The 10 Greatest Slide Solos of All Time

Slide guitar: where precision meets pure feel. 

A piece of glass or metal (or heck, plastic) on the fretboard can turn a regular guitar into a howling, weeping, wailing machine. It takes guts and groove to play slide well—and the greats make it sound like second nature. 

From swampy blues to arena rock, slide guitar has left its mark on some of the most unforgettable solos ever put to tape. Today, we celebrate the best slide guitar solos ever recorded—those genre-defining, spine-tingling moments where tone gets a little sideways and a guitar's voice truly emerges.

10. Sonny Landreth – "Z. Rider" 

Known as the "King of Slydeco," Sonny Landreth plays slide guitar like he’s bending space-time. On "Z. Rider," he frets behind the slide and dances through Creole zydeco, blues, and general musical mayhem. Landreth’s tone is Stratty, slippery, twangy, and unlike anything else on this list—in a really good way.

9. Mick Taylor – "Love in Vain" (The Rolling Stones – Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!) 

When the Stones reintroduced Robert Johnson’s "Love in Vain" to the big stage, Mick Taylor’s slide solo made it sing and sting in an homage to the crossroads blues icon. Playing his Les Paul with a glass slide, Taylor bends and moans like a man who’s read the blues and decided to add a few of his own footnotes. Pure feel, no filler.

8. David Lindley – "Running on Empty" (Jackson Browne) 

Lindley’s lap steel solo on "Running on Empty" is pure California gold. Equal parts rootsy and radiant, it elevated Jackson Browne’s road anthem into something way cooler than it had any right to be. Lindley often used a Rickenbacker lap steel for that unmistakable tone—liquid, smooth, and sun-kissed.

7. Derek Trucks – "Midnight in Harlem" (Live at Crossroads) 

Derek Trucks is often hailed as Duane Allman’s spiritual heir, and for good reason. The man makes lead guitar sound like a lead singer (no disrespect to Susan Tedeschi). On "Midnight in Harlem," he channels blues, soul, and Eastern music into one soaring, lyrical solo. Using a Gibson SG and playing exclusively with his fingers and slide, Trucks makes it look effortless and sound like slow motion poetry.

6. Elmore James – "Dust My Broom" 

Elmore James’s riff on "Dust My Broom" became the blueprint for modern slide guitar. Played on a Kay hollowbody with a pickup jammed inside, his tone was raw, buzzy, and brilliant. The solo isn’t polished—but that’s the point. It growls, howls, and practically kicks the door in. Dusted, indeed.

5. Bonnie Raitt and John Lee Hooker – "I'm in the Mood" (Live) 

Bonnie Raitt doesn’t just play slide—she owns it. In live versions of "I'm In the Mood" alongside blues-legends-charter-member John Lee Hooker, Raitt's tone cuts like a razor and sings like a bird. Playing her signature Fender Stratocaster with a glass slide, Raitt blends blues authority with fire. She's not trying to outplay anyone. She just happens to be better.

4. Lowell George – "Dixie Chicken" (Little Feat) 

Armed with a Sears Craftsman socket for a slide and a modified Strat, Little Feat’s Lowell George brought funk, blues, and New Orleans grit to slide guitar. The solo in "Dixie Chicken" is playful, funky, and impossibly tight. It’s the kind of solo that feels like it’s grinning at you while it blows your mind.

3. George Harrison – "My Sweet Lord" 

Harrison’s slide guitar helped define the sound of his post-Beatles solo work. "My Sweet Lord" shows just how melodic and expressive the slide can be. Using his legendary psychedelic Strat, "Rocky," Harrison crafted one of the catchiest, most spiritual slide guitar solos ever—a singable, soaring line that sticks in your brain like a mantra... or bubblegum on a hot sidewalk.

2. Ry Cooder – "Paris, Texas" Theme 

Haunting. Minimal. Perfect. Ry Cooder’s work on the soundtrack for Paris, Texas is a masterclass in slide restraint. It’s less a solo and more a legendary ghost story in six strings. Whether you watch the associated film or not, Cooder's soundtrack evokes both the darkness and beauty of the American landscape by using feel instead of fireworks.

1. Duane Allman – "Layla" (Derek and the Dominos) 

Duh. You can’t talk about the best slide guitar solos without starting and ending here. Duane Allman’s outro solo on "Layla" is equal parts tender and transcendent. Using a Gibson Les Paul Goldtop (sometimes mistakenly assumed to be an SG), Allman layered melody over melody with such emotional clarity it hurts. Eric Clapton may have written the song and been the guitar-god with top-billing, but it’s Allman who gave it wings—and a place in guitar history.

Slide into Some Primo Strings

Whether you play slide or not, we've got the strings that'll make your guitar sing

Stringjoy 10-48 Balanced Light Gauge Signatures - Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings

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