Jul 28 2004
50 “Worst” Guitar Solos Of All Time
As a companion piece to the controversial 100 “greatest” guitarists of all time, here’s something even more controversial: The Top 50 Worst Guitar Solos of the Millennium.
I know I left out plenty of deserving guitar dudes on this list (there’s a lot of hammered shit out there, y’know). I took care to exclude bozos like Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, and John McLaughlin because, frankly, their styles seem to have less to do with pure rock-n-roll than that of say, Eddie Van Halen. Anyway, it’s a good bet that some of you will consider some or all of these solos the best of all time.
Here’s the Top 10 (with the worst being number 1):
- “Let It Rain” by Derek and the Dominos; Soloist: Eric Clapton
- “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd; Soloist: Gary Rossington, Ed King, Allen Collins
- “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl” by Ten Years After; Soloist: Alvin Lee
- “Demand” by Phish; Soloist: Trey Anastasio
- “Renegade” by Styx; Soloist: Tommy Shaw
- “Fuel to the Fire” by Rory Gallagher; Soloist: Rory Gallagher
- “Hot Blooded” by Foreigner; Soloist: Mick Jones
- “Do You Feel Like We Do” by Peter Frampton; Soloist: Peter Frampton
- “I Like to Rock” by April Wine; Soloist: Brian Greenway
- “Venom Soup” by Ted Nugent; Soloist: Ted Nugent
(via Waxy.org Links)
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Tags: guitar solos, guitars, music
98 Responses to “50 “Worst” Guitar Solos Of All Time”. Leave a Reply.
Radar Love. Enough clams for a bowl of chowder.
Don’t really care for most of those songs. I don’t really see the point of chastising songs that aren’t really meant to be hard rock for lackluster solos (i.e. Let it Rain, Free As A Bird, etc.).
Frampton is overrated, though.
ur retarder! allen colling and rossington were great guitar players…and wat the hell…do u actually think ne of clapton’s solos are the worst of the century…u obviously dont play guitar and if u do…u SUK
collins* lol
dude, are u a fuckin retard? most of those solos suck, but freebird? what the hell do u call rock n roll?
btw, reed is 100% right
The word “retard” is more popular than I thought.
It’s not MY list. I’m just posting the information. Complain to Pitchfolk Media for the stupidity.
Free Bird’s solo would be more bearable…if it wasn’t so fucking long.
Bearable? dude do you play guitar at all? that Free Bird solo is quite possibly the greatest solo I’ve EVER heard. I’m trying to learn it, and I found that a lot of it, the left hand moves so fast that I can’t keep up… and I’ve been playing since I was 5 years old.
ANYONE WHO THINKS FREEBIRD IS THE 2ND WORST SOLO EVER DOSENT KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT ROCK, ITS THE SECOND GREATEST SOLO EVER BEHIND STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN, MAN YOU NEED TO LEARN A LITTLE ABOUT ROCK MUSIC THERE MY FRIEND
Dude your so stupid you must suck at playing Guitar Freebird is one of the greatest guitar solos of all time next to eruption by Van Halen and November Rain those are great solos you must seriously suck at guitar if you think freebird is a bad solo It was voted Top ten greatest solo of all time
whoever wrote this list is a retard. There is no way in hell freebird should be on that list.
whawt the hell? if you go to the website you will see the things they sed. trey is one of the best guitar players ever and whoever wrote those things should go kill themselves cuz he is awesome. demand is a bad song, but how do you call trey bad?
