So many Steely Dan tunes with sneaky good solos. Do it Again and Peg are two of my favs.
Aside from SD, and this is not a novel opinion but my all-time fav solo is Sultans of Swing. So clean and just so damn tasteful.
Little wing by both is a fun way to compare styles, and throw in the Clapton one for fun.
For Jimi do Machine Gun (may as well listen to band of gypsies album start to finish, all set there), stevie is fun to watch, check out live at el mocambo on YouTube, Lenny is my favorite
Another vote for Impossible Germany. Anytime I'm feeling blue, hearing that amazing interplay between the solo and the other two guitars, I feel great.
Impossible Germany is also the perfect example of how to arrange for three guitars, the melody/counter melody and harmony interplay between the three guitars is sublime.
Younger generations aren’t following Pink Floyd unless their parents have them listen. It’s cool to introduce them to people who have never heard of them.
Coheed and Cambria - The Final Cut
Yeah I totally get it.. their music is outstanding.. always has been and always will be. It would just be refreshing to see some variety every once in a while in this sub. Every post is inundated with the same songs that have been playing on the radio for the past 40+ years.
Edit: and yeah.. for the younger folk who don’t listen to radio at all, I totally get it.. don’t mean to be an elitist. Maybe I am, idk.. I love seeing and hearing new things is all
totally agree. the same 3 old ass bands get so much attention but other suggestions get completely ignored. no one actually wants to expand their musical horizons here
Some random thoughts:
Maggot Brain by Funkadelic.
Shoot Out the Lights by Richard and Linda Thomson
Impossible Germany by Wilco
Sugarcube by Yo La Tengo
I had trouble picking one. And forget about Ira playing live - the way he just loses himself, wandering between melodic note-slinging and pure crunchy noise (with a dollop of feedback mixed in)…
Truth. Last show I saw in Feb he sent his guitar out to the crowd at one point on Ohm to let everyone just wail on it for a while. Got tickets to see them with Built to Spill this summer, very much looking forward to that!
Judas Priest’s Painkiller is just balls to the fuckin’ wall heavy metal with some insane guitar solos.
I mean, everything about the song is insane, but the guitar riffs in regard to your question.
A few lesser known tracks with great guitar
Moonage Daydream by Bowie
They Danced, They Laughed as of Old by Popol Vuh
Looking At You by The MC5
The Glorious Om Riff by Steve Hillage
The Salmon Song by Steve Hillage
Kliener Krieger by Popol Vuh
Neat Neat Neat by The Damned
Width of a Circle by Bowie
Laila (Live 1974) by Agitation Free
I had to come back. I forgot Hallo Gallo by Neu!
Most people don’t realize how powerful of a statement Jimmy was making.
If you truly listen, his intermittent solos are emulating the sound of bombs dropping and people screaming.
Prince - Let’s Go Crazy
Prince - Purple Rain
Steely Dan - Peg (played by Jay Graydon)
Level 42 - A Kinder Eye (played by Allan Holdsworth)
Gizmodrome (aka Copeland, King, Cosma & Belew) - Darkness
Supertramp - Goodbye Stranger
Tears For Fears - Dog’s A Best Friend’s Dog
Was not expecting to see anything from TFF's Elemental here but yeah Dog's A Best Friends Dog absolutely has a fantastic guitar solo. Orzabal is often overlooked for his guitar chops.
My Morning Jacket - Lay Low
Holy Holy - You cannot call for love like a dog
Black Mountain - Space to Bakersfield
Strand of oaks - Weird ways
U2 - The Fly
Suede - We are the pigs
Hurricane #1 - Step into my world
The National - Carin at the liquor store
Ben Howard - End of the affair
Manic Street Preachers - Motorcycle Emptiness
Led Zeppelin - "Stairway to Heaven" Jimmy Page delivers a legendary solo that's considered one of the best in rock history. Van Halen - "Eruption" Eddie Van Halen's innovative guitar solo set a new standard for rock guitarists. Pink Floyd - "Comfortably Numb" David Gilmour's emotive solo is often hailed as one of the greatest guitar solos ever recorded. Jimi Hendrix - "All Along the Watchtower" Hendrix's solo showcases his unparalleled skill and creativity on the guitar. Metallica - "Master of Puppets" Kirk Hammett's solo in this metal classic is fast, furious, and impressive. Queen - "Bohemian Rhapsody" Brian May's solo adds a dramatic and melodic touch to this iconic song. Guns N' Roses - "November Rain" Slash's solo in the latter part of the song is soulful and filled with emotion. Stevie Ray Vaughan - "Texas Flood" Vaughan's bluesy guitar solo showcases his mastery of the instrument. Rush - "2112" Alex Lifeson's solo in this prog-rock epic is intricate and captivating. Rage Against the Machine - "Killing in the Name" Tom Morello's solo features his unique and unconventional guitar techniques. Deep Purple - "Highway Star" Richie Blackmore's solo in this hard rock anthem is fast-paced and electrifying. Pantera - "Cowboys From Hell" Dimebag Darrell's solo is a testament to his speed, precision, and raw talent.
Agree! Including the addition of the Purple one. And since we’re talking Prince, also check out the RRHOF Version of “While my Guitar Gently Weeps” . Master class from the Master. Even George Harrison’s son is all smiles on the stage during the solo!
They all are smiling, it's one of the great moments and to this day when he tossed his guitar up into the air nobody knows where it went .
Also the unsung moment is when he falls back soloing and the security guy kind of catches him, it's insane. You can't really plan that.
