5 Best Guitar Solos of 1988 – And 1 That’s Not Good

In 1988, amazing solos were released…but not every solo struck gold. In this article, I spotlight five of the best guitar solos that defined 1988 and throw in one that falls flat. And as always, leave your thoughts and top 5 in the comments (you’ll find comments after the article below!).

Did you know? Number 2 was heavily influenced by the band’s deceased ex-guitarist.

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First, here are some great albums from the year 1988 with amazing guitar playing in them:

Artist	Album Name	Genre
Metallica	…And Justice for All	Thrash Metal
Iron Maiden	Seventh Son of a Seventh Son	Heavy Metal
Slayer	South of Heaven	Thrash Metal
Megadeth	So Far, So Good… So What!	Thrash Metal
Queensrÿche	Operation: Mindcrime	Progressive Metal
Helloween	Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part II	Power Metal
Poison	Open Up and Say… Ahh!	Glam Metal
Bon Jovi	New Jersey	Hard Rock
Guns N’ Roses	G N’ R Lies	Hard Rock
Van Halen	OU812	Hard Rock
Living Colour	Vivid	Funk Metal/Rock
Cinderella	Long Cold Winter	Glam Metal
Testament	The New Order	Thrash Metal
Anthrax	State of Euphoria	Thrash Metal
Danzig	Danzig	Heavy Metal
King Diamond	“Them”	Heavy Metal
Death	Leprosy	Death Metal
AC/DC	Blow Up Your Video	Hard Rock
R.E.M.	Green	Alternative Rock
U2	Rattle and Hum	Rock
The Traveling Wilburys	Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1	Rock
The Pogues	If I Should Fall from Grace with God	Folk Rock
Jane’s Addiction	Nothing’s Shocking	Alternative Rock
David Lee Roth	Skyscraper	Hard Rock
Robert Plant	Now and Zen	Rock
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts	Up Your Alley	Hard Rock
Winger	Winger	Glam Metal
L.A. Guns	L.A. Guns	Glam Metal
Kingdom Come	Kingdom Come	Hard Rock
The Waterboys	Fisherman’s Blues	Folk Rock
Robben Ford	Talk to Your Daughter	Blues Rock
The Jeff Healey Band	See the Light	Blues Rock
Robert Cray	Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark	Blues Rock
Colin James	Colin James	Blues Rock
Soundgarden	Ultramega OK	Heavy Metal/Rock
Voivod	Dimension Hatröss	Thrash Metal
Riot	Thundersteel	Heavy Metal
Fates Warning	No Exit	Progressive Metal
Overkill	Under the Influence	Thrash Metal
Cacophony	Go Off!	Neoclassical Metal
Dokken	Beast from the East (Live)	Glam Metal
Scorpions	Savage Amusement	Hard Rock
Judas Priest	Ram It Down	Heavy Metal
Ozzy Osbourne	No Rest for the Wicked	Heavy Metal
Bad Company	Dangerous Age	Hard Rock

Now, let’s check out these solos!

1. Metallica – “One” (Kirk Hammet)

One (Remastered)

Kirk Hammett’s solos in “One” have ringed through many amps over decades (including mine). Solos start slow, echoing the song’s haunting narrative, and finish with raw speed and power at the end.

2. Ozzy Osbourne – “Miracle Man” (Zakk Wylde)

Miracle Man

Zakk Wylde unleashes a killer melody-driven alternate picked sequence that hits you hard and will live in your head rent-free. Solo finishes with heavy bends that fit the song perfectly. My favorite Zakk Wylde solo.

Browse the best solos of other years:

3. Robben Ford – “Talk to Your Daughter” (Robben Ford)

Talk to Your Daughter

Robben Ford’s work in “Talk to Your Daughter” is a masterclass in blues-rock soloing. He unleashes his mellow gritty tone that churns out perfect bends and runs that create one of the most underrated solos of all time.

4. Helloween – “Keeper of The Seven Keys” (Kai Hansen & Michael Weikath)

Keeper of the seven keys Helloween (full)

The solos of “Keeper of the Seven Keys” are masterpieces. The clean solo paves the road for the buildup of intensity towards the distorted solo that unleashes the wrath of Helloween to listeners.

5. Cinderella – “Long Cold Winter” (Tom Keifer)

Long Cold Winter

Tom Keifer’s solo in “Long Cold Winter” is a blues-drenched gem. I would call this song and solo a slow-blues-hard-rock. You can feel the pain and emotion when listening to this.

Honorable Mention

An honorable mention goes to Slash for his great acoustic solo on Patience. I really like this song and the solo is underrated. But it’s still missing something that the top 5 had this year.

1 Not-So-Good Guitar Solo: Iron Maiden – “Can I Play with Madness” (Adrian Smith)

Can I Play with Madness (2015 Remaster)

Adrian Smith is behind many brilliant solos and riffs, but this solo just doesn’t do the trick for me. The whole song is probably my least favorite Maiden track.

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