Top 30 Greatest Male Guitarists of All Time
These guys rock...literally. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most iconic, influential, and/or technically-gifted male guitarists.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most iconic, influential
00:10and or technically gifted male guitarists.
00:13We won't be including female players because they deserve their own list.
00:25Number 30 Angus Young Wearing his schoolboy outfit, Angus Young
00:30is unmistakable on a stage.
00:32He's also responsible for some iconic riffs.
00:40His work with ACDC, along with his brother Malcolm, gives the band its beating heart.
00:46He also shows off his raw attitude on every track.
00:49From early work in the Bon Scott era to the Brian Johnson days, Young never slows down
00:54in his relentless quest to entertain.
00:57He's fast, wild and energetic on such hits as the iconic Thunderstruck.
01:03When he's not playing killer lead lines, he can also rock out with some earth-shattering
01:07power chords.
01:16Young has a youthful attitude that never wavers after all these years.
01:21Number 29 Robert Johnson As the story goes, Robert Johnson sold his
01:26soul to the devil in order to become a guitar genius.
01:30This tale likely came about because his one-of-a-kind talent couldn't be described any other way.
01:36Johnson was a consummate blues player that made some historic recordings in the 1930s.
01:41These include standards such as Crossroad Blues, inspiring many of the leading blues
01:46and rock players that followed him.
01:54The history of American guitar music is incomplete without mentioning his name.
01:59His life might have been cut short, but his legend continued to grow long after his death.
02:10Number 28 Lindsey Buckingham You might not always hear his name alongside
02:15other legends, but Lindsey Buckingham deserves to be part of the conversation.
02:19His songwriting credits alone make him a force to be reckoned with as part of Fleetwood
02:23Mac.
02:31Not only that, his finger-picking gives the band another signature element.
02:35He can deliver delicate acoustic performances as well as he can rock out with major solos.
02:41Buckingham's work on albums like Rumors defines a decade of music, giving listeners
02:45classics ranging from Never Going Back Again to Go Your Own Way.
02:56The musician can do it all while singing his heart out on deeply emotional tracks.
03:01Number 27 Slash As a guitarist for Guns N' Roses, Slash
03:05is more than just a hard-partying rocker.
03:08He's also responsible for some incredible riffs on classic records like Appetite for
03:13Destruction.
03:19From Welcome to the Jungle to Sweet Child of Mine, this guitarist made his stamp on
03:24the late 1980s rock scene.
03:26He also has defining and vibrant solos like November Rain that reveal his virtuosity.
03:39Along with his musical abilities, the performer has one of the coolest and most recognizable
03:44looks in music.
03:45He's also had success outside his most recognizable band with groups like Velvet
03:49Revolver and other session work.
03:52Number 26 Tom Morello Whether or not he's working with Rage Against
03:57the Machine, Tom Morello is an outspoken artist and acclaimed guitarist.
04:02His storied work with the band defies the usual cliches about how a guitar should sound.
04:11Blending influences from metal to hip-hop, Morello is one-half shredder and one-half
04:16DJ.
04:17His eclectic style across the RATM catalog includes funky riffs and otherworldly solos.
04:29The musician's time with Audioslave also features more than a few notable parts, including
04:34the fearsome guitar on Cochise.
04:36His greatest moments feature scratching, toggle switches, and other innovative techniques
04:41that push his instrument to the limit.
04:44Number 25 George Harrison Can one of the Beatles still be considered
04:48underrated?
04:49George Harrison's guitar work sometimes flew under the radar in both his group and
04:54solo work.
04:55Not only could he pull his weight as a guitarist, the musician worked to attract Western audiences
05:00to the Indian sitar.
05:08He also penned one of the greatest songs about a guitar ever.
05:16His understated style was the secret weapon for many Beatles classics, while his compositions
05:21like Old Brown Shoe showed his ability to rock out.
05:24Harrison's career extended beyond his first band into impressive albums in the 70s and
05:2980s.
05:30Number 24 Robert Fripp Few guitarists are as technically gifted
05:35as Robert Fripp.
05:36As a key member of King Crimson, the musician steered the band through multiple eras of
05:41inventive music.
05:48The late 60s and early 70s saw the band in top shape with work like In the Court of the
05:53Crimson King, but don't sleep on their 80s output with records like Discipline.
05:58Fripp has practically developed his own language with the instrument, using effects pedals
06:03and intricate arpeggios.
06:05He was also a studio musician that helped out the likes of Talking Heads and David Bowie.
06:10Classics like Heroes would not be the same without the performer, delivering his space-like
06:14guitar sounds to mainstream audiences.
06:23Number 23 Chuck Berry Who is the real king of rock and roll?
06:28Some might say Elvis, but others would argue Chuck Berry.
06:36His influence on the genre in general, and guitar in particular, can't be overstated.
06:41Helping to create the rock formula, Berry wrote his own music like Johnny B. Goode.
06:52His rhythm and blues guitar gave a generation of players a new template to expand their
06:56own styles.
06:57From the Rolling Stones to the Beatles, the musician's work continued to inspire rock
07:01performers for many years.
07:03He's been covered, imitated, and saluted in films that add to his legend.
07:14Number 22 Alex Lifeson The progressive trio Rush excelled because
07:19each individual member was an expert at their instrument.
07:22Needless to say, Alex Lifeson has a masterful command of the guitar.
07:27His work with the band stands among the more intricate of its kind, with decade after decade
07:31of sensational parts.
07:39Lifeson's guitar is nothing if not cinematic in its sound and scale.
07:43Whether you're listening to a cutoff of 2-1-1-2 or a hit like Tom Sawyer, his performance
07:48style always fits the piece.
07:56He has the ability to both gel with his bandmates and steal the show with his dynamic riffs.
08:02Number 21 Jeff Beck With The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck first established
08:07himself as a force of nature.
08:09He then went solo and entered the pantheon of world-class guitarists.
08:20His talent extends far beyond hits or household name status.
08:24With incredible instrumentals, Beck came alive on tracks such as Beck's Bolero.
08:29His use of the whammy bar and volume knob took his performances to another stratosphere.
08:35He could play blues, progressive, and experimental sounds that pushed the parameters of genre
08:40labels.
08:48In any of his live shows, the performer took the stage and raised the bar for guitar playing
08:52as a whole.
08:54Number 20 Carlos Santana There's something to be said about crossover
09:04appeal, bringing a new approach to an underrepresented genre and making it feel fresh to the masses.
09:15Carlos Santana executed this brilliantly in the late 60s into the 70s when he combined
09:21Latin rhythms and melodies with jazz fusion and hard rock fire.
09:25Carlos Santana's fluid, powerful playing style is a force to be reckoned with, but
09:30his collaboration with future Journey leader Neil Sean on the band's third album would
09:35help make Santana a group of immeasurable influence.
09:45Simultaneously progressive, heavy, and heartfelt in his playing style, Carlos Santana has
09:51never been one to sit still.
09:58After his decades of success, the turn of the millennium saw the artist further innovate
10:02for his multi-platinum smash Supernatural.
10:12Number 19 Mark Knopfler We've all heard the phrase, less is more,
10:17but Dire Straits main man Mark Knopfler took that idea one step further with his light
10:22and sensitive touch.
10:29Knopfler is a finger player similar to Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham and tends to shun
10:34heavy riffs and showboating.
10:43Instead, Knopfler uses a tasteful and melodic approach to weave a tapestry of emotion and
10:47feeling within each note and phrase.
10:50For every up-tempo solo, like the famous one in Sultan's of Swing, there are moments
11:00of quiet brilliance, such as the delicate intro to Romeo and Juliet, or the driving
11:12main hook of Lady Rider.
11:21Knopfler also branched out into a solo career after Dire Straits, even composing a fantastic
11:26score for the classic 80s fantasy romance The Princess Bride.
11:38Number 18 Billy Gibbons Billy Gibbons is famous for many reasons,
11:49from his pioneering psychedelic work with the moving sidewalks to the blues and southern
11:53rock royalty that is ZZ Top.
12:01Gibbons was also reportedly one of Jimi Hendrix's favorite guitar players alongside Chicago's
12:06Terry Caff, and it's easy to see why.
12:09The man is an under-the-radar ripper.
12:18Perhaps it's Gibbons' wealth of influences that make him such a versatile player, incorporating
12:23everything from swamp blues and boogie-woogie into ZZ Top's brand of riff-heavy rock and
12:29roll.
12:36Or maybe it's how Gibbons and his crew embraced the synthesizer revolution of the 1980s with
12:41the Eliminator album, bringing us smash hits like Legs and Got Me Under Pressure.
12:46The answer is all of the above.
12:48Billy Gibbons is the man.
12:56Number 17 Yngwie Malmsteen Okay, so remember how we were just talking
13:00about less being more?
13:02Throw that idea out the window for a moment.
13:04Because that definitely does not apply to Sweden's Yngwie Malmsteen.
13:15That's because Malmsteen is all about the neoclassical shred style, a shooing subtlety
13:20for a more-is-more approach that champions speed, technique, and precision.
13:30The man's early solo work after departing from the 80s metal band Steeler is deeply
13:34indebted to the sort of classical composition pioneered by bands like Deep Purple in the
13:39early 70s.
13:47Mixing up fantasy and romantic themes with guitar heroics that'll set your hair on fire.
13:59Malmsteen is in that special masterclass of Axemen.
14:03Think Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, whose fretboard skills are simply not of this world.
14:15Number 16 Prince Prince is a legend today for his work in
14:18the worlds of pop, rock, and funk fusion.
14:26But with all the Purple One's accomplishments, it's sometimes easy to forget the man's
14:30prowess as a guitar player.
14:38Just take a look at Prince's performance at the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction
14:43ceremony, where he managed to outshine a stage full of icons with a performance that
14:47brought the house down.
14:55He was a walking masterclass, a man who truly played the guitar like it's an extension
15:00of himself, laying down licks and solos that seemed to run like electricity through his
15:04fingers.
15:12It didn't matter whether he was playing with the revolution or on his own, Prince was a
15:16one-of-a-kind talent.
15:18Number 15 Dimebag Daryl
15:26Heavy metal, like any other musical genre, is in a constant state of evolution, driven
15:31by inventive musicians pushing the limits.
15:41Pantera were just such a catalyst for change in the 90s, a former hair metal act who embraced
15:45the power-groove style developed by contemporaries X-Horder and gave it their own unique spin.
15:51Pantera's own impact, however, was largely driven by Dimebag Daryl's explosive guitar.
16:02It was at once theatrical and yet tempered, with an undying desire to play as heavy as
16:07possible.
16:08The riffs were Daryl's game.
16:15Combining a thrashy sound with deliberate phrasing, it had mosh pit drawing power.
16:23Sadly, the metal icon's career and life was cut short by an obsessed fan while Daryl was
16:31on stage in 2004.
16:40Number 14 Pete Townsend
16:42Style and substance, both of these traits exemplify the playing of Who guitarist and
16:47co-founder Pete Townsend, who helped define classic rock in the 1960s and 70s.
16:59Townsend had the mark of a perfectionist, an attention to detail that makes his riffing
17:03feel deliberate and thoughtful, no matter how chaotic the performance.
17:13With his energetic stage presence, the guitarists simultaneously gave all young guitar players
17:18ideas while they were practicing in the mirror.
17:21Ever seen a local hotshot windmill their arm around while playing at your local pub?
17:25Yeah, they're mimicking Pete Townsend.
17:34More than that however, Pete had the chops and songwriting prowess to back up his bombast,
17:39making The Who one of the best English rock bands of all time.
17:48Number 13 Brian May
17:50There's a lot of work that goes into recording an album, but what if you want to venture
17:53into uncharted territory?
18:00Well then you get someone like Brian May, a guitarist who isn't just happy to kick
18:04out awesome riffs, but wants to push the sonic barrier to the limit.
18:15May's early approach to Queen mainly plays with an epic heavy rock palette, but as years
18:19progressed, Brian would add layers and layers of guitar tracks.
18:30This resulted in sonically rich Queen albums like A Night at the Opera and News of the
18:34World.
18:35Brian May is a technician, a melodic player that can also let loose with a surprising
18:40amount of grit when the situation calls.
18:48His guitar playing is truly the work of an artist.
18:51Number 12 Frank Zappa
18:53Genius or madmen?
19:01Both words suit Frank Zappa, an anarchic sort of guitar player who couldn't ever be tied
19:05down to one style.
19:16Jazz fusion, hard rock and psych were all part of the package for this unstoppable composer,
19:21a guitar player with absolutely no limits to his talent.
19:31And that's sort of the beauty behind Zappa's recorded output, there's something for everybody.
19:36Want some heavy psych moves?
19:37Check out one of his groovier albums with the Mothers of Invention.
19:47Into something truly out there and trippy?
19:49Dive into his film score for 200 Motels or his twisted concept album Joe's Garage.
20:02Sadly Frank succumbed to prostate cancer in 1993.
20:06We can only guess what other craziness he might have conjured up.
20:14Number 11 Tony Iommi
20:17Were there heavy guitar players before Tony Iommi?
20:22Sure.
20:27But none crystallized the prototypical sound of heavy metal quite like this Black Sabbath
20:31co-founder.
20:39Legend has it, this was due to an accident Tony had on his last day of work at a factory
20:43that resulted in the loss of two fingertips on his fretting hand.
20:53As a result, Iommi had to press harder, thanks to hand-crafted prosthetics changing his entire
20:58approach.
21:06Now Iommi was playing heavy, doomy, and down-tuned riffs that sounded birthed from some gothic
21:11horror movie.
21:18Meanwhile his underrated solo work again stood out thanks to his light, slack strings and
21:23an approach that emphasized mood rather than flash.
21:26Put simply, before any metal band did anything, Iommi and Sabbath did everything.
21:39Number 10 Richie Blackmore
21:41If Tony Iommi is the godfather of heavy metal, then Deep Purple's Richie Blackmore was
21:45nipping right at his heels.
21:54Blackmore had a flashy, classically influenced style that was in stark contrast to the monolithic
21:59world of 1970s arena rock.
22:08Deep Purple was a band rooted in psychedelia that embraced crazy fast tempos and indulgent
22:13solo runs, getting more extreme as the decade progressed.
22:23To uncover some of Blackmore's best work, listen to the Mark III lineup with future
22:28Whitesnake singer David Coverdale.
22:37The blazing lead guitar in Burn and the understated emotion present within Soldier of Fortune
22:42really epitomize Blackmore's range.
22:52Richie wouldn't stay stagnant with the hard rock world either, embracing melodic English
22:56folk years later with the project Blackmore's Night.
23:04Number 9 B.B. King
23:13What can we say about blues legend B.B. King that hasn't already been said?
23:24It can be difficult to stand out in the crowded arena of bluesmen and women seeking to make
23:28their mark in a genre so rooted in tradition.
23:31The blues comes from deep within, and simplicity is the key to bearing your heart and soul
23:35to the audience.
23:44King communicated just as effectively using his trusted guitar Lucille as he did when
23:49he sang classics like The Thrill Is Gone.
23:58His technique was smooth and seemed almost effortless as he glided across her strings
24:02to tell his story.
24:10There's raw feeling, honesty, and guts in B.B. King's playing, and that's just one
24:14part of what made the man so amazing.
24:23Number 8 Randy Rhoades
24:25Oh what might have been.
24:27There's no denying that former Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot guitarist Randy Rhoades achieved
24:32a lot in a comparatively short amount of time.
24:42Still this young man was so talented that it's difficult not to imagine what more Rhoades
24:46could have done, had he not been lost in a tragic plane crash.
24:58Make no mistake, Rhoades inspired generations of guitar players in his wake thanks to his
25:03perfectionist manner of mixing hard rock bombast with legit classical chops.
25:15Want proof?
25:16Check out Laughing Gas with Quiet Riot or anything off the two full-length albums that Rhoades
25:27recorded with Ozzy.
25:34He was an icon who may have been taken too soon, but his spirit lives on forever.
25:46Number 7 Eric Clapton
25:48Clapton is God.
25:49This was the famous UK graffiti slogan that championed a brash young bloke fresh on the
25:54scene after forming Cream in 1966.
26:04Cream served as one of the transitional bands that was taking Britain's love of the blues
26:08and making it harder, heavier, and more psychedelic.
26:18The band served as a vehicle for a genre in transition and would help make Eric Clapton
26:23a legitimate guitar hero.
26:32More classic stints would follow in Derek and the Dominoes as well as his solo career,
26:36although battles with drug addiction, a drunken anti-immigration outburst in 1976, and the
26:41tragic loss of his son had some complications on his career.
26:48Still, there's no denying how influential Eric Clapton was, and continues to be, for
26:55generations of young guitarists.
27:04Number 6 Stevie Ray Vaughan
27:06Stevie Ray Vaughan played traditional, down-home American blues.
27:09No more, no less.
27:18It was the way in which he approached the blues, however, that made him a legend.
27:22A blue-collar attack that was both approachable and mesmerizing.
27:32Vaughan could take the most basic four-bar arrangement and turn it into a sustained symphony
27:38of held notes and triumphant licks.
27:47With a basic drum and bass backbeat, Vaughan would figuratively set his fretboard on fire
27:52with songs like Texas Flood and Crossfire, earning himself critical acclaim and fan adoration
28:05from around the world.
28:09Sadly, Stevie Ray was taken in a helicopter crash in 1990, robbing the blues and rock
28:16world of yet another shining star.
28:19Number 5 Keith Richards
28:21Sometimes the best riffs are the simplest and most immediate.
28:31Start Me Up and I Can't Get No Satisfaction are two great examples, and they have one
28:36great guitarist in common as their co-writer, Keith Richards.
28:40Keith has that nebulous quality about him that just exudes a born rockstar swagger.
28:52Maybe it's how low Richards sets his guitar, his voracious appetite for the good life,
28:56or those imminently hummable riffs.
28:59Keith just has it.
29:07That isn't to say that Richards isn't serious about rocking, of course, as the Legions of
29:11Stones fanatics will tell you.
29:13After all, the Rolling Stones didn't get to become classic rock royalty by doing anything
29:17in half measures.
29:19Number 4 David Gilmour
29:29I think Floyd was already turning heads with their formative brand of psychedelic rock
29:32before 1967, but the band gained a whole other dynamic when David Gilmour joined in December
29:37of that year.
29:45It was with Gilmour that Floyd would record such genre-defining albums as Animals, Metal,
29:50and Dark Side of the Moon.
29:52Gilmour wasn't just a sideman, however, and his influence grew until he actually took
30:02over the band when founder Roger Waters left in 1985.
30:06Though this divided the fanbase, the albums after this were arguably even smoother, more
30:11melodic and moving, thanks to David's amazing tone and technique.
30:15He is truly one of a kind.
30:23Number 3 Eddie Van Halen
30:32His were the fingers that launched a thousand careers.
30:35The guitarist who, with one amazing instrumental, put every other band on notice.
30:40His name was Eddie Van Halen, the song was Eruption, and heavy rock was never the same.
30:52Every hair metal band on the Sunset Strip attempted to ape Eddie's furious technique
30:57and stylistic flair, but no one ever did it like Van Halen.
31:07This is likely because of Eddie's classically-based influences, an honest-to-goodness approach
31:12to music theory that lifted every Van Halen banger to a game-changing level.
31:23From Atomic Punk and Jamie's Crying to On Fire, Light Up the Sky, and Mean Street, EVH
31:30had the riffs, the style, and a band of stone-cold killers backing him up.
31:34It was a perfect storm.
31:43Number 2 Jimmy Page
31:51Critics of Jimmy Page have called him sloppy, and let's say, enthusiastic about borrowing
31:56riffs from other bands.
31:58But have any of those people ever played their guitar with a cello bow?
32:01We think not.
32:09Criticisms aside, Page is one of the most influential guitar players to ever pick up
32:13the instrument.
32:19He possesses a wide array of influences that permeated the music of Led Zeppelin, from
32:23eastern scales and melodies to bombastic heavy riffs that predated heavy metal.
32:35Page loved the blues and arguably rocked harder than anyone in his days, both onstage and
32:40after the show.
32:48There were very few performers who could outdo Jimmy Page in a live setting.
32:52In his prime, he was absolutely a rock star's rock star.
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33:19Number 1.
33:20Jimi Hendrix
33:28His career burned out far too quickly, but this rock legend quite simply revolutionized
33:32the electric guitar.
33:39Hendrix and his band, The Experience, were more than just a bluesy, psychedelic rock
33:43power group.
33:44They were a showcase to the progression of rock music as a whole.
33:54This was largely thanks to Hendrix's chops and stage presence, a hurricane of charisma
33:59that was far more than him setting his guitar on fire or playing with his teeth.
34:03There was just as much tastefulness to his playing as there was an intense, raw energy.
34:14This unstoppable force rightfully captivated anyone who was lucky enough to see the master
34:18at work.
34:24Did we forget another amazing guitarist?
34:27Let us know in the comments.
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