Claim: Slash left Guns N' Roses in 1996.

Saul Hudson -LRB- born July 23 , 1965 -RRB- , better known by his stage name Slash , is a British-American musician and songwriter . He is best known as the lead guitarist of the American rock band Guns N ' Roses , with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s . During his later years with Guns N ' Roses , Slash formed the side project Slash 's Snakepit . After leaving Guns N ' Roses in 1996 , he co-founded the supergroup Velvet Revolver , which re-established him as a mainstream performer in the mid to late 2000s . Slash has since released three solo albums : Slash -LRB- 2010 -RRB- , featuring an array of famous guest musicians , and Apocalyptic Love -LRB- 2012 -RRB- and World on Fire -LRB- 2014 -RRB- , recorded with his band , Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators . He returned to Guns N ' Roses in 2016 , nearly 20 years after he had left .   Slash has received critical acclaim and is considered as one of the greatest rock guitarists . Time Magazine named him runner-up on their list of `` The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players '' in 2009 , while Rolling Stone Magazine placed him at No. 65 on their list of `` The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time '' in 2011 . Guitar World ranked his guitar solo in `` November Rain '' No. 6 on their list of `` The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos '' in 2008 , and Total Guitar placed his riff in `` Sweet Child o ' Mine '' at No. 1 on their list of `` The 100 Greatest Riffs '' in 2004 . During 2010 Gibson Guitar Corporation ranked Slash as No. 34 on their `` Top 50 Guitarists of All Time '' , while their readers landed him No. 9 on Gibson 's `` Top 25 Guitarists of All Time '' . In 2012 , he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Guns N ' Roses ' classic line-up .