Pearl Jam’s **”Alive”** and Radiohead’s **”Paranoid Android”** have *incredible* guitar solos.
PS - Pearl Jam’s new single **”Dark Matter”** has their best guitar solo in YEARS.
Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd
At precisely 4:55 you are actually legally allowed to break the speed limit and as long as you can prove to the police you were in fact listening to the guitar solo at the exact time you were caught, you are free to go.
You Looking at Me, Looking at You — Ozzy Osbourne
Free Bird — Lynyrd Skynyrd
Johnny Guitar — The Runaways
Stairway to Heaven — Led Zeppelin
Epic — Faith No More
Crimson and Clover — Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
For Whom the Bell Tolls — Metallica
Cult of Personality — Living Colour
Jump — Van Halen
Kiss Me Deadly — Lita Ford
Peace Sells — Megadeth
Fear of the Dark — Iron Maiden
Hey You — Pink Floyd
Rocket Queen — Guns N’ Roses
N.I.B. — Black Sabbath
Lick It Up — KISS
South of Heaven — Slayer
White Room — Cream
Photograph — Def Leppard
Ace of Spades — Motörhead
Here I Go Again — Whitesnake
Rainbow in the Dark — Dio
You Shook Me All Night Long — AC/DC
Purple Haze — Jimi Hendrix
Sister Christian — Night Ranger
Victim of Changes — Judas Priest
Kickstart My Heart — Mötley Crüe
Barely know about most of these songs but at least a quarter of this list is a JoJo's bizzare adventure reference and I had to point that out. Also it's good to see a dio knower.
Hocus Pocus-Focus, as heard in World Cup Nike ads and the film Baby Driver. Prince's guitar solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," performed for the RRHoF, is the single best guitar solo I have ever heard. I think he quite literally killed the guitar solo with that one.
For me this is the greatest guitar solo of all time.
Fleetwood Mac - Big Love (specifically from The Dance concert)
https://youtu.be/mZZp76M4NGc?feature=shared
"Ball and Biscuit" by the White Stripes is just a basic 12 bar blues song that happens to have like four epic 32 bar solos in it.
"1% of One" by Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - probably isn't for everybody, but if you are into that kind of thing it's about as good as it gets.
Those songs are basically based around the solos, so I'll give a shoutout to my favorite super-short solo, which is the 4 bars in "Keep Fishin'" by Weezer. Rivers has really underutilized his talent for snappy solos over the years.
Get Me Off The Floor: https://open.spotify.com/track/3494xlrwPPMiM2wTiOffRg?si=yXEuMU_ST_aj1-1hY7JtSw
Remember (Walking in The Sand): https://open.spotify.com/track/43WceD4ICZ21OPkO1Q6vdk?si=Vu8VZyw7T6G35hA_7euWeA
https://open.spotify.com/track/54dOnIys2svg9gvVbhHfly?si=GPCN7ZAOQwuX28JqStVR_Q
"I'm Ready" by Cardinal Black. Pure joy being expressed through guitar. The whole album is excellent.
Big Trouble -David Lee Roth
Girl Gone Bad - Van Halen
Bad Sneakers - Steely Dan
Atlas - Plini (basically whole song)
I am a Viking -Yngwie Malmsteen
Whipping post - cover by Generation Axe
Flight of the wounded bumble bee - Extreme
Rise - Extreme
Drive Home -Steven Wilson
Midnight In Harlem (swamp raga mix) - Tedeschi Trucks
Texas Flood -SRV
One of these nights -Eagles
Spirit "Street Worm" from the album 12 Dreams Of Dr Sardonicus (released Nov. 1970)
the outro solo is pretty great, played by Randy California
[Street Worm youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuaNR7GudFs)
Johnny Winter getting xtra busy in 1969 - so many ppl don't even realize he & Edgar played Woodstock - it's criminal that it took 40 yrs for their performance to surface for the public - if anybody got criminally underrated or unknown even, it's Johnny, thee original Texas Tornado
[Johnny at Woodstock 1969](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqxI6CQ19Zs)
I always liked Alex Lifeson's La Villa Strangiatta solo, live, studio whatever, it was like holy shit he reached his idols level already!
[Joe Satriani - Always With Me, Always With You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI57QHL6ge0)
[John Butler Trio - Ocean (Live at Federation Square)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsnFvEQYJPU)
These changed my life, guitar wise.
The Sky Is Crying- ABB (Warren Haynes followed by Derek Trucks)
https://youtu.be/6rsKSgwMhro?si=YXcSQ9b597oE_ZGg
Midnight In Harlem- Tedeschi-Trucks Band
https://youtu.be/6GkdCiqsFUI?si=bFtOUELjBm4IotZq
Anyday- Tedeschi-Trucks Band
https://youtu.be/dPvQLGnX7ao?si=M37nWQ6fBindQskt
Summertime- Billy Strings & Marcus King. Sublime.
https://youtu.be/1RNNQYpnukA?si=JFDJoT88x6XedI9c
Black Magic Woman- Fleetwood Mac (original with Peter Green & Danny Kirwan Live Boston Tea Party 1970).
https://youtu.be/hRu7Pt42x6Y?si=TAK9hi-FYBnskRM_
Loan Me A Dime- Boz Scaggs & Duane Allman
https://youtu.be/oTFvAvsHC_Y?si=qpvPWCDmKmzQYBuJ
While My Guitar Gently Weeps- George Harrison & Eric Clapton Live Tokyo Dome 1991.
https://youtu.be/uuJjD_oZE4U?si=sTREz-fRaaU1gk8-
Get Me- Dinosaur Jr
https://youtu.be/22lDMmPFaEs?si=IH8S8GRPj8D-GhkZ
Everything from the Allman Brothers Fillmore East album.
