Ever since the invent of the electric guitar in the early 1900s, the electric guitar has been commonplace in all musical genres. From the jazz guitarists and big band ensembles of the 1930s to Muddy Water’s Chicago Blues or Chuck Berry’s beginnings of Rock n Roll to Kurt Cobain’s riffs in Seattle’s Grunge scene; we love the guitar. The electric guitar has came along way from the original amplified electric guitar that was adopted by those original great jazz guitarists. Rather rhythm or lead guitar, we all have those favorite melodic solos that make us close our eyes and drift away while appreciate that skill of the guitarist. In my list of my favorite guitar solos of all time, I am regretfully steering clear of amazing soloists that are not in a song with lyrics. This would exclude all instrumental tracks. I will list some of my favorites now for nostalgia’s sake but will exclude them from the Top 10. My favorite instrumental tracks are Joe Satriani‘s Made of Tears, Yngwie Malmsteen’s Black Star, Steve Vai‘s For the Love of God, and Metallica‘s The Call of the Ktulu.

For this list I will venture into all genres of music. May be a little bit of blues and a little bit of rock n roll. There aren’t a lot of ‘newer’ music per say because unless your Avenged Sevenfold…you don’t really appreciate the greatness that is a guitar solo.

So here it is…..

Top Cat’s Tuesday Top 10: Guitar Solos

 

10. Cream – Crossroads

9. Van Halen – Eruption

8. Pantera – Flood

7. B.B. King – The Thrill is Gone

6. Guns N Roses – November Rain

5. Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven

4. Metallica – One

3. Jimi Hendrix – All Along the Watchtower

2. Nirvana – The Man Who Sold the World (Unplugged: Live in New York)

1. Pink Floyd – Comfortably Numb

 

Honorable Mentions (I had enough of those that I could do another top ten list):

Eric Johnson – Cliffs of Dover, Lynyrd Skynyrd – Free Bird, Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody, Stevie Ray Vaughan – Pride and Joy, ZZ Tops – La Grange, Thin Lizzy – Whiskey in the Jar, Fleetwood Mac – Go your own way, Dire Straights – Sultans of Swing, Ted Nugent – Stranglehold, Jeff Healey – Road House Blues, Eagles – Hotel California, Steppenwolf – Born to be Wild