Holy shit. Usually something like this would really piss me off, but this is way too much. Give me one good reason why Free Bird should be at #2. Remember this is for the “worst” solos. Free Bird at #2 isn’t even the worst of it. I mean, this guy actually put ERIC CLAPTON on here, and JEFF BECK. You simply can’t do that to two of rock’s all-time greats. That’s complete bullshit. And then I saw Dazed and Confused as well. I almost shit myself. The first thing wrong with that is……..IT’S BY JIMMY PAGE!!! It goes back to the Clapton, Beck thing, you just don’t do that. The second thing wrong with that is………IT DOES NOT, IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM, SUCK!!! It’s easily one of the GREATEST solos ever. I’ve seen it as high as top forty on various lists of the greatest solos and anyone who’s ever heard it can easily varify that. And then, I know it seems sad, but I found something ten times worse than all of this list’s other flaws combined. I know, it’s shocking but Pink Floyd’s Comforably Numb found it’s way to the #42 spot on this pathetic, piece of shit excuse for a list. Let that sink in for a second, then listen to Comfortably Numb, even if you’ve heard it before. I was at a total loss for words. This guy is by far the biggest dipshit in the world when it comes to list-making. Has he ever even heard Comfortably Numb? And if he has has he ever heard it sober? I think not. This guy, who ever he is, has no credibility as a list-maker, and will surely rot in Hell for the sins he has commited against all of the Gods of Rock who reside on this list.
Seriously dudes, get a life. Who cares whats on the list ? Having said that, anyone who ‘plays guitar’ and can’t play the Freebird solo is just plain crap. I learned it in an afternoon, and I am not a great guitarist, by any means. I like the song, and the solo, I think it doesn’t belong on the list. I’m just not dumb enough to post ‘ur loser’ to the guy who made the list. That’s just lame.
Easy hippy
Trey Anastasio being included on any list involving “worst guitar solos” is pretty funny. I’m not a hippy, burnout or anything else everyone is going to call me. The man can play. Go listen to the pixies faggots
FREE BIRD IS NOT ONE OF THE WORST GUITARESTS OF ALL TIME
wat are you people dumbasses or something??? free bird is one of the greatest guitar solos of all time. it’s been ranked in the top 3 in over 10 guitar magazines and 20 polls and obviously you kids are too dumb to realize that. i feel stupid even trying to argue about this. saying free bird is that bad is like saying jimi hendrix was a horrible guitarist, and if you DO think that, you need to take up some diferent kind of music like spanish rap, you stupid ignorant retards.
alrighty, one thing, all of those solos listed may not be the most difficult to play, but come on, i bet noone else could come up with a better solo for that song. and who cares if its long, its about feel. i play guitar, and i can take every one of those solos and learn them in about 3 minutes.
lol, since you were 5, thats pretty sad if you cant play the freebird solo, im sorry… thats just terrible.
(you have stupid fingers)
I was lookin for a list of the best and googled this list of the worst and read all the comments, and i agree this list is crap. I have seen most of the stuff on this list performed live and in person, the nonad who made this list must of slept through it.
For the most part i dont agree with the list, i.e. Freebird, but for the people who are posting who seem to be against putting guitar legends on this list just on the basis that they are guitar legends and are completely immune to creating bad solos i seem to remember hearing an SRV song that had a pretty aweful solo. And where the hell is the King of the Aweful Solo himself Mr. CC Deville!@#$
that list is crap, free bird is one of the best if not the best solos ever, and you have it as the second worst, you obvioulsy dont know anything about classic rock or music period
Phish is a great band, and they reason one of there songs may not sound right is that a lot of there stuff is experimental and improvisational. Their not another one of these plaster molded Rock and Roll bands. You need to look past the scratch and examine the surface.
the person who wrote this list doesn’t know what real music is and they’re full of crap. pulling teeth or Anastesia by metallica isn’t the best solo ever but it doesn’t deserve to be in the 50 worst solos. I haven’t heard very many bass solos but it’s by far the best one i have heard. Also putting motorheads ace of spades on the list just because the got it stuck in their head at some bar is bullsh*t, it’s a great solo.
free bird is soooo good u idiot
I dispute the placement of Renegade at number six.
That is without a shade of doubt in my mind, the worst guitar solo that I have ever heard. If I really think about it…you can nominate every solo that Tommy Shaw has ever played with Styx. I’ve watched video of their old concerts, and I’m awed by how pathetic they are live. They’re overblown and corny. Journey and Styx pretty much sums up everything wrong with 70’s rock.