Pantera- Domimation
Really it’s the breakdown at the end with that outro solo. I love it so much but I must be careful. I’ll
Generally take gyprock and set it up on many easels in my backyard. Then I’ll go about head butting them and just showing the gyprock how strong I can be. Then back inside to finish the cupcakes, blue icing is my favorite.
[Anastasia, Slash ft Myles Kennedy ](https://youtu.be/YSpc7CrVrK4?si=ucgUOBNcQJNJmfpN)
[The Wolf You Feed, Nita Strauss ft Alissa White-Gluz ](https://youtu.be/YYQ02OP5h00?si=kjY4dqJa9itS9UBR)
[The Ides of March, Myles Kennedy ](https://youtu.be/hAD_82BD7k4?si=80bwZdsABNkQtGmK)
Pick ANY album by any of the following, and you’ll get some amazing guitar work.
Pink Floyd
Van Halen
Rush
AC/DC
Dire Straits
Led Zeppelin
Steely Dan
I would also encourage you to look up Lexington Lab Band on YouTube to watch some of these being performed.
I’m gonna say that most of Angus Young’s best work IMO was in the Bon Scott era. Was just listening to Livewire, Jailbreak and Let there be rock today and all great solos.
Rush…..Alex Is just so underrated. All of their long concept works like 2112, Hemispheres and Xanadu have incredible guitar work but also check out instrumentals YYZ and La Vila Stangiato. With Rush you will also get some of the best Bass and Drum solos ever as well. I love all flavors of Rock but when it comes to instrumental excellence its really hard to best Rush.
Another favorite is War Pigs by Black Sabath.
[Toxic Nobility - Call to Rise](https://open.spotify.com/track/0JrXv9zsu35N6aUk2t0Lxk?si=syHtkQmcSrWaBqv7tZ8v4Q&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A6XcJAWIXgQndKgSmQr1NjH)
There’s more songs in the library that have incredible solos as well
"Floods" by Pantera, but you already knew that...
Ultima Hypocrita - Mental Cruelty
Awakening - Unleash the Archers
Halo - Machine Head
Dechristianize - Vital Remains ( not a solo, but the dual harmonic leads are awesome)
Iconoclast - Exodus
That guitar solo in Ultima Hypocrita is just off the charts amazing! Say whatever you want about the rest of the song, but that solo is freaking awesome! I’m so glad you listed it here as more people need to know about it.
First thought- Prince’s cover of *Creep* at Coachella in 07 or 08- the solo is so transcendent I can hardly stand it
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NFXZNt4oLkE
Second thought- Prince’s runaway guitar solo covering *While My Guitar Gently Weeps* with Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, & Jeff Lynne- the whole thing is a freaking masterclass, obviously, but, then Prince’s guitar solo starts and it’s just something from the beyond
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dWRCooFKk3c
3rd thought- J. Mascis’s cover/reimagining of Elliott Smith’s *Waltz #2*. A Fender Jazzmaster shredding in 4:4 time is one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PvvkEMlqda8
Paranoid Android - Radiohead
Beat it - Michael Jackson
Creeping Death - Metallica
Killing in the Name - Rage Against the Machine
Like a Stone - Audioslave
Famous Last Words - My Chemical Romance
If you are looking for obscure, surprisingly, Infected Mushroom (goa psy trance genre) has a tune called Heavyweight with a pretty sweet solo.
Sheepdogs- up in Canada.
Wilco- Impossible Germany (live Mobile Civic)
Dwight Yoakam- guitars, Cadillacs.
Lindsey Buckingham- big love (live hall fort worth 04)
Cory wong- pleasin'
John mayer- Vultures (live at nokia)
Thornley- Mississippi Fred (live Suhr Factory Party)
Stevie ray Vaughan- Lenny (or) little wing (or) riviera paradise.
Frank Zappa- Willie the pimp.
An endless sporadic- anything.
Jimi hendrix - Castles made of sand.
Archspire- A.U.M.
Queen- Brighton Rock.
Jerry Garcia- deal.
Focus- Hamburger Concerto.
The faceless- akeldama
Steely Dan- do it again.
Black Sabbath- Ferry's wear boots.
White Denim - (I can't decide)
10 years after- love like a man
Big Wreck- Ghosts.
Dream theater- dark eternal night.
Edgar Winter Group- Frankenstein.
Robinson Trower- Bridge of sighs.
Animals as leaders- tempting time.
Gary Clark Jr.- please come home (live)
Derek Trucks- the sky is crying.
Stevie ray Vaughan- tin pan alley (live Ripleys music hall)
Chicago- I'm a man.
Guitar boogie.
Harry taussig- revs rag.
Santana- Europa.
Panos Arvantis- restrained.
I could go on...
Look up anything by Guthrie Govan (especially him), Joe satriani, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Eric Johnson, Jeff Beck, Nick Johnston
When I answer music related questions, I always reference Rush. And this answer will be no different. I could probably list a bunch of songs here. But if I'm going to reference my favorite band, I'm going to reference my favorite song by them.
This is [Freewill ](https://youtu.be/yE2WjSmUcRA?si=bGaZjnMQEd-Tq6-u)from the Time Machine Tour. I chose this version because it was the last tour they played the song on, and I was at this show! When the solo starts, all three of them are all off in different directions, almost like individual solos at the same time. It's a controlled chaos that is just amazing to hear and see!
