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The sad news that Ventures guitarist Bob Bogle died last Sunday at age 75 from cancer sent me back to listen his band's twangy, catchy instrumental surf rock. For an instant aural evocation of hot rods and surfboards, check out the quartet's 1960's No. 2 hit single "Walk Don't Run" and 1968's theme from "Hawaii Five-O." Those sounds will live on well after we do.

Though Bogle's Tacoma, Washington outfit made its name at a time when rock instrumentals regularly had teens frugging by the radio, that era is long gone. Instrumentals rarely chart anymore. But even if they're no longer hits, they still get made. There have been plenty of great wordless wonders cut since the music's late '50s and early '60s heyday. So in honor of Bogle's passing, my five favorite rock instrumentals are listed below. What are yours?

1. Tortoise, "Djed"

Of the many '90s groups lumped into the "post-rock" corner of the indie world, Tortoise were the most diverse, specializing in extended atmospheric soundscaping that partook of dub reggae's bass-heavy production techniques, rap-style sampling, and jazzy polyrhythms. At 21 slowly morphing minutes, "Djed" is the Chicago quintet's masterpiece.

2. Rush, "YYZ"

As a Canadian, I'm obligated to include a Rush song. The Toronto power trio is well known for its virtuoso musicianship, which can be heard in full flower on this rhythmically tricky track, which alternates between stuttering metal riffs and quasi-symphonic flourishes.

3. Minutemen, "Cohesion"

Bassist Mike Watt, the late guitarist-singer D. Boon, and drummer George Hurley had a gift for creating huge-hearted, populist punk-funk that helped make them folk heroes during the '80s indie explosion. They weren't just mashers though-the dudes had chops. The gentle Spanish guitar triplets of "Cohesion" prove that Boon in particular was instrumentally capable of far more than most rock'n'roll gadflies.

4. Hendrix, "Third Stone from the Son"

Rock's foremost guitar legend recorded just a few instrumentals during his brief career. The best, "TSFTS," is a gorgeously evocative melding of jazz chording and surf-style lead lines. The song, from Hendrix's 1967 debut Are You Experienced? takes the Ventures to Mars.

5. Jade Warrior, "Borne on the Solar Wind"

These English rockers are mostly forgotten today, but during the early '70s they put out a series of stellar world music-inflected albums that featured the thickly overdubbed axmanship of Tony Duhig. Put on your headphones, light a candle, and let "Borne on the Solar Wind's" doubled cello and sustained guitar set you soaring through space. David Marchese

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