[Roland777]

Thread title pretty much says it all - name a multitude of solos, as long as you say why.

Best atmospheric/most beautiful solo: RATM - Settle for nothing. In a song already riddled with contrasts, this solo is so beautiful, I've yet to find something like it.

Best funky solo: RATM - Take the power back. Kickass vibe and amazing shredding, in the sense that it doesn't have the least trace of "showoff"-edness to it - it's completely natural. Definately a must-hear!

Most intimidating solo: Meshuggah - The mouth licking what you've bled. Hits you in the face like a sledgehammer, creating an audible canvas of complete pandemonium.

[Naren]

Here are just a few of my favorite solos:

Unearth - Zombie Autopilot. I love how the solo starts out super fast and technical by Buz, then switches over to Ken who plays it a little slower, but with an awesome wah and great taste.

Metallica - Welcome Home (Sanitarium) - I absolutely love the solos in this song, most of all the first one at the beginning. I like how it stays very interesting and moves back and forth. This is one of my favorite solos to play on the guitar too.

X Japan - Scars. This is just one of the most interesting and cool solos I can think of. I love how it starts out kind of slow with wah and a cool theme, then goes super fast, and at the end is going into crazy trem bar convulsions before going into the bridge.

At The Drive-In - Invalid Litter Department. I love the solo at the end of the song. More than a solo, it's just crazy awesome lead that's being played over the awesome rhythm guitar while the singer screams his lungs out.

Alice In Chains - Them Bones - just one of the coolest solos ever in rock/alternative history

Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven. I just think the solo in "Stairway" is one of the most awesome solos in rock history. Love it to pieces.

Hide - Dice. I just love the solo in this song. It's so raw and vicious.

Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze. No explanation needed.

John Petrucci - Lost Without You. I'm trying to avoid using solo guitar artists, but I wanted to include this one just because the solo is so packed with powerful emotion and... yeah, dang good stuff.

Megadeth - Tornado Of Souls. The solo in this song is probably my favorite in any Megadeth song. For the specifics of why it's so great, ask HBer.

Orgy - Fiction (Dreams In Digital). This whole song is great and the solo completely fits in with the rest of the song. Just an awesome solo.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Aeroplane. Great song and once the solo comes in at the end, it just blows you away.

Sevendust - Black. Personally this is one of my favorite solos ever.

Yamaarashi - Next Round. I like the way the jazz style bass and jazz style guitars go well together with the cool jazzy solo over it. All on 7-strings with a Japanese nu-metal/rap/jazz/etc. vibe.

That's it for now, but I have about a million solos I love.

[Roland777]

Just a quick addition.

Best metal-fusion solo: Meshuggah - Stengah. This solo is so amazingly well-composed, technical, atmospheric and tasty, I can't even explain it. It's jazzy. It's blazing. It's wonderful!

[Chris]

My plain ol' top 3:

JP - Lines in the Sand
Criss Oliva - All that I Bleed
Dave Navarro - Three Days

[distressed_romeo]

Steve Vai: Still My Bleeding Heart
White Lion (Vito Bratta): Wait/Love Don't Come Easy
Trey Azagthoth: Sworn to the Black
John Petrucci: Under a Glass Moon/Another Day
Marty Friedman: Lucretia
Chris Impelliterri: Shed Your Blood
Brian May: Who Wants to Live Forever
Pat Metheny: Travels
Allan Holdsworth: Metal Fatigue

I could do this all night...

[Donnie]

Larry LaLonde(Primus) - "Mr. Krinkle". It's just erie.
Petrucci(Dream Theater) - "As I Am". Fast and cool as hell.
George Lynch(Lynch Mob) - "All I Want". I was a huge GL fan before and after, an even bigger fan. For me, one of the best improvised solos ever.

[eleven59]

Jeez, can I pick my current favourites? I don't think I can nail down a list of all-time favourites, but I'll give it a shot:

Metallica - Nothing Else Matters
It just fits the song so well and works as a tension release from the rest of the song

Metallica - Bleeding Me
When Kirk kicks back in to mimic the chorus melody, the wah sound is just plain awesome and it sounds so amazing.

