(For the 21st century better see this page)
- Jimi Hendrix
- Robert Quine
- Marc Ribot
- John Fahey
- Sandy Bull
- Keiji Haino
- Caspar Brotzmann
- Ian Williams (Don Caballero, Storm & Stress, Battles)
- Jeff Beck (Yardbirds)
- Joe Baiza (Saccharine Trust, Universal Congress)
- Bola Sete
- Vernon Reid (Living Colour)
- Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
- Keith Richards (Rolling Stones)
- Chuck Berry
- Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)
- Duane Allman (Allman Brothers)
- Steve Cropper (Mar Keys)
- Doug Martsch (Built To Spill)
- Greg Ginn (Black Flag)
- Munehiro Narita (High Rise)
- Duane Denison (Jesus Lizard)
- Link Wray
- Andy Hawkins (Blind Idiot God)
- Tom Verlaine (Television)
- Scott Tuma (Souled American)
- Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac)
- Helios Creed (Chrome)
- Nicky Skopelitis
- Robert Fripp (King Crimson)
- Arto Lindsay (Ambitious Lovers)
- Eddie Hazel (Funkadelic)
- Jody Harris (Raybeats)
- Blixa Bargeld (Einsturzende Neubauten)
- Gary Lucas
- Eddie VanHalen (Van Halen)
- Nels Cline (Geraldine Fibbers)
- David Lindley (Kaleidoscope)
- Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs)
- Allan Holdsworth
- Buckethead
- Gayle Ellett (Djam Karet)
- Alan Licht (Run On)
- Hank Marvin (Shadows)
- Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead)
- Mike Mcready (Pearl Jam)
- Roy Montgomery
- Randy Holden (Blue Cheer)
- Duane Eddy
- Karl Precoda (Dream Syndicate)
- Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits)
- Kirk Hammet (Metallica)
- Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine)
- Eric Clapton (Cream)
- Steve Vai
- Rudolf Sosna (Faust)
- Josh Homme (Kyuss)
- Leo Kottke
- J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr)
- Johnny Echols (Love)
- Wayne Rogers (Magic Hour)
- Glenn Phillips (Hampton Grease Band)
- John Dragonetti (Jack Drag)
- Adrian Legg
- D Boon (Minutemen)
- Jack Rose (Pelt)
- Tom Carter (Charalambides)
- Daniel Kessler (Interpol),
- Glenn Jones (Cul De Sac),
- Terry Kath (Chicago)
- Erik Braunn (Iron Butterfly)
- Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth)
- Tara Key (Antietam)
- Carl Hultgren (Windy & Carl)
- Page Hamilton (Band Of Susans, Helmet)
- John Petkovic (Death Of Samantha, Cobra Verde)
- Mick Jones (Clash)
- Kim Thayil (Soundgarden)
- Jeff Parker (Tortoise)
- Slash (Guns And Roses)
- Darrell Abbott (Pantera)
- Bill Harkleroad/ Zoot Horn Rollo (Captain Beefheart)
- Richard Thompson (Fairport Convention)
- Wayne Kramer (MC5)
- Pete Townshend (Who)
- Andy Summers (Police)
- Norman Westberg (Swans)
- Chris Haskett (Rollins Band)
- Roger Miller (Mission Of Burma)
- Neil Hagerty (Royal Trux)
- Lowell George (Little Feat)
- Sterling Morrison (Velvet Underground)
- Fred Frith (Henry Cow)
- Peter Buck (REM)
- David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
- Chris Spencer (Unsane)
- Adrian Belew
- Mike Bloomfield
- Dave Alvin (Blasters)
- Neil Young
- David Grubbs (Squirrel Bait, Bastro, Gastr Del Sol)
- Ivy Rorshach" (Cramps)
- Craig Chaquico (Starship)
- Neal Schon (Journey)
- John Petrucci (Dream Theater)
- Carlos Santana
- Jeff Healey
- Brian McMahan (Squirrel Bait, Slint)
- Thurstone Moore (Sonic Youth)