And Free Bird could easily be a great guitar solo, or a terrible one. It goes on for a whopping five minutes…but it just repeats over and over again for the most part. Regardless of that, it’s an absolute spectacle to behold during a live Skynyrd show, and I wouldn’t have put it on the list (though I certainly see how you could).
And in response to the person who asked if I actually play…yes I do.
And Free Bird’s solo isn’t that hard to play…that challenge of it is memorizing it.
Arite guys uhh theres a few thigns that i have to say about this the first being that freebird doesnt deserve to be on this list but thats not the point the point is that all of u seem to have missed one thing
ALVIN LEE ON THE TEN WORST GUITAR SOLOS OF ALL TIME???????
Alvin Lee is a god he has the fastest hnds i have ever heard no one can even come close to paralleling his ability the live version of good morning little school girl is just a 5 minute blur of rediculousness
uhh if anyone belongs on this list it is Kurt Cobain with his aful smells like teen spirit solo and Neil Young with his comlete inability to play lead guitar
why dont u go take your POS made in korea fender squier strat and go play some blink 182 u talentless dumb ass you know zero about playing lead guitar and music in general
YOU ARE A SNORLAX!!!!! THOSE GUITAR SOLOS IS DA SHIZNIT UNLIKE YOU!!! SNORLAX!!!!
ALVIN LEE!!! HAHAHA WORST GUITARIST EVER. Playing fast doesnt mean shit. You want to hear a real guitarist rip off some great improve/soloing listen to a friend of mine called Trey Anastasio. Alvin Lee, haha Jeff your a retard, learn what real music. Alvin Lee, HAHAHAHA
yo wats goin on people. First off id like to say that freebird should not be on this list because in my opinion and in many oothers peoples opinion freebird is the greatest guitar solo, but i have a strong feeling this guy was just messing around to see the reactions people would have if freebird was on the list
dickey betts played guitar on ramblin’ man. duane was in the ground by then. listen to the allman brothers. listen to blue sky. you boneheads
Dont diss Yngwie man…Van Halen Maybe…but not Yngwie..thats just too much. When you can play as good, fast and right as he can..then you can diss Yngwie…
I pretty much agree with that list, apart from free bird. Free bird is the WORST guitar solo, so it should be at #1. I mean, could they have ruined that song any more? It was a fairly nice composition, and the slide guitar was a great addition, but then: “Hey, how can we finish the song? I KNOW LET’S GLUE A MIND-NUMBINGLY DULL, REPETETIVE, TUNELESS SOLO ON THE END LOL !!!!!!!1!!!!1!!eleven.” I could have forgiven them for that, even, but why did they have to make it SO LONG? That solo goes NOWHERE. It’s a bunch of repetetive pull-off licks piled up one after the
other. BORING.
stop talking
good boy
Check your ears, most of these solos kick ass. The people making this list must be avid Britney Spears fans.
LS are a bunch of rebel flag carrying rednecks.
They don’t deserve credit!
Just to let you know, probably the best solo ever, the solo in Stairway to Heaven that Jimmy Page did was also pieced together in the studio, like the one did on Comfortably Numb. So if the solo from Comfortably Numb is on the worst list cause it was pieced together in a studio then your saying Stairway’s is just as bad, which we all know is retarted.
Allen collins, Ed king and Gary Rossington rock and free bird is one of the greatest songs of all time, not my favorite skynyrd song but you cant disrespect skynyrd and clapton like that because they are two of the biggest influences in rock today
i thinh you cant make a top ten abuot the worst guitar solos. because my band maybe would reach top 1. you have to put o kwown guitar players
angus young of acdc is a lot better than hendrix. angus could play anything hendrix could blindfolded, hands tied up and fingers chopped off
heres the top ten
1 angus young
2 jimmy page
3 eric clapton
4 robert johnson
5 randy rhoads
6 eddie van halen
7 jimi hedrix
8 paul stanley (kiss)
9 eric clapton
10 b.b. king
angus young is a lot better than jimmy hendrix! He could play with out music, blindfolded, he can dance while playing, and he can play w/out fingers.