Metallica - Unforgiven
Just freaking cool and perfect in the song.

The Tea Party - Cathartik
The solo fits the mood of the song perfectly, and is a little flashy at the same time. A cool song overall, it's in 3 tunings (one for verse, one for chorus, one for solo...and they pull it off live )

The Tea Party - Temptation (live version)
It's not complicated, but it just sounds really cool with the effects he has on there, and totally different from anything they'd done before.

I Mother Earth - Soft Bomb Salad
Very flowing and melodic, it's almost hard to tell where it ends, because it just flows back into the next guitar part, very fluid.

I Mother Earth - (pretty much anything off their last two albums)
What can I say, most of my lead guitar playing style comes from this guy. He's just awesome.

Coheed and Cambria - Welcome Home
The two guitarists trade solos back and forth, each with their own style and sound, and all of it is so melodic, you can sing along with it (and it'll even get stuck in your head)

Coheed and Cambria - Final Cut
Pink Floyd tribute all the way (no, it's not a cover). First solo's very fluid and drenched in a nice phasing/flanging? sound, second solo's very clean and Gilmour-y.

There's lots more, this is just for now lol There's some nice ones on the new Disturbed album, and on everything Opeth and Porcupine Tree have done.

[Metal Ken]

Fates Warning - Guardian. It just rules. emotive with badass technique

Judas Priest - Beyond the Realms Of Death. The solos in this song are amazing. Fit it perfectly.

Paul Gilbert - Technical Difficulties. Uses a Floyd Chord progression and shreds it the hell up.

Kreator - The Ancient PLague (Outro solo). Its fucking epic

Iron Maiden - Dance Of Death. See above.

Megadeth - Tornado of Souls. The arpeggio section is insane. ANd it rules.

Al Di Meola - Elegant Gypsy Album. it rules hard.

Testament - Electric Crown. Cause skolnick rules.

Sentenced - Nepenthe.

X Japan - Endless Rain \m/

Atheist - Enthralled In Essence

Blaze - Stare At the Sun

[Shawn]

Eric Johnson - Desert Rose
Joe Satriani - Until We Say Goodbye
Steve Vai - Windows To The Soul
John Petrucci - Caught In A Web
SRV - Texas Flood
Eric Rutan - Nothing But Fear
Trey Azagthoth - Rapture (first solo, actually all of them on this song!)
James Murphy - Infected [Obituary, Cause Of Death] (intro)
Kirk Hammett - Where Ever I May Roam
Marty Friedman - Holy Wars (all solos)
Alex Skolnick - Trail Of Tears
Dimebag - Cemetary Gates
Paul Gilbert and Jason Becker - Everything with Cacophony
Tony MacAlpine- everything off Chromaticity
Dave Weiner - Dave's Party Piece
Michael Gilbert (Flotsam) - I Live You Die
Gary Holt and Rick Hunolt - Toxic Waltz
Adrian Smith and Dave Murray - Deja Vu
Glen Tipton and KK Downing - Painkiller
Matthias Jabs and Rudolph Schenker - No One Like You
Craig Goldie - Night People
Vinnie Campbell - Rainbow In The Dark
Dan Spitz - Madhouse
Jake E Lee - Bark At The Moon
Randy Rhoads - Mr Crowley
Slash - Welcome To The Jungle (most overplayed song ever and Im sick of it but still, great solos)
Alex Lifeson - Tom Sawyer
Reb Beach - Seventeen
Warren DiMartini - Round and Round
Vito Bratta - Wait
Phil Collen - Foolin'
Neal Schon - Who's Crying Now
Mark Knopfler - Sultans Of Swing
Gary Rossington and Allen Collins - Sweet Home Alabama and That Smell
Angus Young - Ride On
Billy Gibbons - Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers
Keith Richards - Beast Of Burden
Jimmy Page - Stairway To Heaven
Jimi Hendrix - Along The Watchtower (awesome solo)
to name a few.............I could go on and on...too many guitarists to list!

[Dylan7620]

in flames - december flower
dream theater - change of seasons
at the gates - cold