or drum solos...or whatever.

I nominate "Stairway to Heaven" and "Money For Nothing" for the guitar category.

Other nominations?

Foul, CC. Drummers and guitarists don't deserve to be lumped together in the same group.

ROFL.

Okay, another 'best guitar solo'..."Bohemian Rhapsody."

Or "We Are the Champions".

Did anyone see Brian May playing the British National Anthem a la Hendrix on top of Buckingham Palace during the Queen's Jubilee concert?

How about the guitar solo at the end of "We Will Rock You"?

I also nominate "A Hard Day's Night."

That's the "We are the Champions" I was referring to, Sven. "We Will Rock You" uses the guitar solo to segue into "We are the Champions".

And darned cool it is! Too short, though. (I heard an extended remix of the guitar part a few years ago, but I don't know if it was an actual release or someone else's "homage" or remake.)

How about the cheesy Jerry Garcia parody the Mystery Science Theater 3000 guys did in one episode? (Complete with Crowe's "Jerry hair" wig)

Just thought of one more (seriously, this time): Yes's "the Fish" (both the studio cut from Fragile and the live version from Yessongs).
Good category, CC! (Despite the second-string status you gave drums. )

For a lyrical solo, The Beatle's "Something" is hard to beat.

Any solo by RATM's Tom Morello.

How about "Blackbird", also by the Beatles?

Virtually any Ritchie Blackmore solo from seventies Deep Purple.
Buck Dharma, Blue Oyster Cult: "Don't Fear The Reaper"
Mick Box, Uriah Heep: "Stealin'"
Del Bromham, Stray: "Jericho"

"A Hard Day's Night" has no guitar solo. There is a piano solo, courtesy of Sir George Martin, but no guitar.

Best guitar solo? "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix!

Another worthy Beatle mention- "And Your Bird Can Sing" as soloed by George Harrison, although he gets a technical foul as the solo is double-tracked.

"House of the Rising Sun," Jimi (Actually, it's a guitar instrumental, so...), even though I prefer Dylan's version.

ANYTHING by Rammstein, esp. "Du Hast" (The live version has one, anyways--I have the MPEG of the performance on the MTV Europe Awards).

Side note--I think most people here will like Rammstein.

They're a German heavy-metal band. Most people are familiar with "Du hast," also on The Matrix sountrack. They've got a good sound, and no, they are NOT neo-Nazis.

(note for the ladies--the lead singer and both guitarists are HOT!!)

Hmm, I think my entry for Yes (scroll up) is more of a guitar instrumental than a solo, now that I think about it. Oh, well.

To reiterate it:

"Money for Nothing." Headphones. Very, very loud.

I had a prof. in college who had a boombox playing quietly in the classroom one day. As "Money for Nothing" started, he blasted that opening, then turned the volume down and continued whatever it was he was talking about.

My four favorite guitar solos (in no particular order):

"Comfortably Numb" - Pink Floyd, with David Gilmour on guitar. This is probably Gilmour's best solo for the Floyd.

"Pink and Velvet" - Berlin, solo by David Gilmour. Yeah, I admit it's a clone of his "Comfortably Numb" solo. Still, it is quite haunting.

"Like a Hurricane (live)" - Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Neil Young on guitar. I'm refering to the version on the Weld CD. The best Neil's ever done, I think.

"Flood of Sunshine" - The Posies, Johnathan Auer guitar. Soaring, haunting, beautiful.

Actually, I could say the same for all of my favorite solos.They're good ones to listen on those rare ocassions when I'm getting drunk.

The other day I heard Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street". That's another solo I love. It rocks.

Favorite Blue Oyster Cult solo would have to be Buck's solo on "Burnin' For You".

That's all I can think of off hand. Oh, the solo on the Monkees' "Saturday's Child", though I wish it'd last longer.

Without question, my favorite solo is by Terry Kath (of Chicago) on 25 or 6 to 4. He really wears out his wah-wah pedal on that one.