- Judah Bauer (J. Spencer Blues Explosion)
- Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine)
- John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
- Justin Trosper (Unwound)
- Justin Chearno (Unrest, Pitchblende, Rake, Doldrums)
- Ry Cooder
- Dylan DiLella (Pyrrhon)
- Ash Bowie (Polvo)
- Billy Dolan (5ive Style)
- Gary Chester (Ed Hall)
- Roger McGuinn (Byrds)
- Billy Cote' (Madder Rose)
- Alvin Lee (Ten Years After)
- Dick Dale
- Richard Lloyd
- Dave Pajo (Slint, For Carnation, Tortoise, Aerial M)
- Leslie West (Mountain)
- Chris Brokaw (Come, Codeine)
- Stevie Ray Vaughan
- Phil Manzanera (Roxy Music)
- Trey Azagthoth (Morbid Angel)
- Mark Shippy (US Maple)
- Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers)
- William Reid (Jesus & Mary Chain)
- Adam Jones (Tool)
- Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (Mars Volta)
- Johnny Marr (Smiths)
- John Strohm (Blake Babies)
- Thor Eisentrager (Cows)
- Jeff Mueller (Rodan)
- Brian Setzer (Stray Cats)
- Rick Rizzo (Eleventh Dream Day)
- Dave Schramm
- Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam)
- Marty Friedman (Megadeth)
- Jim Thomas (Mermen)
- Tommy Bolin (James Gang)
- Randy Rhoads (Ozzy Osbourne)
- David Roback (Rain Parade, Opal, Mazzy Star)
- Johnny Ramone (Ramones)
- Midge Ure (Ultravox)
- Dave "The Edge" Evans (U2)
- Ed Mundell (Monster Magnet)
- Joe Walsh
- Trey Anastasio (Phish)
- Joe Satriani
- Robin Trower
- Scotty Moore (Elvis Presley)
- Kevin Cadagan (Third Eye Blind)
- John Kimbrough (Walt Mink)
- Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme)
- Ben Harper
- Larry LaLonde (Primus, Possessed)
- Carl Perkins
- Justin Broadrick (Godflesh)
- Bert Jansch
- Joe Perry (Aerosmith)
- Robbie Krieger (Doors)
- Steve Howe
- Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna)
- Eric Johnson
- "Buck Dharma" (Blue Oyster Cult)
- Dave Murray (Iron Maiden)
- Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow)
- Dave Mason (Traffic)
- Yngwie Malmsteen
- Jessica Jalbert (Faith Healer)
- Toni Iommi (Black Sabbath)
- Brian May (Queen)
- George Harrison (Beatles)
(I did not include classical, jazz or folk guitarists)
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The Best Guitar Solos
Also checkout the Spotify playlist by Colton Basinger
- Terry Kath: Free Form Guitar (Chicago)
- Alvin Lee: Goin' Home (Ten Years After)
- Peter Green: The End of The Game
- Syd Barrett: Interstellar Overdrive (Pink Floyd)
- Jimi Hendrix: Machine Gun
- Duane Denison: Monkey Trick (Jesus Lizard)
- Robert Fripp: Sailor's Tale (King Crimson)
- Wayne Coyne: Hell's Angel's Cracker Factory (Flaming Lips)
- Daniel Martin-McCormick: Native American (Mi Ami)
- Jimmy Page: Stairway to Heaven (with Led Zeppelin)
- Eric Clapton: Crossroads (with Cream)
- Chuck Berry: Johnny B Goode
- East Bay Ray: Holiday in Cambodia (Dead Kennedys)
- Jody Harris: My Uncle Bill
- Mike Bloomfield: His Holy Modal Majesty (with Al Kooper)
- Tom Verlaine: Marquee Moon (Television)
- Bill Harkleroad: One Red Rose that I Mean (with Captain Beefheart)
- Tom Morello: Killing In The Name (Rage Against The Machine)
- Mark Knopfler: Sultans Of Swing (with Dire Straits)
- Ron Asheton: 1969 (with the Stooges)
- Robby Krieger: Light My Fire (Doors)
