THE 35 MOST FAMOUS GUITARISTS IN HISTORY - ART - 2025

Compilation of the 35 most famous guitarists in history, artists who have earned their worldwide fame due to their skills with guiding as soloists or as part of a band.

Prince, Jimmy Hendrix, Ozzy Osbourne or John Lennon are some of these myths that have greatly influenced the string instrument and music in general. Do you know the rest of the members of this ranking?

Top 35 guitarists in history

1- Prince

Born Prince Rogers Nelson on June 7, 1958 and died on April 21, 2016, he was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and producer. He was known for his eclectic work, his flamboyant stage presence, and his wide vocal range.

He was regarded as a virtuoso on guitar, percussion, keyboards, and synthesizer. He has sold nearly 100 million world records, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time.

2- Jack White

From left to right: Jack White, Zakk Wylde and Tom Morello

Born John Anthony Gillis on July 9, 1975, he is an American musician, singer, writer, producer, and actor.

He is best known for being the lead vocal and guitarist for the duo The White Stripes, although he has also achieved success in other bands and even as a solo artist. He has won 8 Grammy Awards and his two solo albums have reached number one on the Bilboard charts.

3- Zakk Wylde

Born Jeffrey Phillip Wiedlandt on January 14, 1967, he is an American musician, singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor. He is known for having been a guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and for being the founder of the heavy rock band Black Label Society. He was the lead guitarist and vocalist in the band Pride & Glory and as a soloist he has managed to release two albums.

4- Tom Morello

Born Thomas Baptiste Morello on May 30, 1964, he is an American musician, singer, songwriter, actor, and political activist. He is best known for having been part of the band Rage Against the Machine and later joining Audioslave.

He is currently a member of the supergroup Prophets of Rage. He stands out for his unique and creative style of playing the guitar.

5- Dimebag Darrell

From left to right: Dimebag Darrell, Buddy Guy and Kirk Hammett

Born Darrell Lance Abbott on August 20, 1966 and died on December 8, 2004, he was an American guitarist and songwriter. He was the founder of the bands Pantera and Damageplan along with his brother Vinnie Paul.

He is considered one of the forerunners behind Groove Metal. He ranked number 92 on the list of the greatest guitarists of all time according to Rolling Stone magazine.

6- Buddy Guy

George Guy, born July 30, 1936, is an American guitarist and singer. He is known for being an exponent of the Chicago blues genre. In the 1960s he played alongside the band Muddy Waters for Chess records and formed a musical alliance with concert harmonica player Junior Wells. Guy was ranked as the 30 greatest guitarist of all time according to Rolling Stone magazine.

7- Kirk Hammett

Kirk Lee Hammett, born November 18, 1962, is an American guitarist and songwriter. He is known for being the lead guitarist for the heavy metal band Metallica since 1983.

Before joining Metallica, he was part of a band called Exodus. Hammet, was ranked number 11 on the list of the greatest guitarists of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.

8- Ritchie Blackmore

Richard Hugh Blackmore, born April 14, 1945, is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was one of the founding members of the band Deep Purple in 1968. He later established a metal music band called Rainbow, which fused elements of baroque music with heavy rock. Finally, he created the folk rock band called Blackmore's Night in which the sounds of the vocalists predominated.

9- Albert King

From left to right: Albert King, John Lennon and Mark Knopfler

Albert Nelson, born April 25, 1923, and died December 21, 1992, was an American blues guitarist and singer. He is part of "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (Three Kings of the Blues Guitar) along with BB King and Freddie King. He is widely known for his 1967 single "Born Under a Bad Sign" (Born Under a Bad Sign).

10- John Lennon

John Winston Ono Lennon, born on October 9, 1940 and died on December 8, 1980, was an English singer and songwriter. He was a co-founder of The Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. Lennon learned to play the guitar from the age of 16 and as his musical career grew he extended his mastery to a wide variety of electric guitars.

11- Mark Knopfler

Mark Freuder Knopfler, born on August 12, 1949, is a British singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is best known for being the songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the band Dire Straits.

This was founded with his brother David Knopfler in 1977. As a soloist, Knopfler has released 8 albums. He has won a 4-time Grammy Award and holds 3 honorary doctorates from various universities in the UK.

12- Angus Young

Angus McKinnon Young, born on March 31, 1955, is a guitarist who was born in Scotland, but was nationalized Australian. He is best known for being the co-founder, lead guitarist of the Australian rock band AC / DC.

He is characterized by his schoolboy uniform in his presentations. Both Young and the other AC / DC members are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

13- Duane Allman

From left to right: Duane Allman, Billy Gibbons and Pete Townshend

Howard Duane Allman, born November 20, 1946, and died October 29, 1971, was an American guitarist. He was the co-founder and frontman of the Allman Brothers band. He died of a traffic accident at the age of 24. He was considered the second best guitarist in all of history according to Rolling Stone magazine.

14- Billy Gibbons

William Frederick Gibbons, born December 16, 1949, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, producer, and actor. He is the lead guitarist and lead vocalist for the rock band ZZ Top.

He began his career in the band Moving Sidewalks where they opened for four dates of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. He was ranked 32nd on the list of the best guitarists in history according to Rolling Stone magazine.

15- Pete Townshend

Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend, born May 19, 1945, is a British musician, composer, and instrumentalist. He is best known for being the lead guitar, background vocalist, and main songwriter for the rock band The Who.

