Rock Songs With the Best Instrumentals

A lot of great songs have great lyrics, but some songs have some pretty great instrumental parts as well. These are the best of those songs, whether they're completely instrumental or not.
The Top Ten
1 Orion (Metallica)

Just when everyone thought Metallica was history they released "Death Magnetic", and that stuff is a little redundant on the riffs but still shows they can jam harder and longer than any band so far.

This songs is a fact to show how great a best bassist of alltimes like cliff burton. However Metallica was start it all, then dream theater follow it. And then many band making their instrumental songs own

No one beats the great interlude with the guitars going and the bass with the drums keeping it together and not making it to fancy. End of story. ORION!

2 YYZ (Rush)

Eruption is overrated (I know at least three guys who can definitely play Eruption). YYZ, however, is quite the opposite. Alex Lifeson showcases one of the greatest guitar solos ever in the form of the famous instrumental, YYZ. Rush is underrated, and Alex's guitar skills are too under appreciated.

There are no lyrics.. It's an INSTRUMENTAL! In my opinion the greatest band of all time.. "Yeah how about of all time. " And also this is a fact the greatest drummer of all time.. This song will have playing air drums and air base the whole way through and that third drum solo will make anyone go insane.

3 Eruption (Van Halen)

One of the only true "instrumentals"on the list. And one of the best ever made.
Van Halen was one of the greatest bands of the 1980s, and of all time in my opinion.

The best instrumental ever! And one of the best guitarists too

You can never go wrong with this song.

4 The Call of Ktulu (Metallica)

This list is so innacurate I want to cringe. The list should contain this and Orion, (Suicide and Redemption is awesome too) For the Love of God by Steve Vai, Black Star by Yngwie Malmsteen, Cliffs of Dover by Eric Johnson, Eruption, Buckethead, and so on. Come on guys, stop voting for songs that aren't instrumentals.

This song is incredible, I love Metallica and all their work but I don't know how someone can say Orion is better than call of ktulu!

AMAZING SONG! Shows the incredible range that Metallica has. And half the songs on this list aren't even instrumentals

5 Sleep Walk (The Ventures)

Sleepwalking by Santo & Johnny is classic.

6 Scene Seven: I. The Dance of Eternity (Dream Theater)
7 Red (King Crimson)
8 Soothsayer (Buckethead)

If we could hear God in music Buckethead would be his prophet. The raw emotion and depth carried by this song is unreal. No other guitarist in the world can match his skill.

Let's say Soothsayer is here to represent Buckethead as there is far more great song from him. This one has both feeling and technicity, I can't think of any other guitarist that reaches such a high level both technicaly and on the writing

How in the name of god isn't soothsayer on the top 10?! It saddens me to see how underrated buckethead is and this song is easily better than most of the ones in the first 10.

9 Jessica (The Allman Brothers Band)

Great song, 15 year old, but I love the Allmans, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed is pretty good as well, but not as good as Jessica. I read they named it Jessica because when they was writing it, Dickeys daughter Jessica (who was a baby at the time) was dancing around to the tempo of the song so they named it after her. Dickeys my hero #7 best guitarist of all time in my opinion, have a great day all yall

I lived in "Beirut, Lebanon for nearly four years during the Israeli - Syrian-Lebanese war in the early 80's. The "Allman Brothers" were a saving grace during all the madness. I lived there for nearly four years. It's a beautiful country caught in the fury of war. If it weren't for the people and the music the world would be nearly unbearable. "Tim Elfstrom" from Connecticut.

10 La Villa Strangiato (Rush)

What is wrong with the voters? Have they ever listened to this masterpiece? Any place lower than 2nd is witless! This song has one of the best guitar solo ever made. But the problem is, most of the listeners of this generation don't know music. They tend to know the most popular band and go with them. Orion and La Villa Strangiato are the best instrumentals ever.

Greatest instrumental track in my opinion, but for everyone else's info complaining this list is dedicated to the instrumentals of any song, not songs that are only instrumentals. The description of the list states this

The Contenders
11 Son of Alerik (Deep Purple)
12 Maggot Brain (Funkadelic)

The best guitar instrument ever..

13 Genghis Khan (Iron Maiden)
14 Misirlou (Dick Dale)
15 Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin)

Yes this song is one of the greatest songs of all time and many others on tis list but they are NOT instrumentals, I repeat NOT instrumentals, they are good songs but they shouldn't be on his list.

I don't know what they are talking about his is not an instrumental it has a guitar solo and a guitar intro but...

Amazing guitar and drums in song, it should be a instrumental! Great Song! My most favourite rock song.

16 Trampled Under Foot (Led Zeppelin)

While all these songs are good, they are not instrumental formgods sake!

17 Crimson Tide and Deep Blue Sea (Nightwish)

The best instrumental by the best rock group, no doubt. One of the best cover songs ever. It takes one's soul to the deeps of the oceans.

Best instrumental song ever, no question.

18 To Live is to Die (Metallica)

NO, No no... To live is to die is the best instrumental song dedicated to best bassist by the best band... It's more than a song, it's a Masterpiece! Sometimes words are not enough to make you cry! This is my favorite instrumental song of all times!

19 Time to Wake Up (30 Seconds to Mars)
20 Frankenstein (Edgar Winter)
21 On the Run (Pink Floyd)
22 Moby Dick (Led Zeppelin)
23 Baba O'Riley (The Who)

This song has one of the greatest riffs ever, in all of its simplicity.
Oh, and it also has a violin solo.

24 Little Martha (The Allman Brothers Band)

What a great acoustic masterpiece!

25 Stream of Consciousness (Dream Theater)

This and DoE are probably the best instrumentals I've ever listened to. Dream Theater is certainly a ground-breaking band when it comes to pure musicianship... Just can't beat em. Can't believe this is below New Divide by Linkin Park of all things (which, like the posters above me pointed out, isn't even an instrumental), let alone not on the top ten. But anyways whatever, DT will never get the recognition they deserve it seems, and I'm just glad that me and some others can comprehend the master musicianship they have to offer. Amazing Song.

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