i love you micayla
Alvin Lee kicks ass, don’t hate. One of the baddest dudes ever, and he had GREAT tone. He was more than just a standard blues guitarist.
what the hell???? Free Bird is one of the greatest guitar solos ever!!?? where the hell did you get your info from because its not true
are you a dumb ass!!! Phish?? what the hell??!! they are one of the greatest bands! you have so problems dude
omfg are you kiddin me Free Bird’ solo is one of the greatest of all time what music are you astute in, Britney Spears and DMX? Also this whole list is bougus give or take 1 or 2 how dare you mention Eric Clapton’s name in worst solo list you’re going to hell
angus young is a lot better than jimmy hendrix! He could play with out music, blindfolded, he can dance while playing, and he can play w/out fingers.
angus young of acdc is a lot better than hendrix. angus could play anything hendrix could blindfolded, hands tied up and fingers chopped off
heres the top ten
1 angus young
2 jimmy page
3 eric clapton
4 robert johnson
5 randy rhoads
6 eddie van halen
7 jimi hedrix
8 paul stanley (kiss)
9 eric clapton
10 b.b. king
those are just as ignorant as the worst solo’s list
no way can paul stanley be up there kiss was about show no quality
angus young can kiss my ass jimmy hendrix is not every1’s number 1 of all time for no reason he played a lefthanded guitar upside down for god’s sake angus isnt in my top 20
How is it acceptable to disrespect Eddie Van Halen? Thats just low…….
Yngwie is a brilliant guitarist but I wouldn’t say he writes brilliant guitar solos. His playing is mainly focused on technique than structured composition. The only structured solo I can think of off the top of my head is Rising Force….
However, his early records are still very fresh and do contain some awesome stuff not to mention two of the best guitar instrumentals of all time….
Now, Free Bird….. Thats an awesome solo to play live. Helps alot if you have more than one guitarist in your band because your hands die after 5 mins of constant 3 string pentatonic picking.
let it rain and free bird are great songs
now you probaly have the talent of a 3 yr old when it comes to guitar if you think that
i want to see you pick up a guitar and get in front of thousands of people and not get thrown off the stage
How about the solo at the end of Layla. The slide stuff Duane Allman is playing is SOOOO outta key. They must have been hammered. That is why it is way buried in the mix.
Come on people, all these guitarist are pretty good. Not great but okay. Some better than others. I mean you are arguing whos better Hendrix or Angus Young. They are both good at what they do!
Cant we all find some stuff by guys who truly SUCK —- Im talking CC Deville (Poison), Mick Mars (Crue), etc…. Guitarist who cant even play, but have nice hair!!! Lets rip on some truly shitty musicians (if you can call them that).
Who said freebird is one of the worst. it is the greatest solo
ever recorded. Allen collins was a phenominal guitarist. Get your head out of your ass so your ears can hear.
Rick
whoever wrote this article obviously is a completely jealous, arrogant, ignorant, stupid person. theyve probly never lernt to play guitar. although, i do agree with them bout ymwie malmstee and steve vai etc. they suck….
Alvin Lee is awesome! This list is HORSESHIT..
Ah, the things you find when looking for the alternate tunings used by CCR.
..CAN’T FIND IT ANYWHERE.
Does anyone know what they are?
Damon
Leave LED ZEPPELIN and MOBY DICK out of this, man!! They’re both pretty badass (unlike EMO).
BTW alvin lee is not coll, you’re HORSESHIT!!
lol
angus RULES mofos
Frampton’s is the best ever…
your a retard most of these should be on the 50 greatest solos of all time especially freebird that is one of the best things ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
whoever made this list doesnt know much about rock. there are so many modern rock bands desperately trying to hammer out decent solos and failing so miserably.
yet there are solos by clapton, antasio,nugent,etc on this list.
oh…and i know a lot of people have already said this…but seriously…freebird???
