The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time

Dave and Milt plug into one of rock nerd-dom’s favorite barstool arguments: Rolling Stone’s freshly dropped list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos Ever. Naturally, they treat it less like gospel and more like a karaoke machine somebody spilled beer on. Using the list as a launching pad, the boys unveil their own rankings, judging solos not by how many fingers caught fire, but by the stuff that actually matters — memorability, emotional punch, whether the solo lifts the song into another zip code, and whether it makes you involuntarily air-guitar while driving a Honda Civic through Dedham.

Before the countdown, they detour into the baffling world of the new Michael Jackson biopic, debating what the filmmakers left out, why critics and audiences seem to be watching completely different movies, and whether the smarter move would’ve been focusing tightly on the Quincy Jones years instead of trying to cram an entire galaxy into one film. There’s also a shoutout to fill-in co-host Deirdre, plus Dave proudly announces that son Griffin has officially been accepted to Temple Medical School — proving at least one member of the family made responsible life choices.

Then the amps crank up. Their combined Top 10 rips through The Cars’ “Just What I Needed,” AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long,” Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” Van Halen’s “Eruption,” Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” Eddie Van Halen’s face-melting cameo on “Beat It,” and the Eagles’ “Hotel California.” But when the smoke clears, the #1 slot ends in a dead heat between Prince casually humiliating every mortal guitarist during “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” at the Rock Hall ceremony and The Knack’s gloriously unhinged “My Sharona” solo — because apparently subtlety was not invited to this episode.

Topics

00:59 Star Wars banter

01:28 Michael biopic debate

06:25 Shoutouts and announcements

08:14 Rolling Stone solos list

11:12 Ranking criteria and format

14:38 Number 10 The Cars

19:31 Number 9 AC DC

23:34 Number 8 Queen

26:48 Jazz Fest tangent

28:45 Number 7 Free Bird

33:15 Number 6 Eruption

38:46 Play date misquotes quiz

45:15 Myth Quotes Wrapup

47:03 Stairway Solo Debate

52:02 Beat It Eddie Story

56:17 Hotel California Duel

01:01:28 Tie Twist And Also Rans

01:02:08 Runner Ups Rapid Fire

01:16:27 Prince Hall Of Fame Solo

01:21:12 My Sharona Takes Top Spot

01:28:12 Final Thoughts And Signoff