Top 10 Guitarists of All Time

Jimi Hendrix is widely regarded as the greatest guitar player in history not just because he had considerable blues chops but also because of his wild creativity with his instrument. The man was capable of churning out sounds that no one had ever heard before, and his mastery over the electric guitar has still never been matched. Hendrix often got lumped in with the late 60s hippie movement, but he was really a thing unto himself, a freight train that tore through the music scene with unrelenting sonic power.

King of the neo-classical metallers, Ozzy describes hearing Rhoads as “God entering my life”
Fitted an insane amount of accomplishment into a tragically short life - he is counted as a primary influence by Zakk Wylde, Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen, Michael Angelo Bateo, Mick Thomson, Alex Laiho and Buckethead.

As a guitarist, Jimmy Page can do practically anything—blues, Beatles-style pop, folk rock, jazz, heavy metal, and so on. With his considerable talent, he could have made any kind of music, so it’s interesting that he left all the traditional forms behind and pioneered the signature Led Zeppelin sound that would prove so influential to all heavy metal and hard rock acts to come. Like all great guitar players, Page thought of his music in terms of songcraft and refrained from the type of self-indulgence that can kill a good song. With Zeppelin, he also grew into a formidable songwriter and producer.

Guns N’ Roses were clearly more talented than their hair-band contemporaries, even though they didn’t always get credit for it. While Axl Rose was a big reason for their success, Slash gave the band a raw musicianship that Rose simply didn’t possess, and it’s hard to imagine that GNR ever would have gotten anywhere without him. On Appetite for Destruction alone Slash delivers five or six truly iconic guitar lines.

Black Sabbath's legendary guitarist has been bashing away at guitar licks since 1970 for Ozzy's metal greats. He's a super-reliable riff monster 24/7.

The All Music Guide has described him as "Second to only Jimi Hendrix" - but I happen to disagree (controversial!) - this guy is responsible for causing countless arguments ("just how does that last chord on the chorus of 'Jump' go?") and many hours on a dodgy old keyboard trying to prove my point...

Genius - 'nuff said!

Another British guitar legend, Clapton has played with many influential bands and managed to sustain an incredibly successful solo career with classic hits "Layla" and "While my guitar gently weeps". Definitely one of the more mainstream entries in this Top 10 list, Eric Clapton is a household name across many generations of music lovers for all the right reasons.

Richards has always been openly derisive of the type of pretentious virtuosity that many of his contemporaries used. Rather than showing off, Richards always played in service of the song, and The Rolling Stones’ music in general is remarkably short on fancy solos or long instrumental passages (with some notable exceptions, of course). But even though he doesn’t show off, the pure energy of his playing is what gives so many Stones songs their power.

A master of not just the notes and scales, but the sound, the action, and the dynamics of music. He pioneered guitars, effects, sounds and genres. Without him everything would be different. Without him there would be no rock’n’roll. Died aged 94 having given us ten decades of genius.