According to Star Wars timelines Han Solo had only been smuggling for a mere six years before the Battle of Yavin.
Six years isn't a long time, especially not to get the kind of reputation Solo had garnered in the smuggling trade.
I have a little self-interest in this one. I've written about a smuggler character, Jan Lomona, for 23 years and have plenty of stories about him on my website Lightsabre. He's a dude, a good shot, good pilot, bit of a ladies man, but I have made it clear through the stories that as good as he is it's 40% skill and 60 % reputation. And Jan loves to talk about himself.
I always thought that about Solo too. The early books used to say he was the best pilot, the best gunman (until Gallandro of course-but look how he ended up), the best smuggler. Heck, why didn't the Alliance just send Solo in alone to detroy the Death Star?
We all know Han. His biggest fan and best PR person was...Han Solo! How much of what he claimed was true? Chewie was clearly the difference maker on a lot of occasions, but how good was Solo really? Was it skill or good fortune that dragged him through?
In short, was Han Solo really the best smuggler in the galaxy?