10 Greatest Guitar Solos Of The '90s

Before the wave of alternative music really crashed into the shore, the '90s seemed to be a decade that would be owned by Metallica. Having already made letter perfect thrash metal for the last few years, this was where they finally crossed over to the mainstream, losing some fans in the process but also becoming one of the biggest bands in the universe. It wasn't a walk in the park to get here though, and Kirk Hammett had to be put through the ringer to actually get a decent solo by Bob Rock's standards.

When tracking the basis of the Unforgiven, Kirk had come in with a drawn out version of what he wanted the solo to be, which everyone absolutely hated when he actually played it. Thinking that he wasn't putting enough time into the solo, Bob ended up pushing Kirk's buttons way too much in the studio, goading him to get something better and calling all of the attempts that he'd done thus far just warm ups before he got to hear the real solo.

It might not have been the healthiest work environment to be in or anything, but Kirk's breaking point finally came with the solo that you hear on the record, taking all of his anger and throwing it into this solo, combining bits and pieces from blues as well as his typical form of metal flash. No guitarist should have to work that hard to get something decent onto the tape, but sometimes you need to suffer if you're looking to make a song perfect.