Top 10 Best Songs by Jimi Hendrix

A cover of Bob Dylan, but Dylan himself said: "It's his song now." Jimi recorded it countless times until it was perfect. The acoustic guitar, the stormy atmosphere, the solos. It sounds like the apocalypse approaching. The guitar passages are fiery and expressive. It's mystical, urgent and musically from another planet. The ultimate proof of his genius.

The riff that launched psychedelic rock. The 'tritone' (devil's interval) in the opening sounds ominous and weird. Is it about drugs? A dream? A spell? "Excuse me while I kiss the sky." The sound is distorted and chaotic. A three-minute trip that turned the world upside down.

A miniature masterpiece barely two and a half minutes. The guitar intro is liquid, melodic and incomparably beautiful. It sounds like a fairy tale. Jimi plays rhythm and solo simultaneously. It's dreamy, lovely and technically perfect. Countless guitarists have tried to replicate it, but none have Jimi's touch.

Jimi's debut single. A slow, threatening song about a man who shoots his wife and flees to Mexico. The backup singers give it a soulful edge. The guitar solo is tight and telling. It's bluesy, dark and cinematic. The song with which the world first met the phenomenon Jimi Hendrix.

The wah-wah guitar in the beginning is iconic. It sounds like a swamp starting to boil. It's a long, improvising jam. "I stand up next to a mountain, and I chop it down with the edge of my hand." The lyrics are mythic and powerful. This is Hendrix as the god of the electric guitar, unreachable and magical.

That intro... the feedback slowly swelling to a note. It's pure sex on six strings. The riff is simple and dirty. Jimi sings it with an impudent grin. It's the ultimate 'pickup song'. Tough, confident and full of lust. A song that defines what guitar swagger is.

A funky, fast song. The kazoo (made with a comb and toilet paper) sounds like honking traffic. It's about a woman getting in his way, just like traffic in the city. It's playful, rhythmic and full of humor. A short, powerful pop-rock song.

A soft, soulful ballad written after a fight with his girlfriend Kathy Mary. The chords are jazzy and subtle. The atmosphere is sad and resigned. "The wind cries Mary." It shows the gentle side of Jimi. It was written in twenty minutes, but the beauty is timeless.

A philosophical, dreamy song. The guitar part is 'backward' recorded (reverse tape), creating a strange, sucking sound. The lyrics are about the transience of dreams and life. "And so castles made of sand, fall in the sea, eventually." It's melancholic, wise and beautifully produced.

A slow, dragging blues. Here Jimi shows where his roots lie. No effects, just a man, a guitar and the blues. His playing is clean, emotional and technically perfect. Every note touches you. It proves he was not just a noise-maker, but a deep, soulful blues musician.