Greatest Guitarists of All Time
by Dibyayan_Chakravorty | created - 05 Mar 2015 | updated - 05 Apr 2023 | PublicWhich guitarist considered to be among the all-time greatest by Rolling Stone's panel of experts, do you consider the ultimate guitar god?
Discuss the poll here.
1. Jimi Hendrix
Soundtrack | Woodstock
Widely regarded as the greatest and most influential guitarist in rock history, Jimi Hendrix was born on November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Washington, to African-American parents Lucille (Jeter) and James Allen Hendrix. His mother named him John Allen Hendrix and raised him alone while his father, Al ...
2. Eric Clapton
Soundtrack | Lethal Weapon 3
Eric Clapton was born in Ripley, Surrey, England, on March 30, 1945. His real father was a Canadian pilot but he didn't find that out until he was 53. When he was 2 his mother felt she was unable to look after him, so Eric then went to live with his grandparents. When he was 14 he took up the ...
3. Jimmy Page
Soundtrack | The Song Remains the Same
Jimmy Page was born on January 9, 1944 in Heston, Middlesex, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for The Song Remains the Same (1976), Godzilla (1998) and The Adam Project (2022). He was previously married to Jimena Gomez-Paratcha, Patricia Ecker and Charlotte Martin.
4. Keith Richards
Soundtrack | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Keith Richards is an internationally recognized iconic figure in contemporary culture and popular music as a singer, guitar player, songwriter, film actor, and public figure. He was voted 10th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine, and was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of ...
5. Jeff Beck
Soundtrack | Pirate Radio
Jeff Beck was born in Surrey in 1944. He grew up in a suburban street in Carshalton. When he was about 10, he wanted to play the guitar. His mum, however, wanted him to play the piano because she didn't approve of the guitar. When he was in his late teens, he joined "The Tridents" on lead guitar. ...
6. B.B. King
Actor | Blues Brothers 2000
Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 - May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimmering vibrato and staccato picking that influenced many ...
7. Chuck Berry
Soundtrack | Men in Black
Charles Edward Anderson Berry was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive with songs such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll ...
8. Edward Van Halen
Soundtrack | Twister
Edward Van Halen was a musician who along with his brother Alex Van Halen, and Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth, formed the band Van Halen in the early '70s, with Eddie on guitar, Alex on drums, Michael on bass and David on vocals. The band had different members over the years, but the core (...
9. Duane Allman
Self | Untitled Allman Brothers/Nick Cassavetes Project
Duane Allman was born in Nashville, Tennessee in November 1946. On Christmas Day in 1960, Duane was given a motorcycle as a gift while his younger brother, Gregg Allman, got a guitar. A few months later, Duane wrecked his motorcycle in an accident, but traded in the spare parts for a guitar of his ...
10. Pete Townshend
Music_department | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Born in Chiswick, London just ten days after the German surrender in 1945, Townshend grows up in a typical middle-class home. His parents, Cliff and Betty Townshend, are both musicians, and as a child he accompanies them on dance band tours. Townshend starts playing guitar at 12. He goes to art ...
11. George Harrison
Actor | A Hard Day's Night
A master musician, a film producer and actor, best known as the lead guitarist and occasionally lead vocalist of The Beatles, George Harrison was born February 25, 1943, in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. He was also the youngest of four children, born to Harold Harrison and Louise Harrison.
Like ...
12. Stevie Ray Vaughan
Soundtrack | Unbreakable
Stevie Ray Vaughan was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Dallas, Texas. He was the main guitarist and frontman for the musical trio "Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble" from 1978 to his death in 1990. Vaughan and his band-mates specialized in blues rock, and Vaughan was a key ...
13. Albert King
Soundtrack | Star Trek Into Darkness
Albert King was born on April 25, 1923 in Indianola, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor, known for Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), The Switch (2010) and 27 Dresses (2008). He died on December 21, 1992 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
14. David Gilmour
Soundtrack | Pink Floyd: The Wall
David Jon Gilmour was born on 6th March, 1946, in Grantchester Meadows, Cambridge. As the lead guitarist of Pink Floyd, he is by many considered one of the most influential guitarists on the rock stage. Right up to "The Dark Side of The Moon", Dave wrote his own songs, but from then up to "The ...
15. Freddy King
Actor | Midnight Tease
Freddy King is known for Midnight Tease (1994), The Cycle of Broken Grace (2013) and O Encontro (1979).
16. Derek Trucks
Soundtrack | The Rite
Derek Trucks was born on June 8, 1979 in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for The Rite (2011), The Irishman (2019) and Hillbilly Elegy (2020). He has been married to Susan Tedeschi since December 2001. They have two children.
17. Neil Young
Composer | Dead Man
Neil Young is one of the most respected and prolific rock/folk guitarists of the late 20th century. Raised in Canada, he first became well-known as a guitarist and occasional vocalist for the band Buffalo Springfield. After the band's breakup, Young became a solo performer. However, he also has ...
18. Les Paul
Soundtrack | Speed Racer
Les Paul was born on June 9, 1915 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Speed Racer (2008), Casino (1995) and Carol (2015). He was married to Mary Ford and Virginia Webb. He died on August 12, 2009 in White Plains, New York, USA.
