Criteria: - Guitarists are ranked for their impact, influence,
creativity, versatility, originality, technical skill and lasting
popularity in the genre of Rock guitar.
Newly added names are in Red(*=R.I.P.) Last updated 5-3-05
Edited By: Lew/Eric
1. Jimi Hendrix* - Jimi Hendrix Experience 2. Eric Clapton - Yardbirds, Cream, Derek & The Dominos, Solo 3. Jimmy Page - Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, The Firm 4. Jeff Beck - Yardbirds, Jeff Beck Group, Solo 5. Eddie Van Halen - Van Halen 6. Stevie Ray Vaughan* - Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble 7. Joe Satriani - Solo 8. Ritchie Blackmore - Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blackmores Night 9. Steve Vai - David Lee Roth, Whitesnake, Solo 10. David Gilmour - Pink Floyd, Solo 11. John Petrucci - Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment 12. Randy Rhoads* - Quiet Riot, Ozzy 13. Allan Holdsworth - Solo 14. Paul Gilbert - Mr. Big, Racer X, Solo 15. Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force, Solo 16. Phil Keaggy - Glass Harp, Solo 17. Jason Becker - Cacophony, David Lee Roth Band, Solo 18. John Mclaughlin- Mahavishnu Orchestra 19. Duane Allman* - Allman Brothers Band, Derek & the Dominos 20. Chuck Berry - Solo 21. Eric Johnson - Solo 22. Steve Howe - Yes, Solo 23. Neal Schon - Santana, Journey, Solo 24. Brian May - Queen 25. Gary Moore - Thin Lizzy, Colosseum II, Skid Row, Solo 26. Bo Diddley* - Solo 27. Steve Morse - Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse Band, Solo 28. Carlos Santana - Santana 29. Tony Iommi - Black Sabbath 30. Buckethead - Solo, Praxis, Thanatopsis, The Deli Creeps, Cornbugs, GNR, 31. Mark Knopfler - Dire Straits, Solo 32. Marty Friedman - Cacophony, Megadeth, Solo 33. Nuno Bettencourt - Extreme, Mourning Widows 34. Shawn Lane* - Black Oak Arkansas, Willy, Solo 35. Kirk Hammett - Metallica 36. Uli Jon Roth - Scorpions, Solo 37. Terry Kath* - Chicago Transit Authority 38. Alex Lifeson - Rush 39. Frank Zappa* - Mothers of Invention, Solo 40. Rory Gallagher* - Solo 41. Dimebag Darrell* - Pantera 42. Peter Green - Fleetwood Mac, Solo 43. Robin Trower - Procal Harum, Solo 44. Slash - Guns N' Roses, Slash's Snakepit, Velvet Revolver 45. Mick Taylor - John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Rolling Stones 46. Robert Fripp - King Crimson 47. Tom Morello - Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave 48. Michael Schenker - Scorpions, UFO, MSG, Contraband 49. Ry Cooder - Solo 50. Angus Young - AC/DC 51. Keith Richards - Rolling Stones, Solo 52. Michael Angelo Batio - Nitro, Solo 53. John Squire - Stone Roses 54. Pete Townshend - The Who 55. Steve Hackett - Genisis 56. Zakk Wylde - Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society 57. George Harrison* - Beatles, Traveling Wilberys, Solo 58. Alvin Lee - Ten Years After 59. Dave Davies - Kinks 60. Jerry Cantrell - Alice In Chains, Solo 61. Steve Stevens - Billy Idol 62. Johnny Winter - Solo 63. Dickie Betts - Allman Brothers Band, Dickey Betts & Great Southern 64. John Cipollina* - Quicksilver Messenger Service 65. Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band 66. Steve Cropper - Booker T. & MG's/Stax sessions 67. Adrian Belew - King Crimson 68. Joe Bonamassa - Solo 69. Steve Lukather - Toto, Solo 70. Jerry Garcia* - Grateful Dead 71. Joe Perry - Aerosmith 72. Prince - Prince & The Revolution 73. Kim Mitchell - Max Webster, Solo 74. Adrian Smith - Iron Maiden 75. Dave Murray - Iron Maiden 76. Neil Young - Buffalo Springfield, CSNY, Solo 77. Billy Gibbons - ZZ Top 78. Tony MacAlpine - Solo 79. Mike McCready - Pearl Jam 80. Adam Jones - Tool 81. Gary Hoey - Solo 82. Leslie West - Mountain, Solo 83. Peter Frampton - Humble Pie, Frampton's Camel, Solo 84. Dick Dale - Del-Tones 85. Vito Bratta - White Lion 86. Mickey "Guitar" Baker - 50's sessions/ Mickey & Sylvia 87. John Frusciante - Red Hot Chili Peppers 88. Ronnie Montrose - Montrose, Edgar Winter Group 89. Mick Ronson* - David Bowie, Solo 90. Roy Buchanan* - Solo 91. Warren Haynes - Allman Brothers Band, Gov't Mule 92. Vinnie Moore - Alice Cooper, Solo 93. Robbie Krieger - Doors, Solo 94. Chris DeGarmo - Queensryche 95. Jake E. Lee - Cutting Crew, Ozzy, Badlands, Solo 96. Glen Tipton - Judas Priest 97. Joe Walsh - James Gang, Eagles, Solo 98. K.K. Downing - Judas Priest 99. Eddie Hazel* - Funkadelic 100. Alex Skolnick - Testament 101. Doug Aldrich - Burning Rain, Dio, Whitesnake, Solo 102. Michael Romeo - Symphony X 103. Vernon Reid - Living Colour 104. Gary Richrath - REO Speedwagon, Solo 105. Link Wray - Link Wray and his Ace-Men 106. Allen Collins* - Lynyrd Skynyrd 107. Larry "Ler" Lalonde - Primus 108. Randy Bachmann - Guess Who, BTO 109. Jeff Healy* - Jeff Healy Band 110. Greg Howe - Solo 111. Dave Navarro - Janes Addiction 112. Scott Gorham - Thin Lizzy 113. Ted Nugent - Ambouy Dukes, Damn Yankees, Solo, 114. Vivian Campbell - Dio, Whitesnake, Def Leppard 115. Paul Kossoff* - Free, Back Street Crawler 116. Ritchie Kotzen - Poison, Mr Big, Solo 117. Brian Robertson - Thin Lizzy, Motorhead 118. Andy Summers - Police 119. John Sykes - Blue Murder, Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy 120. Scotty Moore - Elvis Presley 121. Gary Rossington - Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rossington Band 122. Ty Tabor - Kings X, Jelly Bean, Poundhound, Jughead, Platypus 123. John Fogerty - CCR, Solo 124. Ron Wood - Faces, Rolling Stones 125. Ace Frehley - Kiss 126. Akira Takasaki - Loudness, Lazy 127. Michael Wilton - Queensryche 128. Cliff Gallup* - Gene Vincent's Blue Caps 129. Richie Sambora - Bon Jovi 130. George Lynch - Dokken, Lynch Mob 131. Reb Beach - Winger, Dokken 132. Nick Drake* - Solo 133. Tommy Bolin* - James Gang, Deep Purple 134. Kerry King - Slayer 135. Thurston Moore - Sonic Youth 136. Harry Cody - Shotgun Messiah 137. Lowell George* - Little Feat 138. Tracii Guns - Guns N Roses, L.A. Guns 139. Tom Scholz - Boston 140. Buck Dharma - Blue Oyster Cult 141. Jorma Kaukonen - Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna 142. Richard Thompson - Fairport Convention, Solo 143. Trey Anastasio - Phish 144. Janick Gers - Iron Maiden 145. Mick Box - Uriah Heep 146. Johnny Marr - Smiths, Electronic, Johnny Marr & The Healers 147. Blues Saraceno - Poison, Solo 148. Lowman Pauling* - "5" Royales 149. Timo Tolkki - Stratovarius 150. Mike Einziger - Incubus 151. John Christ - Danzig 152. Jonny Greenwood - Radiohead 153. Phil Collen - Def Leppard 154. Andy Timmons - Danger Danger, Ceili Rain 155. Steve Gaines* - Lynyrd Skynyrd 156. Ron Asheton - Iggy Pop, Stooges 157. James Burton - Ricky Nelson, Elvis Presley 158. Mark Kendall - Great White 159. Lindsey Buckingham - Fleetwood Mac 160. Jennifer Batten - Jeff Beck, Michael Jackson, Solo 161. Matthias Jabs - Scorpions 162. Carl Perkins* - Solo 163. Wayne Kramer - MC5 164. Nils Lofgren - E Street Band 165. Michael Sweet - Stryper 166. Robbie Robertson - The Band, Solo 167. Frank Hannon - Tesla 168. Trevor Rabin - Yes 169. Brian Setzer - Stray Cats, The Brian Setzer Orchestra 170. Martin Barre - Jethro Tull 171. Kim Thayil - Soundgarden 172. Pat Travers - Pat Travers Band 173. Dave Mustaine - Metallica, Megadeth 174. Rik Emmitt - Triumph 175. Eddie Cochran* - Solo 176. Frank Marino - Mahogany Rush 177. Justin Hayward - Moody Blues, Solo 178. Tommy Skeoch - Tesla 179. Warren DeMartini - Ratt 180. Syd Barrett* - Pink Floyd 181. Don Felder - Eagles 182. The Edge - U2 183. Brad Gillis - Night Ranger, Ozzy 184. Andy Powell - Wishbone Ash 185. Mick Mars - Motley Crue 186. Billy Duffy - The Cult 187. Randy California* - Spirit 188. Eric Bell - Thin Lizzy 189. Lita Ford - The Runaways, Solo 190. Jeff Hanneman - Slayer 191. Mick Jones - Foreigner 192. Stone Gossard - Pearl Jam, Temple of the Dog 193. Duane Eddy - Solo 194. Mike Campbell - Tom Petty/ Heartbreakers 195. Glen Buxton* - Alice Cooper 196. Daron Malakian - System Of A Down 197. Steven Stills - Buffalo Springfield, CSN&Y, Solo 198. Roger McGuinn - Byrds, Solo 199. J. Mascis - Dinosaur Junior, The Fog 200. James Hetfield - Metallica
John Petrucci
Kenny Wayne Sheperd
Tom Morello
Buckethead
Marty Friedman
Zakk Wylde
Vito Bratta
Dimebag Darrell
Mike McCready
Jerry Cantrell
Eddie Van Halen
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Joe Satriani
Steve Vai
Yngwie Malmsteen
Randy Rhoads
Eric Johnson
Paul Gilbert
Steve Morse
Jason Becker
Jimmy Page
Richie Blackmore
David Glimour
Duane Allman
Brian May
Carlos Santana
Tony Iommi
Angus Young
Ry Cooder
Mick Ronson
Jimi Hendrix
Eric Clapton
Jeff Beck
Frank Zappa
Keith Richards
Peter Green
Pete Townshend
Dave Davies
Steve Cropper
George Harrison
Chuck Berry
Bo Diddley
Mickey "Guitar" Baker
Scotty Moore
Lowman Pauling
Cliff Gallup
James Burton
Eddie Cochran
Link Wray
Carl Perkins
All names past 200 are unnumbered and alphabetical.
