I made a thread like this a while ago, but it's old. Anyway, here goes.

The numbers mean nothing. They are not in order.

Guitar:
1. Yngwie J. Malmsteen - Hot On Your Heels -- Unaccompanied guitar solo on Yngwie's US debut album in a band called Steeler. Crappy song, but the intro is amazing. I've never heard so much be accomplished musically by a single guitar. Not to mention he was what, 18?
2. Julian Bream - Lute Suite No. 2 BWV 997 - Prelude -- Wow. Domination of the instrument. Hard to imagine somebody playing this. Also, the song is amazing. Bach truly is, in my opinnion the greatest composer EVER.
3. Wes Montgomery - Four on Six -- A while ago, I performed this song in jazz band and it's really cool. The 1, 5, 4, 1 intro is awesome. Some of the bess jazz improv. I've ever heard. A Wes Montgomery essential.
4. Yngwie J. Malmsteen - Far Beyond the Sun - Crazy. If I'm not mistaken, the song changes keys and back and forth from 4/4 to 3/4 time, yet you would never notice. Shred and Melody in perfect harmony.
5. Yngwie J. Malmsteen - Black Star -- This was one of the first songs that inspired me to take guitar seriously. When I first heard it, I loved it. It was perfect. I'd never heard anything like it. I was in complete awe of his mastery of the instrument, yet he doesn't flaunt it on this song. 10/10.

Drums:
1. The Pillows - Instant Music -- Shin-Chan's whoring of the crash symbol would usually piss me off. But not this time. Banging in sync with the guitar chomping eigth note chords is not something I typically prefer, but for some reason I like it. I don't know why, but I do.
2. The Pillows - Thunder Whales Picnic -- The drumming alone on this song almost reminds me of something like a Dream Theater song. Not because it's hardkore or anything, but because it's quirky and you can't tell what's coming. On the slow parts, the drum patterns are very unexpected.
3. Yngwie J. Malmsteen - Little Savage -- Oh man. This is the only Yngwie song where I have anything good to say about the drums. On every other song, it's the same old drum pattern. But on this, It's perfect. It's like the guitar and drums are comminucating with eachother and what you get is an awesome song. Probobly the most melodic drumming I've ever heard.

Bass:
1. Yngwie J. Malmsteen - Far Beyond the Sun -- Usually galloping of the bass pisses me off. Not this time. It's not so much the bass, but the rythm in general. The chord progression is what makes this interesting. Even while the guitar is off soloing and being crazy, I can't help but listen to the rythm, the chord progression and the bass.
2. Yngwie J. Malmsteen - Now Your Ships Are Burned -- This song starts off with a strange harmony with the bass and guitars. Not only is the bass technical, but it maintains something special that other songs don't have. Yngwie is a very underrated bass player. Most people only listen to the guitar, but the bass has a lot to offer as well. I find it funny how everything in Yngwie's music is insane. The guitar, bass, keyboard, but not the drums. Quite honestly, besides the forementioned, the drums suck. He overuses the same pattern over and over again that it gets boring. But there I go ranting about drums in a bass section.
3. The pillows - Koi no Spai ni Ki wo Tsukeru -- The bass is all over the place on this song. Shame there's no solo. I can only imagine what Tatsuya would have done here.

Vocals:
1. The Pillows - One Life -- I don't even need to say it. EVERYBODY here knows what I'm talking about.
2. Queen - Bohemian Raphsody -- I've never heard operatic singing like this in a rock song. Somehow they pull it off. A classic.

Overall Songs:
1. Yngwie Malmsteen - Little Savage -- Everything about this song is perfect. From the drums, to keyboard, bass, and believe it or not, the guitar. This song is hardly ever played and it sucks because it's so awesome. Everything from the quick paced intro, to the slow harpischord arrangement, and all of the guitar solos is beyond anything I've previously heard. I particularly like his use of pedal tones right as the song is ending. But that's just me.
2. The Pillows - Sutoenji Kameron -- This song is one of their best. The lead, rythm, and vocals just amaze me. I stand perplexed at how people can come up with this stuff. Not only this song, but every other listed, and many unlisted ones.

Albums:
1. Yngwie J. Malmsteen - Rising Force -- This album was like nothing ever heard before it came out. Not only was the guitar blowing away what everybody else thought was amazing in technicality (eddie), but just the overall feel the CD had. Although this CD in my opinnion introduced many techniques and playing styles that were later used in modern metal, with bands such as Children of Bodom and so on. Yngwie somehow managed to invent a genre, shame guitarists all over the world, and make me erect all with this single album.
2. The Pillows - Please Mr. Lostman -- I've never previously heard anything like this CD. Rock music needs more stuff like this. Nothing too technical, but just the style of music is unlike anything I'd ever heard. Sawao definintly is to credit more than anyone else here, only because of his songwiting and chord progressions. Everything else is top notch as well, though.

What are your favorites. You don't have to go into as much detail as I did, or any at all. But I'm curious to see what you guys like.

