It’s really the dream of anyone who has ever picked up a guitar: to eventually play a solo that leaves jaws dropped, heads banging, and faces absolutely rocked. The guitar solo is perhaps the heart of rock and roll, and according to a new list by Rolling Stone, the king of the guitar solo wasn’t a king, but a prince.
Rolling Stone published its list of “100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time” on May 4. Starting with AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” at No. 100, the list had some relative newcomers (Geese’s “Getting Killed” from 2025 at No. 98), classic guitar slingers (Les Paul and Mary Ford’s “How High The Moon”), and expected appearances from guitar gods like Steve Vai, Frank Zappa, Joe Satriani, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
But, at the top of the rankings is Prince’s “Purple Rain,” the title track from his epic 1984 movie.
According to Rolling Stone, Prince and The Revolution birthed the song on Aug. 3, 1983, at Minneapolis’ First Avenue. "Prince wrung a solo from his guitar that felt more like a moving cry of the soul than a musical spotlight,” writes Kory Grow. “It’s the first time they played it live, and it’s the version on Purple Rain. Prince’s guitar prowess was well documented by that point, but the fluidity of his phrasing on the song and the way he pinched his strings for notes that ascended heavenward spoke more about what ‘Purple Rain’ meant than his obtuse lyrics.”
“Purple Rain” is the title track from the 1984 album of the same name, which also served as the soundtrack to the film released that year.
“Purple Rain” continues to hold a presence in the music world, even ten years after Prince’s untimely passing. Most recently, it was used in a climactic moment in the final season of Stranger Things.
Prince performs at halftime during Super Bowl XLI, considered the best Super Bowl Halftime show of all time.Photo by Theo Wargo on Getty Images
Fans could easily argue that the songs that fill out the rest of the Top 10 could each be considered the best solo ever. The Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” was ranked high, coming in at No. 10. Described as “the most legendary of Beatles solos,” despite being played by George Harrison’s best friend, Eric Clapton.
Eddie Hazel’s work on Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain” comes in at No. 9, with Rolling Stone’s describing the funk legend as conjuring “a sense of perseverance, rising phoenix-like from the ashes of his echo pedals in the final minutes.”
Larry Carton’s work on Steely Dan’s “Kid Charlemagne” is No. 8. Jimmy Page’s solo on Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” is No. 7. Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” is No. 6.
The rest of the Top 5 are: Eddie Van Halen’s legendary tapping on Van Halen’s “Eruption”; David Gilmour’s “transcendent” solo on Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb”; Joe Walsh and Don Felder’s dueling guitars on the Eagles’ “Hotel California”; and Jimi Hendrix’s “Machine Gun,” from the 1970 live album, Band of Gypsys.
Related: Legendary British Band to Play First North American Dates in 30 Years on Final Tour
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