The Magazine Rolling Stone picked up an expert’s panel of experienced guitarists to put together a list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.
100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time
1. Jimi Hendrix
Soundtrack | Woodstock
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. He is widely regarded as the greatest and most influential guitarist in rock history. He tops the List of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Rolling Stone expert’s panel.
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. He is second among100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Rolling Stone.
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. He is third among100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Rolling Stone.
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.
5. Jeff Beck
Soundtrack | The Boat That Rocked
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 later blues electric guitar players. AllMusic recognized King as “the single most important electric guitarist of the last half of the 20th century”.
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 Over Beethoven” (1956), “Rock and Roll Music” (1957) and “Johnny B. Goode” (1958). Writing lyrics that focused on teen life and consumerism, and developing a music style that included guitar solos and showmanship, Berry was a major influence on subsequent rock music.
8. Edward Van Halen
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 (brothers Edward and Alex) stuck together.
Soundtrack | Twister
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 brother.
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 is tenth among100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Rolling Stone.
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.
12. Stevie Ray Vaughan
Soundtrack | Unbreakable
Stephen Ray Vaughan was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.
13. Albert King
Soundtrack | Star Trek Into Darkness
Albert King, one of the single most influential bluesman in history, single-handedly ushered blues into the modern era by combining his direct, urgent Mississippi blues style with contemporary soul rhythms. He continually redefined the state of contemporary blues with his dry, husky voice and torrid Flying V guitar sound. Albert King is one of the100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Rolling Stone.
14. David Gilmour
Soundtrack | Pink Floyd: The Wall
David Jon Gilmour CBE is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett.
15. Freddie King
Soundtrack | Legend
Freddie King was born on September 3, 1934 in Gilmer, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Legend (2015), The D Train (2015) and Jimi Hendrix: The Guitar Hero (2010). He was previously married to Jessie Burnett. He died on December 28, 1976 in Dallas, Texas, USA.
16. Derek Trucks
Soundtrack | The Rite
Derek Trucks is an American guitarist, songwriter, and founder of The Derek Trucks Band. He became an official member of The Allman Brothers Band in 1999. In 2010, he formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife, blues singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi.
17. Neil Young
Composer | Dead Man
Neil Percival Young OC OM is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and others.
18. Les Paul
Soundtrack | Speed Racer
Lester William Polsfuss, known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype, called the Log, served as inspiration for the Gibson Les Paul.
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 arguably one of the most influential guitarists of the last 50 years — from his groundbreaking performance at Woodstock to his millions of albums sold in the ’70s to his revival in the late ’90s thanks to the album Supernatural and its lead single “Smooth.” Santana’s latest album is called Africa Speaks, which just came out on June 7. It’s produced by Rick Rubin and features the vocals of Spanish singer Buika. He recorded 49 songs in 10 days for the album.
21. Chet Atkins
Soundtrack | Michael
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as “Mr. Guitar” and “The Country Gentleman”, was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music style which expanded its appeal to adult pop music fans.
22. Frank Zappa
Soundtrack | Baby Snakes
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, musician, and film director. Until discovering his birth certificate as an adult, Zappa believed he had been christened “Francis,” and he is credited as Francis on some of his early albums. His real name was “Frank,” however, never “Francis.” In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa established himself as a prolific and highly distinctive composer, electric guitar player, and band leader. He worked in almost every musical genre and wrote music for rock bands, jazz ensembles, synthesizers, and symphony orchestra, as well as avant-garde works constructed from pre-recorded, synthesized, or sampled sources. In addition to his music recordings, he created feature-length and short films, music videos, and album covers.
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 McKinnon Young is an Australian musician, best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, songwriter, and only remaining original member of the hard rock band AC/DC. He is known for his energetic performances, schoolboy-uniform stage outfits and his own version of Chuck Berry’s duckwalk.
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 and ranked twenty seventh on the list of all time greatest guitarists.
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.
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.