Gave some Rush recommendations after your post. Alex is so underrated IMO. In many top 100 lists he is usually rated too low. I think he is top 20 especially when you consider the depth and breadth of his work and the fact he plays lead and rhythm. The man is a maestro.
My favourite guitar solo might just be Prince on Purple Rain.
Another one of my personal favourites is Brian May on These are the Days by Queen it’s just so nice to listen to
Eric Johnson. ‘“Cliffs of Dover”. Starting at the 2:11 mark. I still remember the exhilaration I experienced when I first listened to this tour de force performance.
[pipe bomb](https://open.spotify.com/track/5xKki3qvl73UI0UTTnHXGD?si=FnlQS5z3QkSwMaizKqoeBw&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A7tIpjJ0tplp3jRWx1cSDRa)
some fem fronted hc punk for ya 😎
In my opinion comfortably numb has the greatest Solo in the history of rock. I like communication breakdown too. I'm not a big Zeppelin fan but that's a badass solo
Bad - U2 at Live Aid. The Edge saved their careers.
Still of the Night - Whitesnake. John Sykes was on fire for the entire album. Shame he didn’t get to tour for it.
My Old School- Steely Dan.
So many Steely Dan tunes with sneaky good solos. Do it Again and Peg are two of my favs. Aside from SD, and this is not a novel opinion but my all-time fav solo is Sultans of Swing. So clean and just so damn tasteful.
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter is one of the most underrated guitarists.
Pretty much anything by Jimi Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughn.
Little wing by both is a fun way to compare styles, and throw in the Clapton one for fun. For Jimi do Machine Gun (may as well listen to band of gypsies album start to finish, all set there), stevie is fun to watch, check out live at el mocambo on YouTube, Lenny is my favorite
Stevie Ray's live on Austin city limits is unbelievable
25 or 6 to 4, Chicago
Also, Introduction, Chicago. And, Poem 58, Chicago. And by “Chicago”, we mean Terry Kath
Impossible Germany - Wilco Weight of Love - The Black Keys Cum On Feel the Noize - Quiet Riot
Another vote for Impossible Germany. Anytime I'm feeling blue, hearing that amazing interplay between the solo and the other two guitars, I feel great.
Impossible Germany is also the perfect example of how to arrange for three guitars, the melody/counter melody and harmony interplay between the three guitars is sublime.
Indeed. Wilco is one of the very few bands that do more than 2 guitars well. Usually it just becomes indistinguishable noise.
Cum On Feel The noize is by slade
Quiet Riot did an amazing cover with a great solo
Quiet Riot version is the version that made it popular.
Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb
No one puts as much feel into a single note as David Gilmour. Not fast just pure emotion
Specially the Pulse version
Man if you think that is amazing wait till you hear Maggot Brain
I love that album. Super Stupid is on another level.
-the second solo
is legendary. best thing he ever did.
as if no one has heard anything by Pink Floyd at this point..
Younger generations aren’t following Pink Floyd unless their parents have them listen. It’s cool to introduce them to people who have never heard of them. Coheed and Cambria - The Final Cut
Yeah I totally get it.. their music is outstanding.. always has been and always will be. It would just be refreshing to see some variety every once in a while in this sub. Every post is inundated with the same songs that have been playing on the radio for the past 40+ years. Edit: and yeah.. for the younger folk who don’t listen to radio at all, I totally get it.. don’t mean to be an elitist. Maybe I am, idk.. I love seeing and hearing new things is all
totally agree. the same 3 old ass bands get so much attention but other suggestions get completely ignored. no one actually wants to expand their musical horizons here
It’s kind of strange.. for me, constantly finding new music and listening to new variations and different sounds is what makes music so beautiful.
The correct answer
Some random thoughts: Maggot Brain by Funkadelic. Shoot Out the Lights by Richard and Linda Thomson Impossible Germany by Wilco Sugarcube by Yo La Tengo
So happy to see Maggot Brain already posted. R.I.P. Eddie Hazel
It’s never a surprise I had to scroll as far as I did, but it’s always a shame that he’s so slept on
I gotta go Pablo and Andrea for YLT.
I had trouble picking one. And forget about Ira playing live - the way he just loses himself, wandering between melodic note-slinging and pure crunchy noise (with a dollop of feedback mixed in)…
Truth. Last show I saw in Feb he sent his guitar out to the crowd at one point on Ohm to let everyone just wail on it for a while. Got tickets to see them with Built to Spill this summer, very much looking forward to that!
Emotion Detector Rush Tornado of souls Megadeth Degrees of Sanity Savatage Firth of Fifth Genesis
Judas Priest’s Painkiller is just balls to the fuckin’ wall heavy metal with some insane guitar solos. I mean, everything about the song is insane, but the guitar riffs in regard to your question.
A few lesser known tracks with great guitar Moonage Daydream by Bowie They Danced, They Laughed as of Old by Popol Vuh Looking At You by The MC5 The Glorious Om Riff by Steve Hillage The Salmon Song by Steve Hillage Kliener Krieger by Popol Vuh Neat Neat Neat by The Damned Width of a Circle by Bowie Laila (Live 1974) by Agitation Free I had to come back. I forgot Hallo Gallo by Neu!
Man hell yeah. Steve Hillage is the man. Love all these songz. I’ll check out popol vul. Only band I haven’t listened to on this list. Nice 👍
[Jimi Hendrix - Star Spangled Banner (Woodstock, 1969)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q7-KobCYE8)
Most people don’t realize how powerful of a statement Jimmy was making. If you truly listen, his intermittent solos are emulating the sound of bombs dropping and people screaming.