I’m not even rock n roll fan.But I think I have heard enough music to say what is good what is bad How can people include Free bird into this list and put it in the second place. That is a shame.I can even put it on the best solo I’ve ever heard in my whole 34 years living.And how about comfortably numb I really doubt that the making-list guy has even ears to hear music.
free bird is the best
Free Bird may be playable but no one can play it just like it was played by the master Allen Coliins.
What about Alan Osmond on Crazy Horses - the most spastic solo in the history of guitar playing
The idiot who thinks Angus Young is the best guitarist needs to die soon. My little brother is better than that piece of shit. Your list sucks I suggest you shoot yourself in the head now.
to the guy who said mick mars sucks, you suck, listen to songs like too young to fall in love and live wire, it’ll make bitches like you crawl back to your scale books and wonder how he could play those song
you seem to have left out anything by eddie van halen, hendrix, jimmy page, or stevie ray vaughan, some of the greatest guitar soloists of all time. peter frampton and ted nugent have skill, but no where near the skill of those i have listed
oh and confortably numb, should definitely be up there
i can agree all the way with the clapton. Im sorry but ive heard about everything eric clapton has ever done and hes a joke. seriously. ive been playing guitar for 2 years and i can play the blues better than him. Hes a good songwriter, but such an over rated guitarist. clapton is god?? not in this lifetime.
haven’t heard all the others, but i can’t agree with the freebird man. maybe its not very hard to play but its a good solo
I agree that freebird sucks. In fact i think it should be at no 1. Its amazing they can even call the deepshit music.
Free bird is one of the best solos ever played under the great
Jimi Hendrix and the totally Awesome Carlos Santana.
Free bird is over looked in many ways just give it a
chance.
Jesse Ryder,13,Moneyman103@hotmail.com
Take Freebird of that god damn list…….whoever put it in that list is clearly deaf or messed up!
Well, the ones that can do,
the ones that cant- make lists.
c ya.
Wow, u really are a musical retard whoever wrote this list
If you care about songs, most guitar solos are bad. They rarely add anything, often detracting, and except for the cases of technical experimentation tend to be a yawn. Given the pack of Yngwie, Vai, Satriani, Reid, and dozens of modern versions, even the technical stuff has generally become boring.
Disagree? So, what if every song had a vocal solo or scatting? Every song. What if every song had a bass solo? Drums? Violin? Oboe? Triangle?
If you only want to hear technical mastery on guitar you should not be looking to rock as a first choice. Flamenco, jazz, bluegrass, and classical are all rife with musical mastery because they aren’t commercial claptrap force filtered through a sterile and corrupt industry, pared down and made to fit a format.
hahah.. ashley is funny
you say freebird is the second worst solo ever am i right, well if thats the second worst solo what do you thinks the best solo
ho ho ho my little friend freebird is the greatest solo of all time . you will be recieving a lump of coal for christmas and a lump of aids in your stocking :) enjoy
freebird as the second worst solo of all time… I think it is the second BEST solo of all time, stupid. Im sure this is the worst and most horrible and most stupid top 10 in the history of the universe!!!
imagine stairway on this list……….i wud hav killed the guy still he deserves some serious punishment for putting freebird on dat list
I will not lower myself to the likes of these other posters (obviously most of them just started shaving yesterday from the tone of their comments). I disagree with many of the axemen you have listed, but respect your right to express your opinion. Man, that’s what makes music great.
The Kinks were one of the greatest British bands of the 60’s (great sound production and songwriting ability), but lead guitar break on You Really Got Me was not very impressive(thank goodness EVH got a hold of it). George Harrison had his weaknesses on guitar, but he and the rest of the lads were the best of their day, vocally and in songwriting ablility. Love this site.
