5 Best Guitar Solos of 1989 – And 1 That’s Not Good

1989 was a banner year for guitar instrumentals. Joe Satriani, Gary Moore, Dream Theater, and others were releasing amazing instrumentals. In this roundup, I spotlight five of the best solos, plus one that falls short (literally).

Did you know? The honorable mention of this year is a mystery solo, we can’t be 100% sure who played it.

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First, here are some great albums from the year 1989 with amazing guitar playing in them:

Artist	Album Name	Genre
Accept	Eat the Heat	Metal
Aerosmith	Pump	Rock
Alice Cooper	Trash	Rock/Metal
Anthrax	Penikufesin (EP)	Metal
Badlands	Badlands	Rock/Blues
Blue Murder	Blue Murder	Metal/Rock
Candlemass	Tales of Creation	Metal
Carcass	Symphonies of Sickness	Metal
Coroner	No More Color	Metal
Danger Danger	Danger Danger	Rock/Metal
Don Henley	The End of the Innocence	Rock
Dream Theater	When Dream and Day Unite	Metal/Rock
Eric Clapton	Journeyman	Blues/Rock
Exodus	Fabulous Disaster	Metal
Faith No More	The Real Thing	Rock/Metal
Faster Pussycat	Wake Me When It’s Over	Rock/Metal
Gary Moore	After the War	Blues/Rock
Great White	…Twice Shy	Rock
Joe Satriani	Flying in a Blue Dream	Rock
King Diamond	Conspiracy	Metal
King’s X	Gretchen Goes to Nebraska	Rock/Metal
Kreator	Extreme Aggression	Metal
L.A. Guns	Cocked & Loaded	Rock/Metal
Lou Reed	New York	Rock
Metal Church	Blessing in Disguise	Metal
Ministry	The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste	Metal
Morbid Angel	Altars of Madness	Metal
Mötley Crüe	Dr. Feelgood	Metal/Rock
Nirvana	Bleach	Rock
Overkill	The Years of Decay	Metal
Pestilence	Consuming Impulse	Metal
Red Hot Chili Peppers	Mother’s Milk	Rock
Rush	Presto	Rock
Savatage	Gutter Ballet	Metal/Rock
Sepultura	Beneath the Remains	Metal
Skid Row	Skid Row	Metal/Rock
Sodom	Agent Orange	Metal
Stevie Ray Vaughan	In Step	Blues/Rock
Tesla	The Great Radio Controversy	Rock/Metal
Testament	Practice What You Preach	Metal
The Cult	Sonic Temple	Rock
The Cure	Disintegration	Rock
The Rolling Stones	Steel Wheels	Rock
Tom Petty	Full Moon Fever	Rock
Voivod	Nothingface	Metal
W.A.S.P.	The Headless Children	Metal
Warrant	Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich	Rock/Metal
White Lion	Big Game	Rock/Metal
X Japan	Blue Blood	Metal/Rock

Now, the top solo!

1. Gary Moore – “The Messiah Will Come Again” (Gary Moore)

The Messiah Will Come Again

A haunting, melodic solo that showcases Moore’s ability to blend blues with a heavier edge, building to an emotional climax.

2. Stevie Ray Vaughan – “Riviera Paradise” (Stevie Ray Vaughan)

Riviera Paradise

It doesn’t get better than this when it comes to clean soloing. It’s an amazing blues solo. Check it out.

Browse the best solos of other years:

3. Joe Satriani – “Flying in a Blue Dream” (Joe Satriani)

Joe Satriani - Flying in a Blue Dream

The title track features a soaring, dreamy solo that blends Satriani’s signature legato runs with a psychedelic vibe.

4. W.A.S.P. – “The Heretic (The Lost Child)” (Chris Holmes)

The Heretic (The Lost Child)

Chris Holmes unleashes a blistering outro solo, blending rapid-fire shredding and tapping with raw bent notes. A fierce, unpolished gem that no one talks about.

5. Trevor Rabin – “I Can’t Look Away” (Trevor Rabin)

I Can't Look Away

An emotional and underrated (literally no one talks about this) solo worth listening…at least 6 times.

Honorable Mention

An honorable mention goes to mysterious solo…we can’t be 100% sure who played it. The solo would be on top 5 if it were longer. The solo was most likely played by Mike Slamer, a session guitarist whom Warrant allegedly brought in because their guitarists couldn’t compete with the other top guitarists of this era. The song is Heaven by Warrant. Check the solo out:

Heaven

1 Not-So-Good Guitar Solo: Alice Cooper – “Poison” (John McCurry)

Alice Cooper - Poison

The main solo lasting just 10 seconds falls flat. This song should have a great build-up solo before the last chorus. A solo that starts with bends and finishes with some alternate picking.

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