# The 18 Best Progressive Metal Guitar Solos of All Time

> The 18 best progressive metal guitar solos of all time, ranked. #1 is Under a Glass Moon by Dream Theater. Every video starts at the solo.

Canonical URL: <https://greatestsolos.com/list/prog-metal-guitar-solos/>

Progressive metal mixes heavy riffs with odd time signatures and long-form writing, and its guitarists are some of the most technical in rock. This list covers the genre from Queensrÿche and Dream Theater to Opeth, Mastodon, Periphery and Plini, and every video starts right at the solo.

1. [Under a Glass Moon](https://greatestsolos.com/song/dream-theater-under-a-glass-moon/) — Dream Theater · solo by John Petrucci · 1992
2. [Metropolis—Part I: "The Miracle and the Sleeper](https://greatestsolos.com/song/dream-theater-metropolispart-i-the-miracle-and-the-sleeper/) — Dream Theater · solo by John Petrucci · 1992
3. [The Spirit Carries On](https://greatestsolos.com/song/dream-theater-the-spirit-carries-on/) — Dream Theater · solo by John Petrucci · 1999
4. [The Divine Wings of Tragedy](https://greatestsolos.com/song/symphony-x-the-divine-wings-of-tragedy/) — Symphony X · solo by Michael Romeo · 1997
5. [Burden](https://greatestsolos.com/song/opeth-burden/) — Opeth · solo by Mikael Åkerfeldt & Fredrik Åkesson · 2008
6. [The Last Baron](https://greatestsolos.com/song/mastodon-the-last-baron/) — Mastodon · solo by Brent Hinds · 2009
7. [Eyes of a Stranger](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queensryche-eyes-of-a-stranger/) — Queensrÿche · solo by Chris DeGarmo & Michael Wilton · 1988
8. [The Dance of Eternity](https://greatestsolos.com/song/dream-theater-the-dance-of-eternity/) — Dream Theater · solo by John Petrucci · 1999
9. [Crystal Mountain](https://greatestsolos.com/song/death-crystal-mountain/) — Death · solo by Chuck Schuldiner · 1995
10. [Jambi](https://greatestsolos.com/song/tool-jambi/) — Tool · solo by Adam Jones · 2006
11. [Glasgow Kiss](https://greatestsolos.com/song/john-petrucci-glasgow-kiss/) — John Petrucci · solo by John Petrucci · 2005
12. [Oblivion](https://greatestsolos.com/song/mastodon-oblivion/) — Mastodon · solo by Brent Hinds · 2009
13. [Luck as a Constant](https://greatestsolos.com/song/periphery-luck-as-a-constant/) — Periphery · solo by Misha Mansoor · 2012
14. [CAFO](https://greatestsolos.com/song/animals-as-leaders-cafo/) — Animals as Leaders · solo by Tosin Abasi · 2009
15. [Blackwater Park](https://greatestsolos.com/song/opeth-blackwater-park/) — Opeth · solo by Mikael Åkerfeldt & Peter Lindgren · 2001
16. [Handmade Cities](https://greatestsolos.com/song/plini-handmade-cities/) — Plini · solo by Plini · 2016
17. [Silvera](https://greatestsolos.com/song/gojira-silvera/) — Gojira · solo by Joe Duplantier · 2016
18. [Octavarium](https://greatestsolos.com/song/dream-theater-octavarium/) — Dream Theater · solo by John Petrucci · 2005

## Quick answers

### What is the best progressive metal guitar solo?

John Petrucci's solo on Dream Theater's "Under a Glass Moon" (1992). It is the highest-ranked song on this list in the GreatestSolos Consensus rankings, at number 64.

### Which Tool song has a talk box guitar solo?

"Jambi" (2006), on which Adam Jones plays his solo through a talk box.

### How many Dream Theater songs are on this list?

Five: "Under a Glass Moon", "Metropolis—Part I", "The Spirit Carries On", "The Dance of Eternity" and "Octavarium", all with John Petrucci on guitar. His solo track "Glasgow Kiss" (2005) is also included.

---

GreatestSolos ranks the greatest guitar solos by consensus across published lists. Agent guide: [llms.txt](https://greatestsolos.com/llms.txt) · [Sitemap](https://greatestsolos.com/sitemap.xml) · [Dataset (CSV)](https://greatestsolos.com/data/greatest-guitar-solos.csv) · [How we rank](https://greatestsolos.com/method/)