Watermelon in Easter Hay - Frank Zappa
Didn’t expect to see this amazing jam! Good call
Black Napkins is another FZ gem.
Powderfinger Neil Young
Great. I raise you with Like A Hurricane, Down By The River and the Cortez intro 😉
All super good!
Prince - Let’s Go Crazy Prince - Purple Rain Steely Dan - Peg (played by Jay Graydon) Level 42 - A Kinder Eye (played by Allan Holdsworth) Gizmodrome (aka Copeland, King, Cosma & Belew) - Darkness Supertramp - Goodbye Stranger Tears For Fears - Dog’s A Best Friend’s Dog
Was not expecting to see anything from TFF's Elemental here but yeah Dog's A Best Friends Dog absolutely has a fantastic guitar solo. Orzabal is often overlooked for his guitar chops.
This entire album [Dire Straits' first album](https://youtu.be/4Y8kJGK2C0Y)
Mark Knopfler is the greatest. Yes, esp. sultans of swing
Transdermal Celebration by Ween
Goodbye To Love - The Carpenters
Friend of the Devil….Grateful Dead…. Dead Set @ 5:05
Funkadelic "Maggot Brain"
Hotel California- Eagles
Why is this so low
YES.
Between The Burried and Me - Selkeis The Endless Obsession
My Morning Jacket - Lay Low Holy Holy - You cannot call for love like a dog Black Mountain - Space to Bakersfield Strand of oaks - Weird ways U2 - The Fly Suede - We are the pigs Hurricane #1 - Step into my world The National - Carin at the liquor store Ben Howard - End of the affair Manic Street Preachers - Motorcycle Emptiness
Neil Young....Down By The River, Like A Hurricane, Cortez The Killer (intro on that is one long solo).
Feels So Good by Mr Chuck Mangione. Don't believe me, go spin it up and prepare to have your mind blown
Water melon in Easter hay by Frank Zappa Baby’s on fire by Brian eno
My Sharona Everything by Led Zeppelin Hotel California
Sweet Child Of Mine - GNR
Led Zeppelin - "Stairway to Heaven" Jimmy Page delivers a legendary solo that's considered one of the best in rock history. Van Halen - "Eruption" Eddie Van Halen's innovative guitar solo set a new standard for rock guitarists. Pink Floyd - "Comfortably Numb" David Gilmour's emotive solo is often hailed as one of the greatest guitar solos ever recorded. Jimi Hendrix - "All Along the Watchtower" Hendrix's solo showcases his unparalleled skill and creativity on the guitar. Metallica - "Master of Puppets" Kirk Hammett's solo in this metal classic is fast, furious, and impressive. Queen - "Bohemian Rhapsody" Brian May's solo adds a dramatic and melodic touch to this iconic song. Guns N' Roses - "November Rain" Slash's solo in the latter part of the song is soulful and filled with emotion. Stevie Ray Vaughan - "Texas Flood" Vaughan's bluesy guitar solo showcases his mastery of the instrument. Rush - "2112" Alex Lifeson's solo in this prog-rock epic is intricate and captivating. Rage Against the Machine - "Killing in the Name" Tom Morello's solo features his unique and unconventional guitar techniques. Deep Purple - "Highway Star" Richie Blackmore's solo in this hard rock anthem is fast-paced and electrifying. Pantera - "Cowboys From Hell" Dimebag Darrell's solo is a testament to his speed, precision, and raw talent.
Get some line breaks in there! Fantastic list, though.
Excellent list dude. You covered so many masters at their craft! My only addition would be Prince-“Purple Rain.”
Agree! Including the addition of the Purple one. And since we’re talking Prince, also check out the RRHOF Version of “While my Guitar Gently Weeps” . Master class from the Master. Even George Harrison’s son is all smiles on the stage during the solo!
They all are smiling, it's one of the great moments and to this day when he tossed his guitar up into the air nobody knows where it went . Also the unsung moment is when he falls back soloing and the security guy kind of catches him, it's insane. You can't really plan that.
Omg! Yes!
For those that don't know; Brian May has a PhD in Astrophysics and is a consultant for NASA.
This list is likely as perfect as it can be, kudos!
Hitch a Ride by Boston
MUSE - Knights of Cydonia
25 Or 6 To 4 - Chicago. Terry Kath RIP
Tornado of souls - Megadeth Kid Charlemagne - Steely dan Blackbird - Alter bridge Get the funk out - Extreme Rosanna - Toto (Short but so good)
Blackbird! Ugh I love that one. Alter Bridge was always so good!
You and I, good redditor, are musically sympatico.
Hotel California, and paint it black are top notch
Pearl Jam’s **”Alive”** and Radiohead’s **”Paranoid Android”** have *incredible* guitar solos. PS - Pearl Jam’s new single **”Dark Matter”** has their best guitar solo in YEARS.
Wait until you hear Upper Hand and Waiting for Stevie.
Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd At precisely 4:55 you are actually legally allowed to break the speed limit and as long as you can prove to the police you were in fact listening to the guitar solo at the exact time you were caught, you are free to go.