Guitar:
-Super Butter Dog-Tenkiyohou
-the pillows-Happy Slave
-Earl Hooker-Two Bugs and a Roach
-Mississippi John Hurt-Let the Mermaids Flirt with Me

Drums:
-Billy Davenport-East West
-Clifton James-Folk Singer

Bass:
-Willie Dixon-Folk Singer
-Donald Dunn-Hip Hug-Her

Vocals:
-Van Morrison-Astral Week/Moondance
-Junior Wells-Ships on the Ocean
-Otis Redding-Sitting on the Dock of the Bay
-Super Butter Dog-Sayanora Color
-Paul Butterfield-Driftin and Driftin/One More Heartache
-Muddy Waters-Folk Singer
-Natural Calamity-Peach Head
-The Velvet Underground-Pale Blue Eyes

Harmonica:
-Paul Butterfield-Driftin and Driftin
-John Mayall-Bye Bye Bird/Parchman Farm
-Sonny Boy Willamson-Dont Start me Talking
-Sonny Terry-Motorcycle Blues

Overall Songs:
-Super Butter Dog-Tenkiyohou
-Natural Calamity-And in the Darkness
-Sonny Terry an Brownie Mcgee-Hand in Hand
-Belle and Sebastian-Me and the Major
-Suneo Hair-Chiru Wakenai Darou

Albums:
-the pillows-Living Field
-Suneo Hair-Sun!Neo!Air
-Super Butter Dog-Grooblue
-The Microphones-It Was Hot we Stayed in the Water
-Galaxie 500-On Fire
-Muddy Waters-Folk Singer
-Paul Butterfield-Resurection of Pigboy Crabshaw
-Sonny Terry and Brownie Mcgee-(Live) At the Second Fret
-The Velvet Undergound-The Velvet Undergound
-Van Morrison-Moon Dance
-Cornelius-69/96
-Hideki Kaji-Tea

I used albums instead of songs for some entries. Also, I didn't feel like writing out anything.

Guitar

1. The Killing Field - the pillows
2. Since I've Been Loving You - Led Zeppelin
3. Freedom - RATM

I had trouble picking songs from each of the bands, but I think Manabe's work on Living Field is great. I wanted to say all of II from Zeppelin for its riffing, but then there's this live version of Since I've Been Loving you that's so passionate... and again, I wanted to say all of Rage's debut album, for its monster riffs, but I went with the closer, Freedom.

Bass

1. Anything from Red Hot Chili Peppers, esp. songs from Californication
Flea wins MVBP every year in my book.
2. Portrait of Tracy - Jaco Pastorius
kelp hooked me on this song. It's pretty hypnotic.
3. Funny Bunny - the pillows
Jun's best work
4. Please Mr. Lostman - the pillows
Although some of Tatsuya's other tracks are more technically impressive, I really dig the bass in the prechorus of this song.

Drums

1. Moby Dick - Led Zeppelin
John Bonham.
2. Four Sticks - Led Zeppelin
Okay, enough Zep.
3. Ame Noti Ame Noti Ame - GO!GO!7188
The cycling drum patterns and raw sound on this track are amazing.

Vocals

1. Something Like a Romance - the pillows
One of my favorite pillows songs. High stuff, right? Sawao nails it.
2. Lithium - Nirvana
I could put just about any Nirvana song here, but this one used to be my favorite song. One of the things about Cobain was that he really knew how to make a kickass vocal melody.
3. Tourette's - Nirvana
Sorry for two Nirvana tracks in a row, but this is screaming at its best.
4. Nippon Hakkyou - Ging Nang Boyz
Just for the screams at the beginning
5. You and I - Ging Nang Boyz
You can feel his pain, brother.

Overall songs

1. Fool on the Planet - the pillows
Perfect verses
2. Funny Bunny - the pillows
Perfect chorus
3. Happy Bivouac - the pillows
Perfect intro guitar
4. Imagine - John Lennon
Probably the most profound lyrics evar.
5. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring - J. S. Bach
I have this track (from end of eva) of this song played relatively slowly just on piano, and it rules the world.
6. Canon in D - Johann Pachelbel
This and Jesu are probably the highest achievements of classical music.

Albums

1. Happy Bivouac - the pillows
Everything I wish I could create in music.
2. Please Mr. Lostman - the pillows
I like it almost as much as HB.
3. Revolver - The Beatles
Yeah. Duh.
4. Gravity Thief - noodles
Yoko's voice at its sexiest.

I know I left a lot of great stuff out.

[quote="Jomei"]This and Jesu are probably the highest achievements of classical music.[/quote]
J.S. Bach BWV 1016 - Orchestral Suite no. 5 in D major - Air

[quote="StevenB130"][quote="Jomei"]This and Jesu are probably the highest achievements of classical music.[/quote]
J.S. Bach BWV 1016 - Orchestral Suite no. 5 in D major - Air[/quote]
All very good choices. But I have to add Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, one of my favorite pieces of music.

