When it comes to favorites, Ace Frehley ranks pretty high up on that list. Past the age of about 14 I never heard much from Frehley that totally blew me away, but that was part of the appeal. He was one of the first guitarists I could play like. I could learn his solos, I could play like Ace, and I spent many, many, many hours of my life learning every trick Ace had up his sleeve. To this day I never get tired of ripping out his lead line from the Alive version of “She”. When it comes to rock gods to emulate, I’m not sure any were better than Ace. He didn’t re-write the book on rock guitar playing, but what he did, he did so god damn well. Besides if he’s good enough for Dime, he should be good enough for you.
19. Steve Vai
Sometimes I think certain musicians are so good they get bored. Steve Vai was transcribing symphonies while still a teenager and was part of Frank Zappa’s band just to play impossible “stunt guitar”. Always interested in pursuing odd and unique musical stylings, Vai never ascribed to the blues based neo-classical school of shredding. However he did prove in the film Crossroads that yes he could play anything if he felt like it. Another guitarist who sounds like no other, Vai has made a career of being better than you and not even caring to show it. He’s also incorporated some of the sickest live tricks anyone’s ever put together just add a little fun to the proceedings.
18. Dave Mustaine
This man may be an asshat, and sometimes when he opens his mouth you just wish he would stop speaking, but give him a guitar and Mustaine is as good as anyone ever. As a song writer he has churned out more metal classics than anyone, and has continued making relevant music long after his contemporaries stopped doing anything anyone cared about. After his 2002 freak nerve accident, Mustaine was told he’d never play again. The fact that not only did he play again, but was better than ever on albums like The System Has Failed and Endgame just show that the man is truly indestructible.
17. Tom Morello
Rage Against the Machine’s lead guitarist has been known for years for his unique and unorthodox guitar playing approach. He’s used every tool in the book, even creating a few new ones to get that “how the hell is he making that sound” approach. But unlike guitarists like say Johnny Greenwood or Thurston Moore, Morello has the undeniable chops to go along with his crazy sonic experiments. Perhaps no better representation of what the man could do can be found on the solo of “Know Your Enemy”. In the game of knowing when to lay low and when to let it rip Morello straddles the fine line of restraint. Probably the most innovative guitarist to come around since the great EVH, and it’s probably a good thing no one even tries to do what he’s doing.
16. Jimmy Page
Jimmy might be a little low for many of you, and I apologize. There’s very little I can add to the lexicon of Page praise. Occasionally a sloppy player might be my only complaint, but he was responsible for nearly a generation of guitarists coming around. After shamelessly plagiarizing blues greats, Page expanded his arsenal, incorporated more odd tunings, different musical stylings, and his playing improved as a result. Although if he never recorded another song, “Stairway to Heaven” is enough to get him into the guitarist hall of fame. It also was the first song I learned, so it holds a special place for me as well as countless others.
15. Chris Broderick
The most recent and best shredding legend to join Megadeth was somewhat new to me when he joined. Mustaine wasted no time showing off his new toy, making Endgame (Broderick’s debut) the most shred heavy of all of Megadeth’s albums and the best since Rust in Peace. Watching some instructional videos from Broderick, who went to college to study classical guitar, show how the man has mastered everything. His technique is flawless and he’s even patented his own thumb pick which makes his seamless pick to tap technique nearly impossible to emulate. Oh and he can also play everything, shred up and down the fretboard and pretend to be humble about it. I’m not sure there is a better technical player all around than Broderick.
14. Ritchie Blackmore
Despite being raised on classic rock I largely ignored Ritchie Blackmore as a kid. I knew he had some tasty leads, like in “Lazy” or “Highway Star” but it wasn’t until I heard “Burn” that I really began to pay attention to what Blackmore was doing, and what he did. The father of neo-classical, he was sweep picking as early as 1969, always rocking out on his trusty strat. One note into any Blackmore song and it’s unmistakable. A monumental influence on Yngwie, Randy Rhoads and every guitarist to pick up an axe in the 80s, he also had an unprecedented mastery of blues technique. He’s one of those guitarists whose so influential you don’t even realize who stole from him, even if the person ripping him off is yourself. His playing in “Child in Time” is as good as any from the classic rock era.
13. Steve Morse
It’s fitting that the man who eventually replaced Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple would find himself one spot higher on my rankings. Originally making a name for himself in the country-fusion band The Dixie Dregs, Morse has been one of the most technically solid and impressive players in the business. Quite possibly the fastest picker around, the man can tear up some sweet country picking, then trade off crazy sweep picking runs and damn near refusing to use a hammer on or pull off. His songwriting hasn’t been his strong suit, but he’s put out a few gems, particular “The Bash” and “Tumeni Notes”. A man who leaves John Petrucci in awe, Morse is about as good as they come.
