Top Dream Theater Guitar Solos

petrucci75hammet What does everyone think the greatest bit of guitar work by John Petrucci is?

The Top Ten

1 The Best of Times

This solo has the perfect blend between emotion and complexity. There is some nice slower parts along with sweep arpeggios that have a fair amount of speed, but don't get too out of hand. The fade out always makes me want to turn the volume up at the very end to hear what I'm missing out on. - aaronbonneau

This solo kicks every solo on this list's butt and it kicks Comfortably Numb, Mr Crowley, Sairway to Heaven and every other great solo's butt on both the emotional and the technical aspects.

Epic sweeps and feeling combined with shredding, Amazing.

This tops the list for me, but not far behind is his "Lines in the Sand" solo in Bucharest circa 2002.

V 9 Comments
2 Breaking All Illusions

My favorite guitar solo from Dream Theater. Getting chills every time!

Very emotional solo, not just shredding.

This solo inspired me to play the guitar

V 1 Comment
3 Under a Glass Moon

This is his best studio solo. No doubt. His live solos are good too, like: Take The Time (Live in Japan 1993) and Hollow Years at the Budokan. - moose4life19

The back and forth with piano and guitar is killer enough, but the little three (three, right? ) note stutter right at the beginning of the guitar-only section gets me every time.

This solo is good, but seriously why is the best of times solo not even on the list!

Such a technical solo that's unpredictable and so unstandard. Petrucci shows master guitar players how to be unique with every phrase in the progression. It's really a combination of many different mini solos among different styles expertly combined in a coherent, 1 minute story.

V 5 Comments
4 Lie

I really love this song. The whole song makes me feel like I can carry the world. Woah, I love this so much. Can I cry?

Yes sir you can cry. it should be legal in all 50 states to cry during a dream theater song - Messej

5 The Spirit Carries On

Probably the best ever

The only guitar solo that almost made me cry... no I didn't cry... was ninja cutting onions close me...ok maybe a tear from the left eye...and one from the right one...maybe

Fast... emotional... amazing... it is my favourite, beacouse is a masterpiece of thecnich and melody...

6 Home

Amazing solo on top of amazing riffing

7 Hollow Years from Live at Budokan 2004

My favorite solo by Petrucci, so emotionally moving yet extremely technical at the same time! Why couldn't this solo be on the album version?

The guitar solo of this song in that concert is absolutely mind blowing.

. I love it that so many of you think the same

8 Lines In the Sand V 2 Comments
9 In the Name of God

I don't know why but this solo is really epic in my opinion, especially at the end when it goes back into the section that is all heave again, followed by the slowish epic section that the keyboardist plays

Best DT solo after Under a Glass Moon... Plain 100% full-speed shredding for the first 45 seconds of the solo and then comes the entire band as Petrucci keeps shredding... Hauntingly epic solo. - fidelcanojr

Not only the johns guitar but mike also plays very cool creative drums witch makes the song perfect!

When I first saw that this song was not on the top ten I wanted to cry.

I could not comprehend why a song with 5 back-to-back solos (three of whitch are synchronized with Jordan, and only one is just the keytar) was not NUMBER 1.
So pleas vote this song up it truly is unbeatable!

10 The Glass Prison

The arpeggio solo is really good and the final solo is also awesome... all the solos are great in the song - rock2metal

How is this #9? I can't even play the arpeggio solo at the beginning, it should be #3 at least - thatotherdude99

The Contenders

11 Constant Motion

This solo man, it starts out with a great melodic section, it just sounds like the guitar is crying. Then you get into the real fast part, damn. The sweeping toward the end is insane, and then the incredibly fast alt picking triplets at the end. This solo has it all.

12 Fatal Tragedy

#11?! Are you kidding me half of this song is solo and epicness. Petrucci rocked the guitar portnoy beat the drums rudess keyboard playing and myungs bass and he wrote this song and also labrie singing

V 1 Comment
13 Take the Time

Youuuu can feel the waves commin on! Just the best dt song with the most beautiful solo ever - Mouseclick

14 As I Am

Followed by one of their greatest drum solos.

So fast and technical, just perfect

V 2 Comments
15 Lost Not Forgotten

Holy balls this needs to be higher! The tone is killer and he just shreds with absolute sophistication. It's astonishing.

16 A Change of Seasons

Easily their Best Song and john's Best Solo

17 Another Day

Awesome melodic solo by Petrucci!

V 1 Comment
18 Stream of Consciousness

This whole song is a technical masterpiece - Portnoy's drum rhythms, Petrucci's guitar-shredding and Rudess's keyboards - an 11-minte instrumental which does not ONCE get boring! - petrucci75hammet

I can NEARLY play the solo so that's why I'm voting this haha

Should be first

19 The Dark Eternal Night

The shreddage in this song, not only the solos but the entire duration from start to finish, is probably one of the most virtuoso performances in metal history. But the solos; damn, them solos; are some of the few that can combine multiple techniques, fastness, incredible heaviness and maintain it's melodic memorability.
This song is a sure-fire head banger's classic, hands down!

John is a God! This solo is unnatural!

V 1 Comment
20 Octavarium

This divine solo, ending this masterpiece... After 20 mins of the true Dream Theater, John Petrucci pulls this wonderful guitar solo that, for me, is better than "The Best of Times". Such a feeling. This gives me chills. It really does.

This is easily their best song and solo

Oh come on the ending had a amazing solo but I do aggree under a glass moon is the best solo

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List StatsUpdated 21 Jul 2017

500 votes
44 listings
7 years, 344 days old

Top Remixes (7)

1. In the Name of God
2. Octavarium
3. Constant Motion
Messej
1. Breaking All Illusions
2. The Best of Times
3. Lines In the Sand
petrucci75hammet
1. The Best of Times
2. Octavarium
3. A Change of Seasons
TrappedInsideIt

WRemix
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