10 Best Grunge Guitar Solos

After the musical cleansing of Temple of the Dog, the emergence of Pearl Jam from the ashes of Mother Love Bone was destined to be something special. With newly acquired superstar Eddie Vedder among their ranks, the band's debut with Ten marked the beginning of the grunge explosion, as songs like Even Flow and Jeremy became worldwide hits after their initial release. On the other hand, the real culmination of everything great about this record can be traced back to Alive.

For most of the track, Vedder's vocal performance is the main focus, with Stone Gossard's riffs just being the backdrop for this twisted tale of a broken family. Despite the intense subject matter of the song, the lift that you get in the chorus is enough to pick you up off your feet. Just when you think you've hit the peak, Mike McCready's guitar solo closes out the entire track with some of the most incredible licks of the decade.

Almost a descendent of the Hendrix school of rock, these bluesy stabs have so much emotion behind them, as McCready spends every note he has to make his six-string cry. Ending on a grand finale style chord, this is the sound of what happens when you see a craftsman painting his masterpiece. Whereas other grunge artists made classics without any flashiness, you knew things were going to be different across the rock community after this solo was over.