12. Jason Becker
There is no shortage of great guitarists gone before their time. Hell four of the players in my top ten fit this description but I don’t think any was quite the heart breaker that Jason Becker was. The most gifted of the new wave of super shredders who had an uncanny ear for composition. He was playing Yngwie covers with his teeth while only 15 years old, so yeah the kid could play. A prodigy pretty much from the word go, he was covering Paganini covers by ear, and working on writing his own symphony (which was completed in 1996), but fate took a huge shit on him when he got ALS in 1990, before even turning 21. He managed to finish his one album with David Lee Roth before losing the ability to play. He didn’t stop making music, and continues to compose using a painstaking process of blinks and eye movements, while inexplicably living with a terminal disease for the past 24 years and counting. His career is still one of largely untapped potential, but what he did while still capable is enough to put nearly every player to shame.
11. Paco de Lucia
The king of flamenco guitar has never ceased to amaze me. I had a teacher try and show me the two finger picking technique Paco used and I could barely navigate a C major scale. Paco plays almost exclusively with just two fingers on his right hand can pick faster than most metal players. He’s the unquestioned lord and master of his style, and carried that title up until his death earlier this year. Along with fellow legends John McLaughlin and Al DiMeola, Paco broke through outside of Spain and was introduced to a whole new generation of guitar players. However, trying to play like Paco is an exercise in futility.
10. Steve Ray Vaughn
At this point, pretty much every guitarist is the greatest ever. SRV was the brightest star in the white guys who play the blues galaxy. A man who cut his teeth playing in seedy Texas dive bars and tearing it up on some of the heaviest gauge strings ever put on an axe. He had the showmanship of Hendrix with more chops. Known for that classic single coil rhythm pickup sound he brought a whole new generation of people to the blues, and can arguably be called the last great blues artist period. A man who played from the gut unlike any other and made the coolest, ugliest faces when he let loose, there was no one else quite like him, and there won’t be.
9. Slash
It became pretty clear that Guns ‘n’ Roses were no mere hair metal band. They were old school, lock up your daughters rock and roll in an era of eyeliner and spandex. It’s fitting then that Slash borrowed a little of that old school rock god vibe, adopting the signature Jimmy Page Les Paul, while ditching all the whammy bar, two-hand tapping wankery of his contemporaries. Still insanely fast and technically proficient, Slash let loose his own style and unique Seymour Duncan sound that stood out in a sea of interchangeable shredders. I’ve talked about good and bad wah sounds, and Slash had damn near the best. There isn’t a bad solo in the bunch and whether it’s “Nighttrain”, “Estranged” or the end of “November Rain” his work with G ‘n’ R is some of the best lead playing you’ll ever hear. Every solo is iconic, and he didn’t hesitate to bring the blues back to rock, albeit with his own unique interpretation.
8. Randy Rhoads
When it comes to personal influences it’s hard to top Randy Rhoads. He was tragically killed before realizing his full potential at the age of only 25. His legacy was built on the first two Ozzy Osbourne solo albums and it was enough to inspire a generation. Randy was devoted to classical guitar and fused that love with rock/metal like no one really had before him. He came in the wake of Eddie Van Halen and incorporated plenty of his tricks too but did them in a way that was uniquely his. His signature lead tone was the result of multi-tracking his solos creating an almost chorus like effect. There were few guitarists I ever obsessed over quite like Randy, and spent the better part of high school trying to learn to play everything he ever wrote and recorded. The body of work was small but the influence was incalculable.
7. John Petrucci
Dream Theater’s long standing guitarist might be the best guitarist in the world when all is said and done. An insanely disciplined player who practices as much as anyone, he’s managed to get better with almost each Dream Theater recording, yet even base level John Petrucci is better than nearly everyone else. Even his rhythm parts were played using unorthodox chord phrases just to change things up. It’s hard to even call Petrucci an influence though because he’s so damn good it’s almost futile to attempt to play like him. No mere shredder though, he’s put together some of the most memorable solos in all of prog-rock. Check out “Spirit Carries On” or even “Eve” for proof.
6. Al DiMeola
Although Al DiMeola has been active for nearly 40 years to me his legacy will always be his first four solo albums. Land of the Midnight Sun, Elegant Gypsy, Casino, and Splendido Hotel are four of the greatest albums ever made regardless of genre or style. His playing was mind blowing. That sweet Les Paul sound, and those crazy fast muted runs, and latin influenced grooves are all signature hallmarks of DiMeola’s style. He would abandon electric guitar for a time to focus on acoustic work, including the highly successful Friday Night in San Francisco with fellow top 100 alums Paco de Lucia and John McLaughlin. However his lead playing, and muted but clean staccato scales make for unending joy listening to him. He had amazing vibrato and wasn’t just a speed freak, he knew when to hold a note, and how long to hold it to maximum effect. Some called him a jazz version of Yngwie, and it’s not too far from the truth, but that almost seems to sell him short. The man is as good as they get.
