These guitarists are some of the most innovative and influential across all rock genres...
B. B. King
King was born on a cotton plantation to a poor family. He loved music from an early age and bought his first guitar at 12 for just $15. He kicked off his career by touring around the country, playing radio shows and huge stages, but he never forgot his roots. He always came home and played for his local church. He was an innovator in the blues genre for how he played around with tone and technique.
Benjamin Weinman (The Dillinger Escape Plan)
Weinman's unique style is all about speed and unpredictability. He's a fan of the mechanical-sounding, ultra-fast guitar solo and vicious improv. You won't be able to keep up with him if you ever get to jam.
Adam Jones (Tool)
Tool is one of those bands that everyone kind of hates to love. They have a massive discography with odd stretches of time between releases, but Jones's guitar work is one of a kind. Along with spearheading the band, he's also a stunning visual artist.
Blake Mills
Mills is a prodigy technical guitarist, and his swan song is his ability to make the guitar sound like other instruments.
Brian May (Queen)
May's playing style was one of the few consistent things about Queen's sound. While Freddie Mercury's eccentricity gave the band its presence, May's techniques were what kept them grounded in the rock genre. His implementation of complex and catchy minors are still used in songwriting decades later.
Bryan Gregory (The Cramps)
Gregory is a rocker to the core. Known for his outward aesthetic, he was always able to keep his composure and never overdo his playing in order to keep up an image. His pedal setup was also deceptively simple. He used analog feedback for tone during his solos but opted for a stripped-down, manual set up in order to augment his sound unpredictably.
Buckethead
Buckethead is as weird as it gets. His style blends metal, jazz, classical, soul, and new-wave, if you can imagine. His sound is uniquely his own, and he was voted one of the fastest guitarists in history. You definitely won't be able to play a Buckethead song exactly like he does.
Chet Atmins
Atmins is known more for his compositional skills and less for his singing. He coined what's called "Nashville style," and it's still heavily used in modern country and pop music.
Chuck Berry
You know him from "Johnny B. Goode" and "Rock and Roll Music." Berry has rightfully earned his spot as a God-tier guitarist. He was the first to blend rock with jazz and soul solos. He was innovative to the core - no wonder Marty McFly chose to shred one of his songs at the 1955 prom.
Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters)
Ah, there goes Our Hero. Grohl broke ground with Nirvana, and when they disbanded, he formed The Foo Fighters, and has risen through the ranks as a talented multi-instrumentalist.
David Byrne (Talking Heads)
David Byrne is a legend. He was an innovator in the way he blended rhythm and lead sounds simultaneously. His creative expression is unlike any artist today, and his twangy-industrial sound is universally recognizable.
David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
David Gilmour is one of the best soloists who ever lived, do not fight me. Unless you know exactly what you're doing and how the crowd is going to receive it. Gilmour knew how to make a guitar-led track more emotional than pretentious. He always knew how to pull a feeling out of the audience, which is something not all artists can do.
Dean Ween (Ween)
Dean Ween is one of the weirdest weirdos to ever exist. His style is as unconventional as it gets, and Ween tops the list of odd projects. He interprets any and all styles on Ween's albums. Regardless, he's very versatile and intelligent, and an all-around fun guy to see in concert.
Dick Dale
The father of surf rock, comin atcha. He used frayed cables and broken amps to create a distorted sound, long before the technology was purposefully mainstreamed. He's a lot more popular than you'd think, so chances are you know some of his tunes.
Dimebag Darrel (Pantera)
Dimebag Darrel is a sad tale. He was a pioneer in fusing blues with metal and thrash, as well as tremolo bars and wah pedals. His sound is instantly recognizable, but we won't see him in Pantera anymore, because he was sadly killed by a fan in his early career.
Duane Allman (The Allman Brothers)
Duane Allman was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident when he was only 24 years old, but his legacy lives on in his incredibly tight picking style.
Elvis Costello
Backed by his incredibly talented band, The Attractions, Costello is best known for his fusion of surf rock, jazz, and pop.
Euronymous (Mayhem)
You could argue that Euronymous is single-handedly responsible for defining black metal as what we know it to be today. He mixed ambiance with progressive chording and quick riffing. Mayhem's story is a super dark one, which involves lots of church burning and murder. However, artists across genres cite Euronymous as an influence.
Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa is one of those musicians who could be inspired by anything and everything. He blended genres like classical, punk, and blues. He had the ability to play 100% clean or 100% distorted. He's one of the most prolific musicians of later generations, and his creativity is still a source of inspiration for all guitarists.
Jack White (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs)
Known for his eccentric duo-project, The White Stripes, Jack White is a force to be reckoned with. The guy just keeps releasing albums. Though his playing style is pretty simple, he's coined some timeless riffs.
Jeff Baxter (Steely Dan)
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter is best known for his time playing with The Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan, and the unbelievable tunes he wrote with them. However, he had a sudden career change, and he now advises the United States missile council.
Jeff Beck (The Yardbirds)
Beck is a chameleon guitarist - he can blend into any genre, any band, any time. This trait put him onstage with the likes of Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Wonder. He's still playing today, well into his 70s.
Jerry Garcia (The Grateful Dead)
Spearheading the Grateful Dead, Garcia lived in a literal and figurative world of his own. He played with mathematics and theory in order to enhance the band's improv skills, and he was a risk-taker when it came to theories and traditions about jam-band culture.
Jimi Hendrix
The greatest lefty to ever live, Jimi Hendrix is the master when it comes to jazz-blues fusion. He reengineered simplicity and brought so much flavor to stadium rock. His rendition of the national anthem on the Woodstock stage is unlike anything the world has ever heard.
Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
Also known for his time in The Yardbirds, Page is the compositional mastermind behind Led Zeppelin. He's one of the most innovative guitarists to ever live, and was a big fan of playing with a Les Paul and a Danelectro 57.
John Mayer
Mayer is the latest member to join Bob Weir's Dead & Company, playing Jerry Garcia's role. He's typically slept-on in regards to esteem because of the generational gap between him and the greats of the 70s and 80s, but he's innovated the modern singer-songwriter genre to a place that few musicians have been able to reach. Eric Clapton has praised guitar work countless times, and if that doesn't say something, then I don't know how to convince you that Mayer's the real deal.
Joni Mitchell
Joni's blend of string and percussion is what got her through busking on the streets. Banging her guitar is a technique many people use to fill out acoustic songs if they're playing alone, and it clearly worked for Miss Joni Mitchell. Her album "Blue" is considered one of the finest albums ever made.
Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead)
Regarded for his augmentation of tone and adaptation of different genres behind traditional rock sounds, Greenwood's sound leans toward the avant-garde style. Greenwood's best work is arguably from Radiohead's "In Rainbows" and "Kid A."
Jordan Buckley (Every Time I Die)
His sound is what you'd probably call "chuggy," and the southern rocker floods out his amps with super hot southern licks when he plays with Every Time I Die.
Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age)
Homme is in talks of being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame within the next few years. He's known for his groundbreaking subtractive techniques with his band Queens of the Stone Age.
Josh Scogin
Known for his work with 68', The Chariot, and Norma Jean, his style pairs simple riffs with his wild voice, and he fills out a two-piece project as if he's backed by a full band.
Julian Lage
This jazz guitarist blends metal and prog effortlessly into his sound. His taste, flow, and style all carry his music to a pace that no other solo artist has really touched before.
Archie Marshall (King Krule)
King Krule is a one of a kind sort of performer. Since his rise to fame in 2013, King Krue has been on fire. Hia jazz-surf influenced sound blends hip hop, punk, and soul. His creativity and style set him apart from other young up-and-coming artists.
Les Paul
Les Paul was a guitar player and luthier, who invented the solid-body guitar. The Gibson Les Paul is still one of the most popular styles of guitar body on the market.
Mario Camarena (CHON)
This classically trained guitarist grew up in the era of pop punk and metalcore, and he fronts the post-math rock band, CHON. He's candidly stated that he only really cares about Super Smash Bros and Ibanez guitars in life. Amen, brother.
Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits)
Though he's flown under the radar for younger listeners, his pickless playing style shaped a lot of modern math rock tonally.
Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo)
Best known as the songwriter and vocalist for Devo, he also played guitar on "Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!" which is an incredibly influential punk/new wave album from the 1970s.
Matt Bellamy (Muse)
Did you know the guitarist of Muse was named The World's Most Handsome Man TWICE? Me either! He's also famous for his impossibly heavy riffs and for being an all-around hard af rocker.
