The Greatest Guitar Solos Of All Time

[ToxicMonkey^MZC]

Thought I'd mention Joe Walsh .... he's not a technician or speed demon but his music also stands the test of time (The Confessor is a good example and Rocky Mountain Way).  Excellent rock'n'roll music.  He's maybe not one of the immortals but he's dam good imo and deserves a mention.

Van Halen, now ... Very tough act to follow...he's fucking superb.  Some of his live stuff is awesomely mind-blowing.

Nobody can touch Steve Vai though.

[[BTF]adam]

I completely agree with LaMont there, even if he did use effects they still just emphasise his ability to use them well, also, what the fook is a gimmick? is it like a show off item??

[[BTF]n0ctuary]

I'd add a couple more to your total context list Lamont: Revolutionary and Emotion. I feel Hendrix was the most revolutionary force in the evolution of eletric guitar. As for emotion, technical masters like Vai and Satriani can lack the punch of gut wrenching and passionate solos. David Gilmore, technically very weak, has some of the most emotional and impactful solos in music history. Who's better? who's to judge? Good debate tho.

It can be unfair to judge past musicans against current ones particularly over long periods of time. Each generation builds off of and improves over the past. In 1967 when hendrix recorded my favorite solo on the Dylan cover "All Along the Watchtower" the Monkeys were topping the charts and i believe Sgt. Pepper by the Beetles hadn't been released. This month Hendrix is on the cover of Guitar World and Guitar Techniques Magazines and I believe Rolling Stone too 35 years after his death. 

I had a much more difficult time learning Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaugh than I did learning Vai and Satriani or even Bach. With Vai and Satriani I could learn it straight off tab sheet music without listening to the song and it'd be damn close. I needed the music for Hendrix and SRV. How you strike a note is just as important as when, where, or how fast.

I agree with you that many of today's technical masters do lack emotion in their playing, but even so, if you listen to Iron Maiden or Testament, their solos are more melodic than technical, and they have so much feeling that they almost make me shit myself every time I hear them.

It could be that I'm just sick of jimi hendrix, because he's so overplayed and because I meet so many idiots who blindly site him as the greatest guitarist of all time, even though they have no clue what they are even talking about, and are just saying it because that's what they read in rolling stone or some crap. 

[[BTF]adam]

Incase - and im probably wrong - that you were implying me by blind idiots - heres two things for ya - 1 - i discovered my liking for jimi hendrix through hearing one song on a friends computer, which prompted me to download tons of his songs and listen to them, and i like what i heard! so thats not me stating something i read, seen as i dont read any rock mags cept kerrang, who are often about new bands instead of rock oldies, 2 -  I sight him as ONE of THE greatest guitarists not the greatest! im optimistic... so i apologise if you werent implying me in any way!

[Leftwich]

No one mentioned Chet Atkins 

[[BTF]adam]

Hmm never heard of him, if i just type chet atkins in Ares or Morpheus it will come up a load of songs then? or was he in a band...

[[BTF]n0ctuary]

No one mentioned Chet Atkins 

You're right, chet atkins definitely belons on the list somewhere.

[QuakeDuke]

No one mentioned Chet Atkins 

Or Carl Perkins or Duane Eddy..

QD

[LaMont=GSN=]

Here's a few more to add to your Great but Under-rated list. 

Marc Bonilla
Steve stevens (you gotta hear the instrumental CDs he did with Terry bozzio and Tony Levin)
Jim Thomas (The Mermen)
Mark Reale (Riot)
Masayoshi Takanaka (Sadistic Mika Band, and Yellow Magic Orchestra)
Danny Gatton

LaMont

[geikram]

Phish - Reba (Trey Anastasio - Guitar) The solo is around 8 mins long.
Sample clip: http://www.phish.com/_content/releases/audio/ph_lawnboy_02reba.mp3

[[BTF]n0ctuary]

Here's a few more to add to your Great but Under-rated list. 

Marc Bonilla
Steve stevens (you gotta hear the instrumental CDs he did with Terry bozzio and Tony Levin)
Jim Thomas (The Mermen)
Mark Reale (Riot)
Masayoshi Takanaka (Sadistic Mika Band, and Yellow Magic Orchestra)
Danny Gatton

LaMont

I beg to differ about takanaka -  I watched the rainbow goblin story and didn't much care for it. I felt his overall style was extremely schmaltzy, and he used the same licks over and over. The whole video came across as sheer guitar wankery - like the whole video was made to feed the guy's ego.

[LaMont=GSN=]

I haven't heard Rainbow Goblins, but now you've piqued my interest and I'm going to have to find it.  The schmaltzy bit I can certainly understand; it seems to me that a lot of times Western music is embraced in Japan in ways we wouldn't ordinarily do here.  Without the cultural references, it doesn't seem at all inappropriate to pair jazz with hard rock and elevator music.  His music strikes me that way at times; Brazilian Skies is part cheese and part fine guitar playing.

LaMont

[[BTF]Gator]

Off topic (i'm a bad man), but what do you all think of Jake and his ukulele?

http://www.ukuleledisco.com/jakeconcert?PHPSESSID=312598c557f2b0375e19a2a93d6ad120

http://www.ukuleledisco.com/jake

http://www.ukuleledisco.com/jakeinterview

[[BTF]n0ctuary]

That's some crazy shit. Reminds me of Bela Fleck, who plays banjo. If you haven't checked him out you should. his music rules.

[Gesepi12]

Ok here's my half, anything by John Petrucci ie: Dream Theater & his solo album contains the best solos ever made. Along side of this follows many good guitarists, in no particular order - Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Luca Turilli, Tom S. Englund, Henrik Danhage, Timo Tolkki, Yngwie Malmsteen, Ralph Santolla, Jon Schaffer I think you get the picture..