Are guitar solos not as awesomely advanced as they used to be?

What would you regard as a or the highwater mark(s) of awesomely advancedness in guitar solos? How about the current nadir?

And advanced, meaning - hilarious, over-the-top technique? Where-the-fuck did that idea come from? Or I could never play that in a million years? Or some combo of the three?

Metalheads be philosophers, yo.

The expression on Kirk's face when Lars tells him that he doesn't want solos is one of the greatest things of all time

Not necessarily in JUST art metal, but I think Scott's hit on the core here – most of the bands that have really interesting guitars players that might be capable of having cool solos tend to be of the mind that solos are passe or dumb or whatever...

Guitar solos can serve one of two functions within a song. They can serve a repetitive function, by reinforcing a melodic theme that has already been introduced (see most Kurt Cobain solos, which typically follow the vocal melody of the song). This type of solo, although it serves a purpose, doesn't interest me that much, as the way it works is pretty obvious. I'm more interested in the incongruous solo; that is, the solo that works by introducing a new sound to the song.
An incongruous solo can be incongruous in a number of ways. It can introduce a new melodic theme. I'm having trouble thinking of an example of this, but trust me, they exist. If done properly, this could be the most satisfying type of solo, as it could work as an addition to the song structure as opposed to being superfluous. The solo can be stylistically incongruous. For example, the heavy metal guitarists tended to base their solos off of classical themes of pomp and virtuosity, to contrast with more traditional "rock" aspects of the rest of the song. A solo can also be incongruous by means of sound; for example, a heavily processed electric guitar in a primarily acoustic song, or vice-versa. Thus we get the cliche of the guitarist frantically stepping on several effects pedals just before the solo starts, hopefully timing it so that a sudden burst of feedback or amp noise leads right into the awesomeness.
The problem with the incongruous solo is that incongruity fades. What was incongruous for one generation becomes the norm for the next. When we hear a metal solo today, we don't hear classical themes, we hear metal themes, and a metal solo in a metal song just isn't that interesting. Indie bands tended to adopt an intentionally hamfisted or incompetent soloing style. This started as an aural joke, an anticlimax, before losing its incongruity and becoming the "accepted" style.
I'm not sure what the next step for the guitar solo is. It would be naive to proclaim that the guitar solo is dead, but I'm having trouble imagining how it can stay vital.

Guitar solos for study and discussion:
Brian Eno - "The Paw-Paw Negro Blowtorch" (soloist: Adrian Belew)
Silkworm - "Miracle Mile" (soloist: Andy Cohen)
The Kinks - "You Really Got Me" (soloist: Ray Davies or Dave Davies, I can never remember which one's which)

word! I LOVE Andy Cohen...one of the few indie rock dudes that does great solos on a consistent basis.

dood, that ain't belew on "paw paw negro blowtorch" it's either manzanera, chris speding or the man his self..

it's not acid-metal, but the wah-wah solo in 'Zozobra' makes my fucking day every time i hear it. it is perfect, and one of my favorite solos in a long time.

dave.

(i'm pretty sure ray doesn't play at all on that track. if i've got my history right, it's jimmy page on rhythm, dave davies on lead, and ray just singing. i mean, not "just" singing. but just, um, singing.)

One of the (many) things I love about Cyndi Lauper's She's So Unusual is how many of the songs, aside from being synth-based, have chirpy little synthesizer solos inserted into the songs, in the exact spots where you'd expect to find guitars if you'd purchased a record by, say, Pat Benatar instead. And those solos apparently only existed to create a momentary diversion or spotlight a cool sound, rather than personal expression or even just showing off.