The 42 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time - Updated 2023

Jimi Hendrix has been the epitome of many musicians and the industry.

Even though he was active as a mainstream musician only for four years, his influence and contribution to the evolution of rock music have been considered second to none. He manipulated the electric guitar and showed the audience what the early versions of rock music sounded like.

Known for his effortless music and smooth transition from one chord to another, Hendrix showed the world something close to perfection while he handled that electric instrument. The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame recognizes Jimi as arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music.

Jimi was the instrumentalist who popularized the previously undesired guitar amplifier feedback and the guitarist who used multiple effects units such as fuzz distortion, Octavia, wah-wah, and Uni-Vibe.

Regarded as one of the most influential and successful guitarists in rock music, Eric Patrick Clapton comes at second number in the top 20 greatest guitarists of all time list.

His contribution to the music industry has been so valuable that the musician even has a planet named after him. According to sources, minor planet 4305 is named Clapton in honor of his career. You have to be someone pretty special to have a planet named after you and this shows the level of stardom Eric achieved in music.

Winner of 18 Grammy Awards and the BRIT Award for outstanding contribution to Music, Clapton has numerous other awards to reflect his illustrious career in the sector. After starting his mainstream career with several bands, the musician ventured on a solo career where he occasionally tied hands with other bands and achieved immeasurable success.

Known as the founder of the rock band, Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page is one of the most influential guitarists of all time.

He started his career as a studio session musician and after gaining widespread popularity, decided to start his band in 1968. Jimmy led Led Zeppelin for around 12 years during which the artist established himself as a musician who knew all about music.

Known for his incredible taste in playing the right thing for the right moment, Page quickly became a popular name among guitarists as he showed both originalities as well as evolution with his melody.

Honored with various accolades and awards, the guitarist has a long career to boast his contribution to the music industry as he is still active with his studio and other works at the age of 78. He is a two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

Keith Richards is an English musician who rose to fame as the co-founder of the rock band The Rolling Stones.

With an illustrious career spanning over six decades, Richards' guitar skills and tones have been the trademark of his band. While the artist has established himself as one of the greats with the guitar in his hands, Keith has also made a reputation as one of the finest songwriters.

His songwriting partnership with Mick Jagger is one of the most successful in history, reports Wikipedia. Other than involvements in music, the English personality has also tried his hands at acting with a couple of appearances in Pirates of the Caribbean films where he portrayed the role of Captain Jack Sparrow's father.

As a musician with a decades-long valuable contribution to the music sector, Richards was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 1989.

Known for his records Truth and Beck-Ola, Jeff Beck is an English guitarist often referred to as a guitarist's guitarist.

He is a musician who knew from the very beginning what he needed to do to establish himself on the top lists. After starting his career with the rock band the Yardbirds, Beck tried his hands in a few other groups before venturing into a solo career.

Throughout his career, Jeff made music ranging in various genres, including blues rock, hard rock, jazz fusion, and electronica. He brought the brilliant combination of his technique and personality onto the stage which became key traits in taking him to the top.

Now, the winner of Grammy Awards and multiple other honors, he is a guitarist who has been inducted into the Hall Of Fame twice.

BB King was an American guitarist, singer-songwriter, and record producer recognized for introducing the sophisticated style of soloing.

He rose to prominence as a musician who liked to play in short bursts with richness and potent delivery. But along with his sophisticated style of playing the guitar, King was also a skilled musician who knew to maintain his technical dexterity and clean notes.

Recognized as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, BB also has a nickname as The King of the Blues. After starting his career in the late 1940s, he rose to stardom through his music and regularly performed at stages where he appeared in around 200 shows per year on average.

Chuck Berry wrote his name in the history books as the Father of Rock and Roll where he pioneered the genre.

He refined and developed the rhythm into rock music and reshaped it from the inside with his songs like Roll Over Beethoven and Maybellene. He mostly focused his songs on teen life and consumer focus while developing songs that included much longer verses of guitar and rock music.

Berry began his career in the 1950s and rose to prominence with songs like Maybellene and Come On. He was actually among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which gives an idea of his immeasurable contribution to the music industry.

Credited as the person who laid the groundwork for the rock and roll scenario in the industry, Chuck was a revolutionary figure in music with his guitar.

Eddie Van Halen was an American musician and multi-instrumentalist regarded as one of the best guitarists in rock music history.

He was active in the music field for around six decades, and during his time at the top of the game, the man released multiple hits songs and music pieces, including Eruption, Unchained, Take Your Whiskey Home, and Mean Street. These are his classic blockbusters.

The artist popularized the tapping guitar technique and played rapid arpeggios with two hands on the board through his themes. For his valuable influence and contribution to music, Halen is a name that cannot be missed from this list.

God knows what Duane Allman could have achieved had he lived longer, but even in such a short time, he left a massive impact on the music world.

The late American guitarist rose to prominence as the founder and leader of the Allman Brothers Band. He formed the band with his brother in 1969 and headed the group as the leader for two years until he tragically passed away in 1971.

But even in these years, the artist brought some revolutionary techniques into the field, where he built his reputation for his slide guitar playing technique and improvisational skills. After starting to play the instrument at the age of 14, he played with multiple established superstars like King Curtis and Aretha Franklin.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him into the category in 1995.

English musician Pete Townshend is the co-founder, leader, and guitarist of the rock band the Who, which is one of the most influential rock bands of the 60s and 70s.