- Kirk Hammett: One (Metallica)
- Adrian Belew: The Great Curve (Talking Heads)
- John Cipollina: Who do you Love (with Quicksilver)
- Marc Ribot: Jockey Full Of Bourbon
- Richard Thompson: Hard On Me
- Doug Marstch: The Plan (Built to Spill)
- Nels Cline: Side With The Seeds (with Wilco)
- Roger McGuinn: Eight Miles High (with the Byrds)
- Michael Karoli: Mother Sky (with Can)
- Fred Frith: Beautiful as the Moon, Terrible as an Army with Banners (Henry Cow)
- Alan Parker: Hurdy Gurdy Man (with Donovan)
- Eddie Van Halen: Eruption (Van Halen)
- Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Chile
- Robert Fripp: St Elmo's Fire (with Brian Eno)
- Robert Quine: Blank Generation (with Richard Hell)
- Dylan DiLella: The Mother Of Virtues (with Pyrrhon)
- David Lindley (Kaleidoscope): A Beacon From Mars (4:46-7:23, 8:52-9:26)
- Slash: Sweet Child O' Mine (with Guns N' Roses)
- Mike Bloomfield: East-West (with Paul Butterfield)
- Jimmy Page: Communication Breakdown (Led Zeppelin)
- Ritchie Blackmore: Highway Star (with Deep Purple)
- Helios Creed: Mondo Anthem (Chrome)
- Santana: Soul Sacrifice
- Pink Floyd: Comfortably Numb
- Eric Clapton: Presence of the Lord (with Blind Faith)
- Duane Allman: Statesboro Blues (with Allman Brothers)
- Rudolf Sosna: Miss Fortune (with Faust)
- Stevie Ray Vaughan: Texas Flood
- J Mascis: Kracked (Dinosaur Jr)
- Matthew Bellamy: Knights Of Cydonia (Muse)
- Jimmy Page: Whole Lotta Love
- Blixa Bargeld: Cabin Fever (with Nick Cave)
- Eddie Hazel: Maggot Brain (Funkadelic)
- Gregg Ginn: Drinking and Driving (Black Flag)
- Paul "Doyle" Caiafa: We are 138 (Misfits)
- Joshua Homme: God is in the Radio (Queens of the Stone Age)
- Peter Frampton: Lines on my Face
- Joe Walsh: Hotel California (with the Eagles)
- Joe Satriani: Surfing with the Alien
- Duane Allman: Whipping Post (Allman Brothers)
- Tom Morello: Bulls on Parade (Rage Against the Machine)
- Mike McCready: Alive (Pearl Jam)
- Duane Allman: Layla (with Derek and the Dominos)
- Eric Clapton: White Room (with Cream)
- Annie Clark: Surgeon (St Vincent)
- Kirk Hammett: Fade to Black (Metallica)
- Martin Barre: Aqualung (Jethro Tull)
- Eric Johnson: Cliffs of Dover
- Jeff Beck: Cause We've Ended As Lovers
- Gorden Mack: Katy Song (Red House Painters)
- Jimi Hendrix: All Along the Watchtower
- Billy Gibbons: Sharp Dressed Man (ZZ Top)
- Dimebag Darrell: Floods (Pantera)
- Keiji Haino: Fuwafuwa (with Fushitsusha)
- Dr Know: Banned In DC (Bad Brains)
- Neil Young: Cortez the Killer
- Trent Reznor: The Ruiner (Nine Inch Nails)
- Tom Herman: Humor Me (Pere Ubu)
- Zack Hubbard: Open Sesemji (Stabscotch)
- Johnny Greenwood: Paranoid Android (Radiohead)
- Trey Anastasio: Stash (with Phish)
- D Boon: Maybe Partying Will Help (Minutemen)
- Harold Kelling or Glenn Phillips: Lawton (with the Hampton Grease Band)
- Yngwie Malmsteen: Black Star
- Ash Bowie: My Kimono (Polvo)
- Doug Martsch: Velvet Waltz (Built to Spill)
- J Mascis: Get Me (Dinosaur Jr)
- Eric Clapton: All Your Love (with the Bluesbreakers)
- Brian Setzer: Stray Cat Strut (Stray Cats)
- Tom Verlaine: Venus (Television)
- Peter Laughner: Final Solution (Pere Ubu)
- Wayne Kramer: Looking At You (MC5)
- Scotty Moore: Hound Dog (with Elvis Presley)
