Name The Best Guitar Solo Of All Time And Why.

[jymellis]

heres mine

 

[Riffer]

For me some of my favorites off the top of my head are:

1) Paul Waggoners solo from the Between the Buried and Me song Mordecai. After the big build up of drums and chugging guitar it just opens up and I always picture flying over clouds or a huge montain or ocean at that part. It has sush a massive release emotion and energy when that part hits that it is magical.

2) Angus Youngs small solo on the rarely talked about song Ride On. I remember hearing that song when I was like 10 and thinking it was the coolest slow jam ever. It's just the type of solo that I can listen to and never get bored of. Theres just something about the notes+chords+tempo that makes me just sit back and fucking enjoy every second of it. Angus is my favorite guitar player ever and always will be.

3) Both Bobby Insaners solos in the A Life Once Lost songs Vulture and Pain and Panic. Both of those solos just rip and are the coolest solos in my mind. They just go perfect with the songs and have that swagger of southern rock/metal.

Well those are my picks off the top of my head. Hope some of you guys agree

 

[jymellis]

he has gotten better though



hahahaha gotta love doug steele

 

[kmanick]

The second solo in "I'm the one"
At 2:33 this totally encapsulates what early ""Eddie" could do (no tappng here either ) he just comes in f'n blazing and keeps going right thru the whole solo.




Nevermore "engines of hate"
I like this one becuase it's "slinky", it's very quick snd is over before you realize it but he does so many cool things in it. One of my favs from Mr. Loomis (plus I just love this song)



Jeff Beck "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat"

every guitarist should try and learn this song. So many subltle vibratos
in here Beck was on top of his game during the entire "wired" album.
Nice moving bluesy tune by the bass master Charlie Mingus .
(even my wife likes when I jam to this one )



I've got a lot more I like but these rank up there near the top.

 

[-One-]

John Petrucci's solo from 3:30 to 5:21 of Stream of Consciousness by Dream Theater really sounds great for me. I don't know why, but the fast playing through the solo is so fluid, it really just gives off emotion, despite being one of the most "shredding" solos I've ever heard.

 

[Origin]

Petrucci's solos always grab me for their combination of technical JESUSCHRISTery and (to me) sublime sense of feel and expression.

That being said, I absolutely agree with the Devin Townsend solo in Suicide. I can't stop listening to his solo material, it's so goddamn emotional without being over the top and the solos are rare enough that they grab you and refuse to let go.

 

[SPBY]

No particular order, although, these are probably just my favorite solos, not necessarily the "best" :/

Icarus Lives!, For The Love Of God, Ometh (just so damn happy), We Stand, From So Far Away

 

[minusthemonkey]

Easily one of my all time favourites. I love listening to it, love playing it, and I'm not much of a Dream Theatre fan -- tone aside, the songs just don't hit me, no idea why.

Old school? Robin Trower "Bridge of Sighs":



I'd kill for his vibrato.

Paul Waggoner's solo on "Selkies: The Endless Obsession" gets me. I just love it:



A lot of feel and technique mixed into one hell of a moving, emotional solo.

 

[shredfreak]

I so need to find a tab for that one.

Love this one of him, really need to start looking for more of his stuff really.

 

[InTheRavensName]

Burning Angel, by Arch Enemy. The bend at the start of that made me learn to play the guitar!

I'm also going to say the little wah drenched interlude solo in Believe in Nothing by Nevermore, because that song still makes me feel like I've been kicked in the stomach. I can't explain it, but...well, the above was as good as I can get there.

 

[chucknorrishred]

 

[vampiregenocide]

Threat Signal - Counterbalance (2:55 - 4:18)

Thats how solos should be done.

 

[Soopahmahn]

When asked to name what I think is the "Best Guitar Solo of All Time" and explain why...

Randy Rhoads/Mr. Crowley.

