10. Andrew Latimer
A founding member and the driving force behind the cult Progressive Rock act Camel; one that has guided them through the highs and lows of musical tastes, trends and fashions. He is also a flautist, a keyboardist and one of the most emotional guitar players ever, with a highly distinguished tone.
9. Paul Kossoff
Sadly, Paul Kossoff's solos for British hard-rock pioneers Free are better-known than his name, but he is admired by fellow guitarists for the economy of his lines and the purity of his tone. He was a major Hendrix fan yet bought his first guitar after a Clapton gig. The man was Heavy before Heavy even had a definition.
8. Tom Morello
Few rock guitarists in the 1990s were as groundbreaking as Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, who incorporated a myriad of different styles into his own playing. Morello's style includes monstrous control of his instrument. Counter to the hundreds of posers that tried to copy his style, the dude can really shred.
7. Stevie Ray Vaughan
With the blinding stratocaster fireworks on his debut album, Texas Flood, in 1983, SRV kicked off a blues-rock renaissance when the music needed one most. This was the start of Stevie's international stardom and constant worldwide touring that soon made him a worldwide superstar until his tragic death on August 27, 1990 in a helicopter crash, at age 35. His unique and dynamic style continue to increase his posthumous reputation even to this day.
6. Rory Gallagher
In 1957, a little boy from Cork saw Elvis on the TV and went crazy on buying a guitar. He began his musical career in the showband era but soon founded the rock band Taste. After leaving the band, Rory Gallagher recorded his first solo album in 1971. He was one of the world’s greatest guitarists, singer/songwriters and live showmen; A people's guitarist, modest, truthful, down-to-earth, never compromising his vision, never selling out. Probably too shy for his own good, definitively too good for this world.
5. Peter Green
During the Golden UK Blues era this man (backed by some incredibly talented musicians) outsold The Beatles, inspired Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" and wrote some of the most sweet, fragile and beautiful music I ever got the chance of hearing. Once he was Britain's most progressive blues guitarist, with a Chicago-informed aggression that distinguished his playing from miles away, yet his modesty and child-like kindness deprived him of many accommodations. (Even the name Fleetwood Mac came after combining Mick Fleetwood's and John McVie's surnames). Later on, he experimented a lot with LSD and underwent electro shock therapy in a London clinic, resulting to him needing the tabs for his own songs in order to play. However, in 1979 with the help of his friends, his confidence was bolstered and his natural creative instincts started to flourish with "In The Skies". To this day, he continues to make music.
4. Jeff Beck
If this list was strictly about the technique, Jeff Beck would be No.1. He has shown an incredible ability to change with the times and create a more modern sound - unlike many fellow artists who begin to sound dated over time. Even in the Yardbirds, he had a tone that was melodic but in-your-face - bright, urgent and edgy, but sweet at the same time. You could tell he was a serious player, and he was going for it. He also has one of the most sweet and precise tones that will give you the goose-bumps. A true genius, hands down.
3. Eric Clapton
It first appeared in 1965, written on the walls of the London subway: "Clapton is God!" Eric Patrick Clapton, of Ripley, England - fresh out of his first major band, the Yardbirds, and recently inducted into John Mayall's Bluesbreakers - had just turned 20 and been playing guitar only since he was 15. But Clapton was already soloing with the improvisational nerve that has dazzled fans and peers for more than 40 years. Cream turned the world upside down and helped shape Hard Rock music worldwide, the "Beano" album is still praised by guitarists worldwide as the definite guitar masterpiece that has influenced generations of subsequent players, "Layla" is one of the most popular and emotional Rock songs ever written, and even know his solos and flourishes still pack the power that made him "God" in the first place.
2. Jimmy Page
In the 1970s, there was no bigger rock group in the world than Led Zeppelin and no greater god on six strings than Zeppelin's founder-captain Jimmy Page. Getting his start in college as a session player, Jimmy Page wanted to be able to strike out on his own and write his own original music. Initially playing electric bass, Page began playing with the Yardbirds in 1964. However, after some internal strife, and key personnel leaving the band, Page was asked to reform the band leading to the eventual supergroup; Led Zeppelin. It was with Led Zepp that he demonstrated not only his virtuosity but his incredible song-writing skills as well. With a tremendous sound to his guitar, which was more raw, and edgier than anything being played at the time, he displayed some of the most important and influential albums of all time. Thank God, this man had no limits.
1. Jimi Hendrix
Learning to play guitar by himself as a teenager, Hendrix grew up to become a rock guitar legend. He created his first band as a soldier in the United States Army in 1962 but then was discharged due to an injury.
After leaving the military, Hendrix pursued his music, working as a session musician and playing backup for such performers as Little Richard, Sam Cooke, and the Isley Brothers. He also formed a group of his own called Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, which played gigs around New York City's Greenwich Village neighbourhood. In mid-1966, Hendrix met Chas Chandler, a former member of the Animals who convinced him to go to London where he joined forces with musicians Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell to create The Jimi Hendrix Experience. While there, Hendrix built up quite a following among England's rock royalty. Members of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, and Eric Clapton were all great admirers of Hendrix's work. When "Hey Joe" was released in 1967, the "psychedelic rival" Eric Clapton admits buying a copy without even owning a record player to hear it. Soon enough, "Purple Haze" and "The Wind Cried Mary" became major hits. Hendrix delighted audiences with his outrageous guitar-playing skills and his innovative, experimental sound. In June 1967, he lit his guitar on fire and 2 years later he performed at the Woodstock Festival. His rock rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" amazed the crowds and demonstrated his considerable talents as a musician. He was also an accomplished songwriter and musical experimenter. Hendrix even had his own recording studio in which he could work with different performers and try out new songs and sounds. Unfortunately he died on September 18th, 1970, at age 27 from drug-related complications, leaving his mark on the world of rock music and remaining popular to this day. Literally millions of guitars have been sold because of this man walking the stage and doing his thing, making him the most influential guitar of all time; God's true gift to all music lovers worldwide.