By the way, correction on number 5. Tommy Shaw, who I think personally is very talented on guitar and as a songwriter,(sorry, it’s not all about shredding), did not do the solo. (Check a tape, disc, or any Styx concert. Very surprised these other so called experts have not pointed that out. James “J.Y.” Young (the only original member of the band), did the solo work on that particular number. I am not an expert but have been playing at it for about 40+ years. Thanks for letting me sound off!! Keep on rockin. (Long live Randy!).
I suggest someone make a list of the most horrible lists ever created.
Holy Crap.. Kurt Cobain isn’t up there LOL
i think that it is very disrespectful to post something like this about a man who dedicated his life to playing the guitar, and for the last 4 years of his life on earth could not even play it anymore. allen collins lost his friends, his wife & unborn child, his girlfriend along with the ability to walk or play the guitar and then ultimately his life. now to disrespect the one thing he loved to do in life after his death is blasphemy, as well as the other great artists on that list.
Anyone who thinks Angus Young is better than Hendrix needs to
pull their heads out of their asses because Angus fucking sucks dick!
Ever listen to his solos, they put me to sleep, no one wants to hear
that bullshit. Hendrix, Clapton, and Page kick ass. Angus
doesn’t even compare, come on…Angus needs to spend less time
screaming his ass off and more time working on his retardly gay solos.
Hendrix rules!
oh also, solo or not freebird was dedicated to duane allman 2nd greatest guitarist of all time according to rolling stone. so to defile freebird is to defile the allman brothers as well. either way taking in consideration what i posted before, these guys were only in their mid 20’s when they wrote this paticular song. can you just imagine what a 50 or so year old allen collins, steve gaines, gary rossington, combo with ronnie van zandt writing material would have created by now? freebird would have been amateur material for these geniuses. since afterall we’re talking solos check out t-for texas t-for tennesee by lynyrd skynyrd, thats some really good stuff from theses guys unexploited.
thanks guys for inspiring me to pick up playing the guitar again after 10 yrs.
The Freebird solo isn’t that great, or creative. It’s just a bunch of strung-together fast blues-scale licks.
Actually stairway was not a pieced together solo. Jimmy page knew the form he wanted it to take and chose this take out of 3 takes…He ahs said that each take was very different from each other but the one he chose just had something special.
Pitchfork is a joke….I love that phish makes an appearance on every shit list of theirs. It reaffirms my love for the band.
Ha! Putting Angus Young at the top of a list of great guitarists is a joke. Even putting Paul Stanley on a list of great guitarists is a joke. I know that guy wrote that a long time ago, but that just offends me deeply.
Stairway to Heaven wasn’t even the best solo that Jimmy Page did, yet it always represents Zeppelin at the top of solo lists. The Dazed and Confused solo is great, and the solos on Achilles Last Stand and Ten Years Gone are two of the most creative and heart-straining solos that I’ve ever heard on studio recorded albums. To me, any guitarists live work (especially Clapton’s) is better than studio solos.
John McLaughlin a bozo? Freebird a lousy solo? This is a joke right? Worst solo for me “Cinnamon Girl” by Neil Young. A one note solo should be an embarrassment, unless he was trying make some sort of minimalist statement.
the 1 thing about alvin lee and hendrixs-are so great that they can sing and play a solo at the same time
This is all just so stupid.
If you want to hear absolutely terrible, sophomoric guitar work, just listen to any of the bands that are aired on “MTV-U” at your local college. I’m a totally average guitar player and most of them make me sound like a virtuoso.
where the hell are the other 40?
What is the concensus on my playing on my solo album, “Here comes Minny!” I think it is rather sublime yet free flowing in a raucous yet sensual type of manner.
the ones who said angus young sucks, U SUCK!! Maybe he’s not the best guitar player in the world, but sure he kicks ass!!
and that retard who said his little bro can play better than Angus Young! HAHAHA what a joke! i think ur brother is piece of shit!!!
AC/DC rules!!
Dude! First of all, I suggest you actually listen to what you are criticizing! For your info, the guitar solo in Renegade is done by JY! And second of all…Are you off your nut? Freebird!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Those that can…Rock..those that can’t…become music critics!