Greatest Guitar Solo

[Mr. TM]

A lost artform? A forgettable artform? Either way, guitar solos has taken a backseat in music. Now we can look back on all those great licks of music and compare them to eachother.

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Probably my favourite and the greatest guitar solo for my money is David Gilmour on Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb. It is over 4 minutes of great distrubed sound that equals the state of panic that the song is about.

The entire song is Gilmour's baby, I rate it the best song of all time, loving his vocals over Waters here. But when the song hit the end guitar solo, there was no question that Gilmour dominated the entire song.

 

[Dave]

I could go through and list numerous songs that I think could be named the greatest Guitar solo but to my mind, there is only one solo that makes me feel good when I listen to it. This solo is not something that I listened to a lot before but since being turned onto it, I have been taken aback by just how good it is. I think it is an incredible piece of music and when I listen to it, I cannot help but smile. Without much further ado, I give you...


Matt Bellamy is a gifted guitar player and I would argue that this is his greatest piece of music that he has created, with Exogenesis as a close second. No piece of music using a guitar nearly as much of a reaction from me and it is not even close.

 

[Ferbian]

My all-time favorite guitar solo has got to be Kirk Hammett's solo in Fade to Black, one of the reasons why I absolutely idolize Kirk and absolutely love Metallica

[YOUTUBE]WEQnzs8wl6E[/YOUTUBE]

Gives me some insane chills whenever I listen to it.

On the other hand, if I'm allowed to choose a purely instrumental guitar play, I would have to go with Joe Satriani's The Extremist, Joe the teacher of Kirk Hammett in case you didn't know, and one of the most talented guitarists I have ever listened to (in my opinion) and it's sad he's not out there properly like Carlos Santana, cause I would love to listen to Joe mixed with vocals.

[YOUTUBE]hd7QSWdymd0[/YOUTUBE]

Now if you've heard of Joe's work before, you could probably disagree with me and say this is by far not his greatest guitar work, but it's the first song I heard from him, and it simply stuck to me, loved it ever since.

 

[Tiger Chaos Theory]

I truly forgot how amazing that Muse solo is, absolutely beautiful in its timing.

I'll take a more classic choice that I'm sure most of you won't like but....

Spoiler

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This was the first Van Halen "song" I ever heard and I it had the biggest impact on my current musical taste. Loved it then, love it even more now.

I also enjoy....

Spoiler

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I only recently heard about Joe Satriana about two years ago, but he is by far, my favorite guitarist and one of the greatest to ever play.

Edit: Ha, I typed my reply before I saw Ferbian's post. Two Satriani fans showing him some love.

Edit Edit: Fixed messy embed codes

 

[Ferbian]

I only recently heard about Joe Satriana about two years ago, but he is by far, my favorite guitarist and one of the greatest to ever play.

Edit: Ha, I typed my reply before I saw Ferbian's post. Two Satriani fans showing him some love.

I like you Tiger, I really do man.

I can't say I've listened to Joe Satriani for as long as you although, I heard about him about a year's time ago, where he instantly stuck on me with his amazing guitar abilities, I could really, and I mean really chill to some of his guitar solo's in songs like Flying in a blue dream.

And to top it off, he tutored some of the greater known guitarists of today, and he started doing that at an age of 18! (at least I think it's 18) and even more impressive, he started at age 14.. 4 years and already teaching people.

Oh and by the way, you're youtube links are messy.

 

[Tiger Chaos Theory]

I like you Tiger, I really do man.

I can't say I've listened to Joe Satriani for as long as you although, I heard about him about a year's time ago, where he instantly stuck on me with his amazing guitar abilities, I could really, and I mean really chill to some of his guitar solo's in songs like Flying in a blue dream.

And to top it off, he tutored some of the greater known guitarists of today, and he started doing that at an age of 18! (at least I think it's 18) and even more impressive, he started at age 14.. 4 years and already teaching people.

Oh and by the way, you're youtube links are messy.

I feel like putting that in my sig for an ego boost.
You seem very cool yourself.
And thanks for bringing the links to my attention.

I was astounded I had never heard of Joe before. The man is just amazing. Everything he plays appeals to so many from those that just want to relax to the incredibly smooth rhythm he plays at to those that love the technically proficient guitar work.

The man was born to play. It's as if his fingers were intended for this.

 

[Ferbian]

I feel like putting that in my sig for an ego boost.
You seem very cool yourself.
And thanks for bringing the links to my attention.

You're more than welcome to do that if you want to, and thank you.

The man was born to play. It's as if his fingers were intended for this.

While I do agree, there's guys that can put it out there in a better way, an absolutely great example of finger-work would have to be Rob Balducci

[YOUTUBE]BV6CH7Cx6k4[/YOUTUBE]

I'm saddened by the fact that I can't find a link of it when it's not live, (Cause I forgot where I heard that version..meh!) it's a lot better because there's a part of the song he leaves out that is absolutely "woah" if you ask me, the finger-ability doesn't show until a little later, so sit through it, enjoy this amazing piece of guitar-work and find me a damn album version on Youtube or such.