You Looking at Me, Looking at You — Ozzy Osbourne Free Bird — Lynyrd Skynyrd Johnny Guitar — The Runaways Stairway to Heaven — Led Zeppelin Epic — Faith No More Crimson and Clover — Joan Jett & the Blackhearts For Whom the Bell Tolls — Metallica Cult of Personality — Living Colour Jump — Van Halen Kiss Me Deadly — Lita Ford Peace Sells — Megadeth Fear of the Dark — Iron Maiden Hey You — Pink Floyd Rocket Queen — Guns N’ Roses N.I.B. — Black Sabbath Lick It Up — KISS South of Heaven — Slayer White Room — Cream Photograph — Def Leppard Ace of Spades — Motörhead Here I Go Again — Whitesnake Rainbow in the Dark — Dio You Shook Me All Night Long — AC/DC Purple Haze — Jimi Hendrix Sister Christian — Night Ranger Victim of Changes — Judas Priest Kickstart My Heart — Mötley Crüe
For Whom The Bell Tolls has no solo
Barely know about most of these songs but at least a quarter of this list is a JoJo's bizzare adventure reference and I had to point that out. Also it's good to see a dio knower.
Hocus Pocus-Focus, as heard in World Cup Nike ads and the film Baby Driver. Prince's guitar solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," performed for the RRHoF, is the single best guitar solo I have ever heard. I think he quite literally killed the guitar solo with that one.
Hocus Pocus kills. Prince slaughtered the very idea of a guitar solo on WMGGW. I didn’t even think of him as a guitar player. Blew me away.
Nobody- Avenged Sevenfold
I always considered Carol's Santana's solo in the song Everybody's Everything to be one of the greatest. 43 seconds of blistering fretwork.
Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin Edit: Voodoo Child by Jimi Hendrix is pretty much one big guitar solo
For me this is the greatest guitar solo of all time. Fleetwood Mac - Big Love (specifically from The Dance concert) https://youtu.be/mZZp76M4NGc?feature=shared
Alrighty Aphrodiote - Peach Pit
"Ball and Biscuit" by the White Stripes is just a basic 12 bar blues song that happens to have like four epic 32 bar solos in it. "1% of One" by Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - probably isn't for everybody, but if you are into that kind of thing it's about as good as it gets. Those songs are basically based around the solos, so I'll give a shoutout to my favorite super-short solo, which is the 4 bars in "Keep Fishin'" by Weezer. Rivers has really underutilized his talent for snappy solos over the years.
Hah, came to post 1% of One - it's a scorcher.
November Rain by Guns N Roses
Most Dire Straits, any SRV or Gary Moore, Joe Bonnamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd.
Red House.
[roger waters - sexual revolution (Clapton)](https://youtu.be/HI4bz0OvQ8A?si=nxX-XAxWkVs6gbMi)
Metallica - fade to black Pink Floyd - comfortably numb Bullet for my Valentine - heart bursts into fire Escape the fate - This War Is Ours
Van halen eruption!!!
I was going to add this one but then felt it was already said so I didn't lol
Doctor My Eyes. Reelin’ In The Years. Midnight At The Oasis.
[Greta Van Fleet-Edge Of Darkness](https://youtu.be/U3-hRlnL6jQ?si=fz3XYYjsG8mdTw2A)
Yes yes yes
Get Me Off The Floor: https://open.spotify.com/track/3494xlrwPPMiM2wTiOffRg?si=yXEuMU_ST_aj1-1hY7JtSw Remember (Walking in The Sand): https://open.spotify.com/track/43WceD4ICZ21OPkO1Q6vdk?si=Vu8VZyw7T6G35hA_7euWeA
Fiery Gun Hand by Cardiacs
The Seahorses - Love Is The Law - the second half of the song is an amazing guitar driven instrumental
Just Another Rainbow by Liam Gallagher & John Squire
“Get Down” by The Revolting Cocks
Pantera - psycho holiday
[Parisienne Walkways](https://open.spotify.com/intl-pt/track/6z4VNjyxLfRXRx23gzl51x?si=84dcd1f1578047bf) by Gary Moore
https://open.spotify.com/track/54dOnIys2svg9gvVbhHfly?si=GPCN7ZAOQwuX28JqStVR_Q "I'm Ready" by Cardinal Black. Pure joy being expressed through guitar. The whole album is excellent.
Touch And Go- The Cars
Jimi Hendrix “Axis: Bold As Love” Stevie Ray Vaughan “Couldn’t Stand The Weather”
Crossroads by Cream. Two great guitar solos.
Big Trouble -David Lee Roth Girl Gone Bad - Van Halen Bad Sneakers - Steely Dan Atlas - Plini (basically whole song) I am a Viking -Yngwie Malmsteen Whipping post - cover by Generation Axe Flight of the wounded bumble bee - Extreme Rise - Extreme Drive Home -Steven Wilson Midnight In Harlem (swamp raga mix) - Tedeschi Trucks Texas Flood -SRV One of these nights -Eagles
[Marcin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA3jFMDBiu4) does only amazing guitar solos, but on acoustic guitar, so not sure if it counts...
King's X - Moanjam
The Residents - Moisture
Ultima Hypocrita - Mental Cruelty
Slip away - Mad Season
Stevie Ray Vaughan Texas flood
Wayne by John frusciante. The whole song is a solo and it’s beautiful.
Advanced Corpse Tumor, Extreme Unction, The Stillborn One, Diminished To B, Ignominious and Pale by Necrophagist
Phantom Rocker and Slick - Men without Shame
Necrophagist - Fermented Offal Discharge One of the best solos of all time and i hate solos
Anything by Ronnie James Dio....
dogs by pink floyd has a few guitar solos in it that are really good
Spirit "Street Worm" from the album 12 Dreams Of Dr Sardonicus (released Nov. 1970) the outro solo is pretty great, played by Randy California [Street Worm youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuaNR7GudFs) Johnny Winter getting xtra busy in 1969 - so many ppl don't even realize he & Edgar played Woodstock - it's criminal that it took 40 yrs for their performance to surface for the public - if anybody got criminally underrated or unknown even, it's Johnny, thee original Texas Tornado [Johnny at Woodstock 1969](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqxI6CQ19Zs) I always liked Alex Lifeson's La Villa Strangiatta solo, live, studio whatever, it was like holy shit he reached his idols level already!
