Which '70s Pink Floyd Hit Has the Most Epic Guitar Solo?
- - Which '70s Pink Floyd Hit Has the Most Epic Guitar Solo?
Jacqueline Burt CoteFebruary 4, 2026 at 5:00 AM
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Photo by Jorgen Angel on Getty Images
Nearly 60 years since they released their first album, Pink Floyd is just as popular as ever: 2025 saw the band climbing back up the charts thanks to Wish You Were Here's 50th anniversary, and they've racked up billions of streams on Spotify.
Of course, Pink Floyd's enduring legacy is due in large part to the contributions of guitarist David Gilmour, whose unmistakable sound has influenced — and continues to shape — countless musicians, with aspiring guitar players doing their best to learn his legendary solos note for note. Many of Gilmour's most unforgettable solos are from the '70s, when albums such as The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall were released. But if you had to pick the best solo of all from that decade, which would it be?
We've chosen five of Gilmour's most-beloved solos of the '70s...vote for your favorite below! (The poll will close at 12 a.m., EST, Feb. 11.)
"Comfortably Numb" (The Wall, 1979)
While the final version of "Comfortably Numb" has two guitar solos, Gilmour said he "banged out five or six solos,” during the recording process, per Guitar World. “From there I just followed my usual procedure, which is to listen back to each solo and make a chart, noting which bits are good. Then, by following the chart, I create one great composite solo by whipping one fader up, then another fader, jumping from phrase to phrase until everything flows together. That’s the way we did it on ‘Comfortably Numb.’”
Whatever Gilmour did in the studio, as producer Bob Ezrin put it, “You can give him a ukulele and he’ll make it sound like a Stradivarius.”
"Money" (TheDark Side of the Moon, 1973)
For decades, fans have been captivated by what Far Out called the "gorgeous guitar noise" that "rings out" over "Money," describing it as a "sound that now resides with listeners as unmistakably Gilmour, marrying both screaming fuzz tones with warmer, fuller, blues sounds."
"Shine on You Crazy Diamond" (Wish You Were Here, 1975)
Written as a tribute to Syd Barrett, "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" features a famed opening arpeggio from Gilmour in addition to his memorable soloing. In a 2024 interview with Rick Beato, Gilmour recalled the moment he came up with the intro.
“I was in a rehearsal room in King's Cross in London — the four of us, the band Pink Floyd," Gilmour explained. “You play something, you're doing all sorts of little things, and that one comes out, and something in your brain goes, there's something to that, so you do it again, and you do it again."
"And after a while other people in the room stop," he continued. "You can see this thing on people's faces, this awakening moment, when people are going, There's a possibility here, there's something here. There are other moments where that has happened but that was a very clear moment. And basically, the whole of 'Shine On'...grew out of that moment.”
"Time" (The Dark Side of the Moon, 1973)
Another classic from Dark Side, Gilmour used a slightly different technique than usual when recording "Time."
“For most of my solos, I usually use a fuzz box, a delay and a bright eq setting," he explained, per GW. "But to get that kind of singing sustain, you really need to play loud — at or near the feedback threshold.”
Whatever he did in the studio clearly paid off.
"Another Brick in the Wall Part 2" (The Wall, 1979)
One of the most famous anti-authoritarian rock anthems of all time, even casual Pink Floyd fans know all the words to "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2." Not only that, but they know every note of Gilmour's solo.
As Arun Starkey of Far Out wrote, "The song is loved by many, even those who usually would not be fans of the band’s dense prog soundscapes. Furthermore, Gilmour’s work on the track is incredible."
This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
