Top Ten Guitar Players

Hendrix was a guitar player, and a singer, and a song writer, and a band leader, and a pioneer in electric guitar sounds and techniques, and a great showman, and a fashion icon of the time, and an important Afro-American figure of his time, and more.

Eric Clapton is basically the only guitar player who influenced me – even though I don't sound like him. There was a basic simplicity to his playing, his style, his vibe and his sound. He took a Gibson guitar and plugged it into a Marshall, and that was it.

Listening to what Jimmy Page does on guitar can transport you. As a lead player, he always plays the right thing for the right spot – he's got such remarkable taste. The solo on "H

Edward Van Halen's clean, powerful lead playing was first recorded earlier this year on his band's predominately heavy-metal debut album, Van Halen [Warner Bros.]; at the time he was 21. Eddie imigrated to the U.S. from the Netherlands during the rock and roll heyday of the late '60s and soon abandoned his piano for drums and electric guitar.

Stevie Ray Vaughan In the early eighties, MTV was on the rise, and blues guitar was miles away from music's mainstream. But Texas' Stevie Ray Vaughan demanded your attention.

Jeff Beck has the combination of brilliant technique with personality. It's like he's saying, "I'm Jeff Beck. I'm right here. And you can't ignore me." Even in the Yardbirds, he had a tone that was melodic but in-your-face – bright, urgent and edgy, but sweet at the same time. You could tell he was a serious player, and he was going for it. He was not holding back.

Slash has received critical acclaim and is considered one of the greatest rock guitarists. Time magazine named him runner-up on their list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players" in 2009, while Rolling Stone placed him at number 65 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" in 2011.

Almost immediately Chuck Berry, B.B. King and a host of other hard-working musicians began brandishing the ES-335, and, later, its sisters, the ES-345, which one-upped the ES-335 with the E.Q.-savvy Vari-Tone switch, and the ES-355, which flashed up the ES-345 with gold hardware and other appealing trimmings.

Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician and songwriter, best known as a guitarist and founder member of the Rolling Stones.

David Gilmour As a producer and songwriter, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour is drawn to floating, dreamy textures, but when he picks up his black Stratocaster to play a solo, an entirely different sensibility takes over: "I wanted a bright, powerful lead guitar tone that would basically rip your face off," he says.

B.B. King’s guitar playing is a deeply soulful experience. King says more with one sustained, singing note and his trademark vibrato than any shredder who ever strapped on a pointy guitar. That’s how great B.B. King was.

Thirty years ago Steve Vai was known in players circles as an up-and-coming guitarist, a Berklee College of Music hotshot who took lessons from fellow New York State native Joe Satriani and was tapped by Frank Zappa first as a transcriptionist and then as a guitarist in Zappa’s touring band.

When it to funk guitar patterns, Prince often used classic 16 th note patterns, often with mutes (“chukka” chords), “jazz” voicings (often m7s or m9s), doublestops and slid notes and chords (listen to “Kiss”).

George Harrison reinvented Rock a'Billy guitar. Clapton, Vaughan, Lenny Breau and Tuck Andress may be technically better players than Harrison, but no one would care about them had the Beatles been just another singing group. Harrison's contribution to the current status of the guitar in western culture cannot be overestimated.

In our interview, we talked with Blackmore about the upcoming gigs as well as his guitar technique, greatest riffs, gear, guitar modifications—including his self-scalloped fretboards—musical inspirations, and of course Deep Purple, Rainbow Blackmore’s Night.

An early goal of his was "to be the first to put proper three-part [guitar] harmonies onto a record" – like the orchestrated squeals of his solo in "Killer Queen." Brian May layered dozens of guitar parts onto individual tracks, building palatial walls of sound.

Mark Knopfler's first big guitar-hero moment – the fleet, gloriously melodic solo on Dire Straits' 1978 hit "Sultans of Swing" – came at a time when punk seemed to be rendering the idea of a guitar hero obsolete.

Carlos Santana’s Guitar Effects: Santana is one of those players who use very small numbers of effects. In the past he allegedly used an Ibanez Tube Screamer, and at the Woodstock he used a prototype of a Big Muff.

His aggressive guitar sound ushered in a whole new era of music — and out of all the guitars in the world, Jones decided that the Gibson Les Paul would be the best conduit for this pioneering new sound. These days this former iconoclast is just one of many influential guitar players to have his own signature version of the Les Paul, which will hopefully motivate today’s neophytes to craft their own musical sea change.

Tom Morello re-imagined rock guitar for the post-hip-hop world in the 1990s with Rage Against the Machine . Leaning heavily on his effects pedals, he created a new sonic vocabulary – the repl

Real "Guitar Hero" Joe Satriani turns Teacher at WorkshopLive.com Audio Interview with Joe Satriani on Guitar Jam Daily, June 2007 Part 2 of Audio Interview with Joe Satriani on Guitar Jam Daily, July 2007

Pete Townshend doesn't play many solos, which might be why so many people don’t realize just how good he really is. But he's so important to rock – he’s a visionary m Pete Townshend doesn't play many solos, which might be why so many people don’t realize just how good he really is.

Musician Robert Johnson was born on May 8, 1911, in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. A singer and guitarist, Johnson is considered to be one of the greatest blues performers of all time. But this recognition came to him largely after his death.

Duane Allman’s Guitars and Gear Howard Duane Allman was born on November 20, 1946 in Nashville, Tennessee. He is best known as a co-founder of the Southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band, and respected session musician.

Kirk Hammett is a great guitar player, but far from the greatest. James Hetfield is a good guitar player, with an outstanding feel for aggressive rhythm guitar. He’s an OK singer with limited range.