Known for his rhythmic guitar with an exciting and aggressive switch of tone, Pete is a guitarist who is often looked at as a savage musician in the sector. Not only his skills with his hands on the guitar, but the man also had an attractive onstage appearance with his physical build, which suited his naturally punk perspective.

While people mostly recognize the artist as a guitarist, Townshend has also written over 100 different songs and is fluid in playing other instruments such as keyboards, banjo, accordion, and violin.

We are halfway past the list, and it continues with more exciting and incredible guitarists. Currently, we are talking about the English legend George Harrison.

Best known as the lead guitarist of the Beatles, Harrison was a guitarist who embraced the Indian culture with social norms and ethical values and produced his own kind of sound with his originality but also glimpses of his inspiration.

He brought the use of Indian musical instruments into his style and broaden the concept of popular music. While his time of fame came with the Beatles, George also enjoyed a glamourous solo career where he released multiple hit singles and albums.

He was a guitarist who focused on the idea of pitch and often talked about how it was missing from the present rock music.

Stevie Ray Vaughan was an American guitarist who made his name as the frontman of the trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.

As the band focused on blues rock music and uplifted the genre in the mainstream industry, Vaughan is considered a major influence in bringing blues rock to its current state and also one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

He began playing the guitar at the age of seven and continued his passion for the instrument throughout his life. Even though he was active in the industry for more than two decades, Stevie enjoyed the mainstream music world only for around seven years, but this time was enough for him to leave his mark in the Hall of Fame books.

Known by his stage name Albert King, Albert Nelson was a blues guitarist who is regarded as one of the finest in its history.

He is credited as the pioneer of the electric blues. Albert was a musician who was not afraid to bend the conventional rules to find his own taste and liking of music. Fans still remember King, left-handed, for his use of right-handed guitar by turning it upside down and still hitting beautiful notes.

It was like the man fused classical rock music with blues rock and created something beautiful that the guitarists of both backgrounds tried to imitate on the stage. The guitarist has been inducted into both the categories of Hall of Fame, the Blues Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

A member of the rock band Pink Floyd, David Gilmour is a guitarist who can pull out both blues and hard rock with his hands on the guitar.

You would expect the man to be an expert in the game when he is an important part of one of the greatest bands of all time, but it was not only his collective game that rose him to fame. His performances and work as a solo artist are also a feat not many can achieve in the industry.

Gilmour brought his bright and powerful guitar tone to the audience, and his elegant and relentless melodies were something you would crave to listen to. For his decades-long contributions and work in the music sector, David has won multiple awards and achievements, including two Hall of Fame recognitions.

Cited as one of the three kings of the Blues Guitar, Freddie King was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.

He was known for his distinctive guitar playing and played an important role in revolutionizing and developing electric blues music. Inspired by the Texas Blues and Chicago Blues sounds, King was a musician who enjoyed success after some initial hardships but his later found success was immeasurable.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame and Blues Hall of Fame, Freddie is a generational musician who left his mark as one of the greatest. 

Derek Trucks replaced Duane Allman in his slide guitar spot when he joined The Allman Brothers band in 1999. He was only 20.

That marked his rise in the music sector as a guitar enthusiast who grew up in the household of the fellow Allman Brothers legend Butch Trucks. Derek is Butch's nephew who started playing slide guitar at the young age of nine.

A musician who encompasses multiple other genres in his guitar notes and melody, Trucks has achieved extraordinary success at the age of 43, and he continues to deliver his uniqueness to the audience.

Known for his solo Down by the River and his albums After The Gold Rush, Harvest, and so on, Neil Young is a guitarist who comes close to the epitome when it comes to his guitar notes.

His initial notes in Down by the River are often regarded as a master class, but the audience and critical acclaimers. Most of his works and releases are critically acclaimed as vital projects in the industry, as he brings his unique style of melody with his aggressive style.

Not only his outstanding guitar work but his lyrics and tenor voice have also helped him in defining his career as an all-time great. His multiple honors and accolades include two-time induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Les Paul was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist who gained famed for his jazz and popular music.

As a self-taught guitarist, Les enjoyed a glamorous career in jazz, country, and blues music and achieved early success in country music. He, with his wife, recorded and sold numerous records, thus establishing himself as a reputed name in the industry.

Besides being a musician, Paul also tasted success as an inventor and luthier. He is the pioneer of the solid-body electric guitar and a permanent exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

A Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, James Burton is an American guitarist who made his name one of the greatest with his involvement in country and rock music.

He is critically acclaimed as one of the finest guitarists of all time who was smooth in playing guitar in both country and rock. Rolling Stone mentions that Burton's bright, crisp and concise style is one of the most unique sounds in country music.

James got his start as a 14-year-old and worked with some of the well-established names, including Ricky Nelson. The artist used a fingerpick and a flatpick, thus popularizing its usage. This distinctive style of playing guitar helped him in establishing his individuality and essence.

American guitarist Carlos Santana made his name as the founder of the rock band Santana, which fused Rock and Roll and Latin American jazz.

As a musician who grew up with inspiration from electric blues, African rhythms, and modern jazz, Carlos excelled in the music industry in the late 1960s and early 70s.  Winner of 10 Grammy Awards and multiple other accolades, he is an artist who brought distinctiveness and individuality to his music.

Santana showed the audience something uncommon in rock music when he performed his mixture of melodic blues-based lines and Latin American and African rhythms. It was his originality of mixtures and guitar skills that established him as one of the greatest.