Great All-time Guitar Solos

I'm going to wax nostalgic today (wait, I always do that). Anyway... ah, those glory days of amazing 6-stringers, guitar heroes, fretboard wizards who wowed us both onstage and on record (or tape, CD, MP3, whatever your choice of listening media). Guitar-slingers were THE thing back in the 70's and 80's. Guitar music dominated that era; therefore a huge crop of guitarists existed to fill that need - and to create that need. Does that make sense?

A great guitar solo is like a little song within the song. Something memorable and easily replayed in the mind, hummed, and sung; something melodic works best but even more abstract and experimental stuff can burn itself into your brain. The best solo serves the song and truly feels like it belongs... enhancing the tune, adding colour and emotion... and not acting as an irritating interruption. I believe that Eddie Van Halen is perhaps the best as an all-around guitarist and composer. Van Halen songs are so much more than just a showcase or vehicle for the acclaimed string-bender's talents. Eddie wrote timeless - and very successful - pop/rock songs that will likely remain in the public consciousness for ages. 

There are exceptions to that melodic approach: like when a solo just tears it up... the guitarist's fingers flying at mach speed all over the place, displaying technical virtuosity and emphasizing anything from blinding aggression to blissful joy. Heavy metal, of course, is where we see this most often, since the music of this genre works mostly with extremes. Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer show us angry blistering guitar assaults within their dark and heavy songs. On the other hand, I often hear uplifting melodic soloing in the works by Van Halen (not all, but some), Queen, Journey, and Joe Satriani. Early doomy metal artists like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest presented more chilling instrumental breaks, taking the listener a bit deeper into the disturbed minds of the musicians... the guitar sound worked as yet another voice within the context of the song, adding atmosphere to the overall picture. 

Warren Dimartini of Ratt lays down a blistering rodent attack

Here are some of my favourites, not in strict order, but sort of close:

Hotel California, by The Eagles
Lay It Down, by Ratt
Jane, Jefferson Starship
Eruption, Van Halen
Jump, Van Halen
La Villa Strangiato, by Rush
Welcome to the Jungle, Guns'n'Roses
Meanstreet, Van Halen
Don't Stop, Fleetwood Mac
Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
Comfortably Numb, Pink Floyd
Dreamer Deceiver, Judas Priest
Baba O'Riley, The Who
Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Pat Benatar (guitarist Neil Giraldo)
Don't Fear the Reaper, Blue Oyster Cult
While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Beatles (Eric Clapton actually played the solo)
Sultans of Swing, Dire Straits
La Grange, ZZ Top
Voices, Cheap Trick
Don't Stop Believing, Journey
You Shook Me All Night Long, AC/DC
Blackout, Scorpions
Holy Wars, Megadeth
Every solo from the first Black Sabbath album... and those on Heaven and Hell, and....
Let It Go, Def Leppard
The Party, Max Webster
Deuce, Kiss
Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin

Here's a little selection of some of my favourites. Enjoy!