Oh and LOTW stands for "Lick of the week" he's pretty updated from what I can understand on Youtube, has some great riffs.

 

[Theo Mays]

I gotta go with Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The guitar solo at the end is truly remarkable and probably the best I have ever heard. The whole song screams awesome, but the ending is just so great and it is the perfect ending to the song. I'd also like to put Hendrix's rendition of the star spangled banner. One of the best renditions of the song I have ever heard.

 

[Tim]

I'm split between two. The first one is Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria. The guitar solo in that song just screams epic. The start to the end, the whole solo is mapped out perfectly, and it's a duelling solo! The solo captures the mood of the song perfectly, a bit of everything. It might not be Coheed's best song, but it's easily their best solo.

The second one i have to pick is the first two solos in Welcome Home (Sanitarium) by Metallica. Both solos capture the haunting and hypnotic effect of the song's verses perfectly, and usually i'll take a slow solo over a fast tapping solo any day. Just the way Kirk plays each lick and the way they fuse together so well makes this solo one of my favourites of all time.

 

[Mr. Steve]

Mind you, I just found this song, and I'm pretty much sold on what Hendrix can do on a guitar. Strange how no one so far has mentions any Hendrix solos.


I really can't explain why I like it. But if I were to put it in words, it would be that: it's what I haven't been listening to in a while. Lately, I've just haven't been listening to Hendrix songs. Now that I have a bit of free time on my hands, I've been listening to a lot of artists I haven't heard from a while, namely, Hendrix. And I find this song, and it's been making me replay it over and over and over.

The solo, along with everything that's done with a guitar in that song, just encompasses the whole mood that Little Wing is about (real relax, very peaceful). I think that, for me, a solo doesn't need speed to be a good solo. It just needs to be able to fit the whole song, and give it a stream-of-consciousness to it.

 

[Tastycles]

Guitar solos, generally speaking, are the most pretentious wanky up their own arse pieces of shit in music today. Seriously, I'm trying to think of a single one that I think is good. There are plenty of riffs and bridges that I like in musical history, but in terms of a proper long guitar solo, I don't think that there's ever been one I liked. Maybe the one at the end of Hotel California. Yeah, that's not that bad. But all of these Hendrix and hair metal ones are shit.

 

[Avrusha92]

I gotta go with No Boundaries- Michael Angelo Batio.
He is my favorite guitarist, he is simply incredible.
He's super talented he shreds like a mofo and can play real nice and smooth.
God I'm in a fucking deep trance when I hear him play.
His double guitar playing= pure awesomeness

honorable mentions:
Joe Satrianis solos
Stevie Vai= Epic!!!
These guys play so smooth
gotta luv em

 

[I Suck Ass]

I can't decide between these 2, so I'll make them co-top solos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jgrCKhxE1s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVXfVjBTwSI

Through the Fire and the Flames is one of the most insane songs I have ever heard. It's almost unreal how fast they can strum.

Hotel California might seem like a bad choice, but think about it. It has a near 4 minute solo, which is a duel solo. Sounds awesome and I think it deserves some recognition.

Edit: Youtube links hate me on here for some reason, so you'll have to click through to see them. Sorry about that.

 

[Davi323]

There is a difference between a fast guitar solo and a good guitar solo. I look for clean, crisp notes, rather than a simple notes per second ratio. (except for Dragonforce's Through the fire and flames, which is insanely EPIC!) Any idiot who learns a few chords can learn to play them fast, but playing the guitar well, with distinguishable unique notes, requires years and years of practice. But, a great guitar solo is probably going be a combination of both speed and crispness. To that end, I submit Stairway to Heaven. Jimmy Page is one of the greatest guitar players alive. He can play fast, but he plays WELL. And Stairway is an absolutely iconic song, with an iconic guitar solo, from an iconic band.

 

[Uncle Phatso]

Lol dragonforce? LMFAO They don't even play half of their songs, go look up how they play them and watch them try to play it live i laugh at herman lee. Pantera- Floods, my choice, don't care about yours its my guitar solo of choice. I grew up with dimebag and will allways love the man, his squeels and guitar mastary rivals anyone. Please someone come diss on dimebag, cause if you do your an idoit. Dime = one of the greatist. So its kind of pointless if you do try because like a million people an album can't be wrong lmfao.
Sure there are better solos out their but this to me is the greatist guitar solo i've ever had blast in my eardrums.

 

[Mrs Sexy]

I personally have to go with Slash in Guns-N-Roses song, "November Rain." I'm a huge GNR fan. I grew up listening to them. Plus "November Rain" is my favorite song of all time. I was born in November, hence why I love it so much. Anyways, I love Slash's solo when he's playing in front of the church in the music video. To me, he's astounding.