John 5 - Marylin Manson, Solo
Johnny A. - J.Geils Band, Solo
Jan Akkerman - Focus
Dave Alvin - Blasters
Sam Andrew - Big Brother
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter - Doobie Brothers
Brendan Bayliss - Umphrey's McGee
Brian Benoit - Dillinger Escape Plan
Steve Blaze - Lillian Axe
Mike Bloomfield* - Electric Flag
James Dean Bradfield - Manic Street Preachers
Erik Braunn - Iron Butterfly
Paul Burlison* - Rock 'n' Roll Trio
Toy Caldwell - Marshall Tucker Band
Jeff Carlisi - .38 Special
J. Randall Casey
Alex Chilton - Big Star
Steve Clark* - Def Leppard
Kurt Cobain* - Nirvana
Rusty Cooley
Billy Corgan - The Smashing Pumpkins
Ian Crichton - Saga
Dean DeLeo - Stone Temple Pilots
Rick Derringer - McCoys, Edgar Winter, Solo
Mark Doyle
Elliot Easton - The Cars
Mattias "IA" Eklundh - Freak Kitchen
Francesco Fareri
Mark Farner - Grand Funk Railroad
Roger Fisher - Heart, Clever Bastards
Oz Fox - Stryper
Reeves Gabrels - Tin Machine, Solo
Eric Gales - Eric Gales Band
Noel Gallagher - Oasis
Mel Galley - Trapeze, Whitesnake
Amos Garrett
Henry Garza - Los Lonely Boys
Neil Geraldo - Pat Benatar
Guthrie Govan
James Gurley- Big Brother
Rana Hasan
Michael Hauser* - Widespread Panic
Yusi Hirotatchi
Marty Lee Hoenes - Donnie Iris
Wolf Hoffmann - Accept
Josh Homme - Queens Of The Stone Age
James Honeyman-Scott - Pretenders
Dan Huff - Giant, session player
Steve Hunter - Alice Cooper, Lou Reed
James Iha - Smashing Pumpkins, APC
Chris Impellitteri - Impellitteri
Bobby Ingram - Molly Hatchet
Ernie Isely - Isley Brothers
Jesse Johnson - The Time
Mick Jones - The Clash
Ronnie Jones
Ira Kaplan - Yo La Tengo
The Great Kat
Danny Kirwan - Fleetwood Mac
Greg Koch
Joel Kosche - Steve Walsh
Bruce Kulick - Kiss, Union, Solo
Andy Latimer - Camel
Kerry Livgren - Kansas
Jeff Loomis - Nevermore
Jimmy Lyon - Eddie Money, Greg Kihn Band
ANAND Mahangoe
Hank Marvin - The Shadows
Dave Mason - Traffic, Solo
Lars Eric Mattsson
Curtis Mayfield - Impressions, Solo
Henry McCullough - Wings
Thomas McRocklin
Mike Miller - Godhead
Bob Mould - Husker Du
Bill Nelson - Be-Bop Deluxe
Jimmy Nolen - (The J.B.'s)
John Norum - Dokken
Aldo Nova
Michael Orlando
Andy Partridge - XTC
Marcus Paus - Mr. Cucumber
Rod Price - Foghat
Robert Quine* - Richard Hell & Voidoids
Mick Ralphs - Mott the Hoople, Bad Company
Johnny Ramone* - Ramones
Josh Ramos - Ramos
Elliot Randall - Steely Dan
Chris Rea
Nile Rodgers - Chic
Omar Rodríguez-López - The Mars Volta, At the Drive-In
Todd Rundgren - Utopia, Solo
Stevie Salas
Claudio Sanchez - Coheed and Cambria
Al Schnier - Moe.
Andy Scott - The Sweet
Tommy Shaw - Styx, Damn Yankees
Kevin Shields - My Bloody Valentine
Hillel Slovak* - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Roger Steen - The Tubes
Leigh Stephens - Blue Cheer, Solo
Nick Sterling
Travis Stever - Coheed and Cambria
Joe Stump
Terry Syrek
Marv Tarplin - Miracles/Motown
Ron Thal - Bumblefoot
Tommy Thayer - Kiss, Black N' Blue
Pat Thrall - Pat Travers Band, Meatloaf
Mark Tremonti - Creed, Alterbridge
Walter Trout - Walter Trout and the Radicals
Ike Turner
Vinnie Vincent - Kiss, Vinnie Vincent Invasion
Jeff Watson - Nightranger, MSG
Ben Weinman - Dillinger Escape Plan
Paul Weller - The Jam, The Style Council
Jack White - The White Stripes
Snowy White - Pink Floyd, Thin Lizzy
Roy Z - Bruce Dickinson Band
Neil Zaza
Billy Zoom - X
Vinnie Zummo
Disclaimer: There is nothing 'Official' about these lists. They are compiled by the 'editor' using the
stated criteria, and revised considering the competent suggestions of visitors to this website only.