Eddie Van Halen's 'Eruption' Ranked Second in Guitar World's Greatest Solos List
Throughout music history, a handful of guitarists have delivered iconic solos that were so extraordinary it made them legends. Eddie Van Halen's masterpiece "Eruption" from Van Halen's 1978 debut album has been ranked higher than almost all of those pieces of music. His iconic performance from that instrumental track was voted the second greatest guitar solo of all time by guitarists.
Who Ranked Van Halen's ‘Eruption' Among the Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time?
In July 2022, Guitar World published a list of the "50 greatest guitar solos of all time." Instead of simply relying on the outlet's writers and editors to decide on the ranking, its readers were asked to vote on which tracks deserved to be included. Given that the outlet once noted that its "core readership is mainly made up of guitarists," that means that the ranking choices were dominated by guitar players. According to the vote, Eddie Van Halen's solo from the 1978 Van Halen track "Eruption" is the second best of all time.
Related: 1978 Hit Ranked Greatest Saxophone Solo of All Time
The song became a massive hit with avid music fans and guitarists, as the Guitar World article outlined. The outlet described how influential and groundbreaking the instrumental track was due to Eddie's iconic solo.
"Way back in 1978, Van Halen's self-titled debut album featured this mind-blowing instrumental guitar solo, which went on to inspire a generation of guitar heroes. No one had heard anything as groundbreaking since the days of Jimi Hendrix, with its mix of fast legato hammer-ons and pull-offs, pinched harmonics, whammy bar dives and, of course, two-hand tapping."
Listen to Eddie Van Halen's ‘Eruption' guitar solo here:
For most music fans, listening to an instrumental track that is a one-minute-42-second-long guitar solo may not sound that appealing. However, the track remains compelling because it manages to feel like you are listening to something historic, and not just because it is an old song now. As Guitar World noted, Eddie performed the solo with "joyous rock 'n' roll abandon" that makes its "creative note choices" an incredible listen.
The Top 10: Guitar World's Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
- 10. "Crazy Train" – Ozzy Osbourne (Guitarist: Randy Rhoads, 1980)
- 9. "Beat It" – Michael Jackson (Guitarist: Eddie Van Halen, 1982)
- 8. "Free Bird" – Lynyrd Skynyrd (Guitarist: Allen Collins, 1974)
- 7. "Sultans Of Swing" – Dire Straits (Guitarist: Mark Knopfler, 1977)
- 6. "Sweet Child O' Mine" – Guns N' Roses (Guitarist: Slash, 1988)
- 5. "Hotel California" – Eagles (Guitarists: Don Felder & Joe Walsh, 1977)
- 4. "Stairway To Heaven" – Led Zeppelin (Guitarist: Jimmy Page, 1971)
- 3. "Comfortably Numb" – Pink Floyd (Guitarist: David Gilmour, 1979)
- 2. "Eruption" – Van Halen (Guitarist: Eddie Van Halen, 1978)
- 1. "Bohemian Rhapsody" – Queen (Guitarist: Brian May, 1975)
Next: 1983 Hit Named ‘Greatest Bass Guitar Solo of All Time' by Bassists
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 6:00 AM.