What is the greatest guitar solo of all time?

From face-melting shred to heartbreaking bends, these are the moments that made guitarists put down their picks and weep. Legends face off against cult favorites — cast your vote.

1

Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin

Jimmy Page's climactic eight-minute ascending solo from the 1971 classic, widely considered the pinnacle of rock guitar.

2

Hotel California – Eagles

The twin-guitar harmony outro by Don Felder and Joe Walsh that closes the Eagles' 1977 masterpiece in an unforgettable melodic duel.

3

Comfortably Numb – Pink Floyd

David Gilmour's soaring, emotionally devastating two-part solo from The Wall (1979), frequently voted the greatest solo ever recorded.

4

Eruption – Van Halen

Eddie Van Halen's 1978 one-minute-and-42-second solo that redefined electric guitar technique with two-handed tapping.

5

Free Bird – Lynyrd Skynyrd

A nine-minute triple-guitar outro from the 1973 southern rock anthem, a live concert staple demanded by fans everywhere.

6

All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix

Hendrix's revolutionary 1968 reimagining of Dylan's song features a psychedelic, feedback-laden solo that transcended the original.

7

November Rain – Guns N' Roses

Slash's soaring melodic solo in Guns N' Roses' 1992 epic ballad, performed amid a cinematic music video watched by billions.

8

Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne

Randy Rhoads' neo-classical shred solo from Ozzy's 1980 debut that launched a new era of virtuosic heavy metal guitar.

9

Sultans of Swing – Dire Straits

Mark Knopfler's fingerpicked, jazz-tinged closing solo from the 1978 debut single, a masterclass in taste and restraint.

10

Purple Rain – Prince

Prince's emotionally raw, bending, gospel-infused solo that closes his 1984 film song in a torrent of wailing expression.

11

Cliffs of Dover – Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson's cascading, harmonically complex 1990 instrumental that won a Grammy and became a benchmark for technical artistry.

12

Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry

The 1958 riff and solo that effectively defined rock and roll guitar, influencing every guitarist who followed for decades.

13

Little Wing – Jimi Hendrix

A delicate, chord-laced solo from Hendrix's 1967 Axis: Bold As Love album that fuses R&B tenderness with psychedelic flair.

14

La Grange – ZZ Top

Billy Gibbons' raw, boogie-blues shred from ZZ Top's 1973 track, built on a John Lee Hooker riff and packed with Texas grit.