Nothing is more beautiful than a guitar, except, possibly two.
–Frédéric Chopin (attributed)
There’s nothing like a guitar solo to immediately endear you to a song. There are, of course, many great guitar solos in recorded music history, but a great one can leave you forever entranced.
I recently stumbled across an online article in Men’s Journal about guitar solos that referenced a poll conducted in another magazine. While I don’t read Men’s Journal or any other men’s magazines for that matter, the poll conducted by Guitar Player definitely piqued my interest.
Guitar Player was established in 1967 and lists itself as the most comprehensive, insightful and trusted publication for guitar enthusiasts of all persuasions and given their seniority, I have no reason not to believe them. They ran a poll on the “greatest guitar solo” among their readers at some point in 2024 and published the results in their October 27th issue of that year.
The writers concede that the poll’s subject is a thorny, divisive issue. It is, after all, highly subjective, but these readers are actual guitar players, so I guess their opinions must be respected, even if grudgingly. All those who made the top twenty were all very familiar names. While I very much agree with the overall winner, David Gilmour, I’m somewhat conflicted about the other rankings.
Disappointingly, however, one name that, in my opinion, should have made the cut for either Tin Pan Alley or Little Wing is very conspicuously missing. I’m referring, of course, to Stevie Ray Vaughn. Interestingly, two guitarists who are virtuosos in their own right featured as session or guest musicians for other bands. Eric Clapton played on While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Eddie Van Halen played on Beat It. Be that as it may, here are the published poll results from Guitar Player:
- Pink Floyd — Comfortably Numb (1979) [Guitarist: David Gilmour]
- Van Halen — Eruption (1978) [Guitarist: Eddie Van Halen]
- Led Zeppelin — Stairway To Heaven (1971) [Guitarist: Jimmy Page]
- Queen — Bohemian Rhapsody (1975) [Guitarist: Brian May]
- Eagles — Hotel California (1977) [Guitarists: Don Felder & Joe Walsh]
- The Jimi Hendrix Experience — All Along The Watchtower (1968) [Guitarist: Jimi Hendrix]
- Dire Straits — Sultans Of Swing (1978) [Guitarist: Mark Knopfler]
- Lynyrd Skynyrd — Free Bird (1974) [Guitarist: Allen Collins]
- Chicago — 25 OR 6 TO 4 (1969) [Guitarist: Terry Kath]
- The Beatles — While My Guitar Gently Weeps (1968) [Guitarist: Eric Clapton]
- Michael Jackson — Beat It (1982) [Guitarist: Eddie Van Halen
- Ozzy Osbourne — Crazy Train (1980) [Guitarist: Randy Rhoads]
- Guns N’ Roses — Sweet Child O’ Mine (1988) [Guitarist: Slash]
- Deep Purple — Highway Star (1972) [Guitarist: Ritchie Blackmore]
- Prince — Purple Rain (1984) [Guitarist: Prince]
- Eric Johnson — Cliffs Of Dover (1990) [Guitarist: Eric Johnson]
- Cream — Crossroads (1968) [Guitarist: Eric Clapton]
- Steely Dan — Kid Charlemagne (1976) [Guitarist: Larry Carlton]
- Metallica— Fade To Black (1984) [Guitarist: Kirk Hammett]
- Gary Moore — Still Got the Blues (1990) [Guitarist: Gary Moore]
Comfortably Numb, which was originally titled The Doctor was released by Pink Floyd from their 11th studio album, The Wall, a year later as a single in 1980. Roger Waters, who wrote the lyrics, sang the verses, while David Gilmour, who composed the music, sang the chorus. Gilmour originally composed the music for his own solo album, but didn’t end up using it. Waters was inspired by an experience he had after being injected with tranquillisers to treat stomach cramps to write the lyrics.
Apparently, both musicians argued over how to record the song, and the eventual version that was released was a compromise. It’s not clear if this argument was the beginning of the feud that drove both musicians apart and which still lasts today. Even so, they have gone on to become very successful solo artists. The enmity between them notwithstanding, I have huge respect for both.
Roger Waters is also an outspoken activist and frequently champions the cause for justice for the Palestinian people being oppressed by Israel. In 2022, he released a new version of the song Comfortably Numb 2022 during COVID, to play as an opener for his concerts. In June 2026, Waters released yet another version of the song, this time with Mona Miari, a Palestinian-American artist, singer, and songwriter.
This last one is a complete rework and features haunting images of the destruction wreaked by the Israeli Defence Force in Gaza. While it won’t appeal to everyone, it has most certainly resonated with me on several levels, musically, artistically, politically and humanitarianly.
Edit: For the music lovers who like that sort of thing, I found a very recent video by a die-hard fan, David Hartley which follows the evolution of the recording of Comfortably Numb over four demos and the final track. It is truly fascinating to watch.
lenny unencumbered 