Other faves, off the top of my head:
Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple) - Highway Star
Jimi Hendrix - Rainy Day, Dream Away and Still Raining, Still Dreaming
Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs) - Rock and Roll Park
Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) - Fool for Your Stockings
Robin Trower - Too Rolling Stoned and Bridge of Sighs

Kirk Hammet, "For Whom the Bell Tolls."

Oh, yeah, Benn, "Comfortably Numb."

(currently downloading "Comfortably Numb," Pink Floyd, Nine Inch Nails, and David Bowie. This could be interesting.)

Hannah?? Boy, it's weird seeing people's names after I've gotten used to their usernames.

:P, Craig. Scroll down to my board (West Wing) and look in the 'Suggestions' for comments my minions *laughs evilly* made, asking what to call me.;)

(Having just checked out the West Wing board) Ah, I see. Well, I won't be calling you Queen, since I use that title for MJ over on another board.
Getting back on topic, though in a goofy, not-very-serious manner: how about the guitar solo that appeared in a Weird Al song off the UHF soundtrack? It's been too many years since I heard it, so the song title escapes me (along with my sanity), but it was a blues tune wherein Al says "Make it [the guitar] talk!" The same two chords are played over and over and... you get the idea, followed by Al saying "Now make it shut up!"

Go over to Movies or LICC, and ask JD.

He's an Al fantatic.:P

It's from "Generic Blues", indeed off the UHF album.

From yankovic.org:

I'm just a no-good, scum-sucking, nose-picking, boot-licking, sniveling, groveling worthless hunk of slime.
Nothin' but a low-down, beer-bellied, bone-headed, pigeon-toed, turkey-necked, weasel-faced worthless hunk of slime.
I guess I've got a pretty low self-image, maybe it's a chemical imbalance or something.
I should probably go and see a doctor about it when I've got the time.

Aw, make it talk, son, make it talk.

Okay, now make it shut up.

I can't believe I forgot the title was Generic Blues! Thanks, JD.

"Sanitarium (live)," Metallica, Kirk Hammet.

Steve Rothery's solo from "Easter," by Marillion. From the Season's End album. Very cool, emotional solo. Perhaps not the best ever, but a good one nonetheless.

...then, of course, there's "Blue Wind," by Jeff Beck with Jan Hammer.

Thanks for reminding me of Jeff Beck! I nominate Cause we've ended as lovers from Blow By Blow.

It's been a while since the last post but I'm bumping the thread...

Tom Vane made a remark about the Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Guitarists List in another thread last week and curiosity got the best of me and I just had to look it up. Apparantly everybody in the world, except myself, seems to have already registered their displeasure online so, yeah, I'm a bit late to the party. But still...if there's any interest...let's have at it. Also- if anybody knows- just how did they come up with this thing?

Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Guitarists

Closer to topic:
A truly renowned guitar solo amongst musicians is Amos Garrett's break in Maria Muldaur's "Midnight on the Oasis". I was fortunate to have a guitar teacher who could dissect the whole thing and we spent an entire lesson studying it. My jaw was on the floor by the end of that session, mostly because it never even occurred to me to pay attention in all the times I heard the song, it's so elegant and doesn't really call attention to itself. But it's also tremendously inventive and difficult to pull off (I never could quite get the hang of those multiple string bends). Cances are that you'll hear the song being played when you're out shopping or something- check out the solo if you do.

I liked the guitar solo at the beginning of "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas...then again with the violin solo.

After listening to the song several times compulsively over the past week, I've become convinced that John Robinson's three-minute solo from Blackfeather's "Long Legged Lovely" (from the At The Mountains Of Madness L.P. is hands down the greatest most incredible killer awesome single guitar solo in rock history.

Van halen's Eruption hands down. Also the recording and guitar sound is awesome. Gotta love the finger tapping, sounds like a slide on the final downwards fadeout.

I like the solo on Yello's "Tied Up".

It makes me wanna "air-jam"! Yeah!

Another favorite of mine is Status Quo's "Accident Prone". Blackfeather's "Long Legged Lovely" still has everything else beat, though.