Muddy Waters
The father of Chicago blues! Muddy Waters's loose n jangly style helped build the sound of post-war black music.
Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos)
California math band Tera Melos pulls directly from Reinhart's jazz, punk, and metal style. He also plays probably the weirdest Fender/Squier guitar you'll ever see
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (Mars Volta)
With his outstanding flavor in At The Drive-In and his brain-bending performances with the Mars Volta, Lopez is a perfect addition for this list.
Paul Simon (Simon & Garfunkel)
This Hall of Fame inductee has taken quite a different approach in his solo career than he did with Simon & Garfunkel. Channeling country, folk, swing, funk, and blues, he's developed a legendary solo playing style. He picks with a consistent strumming pattern and matches minors and majors per phrase in succession. It's technical yet effective.
Pete Townshend (The Who)
Townshend's laidback style of playing almost undermined the actual technical work he did on the guitar. He was incredibly talented and knew exactly how to construct songs around tones.
Prince
Prince is just so cool. His beautiful voice and songwriting style just ooze personality and flair. While his songs all have a lot going on, at their core, they were held together by masterful guitar playing. Listen to "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" and of course "Purple Rain"'s solo.
Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple)
Known for his confidence and his tonal dominance on stage, Blackmore is cemented in history as a pioneer for blues-inspired hard rock, bordering on metal. He was also a Fender nerd and has two Stratocaster's named after him, including the one he is playing in the picture.
Robert Fripp (King Crimson)
This giant worked in the studio with the likes of David Bowie, Brian Eno, and David Sylvian. He played in the multi-award winning band King Crimson, and has rightfully earned his place on this list.
Roky Erickson (13th Floor Elevators)
A founding member of the first-ever psychedelic band, Erickson frequently spoke of being from Mars and referenced demons and aliens in his songs.
Slash stood out in his class of hard rock or "hair metal" guitarists. While remaining technically sound and consistent, Slash stood out by playing very fast and fusing classical into fuzzed-out metal tones.
Bruce Springsteen
The Boss! One of the best pop guitarists to ever live, Springsteen is also up in the ranks of best songwriters ever. Hailing from New Jersey, he's considered the pride of the east coast, and Jersey natives will never let you forget it.
St. Vincent
What she doesn't have in speed, she makes up with creativity. St Vincent makes great sweeping tones with her guitar, she is an early adopter of the Roli wave-board as well.
Stevie Ray Vaugn
The unofficial captain of the 1980s blues revival, Vaugn brought modern sound and technique to one of the oldest rock genres in history. He used his knowledge of folk, country, and the blues to pave way for a new cross-genre.
Sufjan Stevens
Probably the most modern on this list, Stevens has been making waves in both modern and older music communities. Drawing some similarities to Cat Stevens and Kenny Loggins, Stevens is equally different as he is similar to the greats.
The Edge (U2)
David "The Edge" Howell is the lead guitarist and keyboardist for U2, and was so specific with his tonal decisions that it is almost impossible to perfectly replicate his sound.
Thomas Erak (The Fall of Troy)
This band takes the lead as one of the rawest hardcore math rock bands that exists. They had a song on one of the Guitar Hero games, if that helps. In the three-piece lineup, Erak plays lead guitar and sings.
Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth)
Known for his use of tonal augmentation and witty songwriting, Moore built a bridge for indie songwriters to create whatever they want without fear.
Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine)
Morello utilized all sound producing elements of the guitar, including the amplification from the pickups, scratching the strings to reflect record scratches, and even removing his input cable to use the jack as a theremin.
Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath)
He's considered the father of modern hard rock and metal. His rock riffs fused blues and metal, and he was a lefty.
Tosin Abasi (Animals As Leaders)
Abasi is one of the most slept on, yet revolutionary guitarists of all time. He has invented techniques that older generations did not have access to. He also made metal accessible for people who like jazz and classical.
Eddie Van Halen
Van Halen is one of the flashiest guitarists who ever lived. Van Halen was the king of the '80s, he lit up MTV with songs like "Eruption" and "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love." Van Halen is regarded as one of the fastest and most precise, yet flavorful guitarists that has ever lived. Many try to come close to him, but most of them fail.
Will Swan (Dance Gavin Dance)
Swan has been with Dance Gavin Dance since their start in 2005. His mix of math rock and pop-metal styles pave a complex, yet accessible intro to pop-metal.