The outro is fun, but I'm talking about the solo after the second verse/chorus. The construction is simple yet very effective, giving a good back-and-forth sense of motion and excitement. Great neoclassical vibe that causes faces to melt and heads to explode to this day. Incredible pyrotechnic phrasing that was mind-numbing then and still light-years beyond what most any guitar player can do. TRIPLE-TRACKED TO TAPE.

I can listen to that solo 10x in a row and not get tired of it. I'll have to learn it one of these days. Definitely my favorite Randy composition.

 

[ShadyDavey]

Not to be mean or anything, but that solo was a bit much, and that singer is trying too hard to be like Graham Bonnet.

That singer is Graham Bonnet

I really couldn't pick one solo that fit for every occassion, or even one solo from a decade. A couple of really enjoyable cuts for me would have to be;

John Sykes - "In the Still of the Night" blazing speed, unmistakable tone and that incredibly climatic series of bends with the beautiful vibrato does it for me every time.

Yngwie Malmsteen - "I am a Viking". Again in the context of a song there's tone, feel, staggering virtuosity and that killer vibrato to top it all off.

Uli Jon Roth - "Eleison" more vibrato to die for, great playing over changes, fluid chops and a wonderfully extended range courtesy of the Sky Guitar that doesn't sound exaggerated or overplayed.

Eddie Van Halen - "Eruption" kick-started the whole rock'n'roll virtuosity school with tone, chops, originallity and a fresh approach that kicked all sorts of ass.

Randy Rhoads - "Mr Crowley" to quote Dimebag, "Eddie was Rock'n'Roll but Randy was Heavy Metal". More chops, distinct phrasing, original ideas, composition and originality.

There are so many other's to choose that in the spirit of brevity I'll just name-check some favourite players - Shawn Lane, John Petrucci, Alex Masi, Shane Gibson, Allan Holdsworth, Al Dimeola, Steve Morse.....all have that certain special quality that sets them apart.

 

[SD83]

This thread brings up the question (to me, at least) that I was discussing with my band a few months ago... what is a "guitar solo" and what's a... well, not really a solo but an (awesome) lead melody? "Comfortably numb" is a good example, I do agree that this part of the song is beyond awesome, but I wouldn't really call it a guitar solo.
Anyway, lots of great soli in here (Petrucci's slow soli are amazing, I'm not really that much into shredding).
I'd like to add

2:10 . I have no idea why, but when I bought this one and listened to it for the first time, it totally blew me away and I still absolutly love it.

 

[Soopahmahn]

This thread brings up the question (to me, at least) that I was discussing with my band a few months ago... what is a "guitar solo" and what's a... well, not really a solo but an (awesome) lead melody? "Comfortably numb" is a good example, I do agree that this part of the song is beyond awesome, but I wouldn't really call it a guitar solo.

How is Comfortably Numb (solo) not a solo? It's a standout melody line performed by one instrument... an accompanied "solo." I would say any time that a guitar voice stands out and deviates from the rhythm/accompaniment role and plays a melody or even atonal wackery, it's a solo. I see what you are saying - Gilmour cops the melody from the song and bashes you over the head repeatedly by outlining the chord changes strongly - but it's still absolutely a solo.

 

[Salas]

I love Fermented Offal Discharge by Necrophagist:
Brutal and classic.

 

[ittoa666]

That singer is Graham Bonnet

Didn't look like him. Guess I need to brush up on my eighties metal knowledge.

 

[ShadyDavey]

Didn't look like him. Guess I need to brush up on my eighties metal knowledge.

Heh, I walked into an obscure record shop in an Unknown Cambridgeshire town and picked up "Stand in Line" just after it came out by sheer fluke - Graham Bonnet doesn't look as you would expect on the cover either so I guess he was going through a phase

 

[ittoa666]

Heh, I walked into an obscure record shop in an Unknown Cambridgeshire town and picked up "Stand in Line" just after it came out by sheer fluke - Graham Bonnet doesn't look as you would expect on the cover either so I guess he was going through a phase

I was honestly expecting the whole island in the sun look. Suit and glasses. Guess he wanted to be more metal.