19. James Burton
Soundtrack | Ford v Ferrari
Born in Minden, Louisiana, on August 21, 1939, James Burton began playing guitar at the age of thirteen, and turned professional the following year. His first recorded track was the Dale Hawkins hit, "Susie Q", in 1957. His dynamic rockabilly style of playing brought him to the attention of ...
20. Carlos Santana
Soundtrack | La Bamba
Carlos Santana is a Mexican guitarist, composer, singer and band-leader who helped to shape the concept of "world music" by his experiments with blending many styles of music from a multitude of ethnic sources.
He was born Carlos Augusto Alves Santana on July 20, 1947, in Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco,...
21. Chet Atkins
Soundtrack | Michael
Chet Atkins was an A&R (artist and repertoire) executive for RCA Victor Records from 1958 until 1974, producing recordings for such artists as Elvis Presley, Bobby Bare, Eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves, Skeeter Davis, Waylon Jennings, Duane Eddy, The Browns, Charley Pride, Hank Snow and The Everly Brothers...
22. Frank Zappa
Soundtrack | Baby Snakes
Of all the qualities that typified Frank Zappa, perhaps the most striking is that he was a paradox. A workaholic perfectionist rock star who eschewed the hippie culture of the 1960s, deploring its conformism, spurious ideals and drug use, Zappa was not only a brilliant rock guitarist but an ...
23. Buddy Guy
Soundtrack | In the Electric Mist
Buddy Guy was born on July 30, 1936 in Lettsworth, Louisiana, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for In the Electric Mist (2009), Idiocracy (2006) and Nothing to Lose (1997).
24. Angus Young
Soundtrack | School of Rock
Angus Young was born on March 31, 1955 in Glasgow, Scotland. At school, Angus was an unenthusiastic student. His only real academic interest was art which allowed him some freedom of expression. He gave up school at 15 and went to work for a soft porn magazine called Ribald as a printer. But his ...
25. Tony Iommi
Soundtrack | Iron Man
Tony Iommi was born on February 19, 1948 in Birmingham, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for Iron Man (2008), Suicide Squad (2016) and Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000). He has been married to Maria Sjöholm since 1999.
26. Brian May
Soundtrack | Flash Gordon
Brian May is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential, innovative, technically gifted and recognisable guitarists in the history of rock. He is also a prolific songwriter, responsible for writing or co-writing many international hits with Queen. He was educated at Hampton Grammar School ...
27. Bo Diddley
Actor | Blues Brothers 2000
Ever heard "I Want Candy" or "Not Fade Away" or "Willie & The Hand Jive", Shirley & Company's "Shame, Shame, Shame" or U2's "Desire" or George Michael's "Faith"? If you have, then you've heard the "Bo Diddley beat", the most famous beat in the world! One of the founding fathers of rock 'n' roll, Bo ...
28. Johnny Ramone
Soundtrack | Spider-Man: Homecoming
Johnny Ramone was born John William Cummings in Queens, New York. He went to be the guitar player for the Ramones, alongside Jeffrey Hyman and Douglas Colvin (later Joey Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone). They also hired Thomas Erdelyi (later Tommy Ramone) as drummer. Tommy disbanded in 1978 and asked ...
29. Scotty Moore
Soundtrack | The Departed
Scotty Moore was born on December 27, 1931 in Gadsden, Tennessee, USA. He was an actor, known for The Departed (2006), Drugstore Cowboy (1989) and Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962). He died on June 28, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
30. Elmore James
Soundtrack | The Blues Brothers
Mississippi-born Elmore Leonard was a blues musician known as "The King of the Slide Guitar". He played on various radio shows throughout the South and built up a following. In 1951, he recorded his first record, "Dust My Broom", for the small Trumpet Records label out of Jackson, MS. It became a "...
31. Ry Cooder
Soundtrack | Primary Colors
Born in Santa Monica, Ca., Ry Cooder, at the age of four had an accident which left him blind in one eye. He became a bit secluded and began playing the guitar. His biggest influences include Blind Willie Johnson, Arthur "Blind" Blake, Joseph Spence and Curtis Mayfield. Cooder has played on several...
32. Billy Gibbons
Soundtrack | Battleship
Billy Gibbons was born on December 16, 1949 in Houston, Texas, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Battleship (2012), Armageddon (1998) and The Perfect Storm (2000). He has been married to Gilligan Gibbons since December 14, 2005.
33. Prince
Soundtrack | Under the Cherry Moon
Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Mattie Shaw, a jazz singer and social worker, and John L. Nelson, a lyricist and pianist. His father's stage name was "Prince Rogers". His parents were both from African-American families from Louisiana. They separated during his youth, ...
34. Curtis Mayfield
Soundtrack | Armageddon
Rhythm and blues performer/songwriter credited with defining 1960's Chicago sound in hits like "It's All Right" and "Gypsy Woman." His style influenced other artists from pop to hip hop. Has been a quadriplegic ever since he was struck by lighting rig during outdoor concert in New York, 1990. ...
35. John Lee Hooker
Soundtrack | The Blues Brothers
John Lee Hooker was born on August 22, 1917 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for The Blues Brothers (1980), The Colony (2013) and Kiss the Girls (1997). He was married to Maude Mathis, Alma Hopes and Sarah Jones. He died on June 21, 2001 in Los Altos, California,...
ANOTHER GUITARIST NOT LISTED John Lee Hooker (as the pictured example)
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