J.S. Bach > Beethoven.

Hard.

Guitar-

Yoshiaki J. Manabe & Sawao J. Yamanaka- Fool on the Planet
David J. Gilmour- Comfortably Numb
David J. Gilmour- Dogs
Robert J. Fripp- 21st Century Schizoid Man
Robert J. Fripp- I Talk To the Wind
Mårten J. Hagström- Straws Pulled at Random

Bass-

Tatsuya Kashima- Strange Chameleon
Trevor Dunn- Liver Colored Dew
Caetano Veloso- Vive Genghis Khan
John Paul Jones- Dazed and Confused
Richard D. James- vordhosbn
Timothy Commerford- Calm Like a Bomb
Basho Mizoguchi- Lief Erikson Was Unfaithful To His Wife at the YMCA

Drums-

Chris Pennie- Come to Daddy
Tomas Haake- Straws Pulled at Random
Dave Lombardo- The Godfather
Danny Carey- Ticks and Leeches

Vocals/Lyrics-

August Gunderson/Cameron Winchester/Zack Hunter- Did You Get the Feeling That That Man Was Stealing From the Take-a-Penny-Leave-a-Penny Jar?
Sawao Yamanaka- Strange Chameleon
Roger Waters- Dogs
Peter Sinfield- Epitaph

Keys-

Claude Debussy- Reverie

[quote="StevenB130"]J.S. Bach > Beethoven.

Hard.[/quote]

Debussy > Chopin > J.S. Bach > Beethoven.

Guitar:

1. Turbonegro - The Age of Pamparius
2. Metallica - Fade to Black
3. Smashing Pumpkins - Zero
4. The White Stripes - Ball and Biscuit
5. Louis XIV - Pledge of Allegiance
This is a video of a live version to understand why I love the guitars in this song. [url]http://click.rollingstone.com/?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rollingstone.com%2FprerollHurl%3FclipId%3D186796%26id%3D7425918&ismedia=true&pageid=rs.ArtistVideos&pageregion=mainRegion[/url]

Bass:

1. The Pillows - Sleepy Head
2. Pink Floyd - One of These Days
3. L'arc~en~ciel - READY STEADY GO

Drums:

1. Led Zepplin - Moby Dick
2. The Pillows - Freebee Honey
3. Metallica - One

Vocals:

1. Tony Bennett - I Left My Heart In San Francisco
2. The Pillows - Kono Yo No Hate Made
3. Pink Floyd - Brain Damage
4. Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated

Albums:

1. Pink Floyd - The Wall
2. Green Day - American Idiot
3. Turbonegro - Apocalypse Dudes
4. The Pillows - RUNNERS HIGH

It was hard for me to choose which song for which because I love so many genres of music.

[quote="discovolante"]Jun Suzuki/Tatsuya Kashima maybe- Strange Chameleon[/quote]

Pfft.

[quote="overAmped"][quote="StevenB130"][quote="Jomei"]This and Jesu are probably the highest achievements of classical music.[/quote]
J.S. Bach BWV 1016 - Orchestral Suite no. 5 in D major - Air[/quote]
All very good choices. But I have to add Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, one of my favorite pieces of music.[/quote]

I thought about that, but I have bad associations with that Beethoven song now.

Steve, you should send me that one when you're on AIM.

[quote="omnistry"]4. The White Stripes - Ball and Biscuit[/quote]

Oh man, I used to jam on that song with my band so much.

This thread needs more fat people.

[quote="StevenB130"]This thread needs more fat people.[/quote]

So if Culen came in to talk about Yngwie, then it would be perfect.

[quote="kelp"][quote="discovolante"]Jun Suzuki/Tatsuya Kashima maybe- Strange Chameleon[/quote]

Pfft.[/quote]

I just like the way the song is written. I could easily go with Happy Slave, Fool on the Planet, or Angel Fish, but the bass flows so greatly with the song.


Queen.

[quote="discovolante"]I just like the way the song is written. I could easily go with Happy Slave, Fool on the Planet, or Angel Fish, but the bass flows so greatly with the song.


Queen.[/quote]

Not that, idiot. It's how you made the nod to Suzuki and barely to Kashima. Compare the Shinjuku Liquid room performance of Strange Chameleon to any of Jun's attempts.

[quote="kelp"][quote="discovolante"]I just like the way the song is written. I could easily go with Happy Slave, Fool on the Planet, or Angel Fish, but the bass flows so greatly with the song.


Queen.[/quote]

Not that, idiot. It's how you made the nod to Suzuki and barely to Kashima. Compare the Shinjuku Liquid room performance of Strange Chameleon to any of Jun's attempts.[/quote]

Ahh, fair enough. Since I changed the song from Fool on the Planet to Strange Chameleon, I kept the players as they were because I did not know who actually played it. Edit'd!

Also, do you have a copy of that performance? I can't find it...