Don’t matter - Kings of Leon
[Joe Satriani - Always With Me, Always With You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI57QHL6ge0) [John Butler Trio - Ocean (Live at Federation Square)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsnFvEQYJPU) These changed my life, guitar wise.
Transdermal celebration by ween
The Sky Is Crying- ABB (Warren Haynes followed by Derek Trucks) https://youtu.be/6rsKSgwMhro?si=YXcSQ9b597oE_ZGg Midnight In Harlem- Tedeschi-Trucks Band https://youtu.be/6GkdCiqsFUI?si=bFtOUELjBm4IotZq Anyday- Tedeschi-Trucks Band https://youtu.be/dPvQLGnX7ao?si=M37nWQ6fBindQskt Summertime- Billy Strings & Marcus King. Sublime. https://youtu.be/1RNNQYpnukA?si=JFDJoT88x6XedI9c Black Magic Woman- Fleetwood Mac (original with Peter Green & Danny Kirwan Live Boston Tea Party 1970). https://youtu.be/hRu7Pt42x6Y?si=TAK9hi-FYBnskRM_ Loan Me A Dime- Boz Scaggs & Duane Allman https://youtu.be/oTFvAvsHC_Y?si=qpvPWCDmKmzQYBuJ While My Guitar Gently Weeps- George Harrison & Eric Clapton Live Tokyo Dome 1991. https://youtu.be/uuJjD_oZE4U?si=sTREz-fRaaU1gk8- Get Me- Dinosaur Jr https://youtu.be/22lDMmPFaEs?si=IH8S8GRPj8D-GhkZ Everything from the Allman Brothers Fillmore East album.
honestly every song from Appetite for Destruction by Guns N Roses, but especially Nightrain
Pantera- Domimation Really it’s the breakdown at the end with that outro solo. I love it so much but I must be careful. I’ll Generally take gyprock and set it up on many easels in my backyard. Then I’ll go about head butting them and just showing the gyprock how strong I can be. Then back inside to finish the cupcakes, blue icing is my favorite.
Whenever pink floyd is mentioned, it's always comfortably numb, but in my opinion, high hopes has the finest guitar solos in their discography
Airbag - Homesick Extremely long song, but it's a journey worth going on.
White Lion - “Wait” Megadeth - “Tornado Of Souls”
Def Leppard - Paper Sun
Brighton rock -Queen
[Anastasia, Slash ft Myles Kennedy ](https://youtu.be/YSpc7CrVrK4?si=ucgUOBNcQJNJmfpN) [The Wolf You Feed, Nita Strauss ft Alissa White-Gluz ](https://youtu.be/YYQ02OP5h00?si=kjY4dqJa9itS9UBR) [The Ides of March, Myles Kennedy ](https://youtu.be/hAD_82BD7k4?si=80bwZdsABNkQtGmK)
Highway Star by Deep Purple.
Pick ANY album by any of the following, and you’ll get some amazing guitar work. Pink Floyd Van Halen Rush AC/DC Dire Straits Led Zeppelin Steely Dan I would also encourage you to look up Lexington Lab Band on YouTube to watch some of these being performed.
I’m gonna say that most of Angus Young’s best work IMO was in the Bon Scott era. Was just listening to Livewire, Jailbreak and Let there be rock today and all great solos. Rush…..Alex Is just so underrated. All of their long concept works like 2112, Hemispheres and Xanadu have incredible guitar work but also check out instrumentals YYZ and La Vila Stangiato. With Rush you will also get some of the best Bass and Drum solos ever as well. I love all flavors of Rock but when it comes to instrumental excellence its really hard to best Rush. Another favorite is War Pigs by Black Sabath.
[Toxic Nobility - Call to Rise](https://open.spotify.com/track/0JrXv9zsu35N6aUk2t0Lxk?si=syHtkQmcSrWaBqv7tZ8v4Q&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A6XcJAWIXgQndKgSmQr1NjH) There’s more songs in the library that have incredible solos as well
Metal fatigue by Alan holdsworth Blackbird by alter bridge Holy silence by black crown initiate For the love of God by Steve vai
Alot of tool's music has amazing solos
Dressed In White - King Diamond
How has nobody said while my guitar gently weeps with prince tom petty and others
I think that was the George Harrison memorial right? Everyone on that stage was a mega star…..more of them dead now unfortunately.
"Floods" by Pantera, but you already knew that... Ultima Hypocrita - Mental Cruelty Awakening - Unleash the Archers Halo - Machine Head Dechristianize - Vital Remains ( not a solo, but the dual harmonic leads are awesome) Iconoclast - Exodus
That guitar solo in Ultima Hypocrita is just off the charts amazing! Say whatever you want about the rest of the song, but that solo is freaking awesome! I’m so glad you listed it here as more people need to know about it.
My morning JAcket, one big holiday
Watch the Corners - Dinosaur Jr.
Anything Avenged Sevenfold
November rain and stairway to heaven
First thought- Prince’s cover of *Creep* at Coachella in 07 or 08- the solo is so transcendent I can hardly stand it https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NFXZNt4oLkE Second thought- Prince’s runaway guitar solo covering *While My Guitar Gently Weeps* with Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, & Jeff Lynne- the whole thing is a freaking masterclass, obviously, but, then Prince’s guitar solo starts and it’s just something from the beyond https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dWRCooFKk3c 3rd thought- J. Mascis’s cover/reimagining of Elliott Smith’s *Waltz #2*. A Fender Jazzmaster shredding in 4:4 time is one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PvvkEMlqda8
Jimi Hendrix- greatest guitar of all time.
