What's Your Favourite Guitar Solo?

delete time and space

Probably the solo in Shatterhand by The Nightblooms, in that it's amazing both as a guitar solo and as a commentary on guitar solos. Uses a talkbox too, as any contendor for best guitar solo should.

At the moment, this is the solo at the end of Hotel Illness. The drumming, too. Hellfire.

Here are mine!

what a fun list, now I want to go listen to all those.

the violin in “out of the blue” is what kills me. like david laflamme or papa john creach careening through a trans dimensional portal or something

Oh I need to check this one out. You should make a spotify or youtube list of these.

For Velvet Underground I’d pick “pale blue eyes” and for Radiohead it’s gotta be Paranoid Android. “Go to sleep” isn’t as amazing on the album as on live performances.

Baby’s on Fire is top 10 material for sure.

“Born under punches” is TOO LOW. But happy it’s there.

Just commented on fb about one you missed, and probably my favorite guitar solo of all time. Jimmy Scott's solo in Pretenders' "Kid" is masterful without bragging, a self-contained composition without peer nestled inside an already brilliant song. From the arpeggiated chords that preface it to the final harmonic that puts the cherry on top, not to mention all the key bends and swerves, it's one I could hear 10,000 more times in my life and never tire of.

Robbie Robertson on "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" from the '66 Manchester show (aka Bootleg vol. 4) is most triumphant.

As brimstead said, that's an electric violin solo on "Out of the Blue". Let's not deny Edwin Jobson his greatest moment of triumph!
My Manzanera picks would be "Amazona" and "Still Falls the Rain" for Roxy. I don't know if it's him or Eno doing the multiple guitars at the end of "The True Wheel", and you could quibble whether that's a "solo".
Produced by Manzanera, utterly majestic, and completely underrated, I'd like to mention Phil Judd on "Time For a Change" by Split Enz.

Hmm, there are some debatable definitions of "solo" in that list, but there are definitely some cool guitar sounds. Speaking of which, the correct Phil Manzanera answer is John Cale's "Gun," which features Phil through an Eno box:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uURZiipri54

And btw, I do appreciate the inclusion of "The Fly," because not only is that actually one of the rare Edge solos, the Edge really isn't typically good enough to solo, but he sounds great on that one. Also, "Until the End of the World." And "Acrobat." That whole album is full of "guy who doesn't solo does a cool solo" tracks.

Mott the Hoople - "Hymn For the Dudes"
― Raymond Douglas Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, September 13, 2005 10:48 AM (fifteen years ago)

particularly the triumphant last note, fading into the angelic choir.

Seeing the picture of John Cale reminds me that I always stan for this solo by Ollie Halsall:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-q-GGiAt8Q

Top of my mind here’s some more I like and haven’t been mentioned yet:

Papas Fritas - way you walk
Ritchie Valens - La Bamba
Soda Stereo - en la ciudad de la furia (unplugged)
Wilco - Impossible Germany

Just commented on fb about one you missed, and probably my favorite guitar solo of all time. Jimmy Scott's solo in Pretenders' "Kid" is masterful without bragging, a self-contained composition without peer nestled inside an already brilliant song.

oh for sure! I would've mentioned it in another tie

*time

Seeing the picture of John Cale reminds me that I always stan for this solo by Ollie Halsall:

I've shared this coked-out glory many times over the years.

Popol Vuh - "Oh wie nah ist der Weg hinab" (closing section - goosebump time!)

― Raymond Douglas Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 13 September 2005 10:54 (fifteen years ago) bookmarkflaglink

I think Werner Herzog agreed...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOF23dA7UJg

... solo by Daniel Secundus Fichelscher.

right now it's Roy Buchanan's "The Messiah will come again." Spookiest song ever, very heavy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgOLDAWu6OY

The solos in VHÖL's "Arising" hit all the spots I want hit in metal wankery, probably because they're really just overdriven surf/rockabilly licks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf-a1Fupras

Michael Sembello, "Maniac"

I must've listened to Mick Taylor's Spanish/A Minor a lot as a kid because I can still hum all of the extended solos. Decades later it still sounds fantastic.

Ollie Halsall in the live Cale clip is outstanding

Glad you like it.

Is there sections of songs with one guitarrist doing amazing runs like Buckingham’s live version of “big love” or Nils Lofgren doing “Keith don’t go” considered “solos”? Even instrumental guitar pieces like “entre dos aguas” by Paco de Lucia has what could count as a solo at the 2:41 mark.

And that’s one of the best Flamenco songs ever so if it counts I’m definitely considering in the best guitar solos of all time.

One solo that caught my ear on the radio a couple days ago in how it really does raise the tune is Neal Schon's on "Don't Stop Believing". It is pretty much played off the main melody line but how it sets up the title refrain at the end of the song is really some nice pop magic (nice touch with the overdubbed second line on the very end).

I have a soft spot for the big dumbrock solo that closes out Pearl Jam’s “Alive”

Dogs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRSxu2Xn-gk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MzDcsgnwZo