Lists of the best guitar solos of all-time will always be controversial. No one will ever be completely satisfied with the solos that are included, and important solos will always be left out. Lists of the worst guitar solos must be even more controversial. They will always include solos that some people think are great, and there are so many bad solos in the world that it’s impossible to make a truly comprehensive list.

The fact is, these kinds of lists will always be subjective. But most importantly, they’re created for entertainment purposes only, and shouldn’t be taken too seriously.

With that in mind… Take a deep breath (and/or your heart medication) and check out the ten worst solos of all-time:

Peter Frampton - Do You Feel Like We Do
This is actually a great solo, but when I listen to it I can only think about the inside of Peter Frampton’s mouth. The guitar talk box is an amazing invention, but if the mouth is involved in a guitar solo, I prefer to see something more impressive and outrageous like picking guitar strings with one’s teeth.

Grand Funk Railroad - The Locomotion.
The fact that this song became a #1 hit in 1974 certainly isn’t thanks to the song’s guitar solo. In the past, it’s been compared to a flushing toilet, and it’s hard to think of any other way to describe it. The odd use of effects that interrupt the melody makes this solo more confusing than anything. If this was an experiment, can we say that the hypothesis was incorrect?

Scars on Broadway - They Say.
To be fair, there is no real guitar solo in this song. But the guitar playing is so horrid that this had to be included on the list. Throughout each chorus (and the outro) a single note is quickly bent over and over again. And over again. And then again. Granted, it’s hard to write guitar parts for bad music, but at least try to remedy the situation with some musicianship.

Oasis - Champagne Supernova.
No one wants to listen to lazy guitar players. But even worse is when a band of talent adults write a guitar solo that sounds like it was written by a 12 year old.

Prince - Te Amo Corazon.
As far as confusing guitar solos go, this eats the cake. First, the guitar doesn’t sound like a guitar. Even watching Prince play the guitar to this in his music video doesn’t convince me that a guitar is actually the instrument used to create these thin notes. But the biggest mistake is when he starts scatting over this in a falsetto voice. Creepy.

Twisted Sister - We’re Not Going To Take It.
No surprises here. This is almost always included in “Worst Solos” lists, and for a good reason. while there’s nothing necessarily wrong with just repeating the chorus vocal melody in a guitar solo, attempting to “mix it up” by using a whammy bar on the last note of every phrase is… too much for the ears.

Megadeth - Hangar 18.
The fact that this is a bad guitar solo probably stems from the fact that metal guitar solos from the 90s are generally pretty terrible. The solo starts halfway through the song and continues until the end. Unfortunately, from this halfway point there are no new dynamics and no progression. All you hear is a bunch of really fast, really high notes. While I agree that it will always look cool to play the highest frets on the guitar, I guess I’ve learned that this doesn’t always sound good.

Slash - Black or White (Michael Jackson).
Slash is a great guitarist, but apparently only when he plays in his own band. Having to live up to Eddie Van Halen (who preformed on “Beat It”) might have been too much pressure for him.

The Beastie Boys - You Gotta Fight For Your Right (To Party).
This is another great example of a solo that sounds like it was written by a tween. If it wasn’t written by one of the Beastie Boys’ little brothers, at best it was written by one of the members 5 minutes before it was recorded.

Slayer - Raining Blood.
This song actually has some great riffs, but the guitar solo leaves a lot to be desired. I have a feeling this solo was written in less time than it takes to be played.

- Axel

The guitar has come a long way since its evolution from the archaic guitar-like instruments of Europe, Egypt, and Mesopotamia over the past centuries. Even since the development of the modern classical guitar in the 19th century, guitar technique and technology has undergone huge changes and revolutions. Perhaps most exciting are the developments the guitar has made in rock music, particularly between the 1950s and 1970s.

The rock and roll genre of the 1950s drew its influences from blues, country music, and gospel, among other American styles of music. While people may disagree about which of these musical styles had a greater influence on the development of rock, each played an important role in developing rock and roll, from basic song structures to instrument techniques.

The way the guitar was used in early rock and roll music made its roots very obvious. The guitar tone Chuck Berry got out of his archtop electric guitar on his 1958 single “Johnny B. Goode” has a warmth and jazzy tone which clearly references early guitar playing and music genres. Yet, while Chuck Berry’s guitar sound lacked later rock guitar elements such as overdrive, his unique style revolutionized guitar playing and forever changed the direction of rock music.