 

[SorgFamily]

Probably Fernando Miyata's "Insanely Awesome Guitar Solos" 1-3. They're all on youtube and I can't really think of better guitar solos. He incorporates a lot of different styles into 3-4 minutes and for me personally I can listen to these all day and be very entertained. A lot of people seem very naive and say that it's not real but there are live versions of him playing so...............yeah. Actually I don't know if these count because they're just instrumentals but I'm sticking with them. The first one is definitely my favorite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATub40Npxik
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfqu4YEufYc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vom0qNmzFSs&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7yh5-y5aDA&feature=related - Live

 

[Michael_Page]

There is only one true rock solo and its by the GUITAR GOD himself.
JIMMY PAGE.Every other guitarist needs to take a back seat whem compared to ZOSO himself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kfg-7Ca9S_I

 

[RT]

Im gonna have to say Eddie Van Halens Eruption. To me this solo took alot of talent and skill and in my mind is one of or the best solo's i've heard to date. Im gonna go out on a limb and say this is my favorite solo but you can disagree. Van Halen has been one of the greatest Rock Bands since the 80's and in my mind are still going strong.

 

[mayankeagle]

I think Hotel California's solos are damn good. The intro notes are very haunting and delicately played to perfection in one of the most memorable tunes, the ending is just way too superb and a good double guitar solo in which they hand over the lead to each other. While being the most noiseless form of rock, its very melodious and tuneful, and probably one of the only leads which has the reputation of being liked by fans of all genre of music, even those who don't listen to rock music. The next greatest guitar solo in my estimation is November Rain, very tuneful and it can cause shivers, perhaps also the longest solo in any "song" as per what Wiki says.

 

[dman1373]

i've heard the same names in these discusions for years. And i never here marty friedman's name. He was in the twin sweep picking cocaphany, then the thrashing Megadeth, and now even does jpop with his solo stuff. Here are just a few of his master pieces


Megadeth-fff Solo Starts at 1:42
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Megadeth-Family tree Solo starts at 2:46
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Marty Friedman - Dragon Mistress Solo starting at 2:27
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And finally his most famous
Megadeth-tornado of soulsSolo starts at 3:10
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These are just a few of the greatest solos by Friedman. Whenever you see his name next to solo listen. I would bet my life that it would be great.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I personally have to go with Slash in Guns-N-Roses song, "November Rain." I'm a huge GNR fan. I grew up listening to them. Plus "November Rain" is my favorite song of all time. I was born in November, hence why I love it so much. Anyways, I love Slash's solo when he's playing in front of the church in the music video. To me, he's astounding.

I was going to go for November Rain too, Slash is just amazing.

My favourite guitar solos...not the BEST but the ones I like the best are:

Oasis- Live Forever

Noel Gallagher's solo at the end isnt the longest, but it is just musical perfection

[YOUTUBE]i_2mWhfOhGU[/YOUTUBE]


Alice In Chains- Your Decision

[YOUTUBE]2D37POA11KY[/YOUTUBE]

The first time I heard the solo (just after 2 minutes i think) I got goosebumps and pulled the car over as I couldn't conentrate on the road. I LOVE it, and it was phenomenal to see it performed live in November, truly one of the best songs Ive ever heard


Godsmack- Realign

[YOUTUBE]TLEiqBZxppg[/YOUTUBE]

Godsmack are one of my favourite bands, and are really big im the US, but totally underrated in England. They never tour here, but I really wish they would, so I could hear this monster of a song live!

 

[One Punch Doug Crashin]

http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_guitarsolo.html

That's a link to 100 of the greatest guitar solos from one of the most reputable websites on the web.

Personally the greatest guitar solo goes to Eddie Van Halen Eruption. The technique of Eddie holds no bounds. the only person that remotely comes close to Eddie's technique is Yingwie Malmstine.

 

[El Rev sXe]

dudes you all have great tastes for solo's! well except the guy who said Oasis..don't get me wrong please, they are a great band, but solos??hmmm..well that is your opinion.

so don't bash at me with my picks, but as a guitar player, these are the ones that influeced me the most:

Megadeth, Holy Wars the first time I heard it I was completely blown away... those three first notes that goes into a basic scale ( I think that's how you say it in english..sorry) WOW! simple but so, sooooo effective!

Led Zep, Since I've Been Loving You: IMO, one of the solos that has so much feeling! it's pretty hard to learn....

Avenged Sevenfold, Second Heartbeat I love o much that solo! it's basically only scale after scale! but sounds so fucking good. Syn Gates it's a pretty good guitarist.

Dream Theater, Hollow Years well Petrucci has sooooo many solos to pick, but this was one of the first songs I've ever heard of Dream. for me it's impossible.

 

[Michael_Page]

Like i said before Jimmy Page has some of the most mindblowing solo's in music history. With Heartbreaker,Since Ive been loving and Stairway to heaven. He is the kind of guitarist that if anyone is wanting a player to look up to that man would be it.