Most rock songs use guitar solos as icing. In some rare cases, the solo is an essential element incorporated into the batter of the proverbial song-cake. Here are the six best songs that are at least 50 percent guitar solo. Let us know your favorites in the comments below.
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6. White Stripes - "Ball And Biscuit;" 56% solo "Ball And Biscuit" is one of the White Stripes' bluesiest tracks, so naturally, it features one long-ass solo from Jack White. There's a 37 second tease around the 1:45 mark, but from 3:49 to the end, it's all killer wails, Jack White at his dirtiest. Meg White is sometimes a punching bag for critics, but her cavewoman sloppiness on "Ball And Biscuit" keeps Jack on his toes - toes that sound like they're stomping on some kind of Whammy or other pitch-shifting pedal at a few key spots.
5. Pink Floyd - "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (pt. 1);" 50% solo "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" bookends Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here album, and it is massively indulgent in the best way. Guitar solo here, Minimoog solo there, fade out on a sax solo, and that's just part one. Roger Waters' vocals are only present for around three of the song's thirteen-plus minutes, and even then every line is answered by David Gilmour's guitar. Multiple solos from Gilmour add up to exactly half of the song's running time, and each one displays his signature - tons of dramatic bends, very slow lines, melodies adjusted for crucial chord changes. Gilmour's solos themselves might be the only economical element to "Shine On You Crazy Diamond."
4. Built To Spill - "Some;" 52% solo The easiest (read: laziest) comparison to Doug Martsch from Built To Spill is Stephen Malkmus from Pavement. Both favor enthusiasm over accuracy, and both like their solos lengthy. The big difference is that Malkmus's sloppiness comes from a defiant apathy and Marsch's sounds like he just got way too high to realize he's being sloppy. "Some" is not the best song on BTS's landmark There's Nothing Wrong With Love, but it might be the most important to the album's structure, functioning as the second half of the adorable and short "Twin Falls, Idaho." Taking turns between whispering verses and maxed out distorted choruses (thanks, Pixies!), "Some" is the essential rock-out on the record. You can just imagine Martsch with his eyes closed, totally "feeling it."
