10 Best Instrumental Rock Music Albums Of All Time

3. Passion And Warfare - Steve Vai

Three-time Grammy Award-winner Steven Siro Vai, better known to the world as Steve Vai, can count himself among the most admired guitarists of all time. He started out in the intimidating and challenging environs of Frank Zappa's band, and went on to enjoy a highly successful career, both solo and in collaboration with a host of greats.

Passion And Warfare (1990) was Vai's second studio release and an intriguing project. Based on a series of dreams which Vai experienced in his younger years, Vai himself memorably described the album as "Jimi Hendrix meets Jesus Christ at a party that Ben Hur threw for Mel Blanc" (in an introduction to the record's accompanying music book).

Vai is nothing if not committed to his art, going so far as to fast for several days in order to place himself in the right mental state for one of the most celebrated tracks here, For The Love Of God. Passion And Warfare, grand at times, exhilarating and incendiary at others, is an all-encompassing trip. It's an album which demands a good pair of headphones and total immersion.