It was Link Wray who pioneered the overdriven electric guitar sound with his 1958 instrumental, “Rumble”, which once again revolutionized the electric guitar sound and opened a world of possibilities for future guitar greats. Yet, even Wray’s distorted guitar was a comparatively soft and polite thing; it didn’t have the aggression, dominance, or volume that came to typify later guitar music.

The 1960s saw new guitarists build onto the work of these early innovators with the emergence of important rock bands such as The Grateful Dead and The Yardbirds. The Yardbirds were an important 60s band in that they focused on guitar solos, distortion, feedback, and helped make the guitar an even more central element of rock. Members of The Yardbirds went on to form other important 60s guitar bands such as Cream, The Jeff Beck Group, and Led Zeppelin. The Grateful Dead pioneered the “jam band” sound during this period with their emphasis on long musical improvisation.

The late 1960s and early 70s saw the dominance of guitarists Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix in particular developed a unique guitar-centred rock sound, with heavy distortion, feedback, complex solos, and electric guitar virtuosity. But as new and innovative as Hendrix’s guitar playing was, it was also influenced by older music, particularly blues, as is evident in the scales he based his solos on and the chords that made up many of his songs. At the same time, Led Zeppelin, with their focus on complex songs and musical virtuosity, became one of the biggest rock bands of the 1970s.

The 1970s continued its focus on over-driven guitar-centered music, with an emphasis on guitar solos and virtuosity, and a further development of psychedelic effects and techniques. Rock music of the 1970s continues to influence the music of today. Indeed, it can easily be argued that today’s rock music is created in a continuous reference to the benchmark music of the 1960s and 1970s Golden Age of Rock.

- Axel

Learning how to play acoustic guitar can be a great hobby. But unless learning the instrument is approached thoughtfully and carefully, the new guitarist can run into problems which might affect how enjoyable playing acoustic guitar can be. Without an understanding of how to develop good playing technique, and a basic knowledge of acoustic guitars, the new guitarist can run into snags very quickly.

This article offers some very basic tips for new acoustic guitar players. But even people who have been playing acoustic guitar for some time can find this information useful. Keep reading for some helpful tips and information that will make learning the acoustic guitar a smoother and more enjoyable activity.

Picking a good acoustic guitar can be a confusing thing for new guitarists. The range in price and quality of acoustic guitars is enormous. New acoustic guitarists usually don’t want to pay huge sums of money for a guitar, especially if they’re not sure that they’ll stick with the instrument. This can lead to people buying very cheap guitars. Unfortunately, cheap guitars come at a great price, as inexpensive guitars are typically poor quality. Besides not sounding good, they can also be quite difficult to play. If the action (string distance to fret) is too high, which is often the case with cheap acoustics, it can invite the new guitarist into forming bad playing habits. See our article on buying a guitar.

New guitarists should make a compromise when buying acoustic guitars. The trick is to buy something relatively cheap, but that can still be played happily. A great option is to buy a second hand guitar. Second hand doesn’t necessarily mean worn-out, and it is very possible to buy great pre-loved guitars at low prices.

Another option is to buy a low-range model from a good acoustic guitar manufacturer. For example, Martin and Taylor guitar companies are renowned for making great acoustic guitars. The good news for new guitarists is that these companies also make affordable models that still sound great. Guitars from the Martin X series and the Taylor 100 and 200 series are both relatively inexpensive and high quality.

Learning how to use a guitar pick is one the most essential skills for acoustic guitar players. The pick should be placed between the knuckle and the finger-tip of your index finger. The thumb is then pressed down onto the pick to create an “X” shape with your index finger and thumb. It’s best to make sure there is not too much pick hanging out from your thumb and finger. In order to have more control of the pick, it should be held quite deep, with only a small part of the pick hanging out.

Training your fingers to be strong is important for being able to play guitar comfortably and with stamina. The more you play, the stronger your fingers become, but it’s still a good idea to do some basic finger strengthening exercises every time you practice. See our blog on finger exercises.

Learning good hand posture is something a lot of guitarists fail to do. Good posture means greater ease when playing the guitar. More often than not, guitarists have bad left-hand posture, but training the left-hand to maintain good posture is not a difficult thing. The left-hand knuckles should run parallel to the bottom of the fretboard. The thumb should not come over the top of the back of the fretboard unless it is absolutely necessary, such as when forming particular chords or performing some other technique such as bending strings.

Keeping the above hints in mind will help new guitarists learn how to play acoustic guitar well. Being able to hold a pick properly, performing finger strengthening exercises, learning good hand posture, and knowing how to find good beginner guitars puts new guitarists at a great advantage. Even seasoned guitarists suffer from not following these simple guidelines, so they should be learned as early as possible.

- Axel