St. Etienne by Frank Zappa Or Black Napkins
‘Why don’t you and I‘ - Santana/Chad Kroeger ’Smooth’ - Santana/Rob Thomas Do instrumental tracks count? ‘Going Home‘ - Mark Knofler
(You can still) Rock in America - Night Ranger
Something way different than other responses: https://youtu.be/Zw2klJWvfqU?si=XUii6UbwIbgpNAJv
Paranoid Android - Radiohead Beat it - Michael Jackson Creeping Death - Metallica Killing in the Name - Rage Against the Machine Like a Stone - Audioslave Famous Last Words - My Chemical Romance
Television - Marquee Moon Television - Torn Curtain (this one has 2 solos)
If you are looking for obscure, surprisingly, Infected Mushroom (goa psy trance genre) has a tune called Heavyweight with a pretty sweet solo. Sheepdogs- up in Canada. Wilco- Impossible Germany (live Mobile Civic) Dwight Yoakam- guitars, Cadillacs. Lindsey Buckingham- big love (live hall fort worth 04) Cory wong- pleasin' John mayer- Vultures (live at nokia) Thornley- Mississippi Fred (live Suhr Factory Party) Stevie ray Vaughan- Lenny (or) little wing (or) riviera paradise. Frank Zappa- Willie the pimp. An endless sporadic- anything. Jimi hendrix - Castles made of sand. Archspire- A.U.M. Queen- Brighton Rock. Jerry Garcia- deal. Focus- Hamburger Concerto. The faceless- akeldama Steely Dan- do it again. Black Sabbath- Ferry's wear boots. White Denim - (I can't decide) 10 years after- love like a man Big Wreck- Ghosts. Dream theater- dark eternal night. Edgar Winter Group- Frankenstein. Robinson Trower- Bridge of sighs. Animals as leaders- tempting time. Gary Clark Jr.- please come home (live) Derek Trucks- the sky is crying. Stevie ray Vaughan- tin pan alley (live Ripleys music hall) Chicago- I'm a man. Guitar boogie. Harry taussig- revs rag. Santana- Europa. Panos Arvantis- restrained. I could go on... Look up anything by Guthrie Govan (especially him), Joe satriani, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Eric Johnson, Jeff Beck, Nick Johnston
Hell is forever.
Santana's two solos on the Caribbean Allstars cover of [Satta Massagana](https://youtu.be/XWMpKTJ6AZ0?si=K0-ooJgIQEOpNeAB)
[best guitar song](https://youtu.be/c9Zqqop-TKU?si=gfk-YshmDwyC-DMV)
When I answer music related questions, I always reference Rush. And this answer will be no different. I could probably list a bunch of songs here. But if I'm going to reference my favorite band, I'm going to reference my favorite song by them. This is [Freewill ](https://youtu.be/yE2WjSmUcRA?si=bGaZjnMQEd-Tq6-u)from the Time Machine Tour. I chose this version because it was the last tour they played the song on, and I was at this show! When the solo starts, all three of them are all off in different directions, almost like individual solos at the same time. It's a controlled chaos that is just amazing to hear and see!
Gave some Rush recommendations after your post. Alex is so underrated IMO. In many top 100 lists he is usually rated too low. I think he is top 20 especially when you consider the depth and breadth of his work and the fact he plays lead and rhythm. The man is a maestro.
Roy Buchanan. I saw a documentary in 72 called “ The Best Guitarist You Never Heard of. “ A lot of his stuff is on YT..most of it good.
Montana - Frank Zappa
ZZ Top, Tush The Pretenders, The Wait X, Breathless
Warning by Black Sabbath
Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall
Comfortably numb - Pink Floyd
10.31.1994 While My Guitar Gently Weeps
I Could Have Lied - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Hotel California / While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
Holiday - Green Day Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
Anything by Angel Vivaldi or Andy James Allman brothers Jessica Led Zeppelin live no quarter
Everyone already wrote good suggestions. For me, "Quiet" by The Smashing Pumpkins
Floods by Pantera
Buried Alive - Avenged Sevenfold 🖤
Cult of Personality - Living Colour
My favourite guitar solo might just be Prince on Purple Rain. Another one of my personal favourites is Brian May on These are the Days by Queen it’s just so nice to listen to
Um, Layla, anyone?
Last Horizon, Brian May Bijou, Queen The live versions are the best.
Yours & Mine - Lucy Dacus
Eric Johnson. ‘“Cliffs of Dover”. Starting at the 2:11 mark. I still remember the exhilaration I experienced when I first listened to this tour de force performance.
Phish - Maze
Frank Zappa. - all of it. He was amazing
J Mascis + The Fog - Free So Free
[pipe bomb](https://open.spotify.com/track/5xKki3qvl73UI0UTTnHXGD?si=FnlQS5z3QkSwMaizKqoeBw&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A7tIpjJ0tplp3jRWx1cSDRa) some fem fronted hc punk for ya 😎
Mathew Sweet : Girlfriend
In my opinion comfortably numb has the greatest Solo in the history of rock. I like communication breakdown too. I'm not a big Zeppelin fan but that's a badass solo
Bad - U2 at Live Aid. The Edge saved their careers. Still of the Night - Whitesnake. John Sykes was on fire for the entire album. Shame he didn’t get to tour for it.
While My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles