John McLaughlin

One of the critical figures in creating “fusion” music is John McLaughlin of Doncaster, England. He won the Best Improvised Jazz Solo 2018 Grammy Award. John also had an impressive collection of artists from one time or another whom he had performed with. And, while it is hardly a reason to be on this list to rub elbows with rock royalty, you won’t find too many guitarists who can claim to have shared the stage with the likes of Miles Davis. In fact, McLaughlin played on perhaps Mile’s most famous album, Bitches Brew.

John McLaughlin

Steve Morse

Steve Morse is the founder of the Dixie Dregs, and in 1994 he became Deep Purple’s lead guitarist. Morse grew up in Ypsilanti, MI. Steve Morse joined the popular rock group Kansas in 1986 as the lead guitar player. While he was part of the band, the band’s albums Power and In The Spirit of Things were released. Although he is now part of the Flying Colors supergroup, Morse said that his bandmates would force him to ride in a separate vehicle when he was with Deep Purple because he would play guitar all the time as they went from gig to gig.

Steve Morse

Peter Green

Peter Green was born in London, England, and was one of Fleetwood Mac’s co-founders. His career got a boost when the British blues godfather, Mr. John Mayall, hired him in 1965, a man who found more than a few guitarists on this list. In reality, the guitarist replaced by Peter Green in John Mayall’s band was none other than Eric Clapton, a guitarist who could be seen somewhere further down the list, as you would expect.

Peter Green

Robin Trower

Trower grew up in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. Due to his Jimi Hendrix-like skills and his alleged capacity to bend notes better than any other player alive, he was considered one of the very best guitar players in his day. During the 1960s, however, his guitar playing became most popular when he was a member of the famous group Procol Harum. Most might accept that the album Bridge of Sighs, which was released in 1974, maybe Trower’s crowning achievement. Later on, Trower formed a group with Jack Bruce, the Cream bass player, in the 1980s.

Robin Trower

Tom Morello

Tom Morello grew up in Libertyville, IL. He attended Harvard University and received his BA in Social Studies before becoming a rock god. Morello met Zack de la Rocha in the 1990s. Together, they formed Rage Against the Machine, one of the most successful and influential rock acts of the nineties. In Los Angeles in 2000, outside of the Staples Center Convention Center, which was currently hosting the Democratic National Convention, Rage Against the Machine played. The audience members grew increasingly angry and violent as the show raged on, finally resorting to throwing rocks at one point.

Tom Morello

Paul Gilbert

Gilbert grew up in Carbondale, IL. He is best known for his speed and stylistic versatility in fast guitar playing. Gilbert was tapped to fill in as a guitarist for the legendary metal-monster Ozzy Osbourne himself at the ripe age of 15 in the early ’80s. At the time, the manager and producer of Ozzy were dead set against getting in a child to play guitar for a man who was once Black Sabbath’s lead singer. However, it was all over until Ozzy’s producer heard Gilbert perform. Gilbert moved across the country and soon joined the band. He pairs speed picking in the same sentence with legato and Spanish guitar techniques, which is a feat that most guitarists on this list can never accomplish.

Paul Gilbert

Malcolm Young

Malcolm Young was born in Sydney, Australia, and he and his brother Angus co-founded Australia’s largest rock group, AC/DC, at the age of 20. While Angus played the lead, Malcolm still played rhythm guitar. Legend has it that, after seeing the letters at the top of their older sister Margaret’s sewing machine, they settled on the name AC/DC. By the late 70s, Malcolm and his band were touring Europe with the band Black Sabbath. It was rumored that they didn’t get along too well with Black Sabbath. One story indicates that Sabbath guitarist Geezer Butler pulled a Malcolm knife one evening when tempers flared.

Malcolm Young

George Harrison

Another great artist died ahead of his time. This original Beatles member died in 2001 when he was just 58 years old after contracting cancer of the throat, which he blamed on years of smoking. In 1992, Harrison became the first Billboard Century Award winner. It marked Harrison’s “critical role in laying the groundwork for the modern concept of world music.”

George Harrison

Michael Schenker

Born in the small town of Sarstedt, West Germany, in January 1955 was legendary guitarist Michael Schenker. He was named “a legendary figure in the history of metal guitar.” The German guitarist was also an original member of the rock band named Scorpions. Later, in the mid-70s, he and his brother, Rudolf Schenker, founded a band called UFO. All in all, Schenker has quit and rejoined the UFO band at least three times now, and after each reunion, has knocked out a song.

Michael Schenker

Duane Allman

The founder and leader of the Allman Brothers Band were Howard Duane Allman, the band that allowed him to play along with his brother, Gregg Allman. Tragically, Duane died after a crash, essentially smashing his internal organs on his motorcycle. He was only 24 years of age. His expressive slide guitar playing and his improvisational ability on the instrument were well-known to him. The Allman Brothers’ album “Live at the Fillmore East” is often cited as one of the best live rock albums ever released.

Duane Allman

Paul Kossoff

Paul Kossoff was a member of the famous band named “Free” and was in high demand as a guitarist because of his uncanny timing and complex ability to solo. Unfortunately, when he was 15, Kossoff began using drugs. On March 19, 1976, he died of a pulmonary embolism on a flight from Los Angeles to New York. He was only 25 years of age.

Paul Kossoff

Keith Richards

“The co-founder of the Rolling Stones, along with his partner Mick Jagger, is Keith Richards, arguably the best rhythm player in history, and one-half of the “Glimmer Twins.” In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine referred to Richards as the creator of “rock’s greatest single body of riffs” on guitar. Additionally, in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, Richards was the basis for Johnny Depp’s character, Pirate Captain Jack Sparrow. This is what makes him cooler than anyone you meet.

Keith Richards

Billy Gibbons

The 70-year-old Billy Gibbons, if the beard did not give it away, is the lead guitarist and lead singer of ZZ Top. Early in his career, the guitar maven founded The Moving Sidewalks, opening for The Jimi Hendrix Experience, enabling Gibbons to become great friends with Jimi. The Texas blues boogie sound of ZZ Top, now selling out concerts around the world, is no doubt due to the genius of Billy Gibbons.

Billy Gibbons

Joe Bonamassa

Here’s why this list contains Joe. It’s a well-known fact that Joe Bonamassa opened up for B.B. King when he was just 12. B.B. King mentioned that when he began playing, the audience was quiet for a moment, taking a moment to realize that it was the child who made those sounds. But the audience went crazy after the truth sunk in, and Bonamassa has been performing for massive crowds ever since.

Joe Bonamassa

Mick Taylor

Another graduate of the John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers school of turning out rock guitar gods, Mick Taylor was the blues virtuoso that Mayhall had been looking for. Taylor went on to play with The Rolling Stones until 1974, indicating that he was one part Eric Clapton and one part Jimmy Page. Guns N ‘Roses guitarist Slash has said that Taylor had the greatest influence on him as an artist.

Mick Taylor

Dave Mustaine

Metallica’s original lead guitarist was Dave Mustaine. He was born in La Mesa, CA. Because of his alcoholism, substance addiction, violence, and battles with founding members James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, Mustaine was fired from Metallica on April 11, 1983. Still, throughout his profession, he managed to have great success going forward thanks to the band he founded named “Megadeth.” In his band, he is known to both sing and play fast, amazing lead lines. Amazing right?!

Dave Mustaine

James Hetfield

Speaking of James Hetfield, here he is! Hetfield comes from Downey, CA, and is an absolute guitar beast. Hetfield is basically credited with creating the sound of ‘speed metal,’ creating a spirit of rage that is completely unparalleled in the music industry. In 2001, Hetfield went to rehab for substance dependence. Ever since, and now, he’s been living in Vail, Colorado.

James Hetfield

Pete Townshend

Townshend is one of the most influential rock bands of all time, co-founding The Who. Shortly after World War II, he wrote in his biography about growing up in London, “I wasn’t trying to play beautiful music. I was confronting my audience with the awful, visceral sound of what we all knew was the single absolute of our frail existence—one day an airplane would carry the bomb that would destroy us all in a flash. It could happen at any time.”

Pete Townshend

Kirk Hammett

At the age of 16, Kirk Hammett, also part of Metallica, was recruited as a replacement for Dave Mustaine, Metallica’s previous guitarist. His parents put him on a plane to New York to meet with the band after frontman James Hetfield approached Hammett. The band was not impressed by the kid as he walked into the venue, but they hired him on the spot as soon as he nailed the solo for the hit “Seek and Destroy.”

Kirk Hammett

Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry was a pioneer of Rock and Roll, born in 1926. He died at the age of 90 in 2017. Berry contributed three things to rock music: an irresistible swagger, a focus on the guitar riff as the primary melodic element, and an emphasis on songwriting as storytelling.” Joe Lynch wrote. There is no doubt that if it weren’t because of Chuck Berry, today’s rock music would not be the way it is today.

Chuck Berry

Steve Howe

For the progressive rock group Yes, Howe is the lead guitarist. Building on his popularity, after leaving The Velvet Underground, Howe was actually the lead guitarist on Lou Reed’s first solo album. After leaving Yes, Howe also had a very good solo career. In 2017, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

Steve Howe

Rory Gallagher

Rory Gallagher, who was born in Ireland, was a star of blues and rock. His albums have sold in excess of 30 million copies worldwide. On June 14, 1995, Gallagher died tragically at 47 from the combined effects of a failing liver due to alcohol, narcotics, and an MRSA infection. He has also influenced a lot of blues guitarists due to how amazing he plays the blues.

Rory Gallagher

Zakk Wylde

Zakk Wylde began his career as the member and lead guitarist of Stone Henge, a small band. He finally auditioned for and had a long career as Ozzy Osbourne’s lead guitarist. He’s also the member and lead singer of the Black Label Society heavy metal band. Because of his undeniable stage appearance, Wylde is well known. Ozzy used to say that it was difficult when Wylde was on stage to get the crowd to look at him.

Zakk Wylde

Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa, who passed away in 1993 from lung cancer, was a master of improvising nonconforming free-forms. With his band, Mothers of Invention, and as a solo artist, Zappa was prolific, releasing 60 + records. Zappa was self-taught and is one of the new era’s most influential guitarists. Zappa led orchestras and recorded jazz and classical music albums in his later years.

Frank Zappa

Yngwie Malmsteen

Born in 1963, Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, best known as Yngwie Malmsteen, became well known for his neoclassical style of playing metal in the ’80s. Malmsteen continues to be one of the most prolific artists active today, with 20 studio albums to his credit. He signed with Mascot Records in 2018, with very little sign of slowing down!

Yngwie Malmsteen

John Petrucci

Born in 1967, John Petrucci is best known for his work with the Dream Theater that he was a founding member of. Petrucci’s name constantly comes up in every “Top Guitarist” essay and post in magazines and online. He is most renowned for his ability to infuse classical and jazz phrasings into progressions of rock chords, producing a sound that today in the rock world is unlike anything else.

John Petrucci

Prince

You may not think of the late musician Prince as a shredder, but he had the chops to make everyone’s jaw drop with his guitar playing.  Prince was known for mastering a range of musical styles, most notably disco, punk, R&B, new wave, soul, pop, and psychedelic. With more than 130 million albums purchased by his adoring fans, Prince is one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

Prince

Synyster Gates

The lead guitarist of the band Avenged Sevenfold is Synyster Gates. In 2016 and 2017, he was voted Best Metal Guitarist in the World by Total Guitar. He’s a massive fan of jazz, and as one of his biggest influences, he cites gypsy guitar hero Django Reinhardt. In addition, he also cites the Oingo Boingo frontman, Danny Elfman, as someone he deeply admires. His brother-in-law, M. Shadow, is the lead singer of Avenged Sevenfold.

Synyster Gates

Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana was born in Jalisco, Mexico. Virtually unknown, he took to the Woodstock stage and blew away the audience. In the 1960s and 1970s, his band Santana came to prominence, pioneering a fusion of rock and roll and Latin American jazz. He received a Grammy, a Billboard Century Award, and a host of other awards.

Carlos Santana

Angus Young

Another member of AC/DC is Angus Young. He is renowned for his active appearances, schoolboy-uniform outfits, and his take on Chuck Berry’s duckwalk. Young is 65, and blues, power chords, and Scottish folk music are among the techniques that heavily influence his playing style. His solos are well known for his ability to play one-handed arpeggios!

Angus Young

Dimebag Darrell

Damageplan’s Dimebag Darrell has never had formal guitar lessons, but his style of playing is legendary. He made use of the major third in his riffs and leads, adding dissonance to his minor key tonalities. He also had unbelievable picking ability but preferred legato phrasing personally. A terrible thing happened during a Damageplan concert at the Alrosa nightclub in Ohio on December 8, 2004. During the first set, a deranged fan jumped onto the stage and shot Dimebag Darrell several times. At the scene, the guitar legend was pronounced dead. He was only 38 years of age.

Dimebag Darrell

B.B. King

For B.B. King, born in 1925, introduced the world to a sophisticated guitar solo style. He would use string bending and vibrato, which pioneered new techniques for electric blues. A lifetime friend of the blues and one of the greats of all time, B.B. (which was short for Blues Boy) was considered the undisputed “King” of the blues guitar. At the age of 89, King died while sleeping in 2015.

B.B. King

Mark Knopfler

Knopfler is the co-founder and his little brother, David, of the rock band Dire Straits. Label, no. 70, was referred to as a virtuoso. He is a finger-style guitarist, a four-time Grammy recipient, and a three-time Honorary Doctor of Music from the University of Music. An absolute masterpiece of guitar showmanship remains his hit, Sultans of Swing, from Dire Strait’s first album.

Mark Knopfler

Randy Rhoads

A major influence on neoclassical metal was Randy Rhoads, who performed with Quiet Riot and Ozzy Osbourne. Hundreds of revered guitarists cite him as an influence. Sadly, in 1982, he died while on tour with Ozzy Osbourne at the age of 25. A few band members, including Rhoads, took a single-engine plane for a spin when they clipped the top of the tour bus, spiraled out of control, and killed everyone inside the aircraft.

Randy Rhoads

Gary Moore

Gary Moore, yet another alumnus of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, has been described as an absolute virtuoso. With several bands and as a solo artist, he had success. As a recording artist, he had eleven Top 40 solo releases in the UK. In 1993, he also played with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, both formally from Cream, to release an album. Sadly, at the age of 58 in 2011, Moore died of a heart attack in his sleep.

Gary Moore

Tony Iommi

Tony Iommi is one of the Black Sabbath founding members. An accident that occurred in a factory he worked in as a teenager changed his playing style. In his right hand, he lost the tips of his middle and ring fingers. He also went on to become one of all time’s greatest rock guitarists.

Tony Iommi

Joe Satriani

Joe Satriani is a 15-time candidate for a Grammy. Satriani made ends meet before becoming a rock god by working as a guitar instructor, even teaching a young guitarist named Steve Vai at one point. Cementing him as one of the best instrumental rock guitarists of all time is his breakout album, Surfing With the Alien, featuring Marvel Comic’s Silver Surfer’s iconic illustration on the cover.

Joe Satriani

Jeff Beck

It’s hard to argue about guitarists that played with The Yardbirds. All the members of the Yardbirds were Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. Jeff Beck is a bonafide guitar genius whose work covers genres such as blues rock, hard rock, and electronica. He’s 75 years old now and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. He has recently been seen at live shows playing with Johnny Depp.

Jeff Beck

Steve Vai

Steve Vai was born in 1960 in Carls Place, New York. At the age of 18, he began his music career by transcribing a rather complex Frank Zappa song on notebook paper and submitting it to the artist. Zappa mailed a plane to Vai after reading the page over, who ticked a few out to Los Angeles and joined the band. Another virtuoso who has been characterized as a highly individualistic player is Vai.

Steve Vai

Ritchie Blackmore

Ritchie Blackmore, who is a highly accomplished guitarist and composer, is a co-founder of Deep Purple. The hard-punching of single guitar notes combines his free-flowing jam style of playing with softer, almost pipe organ sounds to produce a sound that has not even been duplicated. Now 75, for his fantastic riffs and his classically inspired solos, he is widely praised.

Ritchie Blackmore

Slash

The lead guitarist of Guns N ‘Roses is Slash. Since his career started in 1981, he has gained critical acclaim for playing guitar. He performed with some of the world’s greatest guitarists and was remembered by Lenny Kravitz, who said he was probably the best guitarist he’d ever played with. Slash later went on to create the supergroup band called Velvet Revolver.

Slash

Alex Lifeson

The Canadian-born guitarist of the progressive rock band Rush is Alex Lifeson. He plays electric and acoustic instruments, the mandola, the bouzouki, and the mandolin. In 2013, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Now 67, Lifeson likes to be a painter, a restaurant owner, and a pilot with a license.

Alex Lifeson

Brian May

The lead guitarist and one of the formative members of the iconic Queen band are Brian May. May is renowned for his soaring guitar solos and his ability to blend his rock and roll styles with classical music. His distinctive voice, regardless of what band he’s playing with at the moment, is easily recognizable. After Freddie Mercury’s death, Queen as a band was put on hold for almost a decade. But Brian May has reemerged since then and taken Queen back to the forefront of rock once more.

Brian May

Stevie Ray Vaughan

In the rebirth of the blues in the ’80s, Vaughan was highly influential. In the mid-’80s, David Bowie, who selected Vaughan to play guitar on his newest album Lets Dance, remembered his lightning-fast fingerpicking. Vaughn was an instant hit, and bands like The Stray Cats and Eric Clapton toured the world opening. Sadly, at the age of 35, in 1990, he died in a helicopter accident. Still, as a legendary guitar player, he is widely remembered.

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton is God. -Or at least that’s what the graffiti scrawled once declared on London houses. Eric Clapton is the first three-time inductee to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a member of The Yardbirds, Cream, Derek and The Dominos. Clapton has won 18 Grammys, and more than 100 million albums have been sold worldwide.

Eric Clapton

David Gilmour

Gilmour was a member of Pink Floyd. He is generally regarded as one of all time’s greatest guitarists. Pink Floyd took his transformative sound from his blues/folk group origins and transformed the group into an acid rock genre that no other band could touch. The albums Dark Side of the Moon, and The Wall, still sell millions of copies each year as new fans of the band emerge.

David Gilmour

Eddie Van Halen

The founder of hard rock band Van Halen is an absolute beast on the guitar. Edward Van Halen and his brother Alex, discovered by Gene Simmons of Kiss, went on to form one of the best-selling bands of all time, fronted by both David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar along the way. In Guitar World magazine’s list of the greatest guitarists of all time in 2012, Van Halen was voted number one. Sadly, he died on October 6, 2020.

Eddie Van Halen

Jimmy Page

Jimmy Page is the founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. But guess what, though? He was in The Yardbirds too (as were Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck). As a twenty-year-old in the 1960s, he was among the most sought-after session guitarists in Britain. Now 77, Page was inducted twice into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Jimmy Page

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix managed to become one of the most unique and critically-acclaimed artists of all time in his 27 short years on earth. He took the stage at Woodstock, but he performed for very few individuals because of his complete lack of fame at the time. More people have known Jimi than any other guitar player on earth as the best guitar player who ever lived. His ability to make sounds that have never come from a guitar is legendary. Hendrix, with his first guitar, is pictured above at the age of 15.

Jimi Hendrix

John Mayer

Most of you probably know him as the pop star known for his hit song named “Your Body Is A Wonderland,” but did you know that he could also rip out mean guitar solos too? In fact, the very reason that he got into guitar in the first place is because of Stevie Ray Vaughan! With the likes of John Mayer, you can be sure that at this time and age, the blues certainly isn’t dead!

John Mayer

Mateus Asato

Although he hasn’t released an album of his own yet, this amazing six-string wielder has taken the world by storm thanks to his videos that got famous on Instagram. In case you haven’t heard of him yet, Mateus Asato is a guitarist from Campo Grande, Brazil, who now resides in Los Angeles. Known for his amazing chord-melody arrangements, the Brazilian guitarist has since toured with a variety of pop stars as a session guitarist.

Mateus Asato

Jake Bowen

Jake Bowen is one of the three guitarists in the progressive metalcore/djent band called Periphery. The band has been nominated for a Grammy award in 2016 for the best metal performance of their song called “The Price Is Wrong.” Here is a fun fact, did you know that Jake Bowen is actually the nephew of Dream Theater guitarist, John Petrucci?

Jake Bowen

Scott Lepage

Scott LePage is one of the two guitarists in the band Polyphia. If you haven’t heard of them before, the band started out in 2010, with their roots being in progressive metal. They first rose to prominence thanks to their heavy sound. Later on, their sound evolved to be more influenced by mainstream music, and eventually, creating a unique sound of blending guitar with rap/hip-hop music.

Scott LePage

Tim Henson

Tim Henson is the other guitarist of the band Polyphia. The riffs that he and Scott LePage wrote together made a big impact in the guitar scene today as they helped in forming this new sound of trap/hip-hop guitar. Currently, Polyphia in the studio recording their 4^th album set to be released sometime in 2021. Henson also made a name for himself by posting several clips of him playing guitar on Instagram.

Tim Henson

Plini

Plini Roessler-Holgate is an Australian guitarist and songwriter. He began by releasing music under the name Halcyon, before switching to the use of his first name. He is known for his amazing guitar work as a progressive metal guitarist, in fact, Steve Vai even went as far as to describe Plini as “the future of exceptional guitar playing.”

Plini

Aaron Marshall

Aaron Marshall is a Canadian guitarist best known for his band named “Intervals.” He formed the band in Toronto, Ontario in 2011 as a creative outlet for himself. Aside from his work in his band, one thing that people love the most about him is how melodic his guitar playing is, as well as how beautiful the riffs that he wrote are.

Aaron Marshall

Tosin Abasi

Oluwatosin Ayoyinka Olumide “Tosin” Abasi is a Nigerian-American guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist and member of Animals as Leaders, the instrumental progressive metal band. Tosin’s band is known for their complex music, with very sudden time signature changes and challenging rhythms. He also popularized a technique he calls “selective picking,” as well as applying the bass technique known as “thumping” on guitar.

Tosin Abasi

Javier Reyes

Javier Reyes is best known for his 8-string guitar work in his Bands Animal as Leaders and Mestis. He blends conventional Spanish influences with progressive metal riffing, having been educated in classical guitar. As one of the guitarists of Animals as Leaders, Reyes has certainly displayed his excellence on the 8-string guitar with how manages to play complex passages while being relaxed.

Javier Reyes

Tom Quayle

Hailing from Leeds in the UK is none other than Tom Quayle. This amazing guitarist is known for his fast yet fluid legato lines, as well as his ability to play over complex jazz chord changes. He rose to prominence thanks to Youtube, and after joining Guitar Idol 2008, his popularity grew even further. Recently, he developed an app with fellow Leeds-based guitarist David Beebee. The app aims to teach guitarists how to play over chord changes.

Tom Quayle

Martin Miller

Hailing from Leipzig, Germany, as a professional musician and an inspiring and knowledgeable guitar teacher, Martin Miller is making a name for himself. Miller has been playing guitar ever since he was a schoolboy, growing up around music and guitars, but he became serious about it when he was in his teens. He first rose to prominence thanks to Youtube, gaining a lot of views thanks to how amazing he plays.

Martin Miller

Guthrie Govan

An English guitarist and guitar teacher, Guthrie Govan is known for his work with the bands The Aristocrats, Asia, GPS, The Young Punx, and The Fellowship, as well as for his solo Erotic Cakes project. He has been collaborating with Steven Wilson and Hans Zimmer more recently. In 1993, with his instrumental piece Wonderful Slippery Thing, he won the “Guitarist of the Year” competition from Guitarist magazine. The track demo earned him a place in the live final among a number of other entrants, which he then won.

Guthrie Govan

Derek Trucks

Derek Trucks is the American guitarist, songwriter, and founder of The Derek Trucks Band, a Grammy Award-winning group. In 1999, he became an official member of The Allman Brothers Band.  In 2010, along with his wife, blues singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi, he formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band.

Derek Trucks

Steve Lukather

Steven Lee Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer, best known from its founding in 1976 to the present day as the only continuing founding member of the rock band Toto. Lukather, a prolific session musician, has recorded guitar tracks representing a broad array of artists and genres for more than 1,500 albums. With how much he has worked as a session musician, there is no doubt that you have probably heard of him before without knowing of it.

Steve Lukather

Shawn Lane

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of eight, Lane started playing piano with his sisters, but did not play guitar seriously until he was ten years old. He started to practice heavily at the age of 12–13. He has also released two studio albums and collaborated with a variety of musicians including Ringo Starr, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Reggie Young, Joe Walsh, Jonas Hellborg and many others.

Shawn Lane

Cory Wong

Cory Wong is an American guitarist, songwriter and producer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As a solo artist and in collaboration with others, he has released several works. His background stretches across several genres, including jazz. He performed with Vulfpeck, Stay Human, and Chris Thile, respectively. In 2020, he released several albums, including Live in Amsterdam, a Metropole Orkest collaboration, and Meditations, a Grammy nominated new-age album with Jon Batiste. He is best known for his work as a guitarist in the band Vulfpeck.

Cory Wong

Rob Scallon

Scallon is a musician who became famous in Youtube thanks to his videos of playing metal songs with instruments that are not typically seen in metal (an example of which would be a banjo). His Youtube videos have content that varies from comedic music-related skits, to educational videos teaching viewers of other instruments that some people might have not heard of.

Rob Scallon

Nili Brosh

Nili Brosh is an Israeli-American guitarist and songwriter. In 2009, Brosh graduated from Berklee College of Music and immediately started teaching in the summer guitar programs at the college. The following year, she released her debut album, Through The Looking Glass, featuring a guest solo from Andy Timmons. She also began to perform with The Iron Maidens in 2010, as well as making guest appearances with Stu Hamm, Andy Timmons, and The Aristocrats.

Nili Brosh

Orianthi

Orianthi Penny Panagaris is a musician, singer and songwriter from Australia who rehearsed with Michael Jackson in 2009 in preparation for his ill-fated This Is It concert series and performed with the touring band of Alice Cooper. She also won the “2010 Breakthrough Guitarist of the Year” award hosted by Guitar International magazine. Orianthi appeared at the 51st annual Grammy Awards in February 2009 as Carrie Underwood’s lead guitarist, with Underwood inviting Orianthi to become a member of her band. Following that performance Michael Jackson’s management reached out to Orianthi for an audition for This Is It concerts.

Orianthi

Nita Strauss

Nita Strauss is an American rock musician. She is the current touring guitarist for Alice Cooper and has a successful career as a solo artist. As a teenager, Strauss began to tour with her own band, leaving high school to pursue music full time in her junior year. While initially recognized for her work with the Iron Maiden all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens, the career of Strauss included performing with many rock ensembles, including Consume the Fire, Femme Fatale, and the video-game supergroup Critical Hit.

Nita Strauss

James Burton

James Burton, has been in the industry for many years already but continues to both tour and do several studio backups for various singers. Burton’s music goes back to when he was as young as 14 years old, when he wrote “Susie Q,” for rockabilly Dale Hawkins. The amazing American guitarist has had a huge impact on rock during the 195os. Today, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and has been listed by Rolling Stones as one of the 100 greatest guitarists.

James Burton

Thurston Moore

62-year-old Thurston Moors became very popular during the 80s where he was best known as the Sonic Youth member. He also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of the band. Moore also ran the Ecstatic Peace! record label. He too was ranked by Rolling Stones as one of the top 100 guitarists. It has often been said that Moore definitely influenced many generations thanks to his music.

Thurston Moore

Joe Perry

Joseph Pereira is professionally known as Joe Perry. The American musician and songwriter is most famous as the founding member and lead guitarist of the rock band, Aerosmith. Many people have considered the band to be the “Greatest American Rock Band of All-Time”. Perry has a grand collection of 600 guitars. Pretty impressive, right?

Joe Perry

Roger McGuinn

American musician, Roger McGuinn is best known for being the front and the leader of the Byrds. The Byrds blended traditional folk songs with a rock beat and scored major hits during the 1960s. McGuinn was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with the Byrds. He has received so much love and praise from millions of rock fans all over the world.

Roger McGuinn

Paul Simon

Paul Simon is often regarded as the greatest wordsmith to ever exist. His music career has spanned over about 6 decades, many of the years were spent producing albums for Simin and Garfunkel –part of the duo that was formed in 1956.  Simon was responsible for writing most of the songs. Even though the pair split, Simon began a very successful career. He has earned 16 Grammy Awards for both his solo and collaborative work.

Paul Simon

Johnny Marr

English musician, songwriter, and singer, Johnny Marr first achieve global recognition as the guitarist and co-songwriter of The Smiths’ who were active from 1982 until l1987. As a child, Marr would try to replicate not just guitar riffs by paint and strings as well – all with his right hand. Since the band split, Marr has been performing with numerous other bands but also embarked on a solo career.

Johnny Marr

Albert King

The six-foot-four, 300-pound Albert King was able to bend notes farther and more powerfully than almost any other blues guitarist. His records have been considered to influence many generations as well. Jimi Hendrix was star-struck when his hero opened for him at the Fillmore in 1967. “I taught [Hendrix] a lesson about the blues,” said King. “I could have easily played his songs, but he couldn’t play mine. Albert King once nicknamed “The Velvet Bulldozer” because of this smooth singing and large size.

Albert King

Neil Young

Neil Young is a Canadian- American singer-songwriter and incredible musician who embarked on his music career during the 1960s. He then moved to Los Angeles and joined Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, and many others. He has not just been inducted twice into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but has also received several Grammy and Juno awards. Young’s guitar work, deep lyrics, and signature voice have been highly regarded by many all over the world.

