The Playlist: Q107 Top 60 GUITAR SOLOS

Q107 is the classic rock station of the Toronto area and they took the time to vote in their favourite songs featuring some really wicked solos. The guitar solo is what separates the men from boys in rock and roll and the songs listed below are truly some of the Rock Gods of our time. Below is the Top 60 Greatest Solos in Classic Rock as voted by the fans.

60. "Cocaine" by Eric Clapton

59. "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith (Joe Perry)

58. "Wooden Ships" by Crosby, Stills & Nash (Stephen Stills)

57. "Working Man" by Rush (Alex Lifeson)

56. "Beck's Bolero" by Jeff Beck

55. "Foreplay/Long Time" by Boston (Barry Goudreau/Tom Scholz)

54. "Paradise City" by Guns 'N' Roses (Slash)

53. "Heartbreaker/Living Loving Maid" by Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

52. "Alive" by Pearl Jam (Mike McCready)

51. "New Year's Day" by U2 (The Edge)

50. "Little Wing" by Jimi Hendrix

49. "Keep Yourself Alive" by Queen (Brian May)

48. "25 or 6 to 4" by Chicago (Terry Kath)

47. "Barracuda" by Heart (Nancy Wilson)

46. "Who Are You" by The Who (Pete Townshend) 

45. "Limelight" by Rush (Alex Lifeson)

44. "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top (Billy Gibbons)

43. "White Room" by Cream (Eric Clapton)

42. "Roundabout" by Yes (Steve Howe)

41. "Jessica" by The Allman Brothers Band (Dickey Betts)

40. "Pride & Joy" by Stevie Ray Vaughan

39. "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End" by The Beatles (Paul McCartney/George Harrison/John Lennon)

38. "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC (Angus Young)

37. "All We Are" by Kim Mitchell

36. "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" by Santana (Carlos Santana)

35. "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath (Tony Iommi)

34. "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who (Pete Townshend)

33. "Money" by Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)

32. "YYZ" by Rush (Alex Lifeson)

31. "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix

30. "Light My Fire" by The Doors (Robbie Krieger)

29. "Since I've Been Loving You" by Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

28. "Hey Hey My My (Into The Black)" by Neil Young

27. "Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith (Joe Perry)

26. "Do You Feel Like We Do" by Peter Frampton

25. "Reeling In The Years" by (Elliot Randall)

24. "American Woman" by The Guess Who (Randy Bachman)

23. "November Rain" by Guns N' Roses (Slash)

22. "Hot For Teacher" by Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)

21. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)

20. "Sultans Of Swing" by Dire Straits (Mark Knopfler)

19. "Tom Sawyer" by Rush (Alex Lifeson)

18. "Highway Star" by Deep Purple (Ritchie Blackmore)

17. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by The Beatles (Eric Clapton/George Harrison)

16. "Sympathy For The Devil" by The Rolling Stones (Keith Richards)

15. "Dazed & Confused" by Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

14. "Crossroads" by Cream (Eric Clapton)

13. "Sweet Child 'O Mine" by Guns 'N' Roses (Slash)

12. "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne (Randy Rhoads)

11. "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen (Brain May)

10. "Hotel California" by Eagles (Don Felder/Joe Walsh)

9. "Time" by Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)

8. "All Along The Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix

7. "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

6. "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd (Allen Collins/Garry Rossington)

5. "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" by Jimi Hendrix

4. "Layla" by Derek & The Dominos (Eric Clapton)

3. "Eruption/You Really Got Me" by Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)

2. "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)

1. "Stairway To Heaven" by Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)

Since it was voted by the fans, I'm not surprised that "Stairway To Heaven" was voted number one since it is universally considered the best song in rock ever but MY personal choice for number one would have been "Comfortably Numb" which just oozes with feeling. Also, where is "Cliffs Of Dover"?! All in all, it's a pretty good list filled with Clapton and Hendrix so I'm happy.

The Playlist: MY Top 20 NEW ROCK RIFFS

Now here is MY personal favorite riff list. I did my best to follow the rules, laid out by the original Edge Riff List meaning only songs that they would play on a new rock station like Edge 102.1, and only one song per artist (which makes for a more interesting list otherwise this entire list would be made up entirely of only RATM and QOTSA songs). This limitation also takes away from classic rock and metal songs (no Beatles here!).

20. "Downfall" by TRUSTCompany
19. "Last Resort" by Papa Roach
18. "Dammit" by Blink 182
17. "Down With The Sickness" by Disturbed
16. "Check My Brain" by Alice in Chains
15. "Schism" by Tool
14. "Romantic Rights" by Death From Above 1979
13. "Bulls On Parade" by Rage Against The Machine
12. "In My Place" by Coldplay
11. "El Scorcho" by Weezer
10. "Brain Stew" by Green Day
9. "Plug In Baby" by Muse
8. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana
7. "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers
6. "Interstate Love Song" by Stone Temple Pilots
5. "Enter Sandman" by Metallica
4. "No One Knows" by Queens Of The Stone Age
3. "Sweet Child O Mine" by Guns 'N Roses
2. "Slither" by Velvet Revolver
1. "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes



Slash himself calls "Seven Nation Army" this generation's "Smoke on the Water," as in the first song that everyone learns how to play on the guitar. A great riff is instantly recognizable and people should be able to hum along to it immediately and "Seven Nation Army" has this in spades.

The Playlist: Josie's Top 20 Edge Riffs

On my way home from a weekend road trip to Chicago (there will be something about this later), we caught local Toronto new rock station 102.1 The Edge and their top 20 "Edge" Riffs. 

If anyone knows anything about my taste in music - I am in love with the "riff".  A "riff" is a short, repeated, memorable musical phrase that a song revolves around.  This musical idea is what gets in your head, what separates it from other songs, what makes a song special. The riff can make a good rock song into a legendary rock song.

Check out the list below.  While I don't necessarily agree with this list, it still has some pretty awesome songs.