Let us not forget water, which is one of the best solvents around. Water has many advantages, just to name few:

1: it can be found everywhere where there is life
2: it can dissolve many things, like salts and alkaloid salts thus driving them out of insoluble plant materials (like cellulose and lignin)
3: it can have its pH changed (unlike practically any other solvent) upon addition of an acid or a base.
4. It dissolves fats very poorly

Dichloromethane's volatility and ability to dissolve a wide range of organic compounds makes it a useful solvent for many chemical processes. Concerns about its health effects have led to a search for alternatives in many of these applications.
It is widely used as a paint stripper and a degreaser. In the food industry, it is used to decaffeinate coffee and tea as well as to prepare extracts of hops and other flavorings.[2] Its volatility has led to its use as an aerosol spray propellant and as a blowing agent for polyurethane foams.

Specialized uses
Dichloromethane chemically welds certain plastics, for example, it is used to seal the casing of electric meters. Often sold as a main component of plastic welding adhesives it is also used extensively in the model-making industry for joining plastic components together - it is commonly referred to as "Di-clo."
Also used in the garment printing industry for removal of heat-sealed garment transfers. Usually sold in cans with methanol as the propellant gas. Its volatility is exploited in novelty items - drinking birds, bubble lights, and jukebox displays.
Dichloromethane is used within the material testing field of civil engineering, specifically it is used during the testing of bituminous materials as a solvent to separate the binder from the aggregate of an asphalt or macadam to allow the testing of the materials.