Back in June, TG posted a poll on guitarworld.com to find out your views on the greatest acoustic guitar songs of all time. There are, of course, so many to choose from, and our shortlist of 120 landmark tracks covered early blues, folk and rock ’n’ roll classics to modern pop hits and rock epics. There was just one simple rule for inclusion: in every song, the acoustic guitar should be a significant feature. With a massive 75,000+ public votes cast, here we present a rundown of the Top 50 Acoustic Guitar Songs as chosen by you. We start by listing the tracks from number 50 to 21, before going into more depth with the songs that received more votes. As we get into the top 10, we provide lessons on the key techniques employed by those icons of guitar – and hopefully you’ll be feeling inspired to try out a few ideas for yourself.
50 The Entertainer – Chet Atkins
49 Shape Of My Heart – Sting
48 Somebody That I Used To Know – Mike Dawes
47 The River – Bruce Springsteen
46 Cross Road Blues – Robert Johnson
45 1952 Vincent Black Lightning – Richard Thompson
44 Spanish Fly – Van Halen
43 Just Breathe – Pearl Jam
42 Mediterranean Sundance – Al Di Meola
41 Big Yellow Taxi – Joni Mitchell
40 Iris – Goo Goo Dolls
39 Drifting – Andy McKee
38 Classical Gas – Mason Williams
37 The Clap – Yes
36 Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) – Green Day
35 Angelina – Tommy Emmanuel
34 Wonderwall – Oasis
33 Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Queen
32 Jolene – Dolly Parton
31 Wanted Dead Or Alive – Bon Jovi
30 Redemption Song – Bob Marley And The Wailers
29 Life By The Drop – Stevie Ray Vaughan
28 Romeo And Juliet – Dire Straits
27 Nutshell – Alice In Chains
26 Carry On – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
25 I Walk The Line – Johnny Cash
24 Maggie May – Rod Stewart
23 More Than Words – Extreme
22 Crazy On You – Heart
21 (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay – Otis Redding
38 Classical Gas
MASON WILLIAMS (1968)
Why’s this song in a boxout? Well, truth be told, and we hold our hands up here – we forgot about it! But this much loved nylon-string classic still received enough public votes, unprompted by us, to catapult it into our Top 50. A Mason Williams signature tune on which he delivers pure fire on a Cordova classical guitar, Classical Gas is a seminal guitar piece that was released just as the tastes of popular music were being shaped by the holy trinity of 60s free love, LSD and – what else?
– Baroque chamber pieces! It has been re-recorded, reworked, covered by everyone, most notably the great Tommy Emmanuel. Even so, the original still sounds fresh, transcendent, a time-capsule. That owes something to its structure, the tricks Williams plays with meter, and the exemplary production/arrangement from Mike Post. It’s effectively a sonata, with the intro establishing a melody that’s developed later. A true masterpiece!
20 Tangled Up In Blue
BOB DYLAN (1975)
The opening track from Dylan’s was famously powered by two highly-collectable acoustic guitars – the 1950s Martin 00-21 in Dylan’s hands and the 1969 Martin D-28 played by guest guitarist Kevin Odegard. The opening idea sees them strumming between A and Asus4, then moving between A, G and D during the verses and eventually introducing E and F#m shapes for the chorus sections. It’s the kind of song even beginners wouldn’t take long to feel at ease with – though, as per many of Dylan’s genre-defining masterpieces, it’s simple stuff done very, very well.