- Marty Friedman: Tornado of Souls (Megadeth)
- Danny Cedrone: Rock Around The Clock (Bill Haley And the Comets)
- Brian May: Bohemian Rhapsody (with Queen)
- Mike Bloomfield: Like a Rolling Stone (with Bob Dylan)
- Jody Harris: I Can't Stand Myself (Contortions)
- Neil Schon: Stone in Love (with Journey)
- Tom Scholz: More Than A Feeling (with Boston)
- Allen Collins: Free Bird (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
- John Squire: I Am The Resurrection (Stone Roses)
- Steve Lukather: Rosanna (with Toto)
- Eric Clapton: While My Guitar Gently Weeps (with the Beatles)
- Frank Zappa: Nine Types of Industrial Pollution
- Joan Jett: I Love Rock N Roll
- Hughie Thomasson: Green Grass And High Tides (Outlaws)
- Kirk Hammet: The Unforgiven (Metallica)
- Scott Gorham: Dancing In The Moonlight (Thin Lizzy)
- Steve Hackett: Firth Of Fifth (Genesis)
- Alex Lifeson: La Villa Strangiato (Rush)
- Richie Sambora: Wanted Dead Or Alive (Bon Jovi)
- Eddie Clarke: Ace Of Spades (Motorhead)
- Pete Townsend: Anyway Anyhow Anywhere (Who)
- Ritchie Blackmore: Child In Time (Deep Purple)
- Marc Ribot: Way Down in the Hole (with Tom Waits)
- Mick Taylor: All Down the Line (Rolling Stones)
- Ritchie Blackmore: Stargazer (Rainbow)
- Slash: November Rain (Guns N' Roses)
- Elliot Randall: Reelin' in the Years (Steely Dan)
- Errol Davis: Parting Song For The Torn Sky (Crystal Antlers)
- John Reis: Luau Drive Like Jehu
- Omar Rodriguez-Lopez: Goliath (with Mars Volta)
- Robin Trower: Too Rolling Stoned
- David Gilmour: Time (Pink Floyd)
- Dave Davies: You Really Got Me (Kinks)
- Paul Kossoff: All Right Now (Free)
- Kurt Cobain: Serve the Servants (Nirvana)
- Billy Corgan: Soma (Smashing Pumpkins)
- Keith Richards: Sympathy For The Devil (Rolling Stones)
- Angus Young: Let There Be Rock (AC/DC)
- Stefan Koglek (Colour Haze): Periscope
- Tony Iommi: Paranoid (Black Sabbath)
- Prince: Purple Rain
- Nick Valensi: Reptilia (Strokes)
- Richard Thompson: Can't Win
- Adrian Belew: Elephant Talk (King Crimson)
- Robert Fripp: 21st Century Schizoid Man (King Crimson)
- Robert Quine: Waves of Fear (with Lou Reed)
- Mike Akerfeld: The Leper Affinity (Opeth)
- Gary Lucas: King Strong
- Allan Holdsworth: Zarabeth
- Rudolf Sosna: Meadow Meal (with Faust)
- Fred Tackett: 16 Shells from a 30-ought Six (with Tom Waits)
- Mike Oldfield: Little Red Robin Hood Hit The Road (with Robert Wyatt)
- Harold Kelling or Glenn Phillips: Halifax (with the Hampton Grease Band)
- Erik Braunn: In A Gadda Da Vida (Iron Butterfly)
- Roger Miller: Fun World (with Mission of Burma)
- Munehiro Narita: Pop Cycle (with High Rise)
- Billy Gibbons: La Grange (ZZ Top)
- Phil Manzanera: Gun (with John Cale)
- Vernon Reid: Cult of Personality (with Living Colour)
- Steve Wilson: Signify (Porcupine Tree)
- Steve Howe: Starship Trooper (Yes)
- Greg Lake: Battlefield (Emerson Lake & Palmer)
- Dave Gilmour: Echoes (Pink Floyd)
- Mick Taylor: Can't You Hear Me Knocking (Rolling Stones)
- Steve Turner: You Got It (Mudhoney)
- Jay Robbins: Savory (Jawbox)
- Ira Kaplan: Sugarcube (Yo La Tengo )
- Andrew Whiteman: Cause=Time (Broken Social Scene)
- Eddie Hazel: Red Hot Mama (Funkadelic)
- Joshua Homme: Sky Valley Part III (Kyuss)
