Gibson.com's Top 50 Guitar Solos

I heard about this list on the Bob and Tom Show last week.  I'm not too sure I agree with most of the list.

As best as I can tell, the Gibson.com Top 50 Guitar Solos list was put together by "musicians Bart Walsh (David Lee Roth) and Jeff Cease (Black Crowes), and Gibson.com’s entire editing and writing staff."

Here is their list.

1. “Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
2. “Eruption,” Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)
3. “All Along the Watchtower,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
4. “Hotel California,” Eagles (Don Felder, Joe Walsh)
5. “Comfortably Numb,” Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)
6. “Free Bird,” Lynyrd Skynyrd (Gary Rossington, Allen Collins)
7. “Layla,” Derek and the Dominos (Eric Clapton, Duane Allman)
8. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” The Beatles (Eric Clapton)
9. “Johnny B. Goode,” Chuck Berry
10. “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Queen (Brian May)
11. “Crazy Train,” Ozzy Osbourne (Randy Rhoads)
12. “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers,” Jeff Beck
13. “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
14. “Hot for Teacher,” Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)
15. “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
16. “November Rain,” Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
17. “Mr Crowley,” Ozzy Osbourne (Randy Rhoads)
18. “Whole Lotta Rosie,” AC/DC (Angus Young)
19. “Like a Hurricane,” Neil Young and Crazy Horse
20. “Sultans of Swing,” Dire Straits (Mark Knopfler)
21. “Texas Flood,” Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
22. “One,” Metallica (Kirk Hammett)
23. “Cortez the Killer,” Neil Young and Crazy Horse
24. “Rock Around the Clock,” Bill Haley and His Comets (Danny Cedrone)
25. “Sweet Jane” (live), Lou Reed (Steve Hunter, Dick Wagner)
26. “Purple Rain,” Prince and the Revolution (Prince)
27. “Heartbreaker,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
28. “Jessica,” Allman Brothers Band (Dickey Betts)
29. “Machine Gun,” Jimi Hendrix
30. “Crossroads,” Cream (Eric Clapton)
31. “Time,” Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)
32. “Are You Experienced,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
33. “Race with the Devil,” Gene Vincent (Cliff Gallup)
34. “Don’t Believe a Word,” Thin Lizzy (Brian Robertson)
35. “Purple Haze,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
36. “Besame Mucho,” Wes Montgomery
37. “Sympathy for the Devil,” The Rolling Stones (Keith Richards)
38. “Blue Sky,” Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)
39. “My Sharona,” The Knack (Berton Averre)
40. “Marquee Moon,” Television (Tom Verlaine)
41. “Hitch a Ride,” Boston (Tom Scholz)
42. “The End,” The Beatles (Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon)
43. “Whole Lotta Love,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
44. “Train Kept A Rollin’” (live), Aerosmith (Joe Perry)
45. “Highway Star,” Deep Purple (Ritchie Blackmore)
46. “Dirt,” The Stooges (Ron Asheton)
47. “Off the Handle,” Rory Gallagher
48. “The Great Curve,” Talking Heads (Adrian Belew)
49. “The Messiah Will Come Again,” Roy Buchanan
50. “Beat It,” Michael Jackson (Eddie Van Halen)

They also had their readers create a Top 25 list.  Here are their selections.

1. “Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
2. “Free Bird,” Lynyrd Skynyrd (Allen Collins, Gary Rossington)
3. “Blue Sky,” Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)
4. “Layla,” Derek and the Dominos (Eric Clapton, Duane Allman)
5. “Eruption,” Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)
6. “Whole Lotta Rosie,” AC/DC (Angus Young)
7. “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)
8. “20th Century Boy,” T. Rex (Marc Bolan)
9. “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
10. “Rude Mood,” Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
11. “Hotel California,” Eagles (Don Felder, Joe Walsh)
12. “Comfortably Numb,” Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)
13. “November Rain,” Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
14. “Back in Black,” AC/DC (Angus Young)
15. “Whipping Post,” Allman Brothers Band (Dickey Betts, Duane Allman)
16. “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
17. “Machine Gun,” Jimi Hendrix
18. “Crossroads,” Cream (Eric Clapton)
19. “Let There Be Rock,” AC/DC (Angus Young)
20. “Statesboro Blues,” The Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)
21. “Keep Yourself Alive,” Queen (Brian May)
22. “25 or 6 to 4,” Chicago (Terry Kath)
23. “All Along the Watchtower,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
24. “Heartbreaker,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
25. “Landslide,” Fleetwood Mac (Lindsey Buckingham) and “Dreams,” Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman) (tie)

I liked some of choices on both lists, but there were also some they left off.  Here is my list of the Top 25 Guitar Solos. 

1.  "Free Bird," Lynyrd Skynyrd (Allen Collins, Gary Rossington) 

2. "Eruption," Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen) 

3.  "Have A Drink On Me," AC/DC  (Angus Young) 

4. "Hotel California," The Eagles (Don Felder, Joe Walsh)

5.  "Wish You Were Here,"  Pink Floyd (David Gilmore) 

6.  "Stairway to Heaven," Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page) 

7.  "Bridge to Better Days," Joe Bonamassa 

8.  "Sweet Child O' Mine," Guns N' Roses (Slash) 

9.  "La Grange," ZZ Top (Billy Gibbons)

10.  "Jessica," The Allman Brothers Band (Dickey Betts)

11.  "Soap on a Rope," Chickenfoot (Joe Satriani) 

12. "All Along the Watchtower," The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Jimi Hendrix)

13.  "Long Time," Boston (Tom Scholz)

14.  "Won't Get Fooled Again," The Who (Pete Townshend)

15.  "Who Did You Think I Was"  John Mayer Trio (John Mayer) 

16.  "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" Creedence Clearwater Revival (John Fogerty)

17.   "You Really Got Me," The Kinks (Dave Davies)

18.  "Purple Haze," The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Jimi Hendrix)

19.  "Black Magic Woman," Santana (Carlos Santana)

20.  "Right Now," Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)

21.  "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo,"  Rick Derringer

22.  "Thunderstruck," AC/DC (Angus Young)

23.  "Crush," Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds

24. "Rocky Mountain Way," Joe Walsh

25.  "The Lumberjack," Jackyl (Jesse James Dupree)