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Jan 16, 2023 · Amit Sharma, Jenna Scaramanga. last updated 16 January 2023. A comprehensive rundown of the best guitarists of all time, featuring the trailblazers, the early innovators, the best jazz, rock, indie, blues, metal and acoustic players – and the top guitarists around today... (Image credit: Ian Dickson/Redferns via Getty Images) Page 1 of 11:
- The Best Guitarists in The World Right Now
The 100 greatest guitarists of all time. A comprehensive...
- Early Innovators
Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars since 2005,...
- The Best Guitarists in The World Right Now
Oct 13, 2023 · Rolling Stone published its original list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists in 2011. It was compiled by a panel of musicians, mostly older classic rockers. Our new expanded list was made by the...
- Brett Milano
- 5 min
- Jimi Hendrix. Let’s face it, rock will never come up with a more visionary guitarist. Not only did Jimi Hendrix expand the sonic possibilities of what a guitar could do, but he also found uncharted places that a guitar could take you to.
- Chuck Berry. The blues had a baby, they called it rock’n’roll, and the guitar intro on Chuck Berry’s “Maybelline” was the moment of conception. Berry was a master of the short and tasty solo (though you can check out 60s albums like Concerto In B Goode if you want to hear his solos at length), and there’s been no worthy rock guitarist who hasn’t absorbed a little Chuck.
- Wes Montgomery. During his too-short career, this jazz great was rightly renowned for his octave technique (playing phrases on two strings an octave apart, giving a clear sweet tone), and his aggressive thumb strokes (something Jeff Beck and others emulated).
- BB King. You might say that BB King was half of the greatest vocal duo in blues history. The other half was his guitar, Lucille, whose elegant, pleading tone said everything that the words couldn’t completely express.
- Louder
- Michael Schenker. Mike McReady (Pearl Jam): "It’s really hard to pick just one guitarist. It would have to be… early on, I’d say Ace Frehley and Paul Stanley.
- George Harrison. Elliot Easton (The Cars): "To me, George Harrison is the one. A lot of the guys in my generation that saw Harrison play, that’s how we learned how to be a lead guitarist in a band.
- Malcolm Young. Scott Ian (Anthrax): "Malcolm Young has gotta be the most unsung, underrated guitar hero of all time. He was the backbone of AC/DC, the greatest rock band ever, and wrote some of the most amazing riffs you’ll hear.
- Paul Gilbert. Jim Davies (The Prodigy, Pitchshifter): "As a guitarist with The Prodigy and Pitchshifter, I guess I might be considered an unlikely fan of Paul Gilbert.
- Brian May
- Jimi Hendrix
- Jimmy Page
- Eddie Van Halen
- Eric Clapton
- Jeff Beck
- Sister Rosetta Tharpe
- David Gilmour
- Ritchie Blackmore
- Alex Lifeson
First on our list is Brian May, one of the founding members of the iconic band Queen. He holds a spot as one of the most influential and well-known guitarists, songwriters, and performers of all time. Currently, May continues to grace the rock world alongside Adam Lambert and drummer Roger Taylor. On top of all his talents in shredding the guitar, ...
Born Johnny Allen Hendrix, Jimi Hendrixwas a legendary electric guitarist and one of the most prominent figures in music history. He got his first acoustic guitar from his father, and soon after, he joined his first musical group, the Velvetones. Unlike other guitarists who use the barre chord fretting style, Hendrix often preferred to use his thum...
Next on our list is world-renowned guitarist, songwriter, and producer Jimmy Page. He founded one of the most influential rock bands to ever exist: Led Zeppelin. Page loved creating riffs and often was seen playing the guitar with a cello bow. His music style introduced an early genre of hard rock and electric blues with sparks of folk and acoustic...
Co-founder of the popular rock band Van Halen is Eddie Van Halenhimself, leading songwriter and guitarist the group. He was born in the Netherlands, but his family soon moved to Pasadena, California, where he and his brother took music lessons. They soon ditched the classics and turned toward the rock genre. The brothers created Van Halen band in 1...
Number two in Rolling Stone‘s 100 Greatest Guitarist of All Time, we have Eric Clapton. His music career took off in the 1960s as he strummed his instrument of choice with rock bands Cream, the Bluesbreakers, and the Yardbirds. He soon left those bands to pursue his true passion for rock and roll with a touch of poetic ballads. He was initially rel...
Grammy award-winning guitarist Jeff Beckhad similar styles as fellow guitarists Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, although he never reached their pinnacle of success. He replaced Clapton as the lead guitarist of the Yardbirds and stayed for two years. His next music venture featured many attempts at forming bands and trios. Later, he found success with ...
Dubbed the Godmother of Rock and Roll, Sister Rosetta Tharpe was one of the earliest pioneers of gospel rock and planted the seed for many other musicians to come. Tharpe’s playing style incorporated blues and jazz into her sound. She became the first gospel artistto record at Decca Records, and she also performed beside other jazz singers, despite...
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) David Gilmouris a renowned songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist for the rock band Pink Floyd. His skill on the guitar positioned him as one of the greats. Gilmour’s solo career was just as successful as his band’s, with three albums topping the UK charts. He received life achievement awards and had ...
Not many guitarists can play a riff like Ritchie Blackmore. His energetic guitar riffs and heavy metal rock sound arguably deem him one of the leading rock guitarists ever. His on-and-off relationship with Rainbow resulted in a reunion with Deep Purple after they had parted, where he produced the iconic hit “Smoke on the Water” and seven albums tha...
Aleksandar Živojinović, OC, famously known as Alex Lifeson, is a Canadian musician, guitarist, and record producer. He is also band member of the Canadian rock band Rush. He received his first guitar at 13, and from there, his interest and talent for music blossomed. His Rush bandmates deemed him as “the Musical Scientist” for his iconic riffs, tal...
Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. 1. Jimi Hendrix. Widely regarded as the greatest and most influential guitarist in rock history, Jimi Hendrix was born on November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Washington, to African-American parents Lucille (Jeter) and James Allen Hendrix.
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