In no particular order, its hard enough to narrow this down much less rank them. I judged these based on technical level, tone, originality, and listenability. I'll go ahead and tell you now there will be NO Stairway, Freebird, or Eruption.
Death and the Healing, Wintersun
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There are several solos in this song but the one that seals the deal for me is at 4:57. I have yet to hear its equal in terms of sheer jaw dropping skill.
Red House, Jimi Hendrix
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Pretty much solo all the way through. If you've ever wondered whether you like the blues or not listen to this song. In my humble opinion it is everything the blues should be.
Floods, Pantera
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Solo at 3:40. This one gets me every time. It may not be Dime's craziest solo but the way it comes in and completely changes the song just floors me. Every time I hear it I have to back it up and let it play a few more times before I can go on to the next song.
For the Love of God, Steve Vai
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Yet again pretty much solo all the way through but you can skip to 2:16 to see it really get going. I'm not the biggest Vai fan but this song is simply amazing. He was doing stuff like this when Eddie Van Halen was just realizing that you could tap.
Pigs on the Wing, Pink Floyd
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Solo at 1:21. This is a tough one. Most people go with Comfortably Numb, but for me its a toss up between this and Mother. They both come out of nowhere and make guitarists everywhere weep in jealousy of Gilmours incredible tone.
The Dark, Trans Siberian Orchestra
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Solo at 2:35. If you only know TSO for their Christmas stuff stop reading this and go buy Beethovens Last Night. This song is vastly under rated, possibly because of it's musical theater feel but if you can make it past that to where the guitar really shines you'll find one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever created.
Wicked World, Black Sabbath
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Solo at 2:50. All hail Iommi.
This may be a little short and a bit crude but remember this was in 1970! Nobody, but nobody was playing like this. And he didn't even have all of his fingers! Anyone whos ever played any kind of hard rock guitar owes Tony Iommi everything.
I'm sure there are enough guitarists and metal heads here to argue a few of these, and there are certainly some I've forgotten but most of those were on purpose.
Death and the Healing, Wintersun
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There are several solos in this song but the one that seals the deal for me is at 4:57. I have yet to hear its equal in terms of sheer jaw dropping skill.
Red House, Jimi Hendrix
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Pretty much solo all the way through. If you've ever wondered whether you like the blues or not listen to this song. In my humble opinion it is everything the blues should be.
Floods, Pantera
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Solo at 3:40. This one gets me every time. It may not be Dime's craziest solo but the way it comes in and completely changes the song just floors me. Every time I hear it I have to back it up and let it play a few more times before I can go on to the next song.
For the Love of God, Steve Vai
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Yet again pretty much solo all the way through but you can skip to 2:16 to see it really get going. I'm not the biggest Vai fan but this song is simply amazing. He was doing stuff like this when Eddie Van Halen was just realizing that you could tap.
Pigs on the Wing, Pink Floyd
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Solo at 1:21. This is a tough one. Most people go with Comfortably Numb, but for me its a toss up between this and Mother. They both come out of nowhere and make guitarists everywhere weep in jealousy of Gilmours incredible tone.
The Dark, Trans Siberian Orchestra
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Solo at 2:35. If you only know TSO for their Christmas stuff stop reading this and go buy Beethovens Last Night. This song is vastly under rated, possibly because of it's musical theater feel but if you can make it past that to where the guitar really shines you'll find one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever created.
Wicked World, Black Sabbath
[YT]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AMkgiJSnYLI&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AMkgiJSnYLI&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/YT]
Solo at 2:50. All hail Iommi.
This may be a little short and a bit crude but remember this was in 1970! Nobody, but nobody was playing like this. And he didn't even have all of his fingers! Anyone whos ever played any kind of hard rock guitar owes Tony Iommi everything.I'm sure there are enough guitarists and metal heads here to argue a few of these, and there are certainly some I've forgotten but most of those were on purpose.