Yngwie Johan Malmsteen is a Swedish guitarist and bandleader. Malmsteen first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal playing style in heavy metal, and has released 20 studio albums in a career spanning almost 40 years. In 2009, Time magazine rated Malmsteen as among the 10 greatest electric guitar players of all time.

After being fired from Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne (right) formed his own band and recorded "Blizzard of Ozz" in 1980 After being fired from his band Black Sabbath, English heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne began his solo career in 1979.

Randy Rhoads left an indelible mark on the history of rock guitar. His musicianship continues to inspire guitarists around the world, even though officially his recorded work only exists on five albums. He cut his teeth in the 1970s L.A. music scene with the band Quiet Riot, but it was his recruitment by Ozzy Osbourne that ushered him into the worldwide spotlight before his death in a plane crash in 1982.

Tony Iommi’s Guitars and Gear. Tony Iommi was born on 19 February 1948 in Handsworth, Birmingham, England. He is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as the founding member of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath.Iommi is widely recognised as one of the most important and influential guitarists in heavy metal music.

George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936)[2] is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues and has influenced eminent guitarists including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, John Mayer and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Kurt Cobain He was no virtuoso, and that's the whole point: By snatching electric guitar from note-shredding technicians and giving it back to artists, freaks and poets, Kurt Cobain became one of the most important players ever.

By the turn of the century, new-metal grinders and post-grunge plodders had given loud guitars a bad reputation. Then Jack White hit the reset button. With each savage riff, he reconnected hard roc

Gary Moore is one of the most underrated guitarist of all time. In my opinion he is the best guitarist of all time, he can play everything. In my opinion he is the best guitarist of all time, he can play everything.

It’s been nearly four decades since Malcolm Young invited his kid brother, Angus, ... 10 Things You Might Not Know About Angus Young. ... legions of guitar players ...

Alex Lifeson Even if he had never progressed beyond the brain-rattling riffing of "2112" and "Xanadu," Rush's guitarist would have left his mark on Metallica and other like-minded metalheads. But he went on to fill out Rush's power-trio sound with a seamless mix of lush arpeggios and rock crunch that sounded like at least two players at once.

Petrucci has released a guitar instructional video, Rock Discipline, which covers warm-up exercises, exercises to avoid injury while playing, alternate picking, sweep picking, chords and other techniques for developing one's guitar playing. Petrucci also has a book named "Guitar World presents John Petrucci's Wild Stringdom", which was compiled from columns he wrote for Guitar World magazine under that title.

Buckethead soon became Laswell's second staple guitar player, besides Nicky Skopelitis. In 1992, Buckethead, with Bill Laswell, Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins, and Bryan "Brain" Mantia, formed the supergroup Praxis. Their first album, Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis), released the same year, was well received.

Joe Bonamassa's 10 Best Guitar Moments To celebrate the release of Epiphone’s new Limited Edition 1958 “Amos” Korina Flying-V Outfit—the company's latest collaboration with Joe Bonamassa—we’ve rounded up 10 of the guitarist’s finest moments.

Technically, it’s Wylde’s second solo album, but it features bassist John DeServio and drummer Jeff Fabb, both of whom occupy respective chairs in Wylde’s primary project, Black Label Society. And although the remarkably beautiful Book II is milder than Wylde’s usual mayhem, it’s hardly a strictly acoustic affair.

Frank Zappa hired some of the best musicians in the world and worked them to the point of exhaustion. On more than one occasion, he abandoned a tour because the band simply didn't meet his high standards. Steve Vai regarded him as a role model. George Duke said that Zappa changed his life.

Whether he's doing more soulful music, as on Continuum, playing acoustic folk rock like his latest album Born and Raised, or playing the blues with John Mayer Trio, Mayer has shown that he is one of the most gifted guitar players to come around in recent years.

Joseph Anthony Pereira (born September 10, 1950), better known by his stage name Joe Perry, is the lead guitarist, backing and occasional lead vocalist, and contributing songwriter for the American rock band Aerosmith. He was ranked 84th in Rolling Stone's list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

In Cleveland power trio the James Gang, Joe Walsh combined Who -style fury with Yardbirds -style technical fireworks and R&B crunch, notably on 1970's "Funk #49."

Many guitar players and other musicians have expressed admiration for Reinhardt or have cited him ... 1963 The Immortal Django Reinhardt Guitar; 1980 Routes to Django ...

James Hetfield is definitely an amazing guitar player, and is possibly one of the best rhythm guitarists within the heavy metal genre. His down picking technique is incredible, and he is very steady with his timing when playing those physically tiring (and not to mention technically difficult) riffs.

Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004), also known as Dimebag Darrell and Diamond Darrell, was an American musician and songwriter who was a co-founder of Pantera alongside his brother Vinnie Paul, and founder of Damageplan.

If I was ever going to teach a master class to young guitarists, the first thing I would play them is the first minute of Neil Young 's original "Down by the River" solo. It's on

That doesn't make any difference at all in the real world where dave mustaine is a god and kirk is just a good guitar player who can't do nothing without wah wah.. No question about it, Dave can play.

Eric Johnson (born August 17, 1954) is an American guitarist. His 1990 album Ah Via Musicom was certified platinum by the RIAA, and the single "Cliffs of Dover" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known by his stage name the Edge (or just Edge), is an Irish musician and songwriter best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist of the rock band U2.

Muddy Waters Muddy was there at the beginning, in the Delta, actually sitting at the feet of Charley Patton and Son House. He was a kid when those guys were in their prime.