Neil Young

Elmore James

Mississippi-born singer, songwriter, and blues guitarist Elmore James was also known as “King of the Slide Guitar”. Some have even described his voice as a sizzling sensation. James’ inspired so many generations of guitarists, with so many devotees practicing day and night just to sound like him. Even though Elmore James passed away in 1963, his massive contribution to music was appreciated and recognized which is why he was later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

Elmore James

Stephen Stills

Neil Young has described his fellow bandmate as  “a musical genius”. Stephen Still is possibly the most underrated guitarist but is without a doubt one of the most well-established singer-songwriters of his time. Not only is he a world-famous guitarist but is a great multi-instrumentalist as well. Stills has been a successful soloist and a member of two thriving bands. He too has been ranked by Rolling Stones as one of “The Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.

Stephen Stills

Mark Tremonti

46 year old, Mark Tremonti is an American musician who is notorious for his role as the lead guitarist of the rock bands  Creed and Alter Bridge. So far Tremonti has successfully sold more than 50 million records over his career. He has also worked with many other musicians during his career. Tremonti awards include one Grammy for Creed’s single “With Arms Wide Open.” He is highly regarded by his peers and was even chosen by Guitar World as “Guitarist of the Year” for three straight years. In 2011, Total Guitar magazine chose Tremonti as the 4th greatest heavy metal guitarist in history.

Mark Tremonti

Dan Auerbach

Singer-songwriter and frontman of The Black Keys, Ohio-born Dan Auerbach is just as awesome as the band’s combination of rock, blues, and soul. As a member of the group. Auerbach has managed to record and co-produce 11 studio albums alongside his bandmate, Patrick Camey. Dan Auerbach is one unique guitarist who is certainly making the blues super for a whole new generation.

Dan Auerbach

Steve Cropper

79 year old, Steven Lee Cropper, is not just an extremely talented guitarist but a songwriter and record producer as well. Cropper is sometimes called, “The Colonel.” He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T & the M.G’s. Rolling Stone magazine placed Cropper at No. 39 on its list of “The 100 Greatest Guitarists in History.” In more recent times, Steve Cropper was a member of the Blues Brothers band.

Steve Cropper

St. Vincent

Always refreshing to see a beautiful, accomplished female on the list that is dominated by talented men. Annie Erin Clark professionally known as St.Vincent, is a singer, musician, songwriter, and producer. St. Vincent’s first guitar was a red, plastic guitar her mom got her when she was just  5 years old. By the time she was 12, she received her first real guitar and there was no going back from thee. In recent years she has toured with many popular musicians.

St. Vincent

Matthew Bellamy

This list is definitely filled with loads of successful musicians, but here we have another multi-talented musician. Matthew Bellamy is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, pianist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for the rock band, Muse. Wow, right? That’s beyond incredible! He has been described as remarkable and simply outstanding. Bellamy attracts his greatest applause for his guitar work and his amazing ability to blend progressive rock with electronica. He has earned two Grammy awards and been a huge contribution to his band selling more than 20 million albums.

Matthew Bellamy

Jason Mraz

Ameican guitarist, Jason Mraz is a singer-songwriter and guitarist who emerged onto the scene in 2002 when he released his debut studio album. He said to be unique with a fun sound and strong appeal. Did you know, Mraz actually taught himself how to play guitar with one that his friend had thrown away. How amazing is that? Now, the 43-year-old is doing some terrific things for the music industry.

Jason Mraz

Brad Paisley

Brad Paisley is an American country music singer and songwriter. To date, he has released eleven studio albums and sold more than 11 million albums. If you think that’s all, wait, there is so much more…Paisley has won 3 Grammy Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music Awards, 14 Country Music Association Awards, and two American Music Awards. He has also earned country music’s crowning achievement, becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Brad Paisley

Jack White

Detroit native, John Anthony White, or as we know him as Jack White is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He is best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes but has also had success as a solo artist. He has tons of supporters and beloved fans but also always receives brilliant reviews from critics. Some have even called him one of the busiest performers in the music industry. Want to know how many Grammys he won? 12- yip how incredible?

Jack White

Freddie King

Freddie King was a remarkable blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. His career began in the early 1950s and still to this day is considered to be one of the “Three Kings of the Blues Guitar”. King was best known for his soulful and powerful voice as well as his outstanding guitar playing. He also had a massive influence on electric blues music and on many blues guitarists. People often referred to him as the “Texas Cannonball’.

Freddie King

Hubert Sumlin

Hubert Charles Sumlin was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer, who was very well known for his “wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences, and daring rhythmic suspensions”. He was a member of Howlin’ Wolf’s band. His impact on the music industry was not just enormous but was highly commended overall years of his career. Sumlin was ranked number 43 in Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.

Hubert Sumlin