It ’s a conversation every music aficionado has had innumerable times , and will continue to have so long as the spirit of rock prevails ; who is the large guitarist of all time ? It ’s an argument which necessitate questions of gustatory perception , of technical acquisition and of person , an argument which will continue to haunt ethnic critic and secular alike for years to descend . Here at Goliath , we ’ve tried our undecomposed to whittle forth the superfluous and nail down it down to the 10 greatest rock’n’roll and roll guitar player of all fourth dimension .
10. Jack White (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs)
For a while , stone ’s reign world-beater of guitar could do no wrongfulness ; The White Stripes , despite their interior deviation , were a massive commercial and decisive success , with albums likeWhite Blood CellsandElephantandIcky Thumpoften credited with saving stone in its most despairing hour ( the early 2000’s … shudder ) . His signature brand of electric blues will melt your look off ( see below ) , and whatever he lack in technical skill is more than made up for with a heaping pane of swagger . While his late solo ventures have been less sky-high receive , there ’s no question that when it comes to playing rock’n’roll and roller guitar in the twenty-first century , Jack White is the valet de chambre everyone looks to . He ’s outre , he ’s electric and he ’s got the moves to back up whatever trash he ’s talk .
9. Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones)
Ahhhh , Keith . You ’ve been doing this for almost half a century , and you never let down . The man who made rhythm guitar cool , Richards has been writing timeless riffs for longer than most of the universe has been alive , and he ’s shown no house of slowing down . make influence from the bluing , country and even funk and disco , Richards ’ warm , minimal tone is as conversant to a Rolling Stones fan as Mick Jagger ’s swaying hips . It ’s difficult to encompass the influence The Rolling Stones have had on contemporary music , and even more difficult to comprehend that all those instantaneously recognisable riffs came from one man . The definition of a unfeigned rock and roll , no list of rock guitarist would be over without Keith .
8. Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen)
Every so often , a guitarist comes along who changes things constantly and for always . They ’re rarified , but often they feature a sound so placeable they inspire musicians for decades to come . Eddie Van Halen was one of those guitarist . Often accredit with helping bring alloy and hard tilt to a mainstream audience , Van Halen also popularized several innovative guitar proficiency , most significantly “ tapping ” ( a method wherein two hands are used on the neck , rather than one on the neck and one on the soundbox ) . have it away for his outrageous guitar solo and even more outrageous on - leg role , Eddie Van Halen will almost assuredly go down as one of the best , and most unique , guitarist to ever rape our ears .
7. Prince (Prince and The Revolution)
To the casual music sports fan , this one might come as a bit of a surprisal , but veteran listener are well aware that despite his peculiarities , Prince remains one of the best guitarists ( nether region , one of the best musicians ) on the satellite at any given bit . He may be small , but his music sure is n’t ; the guitar solo in “ Purple Rain ” ( sport below ) is one of the most iconic in music history , yet it ’s far from the only representative where Prince ’s musical art has left jaw on the floor . Most every one of his albums features astounding musicianship , a fact often overlooked due to the strange nature of his off - projection screen persona and the sheer difficulty of accessing his music online ( Prince really , reallyhates YouTube ) .
6. B.B. King
This year the humankind witnessed the passing of a legend , as foundational blues guitarist B.B. King passed away at age 89 . As well-thought-of and influential as musicians can be , King was not a “ rock ‘n’ roll ” guitar player so to verbalize , but you ’d be hard push to incur a instrumentalist on this leaning who was n’t in some direction bear on by the bland , soulful “ King of the Blues . ” A human who could do more with one note than most musicians could do with a thousand , King was the anchor around which the bluing biotic community was settle down , and his absence will be sorely sense move forward . A legendary showman who toured well into his late 80s , King was a staring valet de chambre who never fall victim to the trappings of stardom , rather remaining humble while dish up out concert after concert of affective music .
5. David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
Like B.B. King above , David Gilmour is a guitarist who thrives on doing more with less . While some of the other guitarists on this list may bring faster , angrier or louder , it ’s Gilmour who play with the most soul . His zoom guitar solos have defined the psychadelic speech sound of Pink Floyd since he joined the band in 1967 , and the ambient nature of his guitar pure tone sets him aside from the many rock guitarists who prefer more overdrive and less reverberation . His guitar solo in “ Time ” ( feature below ) is consistently cited as one of the greatest of all time , withGuitar Worldvoting it21st ( his solo for “ Comfortably Numb ” clocked in at # 4 on that list ) .
4. Stevie Ray Vaughan (Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble)
Were it not for his untimely expiry , there ’s small incertitude that Stevie Ray Vaughan would be higher on this lean . As it suffer , we ’re left with the mightily impressive work of a prodigy who was never truly enter the opportunity to blossom out . enmesh Graeco-Roman blueness techniques with the southern sounds of his aboriginal Texas , Vaughan craft a monumentally influential sound that would go on to inspire a generation of young guitarists , many of whom image his now legendary carrying into action on Austin City Limits ( we ’re reckon at you , John Mayer ) . Credited by many as the man who gave new life to the blues stone writing style , Vaughan ’s career lasted a short seven years , but his bequest will persist for far longer as one of the most crucial guitar player of all time .
3. Eric Clapton (The Yardbirds, Derek and the Dominos, Cream)
Clapton is God . Not literally , of course , but that ’s what the graffiti scrawled on subway wall at the height of his tenure with the Yardbirds , shortly before he left to join the supergroup Cream with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce , would guide you to believe . It was at this item in time that most mass believe Eric Clapton to be the practiced guitarist on the planet , a belief that continued until a young man from Seattle go up to bump ( more on him later ) . cognise dear to his fans as “ Slowhand , ” a nickname which arose from his smooth - as - honey manus movements while play , Clapton has delight a long , successful career on the back of his astounding power to blend blue methodology with rock-and-roll and curlicue sensibilities , resulting in a guitar tonicity and style he refers to as “ The Woman Tone ” ( a thick , distorted and creamy sound alone to his guitar ) .
2. Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
When it issue forth to penning recognizable rock ‘n’ roll and roll riffs , nobody ( not even the aforementioned Keith Richards ) can top Jimmy Page . It does n’t hurt that he ’s put together some of the most blistering guitar solo of all time as well , like the one in “ Whole Lotta Love ” ( below ) . Oscillating between overwhelming electric guitar awesome and beautiful , intricate acoustical arrangement ( “ The Rain Song ” ) , there ’s something for everyone in Led Zeppelin ’s discography . If all of that is n’t telling enough , think about this : in a banding that features arguably the capital drummer of all time ( Jon Bonham ) , and one of the greatest vocalists of all time ( Roger Plant ) , it ’s Page who get the most acknowledgement . Listening to his study , there ’s little reason to wonder why .
1. Jimi Hendrix (The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
Despite all the jockeying for military position on this list , there was never any interrogation as to who would end up at the top . In his brief life , Jimi Hendrix perpetually switch the manner people thought about the galvanic guitar . In his hands , it became more than an instrument ; it was a gateway into the soul , a vas through which to convey the interior - workings of a complex military man with unmeasured talent . you could listen to most any Hendrix Sung dynasty and come away with a sincere perceptiveness for not only the euphony , but also the man . While his catalog is not heroic , his three studio apartment albums and live public presentation subsist as the ultimate experience in rock and coil guitar .
