Boy, if I ever wanted to unleash a storm of hate mail, this is probably the way to go. I started playing guitar in 1986 or so, in the midst of the "shredder" era. So my first guitar heroes were Yngwie Malmsteen, Marty Friedman, Joe Satriani, Nuno Bettencourt, etc. I spent quite a few hours honing my shredding technique (developing asbestos tips on the fingers of my left hand, setting off smoke detectors, etc.), when I happened upon Stevie Ray Vaughan, then blues, then jazz, etc. While there is still a part of me that loves to hear guitars played at 900 miles per hour, I have today developed a taste for guitar solos that are more crafty or clever or tasteful than athletic.
NOTE TO ALL THE SHREDDER GUITARISTS OUT THERE WHO ARE GOING TO EMAIL ME HATE COMMENTS: I did say, just one sentence ago, that I still like to listen to that stuff sometimes. Just because it is no longer my favorite stuff doesn't mean I am saying it's terrible. I am also not claiming that any of the guitarists I like are any better than any of the guitarists you like. This is my list. Please send me your own list, and I will read it with interest (if you know any shredders, you'll understand why I have to add this note).
Remember, this is only rock and roll, and doesn't include the likes of Grant Green, Ted Dunbar, George Benson, etc.
In no particular order, given my particular musical thoughts right this minute, not including the tunes that I've forgotten and will remember as soon as I publish this:
1. "Just What I Needed," Elliot Easton, off of The Cars by The Cars. The most tasteful guitar solo ever.
2. "Zombie Woof," Frank Zappa, off of FZ's The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life.
3. "Celebration Day," Jimmy Page, off of Led Zeppelin's III.
4. "Californication," John Frusciante, off of The Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication. An understated masterpiece. This guy is a great musician. When the Chili Peppers brought in Dave Navarro, who just plain can't play much of the stuff that the band recorded with Frusciante, I figured either it would be a short-lived marriage or the band would become just another cookie cutter producer of Heavy Top 40 Music. I am grateful John is back.
5. TIE: "Rude Mood" and "Lenny," Stevie Ray Vaughan, off of Texas Flood. Listen to the first tune to clear your sinuses and the second to drift down the river of paradise to Nirvana.
OK, this is not gonna be a Top 5 list. It will be a Top Somethingorother List.
6. "Bold as Love," Jimi Hendrix, off of Axis: Bold as Love. I normally dig Jimi's rhythm playing more than his soloing, but after listening to this solo, I sort of think that nothing else ever needs to be said ever with a guitar in the world of rock and roll. Ever.
7. "Cliffs of Dover," Eric Johnson, off of Ah Via Musicom. Ah Via Musicom, is, of course, Latin for "Holy Schnikeys! This guy is a monster!"
8. "Chalkdust Torture," Trey Anastasio, off of Phish's A Live One. This SMOKES. A lot. I recommend you listen to it with asbestos earphones just in case.
9. "Crossroads Duel," by Steve Vai and Ry Cooder. At the end of the movie Crossroads (no, not the one with Britney Spears, the one from 1986), there's a guitar duel where our hero fights for his very soul against Satan's gunslinger. This is sometimes mislabeled at download sites as featuring Stevie Ray Vaughan. Vai (who was featured in the movie) played his parts as well as his nemesis Eugene's neo-classical "Eugene's Trick Bag" (largely based on a violin piece by Niccolo Paganini) that ultimately finishes the duel. Cooder played the more bluesy slide guitar parts that Eugene (Ralph Macchio) plays during the duel and throughout the rest of the movie. Yeah, this isn't really a song in the sense that the rest of the items on this list are, and is probably a bit of a holdover from my guitar adolescence, but it is still way cool.