee (75 Dollar Bill)
  177. Jerry Garcia: Dark Star (Grateful Dead)
  178. Andy Latimer: Lunar Sea (Camel)
  179. Paul Rudolph: Uncle Harry's Last Freak Out (Pink Fairies)
  180. Ira Kaplan: We're an American Band (with Yo La Tengo)
  181. Joey Santiago: Vamos (with the Pixies)
  182. Dean Wareham: When Will You Come Home (Galaxie 500)
  183. Dave Pajo: Good Morning Captain (Slint)
  184. Jimi Hendrix: Third Stone From the Sun
  185. Dickey Betts: Blue Sky (Allman Brothers)
  186. Bob Mould: Reoccurring Dreams (Husker Du)
  187. Mike Oldfield: Tubular Bells
  188. Jessica Jalbert: Light Of Loving (Faith Healer)
  189. Thor Eisentrager: Shaking (with the Cows)
  190. Link Wray: I Got to Ramble
  191. Adam Jones: Cold and Ugly (Tool)
  192. Mark "Vudi" Pankler: Sick of Food (with American Music Club)
  193. Roy Buchanan: Sweet Dreams
  194. Kim Thayil: Like Suicide (Soundgarden)
  195. Robert Fripp: Baby's on Fire (with Brian Eno)
  196. Roy Montgomery: Ill at Home
  197. Mark Linkous: Gold Day (with Sparklehorse)
  198. Lee Underwood: Driftin' (with Tim Buckley)
  199. Keith Levene: Swan Lake (with Public Image Ltd)
  200. Tom Herman: The Modern Dance (Pere Ubu)
  201. Frank Zappa: Invocation and Ritual Dance of the Young Pumpkin
  202. Kerry McCoy: Brought to the Water (Deafheaven)
  203. Kimberley Rew: Insanely Jealous (Soft Boys)
  204. Brian May: Killer Queen (Queen)
  205. Mick Ronson: Moonage Daydream (David Bowie)
  206. Stevie Ray Vaughan: Pride and Joy
  207. Thurston Moore: I Love Her All The Time (Sonic Youth)
  208. Paul Leary: Mexican Caravan (Butthole Surfers)
  209. Tim Rutili: Paul Pachal (Red Red Meat)
  210. Joe Perry: Walk This Way (Aerosmith)
  211. Eddie Van Halen: Beat It (Michael Jackson)
  212. Gary Moore: Parisienne Walkways
  213. Jim Ayre: Tell-Tale Moog (Rake)
  214. Vudi: Highway Five (American Music Club)
  215. Johnny Echols (Love): Revelation
  216. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez: Cygnus Vismund Cygnus (Mars Volta)
  217. John Martyn: Outside In
  218. Andy Powell: Everybody Needs A Friend (with Wishbone Ash)
  219. Mark Knopfler: Telegraph Road (Dire Straits)
  220. Glenn Tipton: Beyond The Realms of Death (Judas Priest)
  221. Steve Vai: Erotic Nightmares
  222. Steve Wynn: The Days of Wine and Roses (The Dream Syndicate)
  223. Jeff Cotton: Ella Guru (with Captain Beefheart)
  224. John Petrucci: Under a Glass Moon (Dream Theater)
  225. Johnny Ramone: I Wanna Be Sedated (Ramones)
  226. Ethan McCarthy: Commerce (with Primitive Man)
  227. Ted Nugent: Stranglehold
  228. Michael Schenker: Rock Bottom (UFO)
  229. Mark Tremonti: Blackbird (Alter Bridge)
  230. Neil Hagerty: Whiplash in the Park
  231. Lou Reed: I Heard Her Call My Name (with the Velvet Underground)
  232. Neil Young: Like A Hurricane
  233. Randy Rhoads: Crazy Train (with Ozzy Osbourne)
  234. James Williamson: Search And Destroy (Stooges)

Suggestions? Some other great guitar solos still to add (thanks Hunter and Aviv):

Thank you Seyson for adding the links to the bios.