- Dave "The Edge" Evans: Bullet The Blue Sky (with U2)
- Jeff Tweedy: Spiders (with Wilco)
- Billy Corgan: Cherub Rock (Smashing Pumpkins)
- Neil Young: Down by the River
- Rick McCollum: Brother Woodrow (Afghan Whigs)
- Adam Reich: Fatal Flaw (Titus Andronicus)
- Todd Rundgren: Utopia
- Carrie Brownstein: What's Mine Is Yours (Sleater-Kinney)
- D Boon: This Ain't No Picnic (Minutemen)
- Von Lmo: X+Z=0
- David Byrne: Regiment (with Brian Eno)
- Che Chen: There's No Such Thing As A King Bee (75 Dollar Bill)
- Jerry Garcia: Dark Star (Grateful Dead)
- Andy Latimer: Lunar Sea (Camel)
- Paul Rudolph: Uncle Harry's Last Freak Out (Pink Fairies)
- Ira Kaplan: We're an American Band (with Yo La Tengo)
- Joey Santiago: Vamos (with the Pixies)
- Dean Wareham: When Will You Come Home (Galaxie 500)
- Dave Pajo: Good Morning Captain (Slint)
- Jimi Hendrix: Third Stone From the Sun
- Dickey Betts: Blue Sky (Allman Brothers)
- Bob Mould: Reoccurring Dreams (Husker Du)
- Mike Oldfield: Tubular Bells
- Jessica Jalbert: Light Of Loving (Faith Healer)
- Thor Eisentrager: Shaking (with the Cows)
- Link Wray: I Got to Ramble
- Adam Jones: Cold and Ugly (Tool)
- Mark "Vudi" Pankler: Sick of Food (with American Music Club)
- Roy Buchanan: Sweet Dreams
- Kim Thayil: Like Suicide (Soundgarden)
- Robert Fripp: Baby's on Fire (with Brian Eno)
- Roy Montgomery: Ill at Home
- Mark Linkous: Gold Day (with Sparklehorse)
- Lee Underwood: Driftin' (with Tim Buckley)
- Keith Levene: Swan Lake (with Public Image Ltd)
- Tom Herman: The Modern Dance (Pere Ubu)
- Frank Zappa: Invocation and Ritual Dance of the Young Pumpkin
- Kerry McCoy: Brought to the Water (Deafheaven)
- Kimberley Rew: Insanely Jealous (Soft Boys)
- Brian May: Killer Queen (Queen)
- Mick Ronson: Moonage Daydream (David Bowie)
- Stevie Ray Vaughan: Pride and Joy
- Thurston Moore: I Love Her All The Time (Sonic Youth)
- Paul Leary: Mexican Caravan (Butthole Surfers)
- Tim Rutili: Paul Pachal (Red Red Meat)
- Joe Perry: Walk This Way (Aerosmith)
- Eddie Van Halen: Beat It (Michael Jackson)
- Gary Moore: Parisienne Walkways
- Jim Ayre: Tell-Tale Moog (Rake)
- Vudi: Highway Five (American Music Club)
- Johnny Echols (Love): Revelation
- Omar Rodriguez-Lopez: Cygnus Vismund Cygnus (Mars Volta)
- John Martyn: Outside In
- Andy Powell: Everybody Needs A Friend (with Wishbone Ash)
- Mark Knopfler: Telegraph Road (Dire Straits)
- Glenn Tipton: Beyond The Realms of Death (Judas Priest)
- Steve Vai: Erotic Nightmares
- Steve Wynn: The Days of Wine and Roses (The Dream Syndicate)
- Jeff Cotton: Ella Guru (with Captain Beefheart)
- John Petrucci: Under a Glass Moon (Dream Theater)
- Johnny Ramone: I Wanna Be Sedated (Ramones)
- Ethan McCarthy: Commerce (with Primitive Man)
- Ted Nugent: Stranglehold
- Michael Schenker: Rock Bottom (UFO)
- Mark Tremonti: Blackbird (Alter Bridge)
- Neil Hagerty: Whiplash in the Park
- Lou Reed: I Heard Her Call My Name (with the Velvet Underground)
- Neil Young: Like A Hurricane
- Randy Rhoads: Crazy Train (with Ozzy Osbourne)
- James Williamson: Search And Destroy (Stooges)
Suggestions?
Some other great guitar solos still to add (thanks Hunter and Aviv):
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