5. Eddie Van Halen
People talk about watershed moments in music and well when it comes to lead guitar playing, nothing created a sonic revolution quite like “Eruption”. With that two minute solo Eddie Van Halen completely re-wrote the book on guitar playing, virtually invented shredding and ushered in a whole new language of playing. He single handedly forced an entire generation to up their game to unprecedented heights and did more to impact the instrument than anyone since Jimi Hendrix, if not even more so. The one part about Eddie that I felt never got enough attention though was his guitar tone. It changed album to album, but from their self titled debut all the way to Balance, and even the Roth reunion, Eddie had the best sounding guitar in all of music. I’ve spent countless hours trying to figure out how he created that legendary “brown” sound or how he got that ultra crisp yet distorted full sound on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. In addition to playing better than anyone before him, he also had a better guitar tone just to rub it in.
4. Yngwie Malmsteen
This is where I start playing personal favorites. Yngwie isn’t the fastest guitarist to ever pick up an axe, although I’d wager he was damn near the fastest in the game when he released his debut album in 1983. Yngwie took what he learned from Ritchie Blackmore, Jimi Hendrix, and a childhood of classical music and fused it into one hyperactive package. He also had the sickest vibrato in all of guitar for my money. The one knock you can give him is that his style never really evolved, but when you record “Black Star” and “Far Beyond the Son” on your first album, you’ve already perfected style. Yngwie also never strayed from the single coil Fender strat sound of Blackmore, but had his own custom made scalloped fretboard which he claimed made it harder to play faster, god forbid. Yngwie’s music might be two dimensional, either neo-classical or the occasional blues song, but good heavens he can play rings around anyone, but he does it with style and a flare that makes it never boring. For added measure he also puts on a mean live show.
3. Jimi Hendrix
Let’s be honest, I knew when I started this list who my #1 was, but didn’t really know who would come after this. The reason I play guitar is because of Jimi Hendrix. The same time I saw Alvin Lee play “I’m Going Home” I watched Hendrix make the “Star Spangled Banner” his own and I knew that even if there were a million guitarists in the world, I’d be 1,000,001. Hendrix was revolutionary in making the guitarist the star. Blues players used some of the same tricks and led their own bands, but nobody did it in the way Hendrix did. Ever the perfectionist his albums grew by leaps and bounds in an extremely short time and he never stopped looking for the newest sound. As meticulous as he was in the studio, you can make a strong argument that he was at his best live, playing with his heart rather than painstakingly re-recording every note. Every guitarist who has picked up the instrument since 1967 owes Jimi a debt of gratitude, and I’ll go ahead and say it, there was no one more important to the instrument.
2. Dimebag Darrell
Surprised? I kind of am too. Ever since the first time I heard Pantera back in high school I knew Dime was a special player. I’ve always considered him one of the all time greats, but even I was a little surprised how high he ranked here, but I stand by it. A proud member of the Kiss army, Dime learned what he could mastering Ace Frehley and proceeded to amp it up another 20 notches. An unmistakable sound that was incredibly heavy with some of the cleanest and sickest leads in all of metal. I gave EVH praise for his guitar tone, but I’m not sure a guitar ever sounded better than on Vulgar Display of Power. His multi-tracked tight rhythm and blindingly fast solos. He could shred with the best of ‘em but somehow make an awesome solo out of just one note like in “Five Minutes Alone”. He also joins Tony Iommi as the best riff writer in music history, and is a god damn squeal machine. Put everything together and he was the total package, the best at damn near everything he did. It’s been ten years since he was killed and his legacy is as large as ever.
1. Brian May
Anyone who knows me, shouldn’t be surprised by this. Jimi Hendrix might be the reason I wanted to play guitar, but Brian May and Freddie Mercury were the reason I even became interested in music. Years of obsessively listening to Queen has gotten me no closer to understanding how the hell Brian May did anything. Brian May didn’t floor you with his chops, although he was as capable as any guitarist of his generation, but it was with his mind that he could reduce you to ashes. How the fuck did he make his guitar sound like a ragtime band in “Good Company”? How did he compose a god damn symphony using only his axe in “Procession”? Why would anyone bother to use 7 guitar tracks for a 20 second guitar solo? May’s ear for music, unparalleled mastery of guitar tone, and never ending inventiveness will forever secure his spot at the top of my list. What Brian May did with his guitar was as unique as the homemade axe he played it on. Steve Vai once told a story about meeting Brian May at a rehearsal studio and he asked him if he wanted to play his guitar. An eager Vai jumped at the chance and said it sounded like Steve Vai when he played it. Even a man who could play anything couldn’t figure out how Brian May played like Brian May.
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