His career in this band spans over 50 years during which the band grew to be considered one of the most influential of the 20th century. Along with the band, he is part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

16- Kurt Cobain

Kurt Donald Cobain, born February 20, 1967, and died April 5, 1994, was an American musician, artist, songwriter, guitarist, and poet. Cobain was part of the band Nirvana along with Krist Novoselic in 1987. This group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

17- Joe Satriani

Joseph Satriani, born July 15, 1956. He is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. Satriani began his career as a guitar instructor and later began a very important solo career.

He also had a short involvement with the band Deep Purple in 1993. Since 2008 he has been the lead guitarist for the band Chickenfoot (17).

18- Steve Vai

Steven Siro Vai, born June 6, 1960, is an American guitarist, songwriter, singer, and producer. He has had a prolific solo career, winning 3 Grammy Awards. He has toured with Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth and Whitesnake has recorded with various rock genre artists.

19- Ozzy Osbourne

Born John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948, he is a British singer-songwriter and actor. He attracted fame in the 1970s as the lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. In 1979 he was fired from the band and began a successful solo career.

He is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the UK Music Hall of Fame both for his Black Sabbath career and as a solo artist.

20- Neil Young

Neil Percival Young, born November 12, 1945, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, producer and director. In 1966 he formed the band Buffalo Springfield along with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and others.

His most relevant characteristics are the distorted sound work of his guitar, the deeply personal lyrics of his songs and a characteristic tenor voice.

He is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame both for his solo career as well as for being a part of Buffalo Springfield.

21- Randy Rhoads

Randall William Roads, born December 6, 1956, and died March 19, 1982, was an American heavy rock guitarist. In his career he managed to play for Ozzy Osbourne and the band Quiet Riot.

His guitar style combined classical musical influences along with his own heavy metal style. Despite his short career, he had a great influence on neoclassical metal.

22- Tony Iommi

Anthony Frank Iommi, born February 19, 1948, is a British guitarist, songwriter and producer. Iommi is the lead guitarist and founding member of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath.

In 2000 he released his first solo album followed by another in 2005. He was named number 25 on the list of the greatest guitarists according to Rolling Stone magazine.

23- BB King

Riley B. King, born September 16, 1925, died May 14, 2015. He was an American blues singer, electric guitarist, and producer.

King was the person who introduced a solo style based on string doubling and vibrato that came to influence many other later blues guitarists.

King is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and is regarded as one of the most influential blues singers of all time.

24- George Harrison

Born on February 25, 1943, and died on November 29, 2001, he was a British guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer who achieved worldwide fame for having been part of the band The Beatles.

He is known for introducing the band to instruments of Indian origin in his music. Harrison released several solo albums and in 1988 formed the supergroup Traveling Wilburys. He is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his participation in The Beatles and for his solo career.

25- Slash

Saul Hudson, born July 23, 1965, is a British musician and composer. He is widely known for being the lead guitarist for the American rock band Guns N 'Roses.

After leaving the group in 1996, he founded the supergroup Velvet Revolver. He has released three solo albums. In 2016 he returned to Guns N 'Roses, 20 years after his departure. In 2012 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of said band.

26- Keith Richards

Born on December 18, 1943, he is a British guitarist, singer and songwriter. His fame has reached him as one of the founding members of the rock band The Rolling Stones.

Many of the songs he wrote and that have been sung by Mick Jagger are on Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.

27- Brian May

Brian Harold May, born July 19, 1947, is a British musician, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist. He is known for being the lead guitar for the rock band Queen.

Together with lead singer Freddie Mercury and percussionist Roger Taylor, they founded the band in 1970. For their performances he uses a guitar made by himself, which he calls “Red Special”.

28- David Gilmour

David Jon Gilmour, born March 6, 1946. He is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He joined the progressive rock band Pink Floyd as a guitarist and vocalist in 1968.

Following the departure of Roger Waters in 1985, Gilmour assumed leadership of the band. As a soloist he has made 4 studio albums.

29- Jeff Beck

Geoffrey Arnold Beck, born June 24, 1944 is a British rock guitarist. He has been one of three guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds, the other two being Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.

He has received the Grammy Award 7 times and is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for both his solo and group career.

30- Eddie Van Halen

Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, born January 26, 1955, is a Dutch and American musician, composer and producer. He is known for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of the American heavy rock band Van Halen. He is considered one of the greatest guitarists in the world.

31- Les Paul

Lester William Polsfuss, born June 9, 1915, died August 13, 2009, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist. He is also a composer, inventor, and luthier.

He was one of the pioneers in the solid body electric guitar that gave way to the sound of Rock and Roll. Along with many honors, Paul is one of the few artists to have a permanent private showing in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

32- Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stephen Ray Vaughan, born October 3, 1954, died August 27, 1990, was an American musician, songwriter, and producer. Although his career for the public was short, he is considered one of the most important electric guitarists in the history of music.

33- Jimmy Page

James Patrick Page, born January 9, 1944 is a British musician, songwriter and producer who is known for being the lead guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin.

He was also a member of the band The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968. He was selected as the second best guitarist in history according to Rolling Stone magazine.

34- Eric Clapton

Eric Patrick Clapton, born March 30, 1945 is a British rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the only artist to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times: as a solo artist, and as a member of the bands The Yardbirds and Cream.

He is generally referred to as one of the most influential guitarists of all time.

35- Jimi Hendrix

James Marshall Hendrix, born November 27, 1942, died September 18, 1970, was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Although his public career lasted only four years, he is widely recognized as one of the most influential guitarists in the history of popular music.

His place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music.