Jimi Hendrix's 'All Along the Watchtower' Ranked Among 'Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time'

Jimi Hendrix was instrumental in the shaping of rock music as we know it today. Inducted posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 with his band, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the revered singer-songwriter and musician is widely regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

Hendrix was active in the music industry for eight years before his tragic passing at only 27, but his catalog, spanning four albums, has landed on multiple best-of lists over the decades. His third album, Electric Ladyland, was hailed retrospectively as a "definitive work of psychedelic music." Rolling Stone ranked it at No. 53 on its 2020 version of its "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.

The artist released two singles to promote Electric Ladyland: "All Along the Watchtower" and "Crosstown Traffic." The former, which was released on Sept. 2, 1968, in the US and Oct. 18, 1968, in the UK, became Hendrix's highest-ranking single on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 20. At the time, it was also his only Top 40 hit.

Hendrix reached another milestone, albeit one almost 56 years after his death: Rolling Stone has ranked "All Along the Watchtower" at No. 11 on its May 2026 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time." Fun fact: this is actually a cover of a song belonging to another iconic musician.

Bob Dylan, who Hendrix admired, wrote "All Along the Watchtower" for his eighth studio album, John Wesley Harding. He released the tune as a single on Nov. 22, 1968, almost one year after the record's debut on Dec. 27, 1967 (and over two months after Hendrix released his cover in the US). Rolling Stone described it as "a classic" before Hendrix recorded it, and as "one of Bob Dylan's scariest songs."

In its aforementioned guitar solos list, Rolling Stone lauded Hendrix's iteration of "All Along the Watchtower" as "a howling-wind guitar storm." Even Dylan loved Hendrix's cover, complimenting the late guitarist's ability to "find things inside a song and vigorously develop them. He found things that other people wouldn't think of finding in there."

If you haven't already, be sure to crank up the legendary Jimi Hendrix's version of "All Along the Watchtower" after listening to Bob Dylan's original (and then blast Bear McCreary's arrangement of the tune for Battlestar Galactica as a little treat).

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 1:51 PM.