List: Lead guitarists

by likeorhate

•  Alex Lifeson

  Alex Lifeson, OC (born Aleksandar Živojinović; August 27, 1953) is a Canadian musician, best known for his work as the guitarist of the Canadian rock band Rush. In the summer of 1968, Lifeson founded the band that would become Rush with friend and original drummer John Rutsey. He has been an integral member of the three-piece band ever since. For Rush, Lifeson plays electric and acoustic guitars as well as other stringed instruments such as mandola, mandolin, and bouzouki.

  

  23.6%
  

  36.4%
  

  40.0%
  
•  Eric Clapton

  Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE (born 30 March 1945) is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo performer, as a member of rock bands; the Yardbirds and Cream. He is the only person ever to be inducted three times.

  

  25.0%
  

  31.3%
  

  43.8%
  
•  Frank Zappa

  Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, electric guitarist, record producer, and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral, and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist.

  

  33.8%
  

  23.1%
  

  43.1%
  
•  George Harrison

  George Harrison, MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English rock guitarist, singer-songwriter and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist in The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian mysticism, and helped broaden the horizons of the other Beatles, as well as those of their Western audience.

  

  49.2%
  

  22.2%
  

  28.6%
  
•  Jimi Hendrix

  James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is often considered to be the greatest electric guitarist in the history of rock music by other musicians and commentators in the industry, and one of the most important and influential musicians of his era across a range of genres.

  

  37.5%
  

  25.0%
  

  37.5%
  
•  Kirk Hammett

  Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003 Kirk Hammett was ranked 11th in Rolling Stone's list - The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

  

  40.5%
  

  24.3%
  

  35.1%
  
•  Robert Fripp

  Robert Fripp is a guitarist, composer and a record producer best known for being the guitarist for, and only constant member of, the progressive rock band King Crimson. His work, spanning four decades, encompasses a variety of musical styles. Fripp was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" (published August 2003).

  

  33.3%
  

  0.0%
  

  66.7%
  
•  Yngwie Malmsteen

  Yngwie Johann Malmsteen (born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck on June 30, 1963) is a Swedish guitarist, composer, multi-instrumentalist and bandleader. Malmsteen became notable in the mid-1980s for his technical fluency and neo-classical metal compositions, often incorporating high speed picking with harmonic minor scales, diminished scales and sweep picked arpeggios. Four of his albums, from 1984 to 1988, Rising Force, Marching Out, Trilogy, and Odyssey, ranked in the top 100 for sales.

  

  100.0%
  

  0.0%
  

  0.0%
  
•  Lindsey Buckingham

  Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American guitarist, singer, composer and producer, most notable for being the guitarist and male lead singer of the musical group Fleetwood Mac. Aside from his tenure with Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham has also released five solo albums and a live album. He is married to photographer Kristen Messner and has three children. As a member of Fleetwood Mac, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

  

  19.0%
  

  19.0%
  

  61.9%
  
•  Brian May

  Brian Harold May, CBE (born 19 July 1947 in London) is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. As a guitarist he uses his home built guitar, "Red Special", and has composed hits such as "Now I'm Here", "Tie Your Mother Down", "We Will Rock You", "Who Wants to Live Forever", "Hammer to Fall", "Save Me", "Fat Bottomed Girls", "I Want It All" and "Too Much Love Will Kill You".

  

  0.0%
  

  20.0%
  

  80.0%
  
•  Chuck Berry

  Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry (born October 18, 1926) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B.

  

  38.5%
  

  0.0%
  

  61.5%
  
•  Greg Ginn

  Gregory Regis Ginn (born June 8, 1954) is a guitarist, songwriter and singer. He is best known for being the leader of and primary songwriter for the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led from 1976 to 1986. Since breaking up Black Flag, Ginn has recorded a few solo albums, and has performed with the bands HOR, Fastgato, The October Faction, Gone, Confront James, EL BAD, Mojack, The Texas Corrugators, Jambang, and he also played bass with Tom Troccoli's Dog. .

  

  100.0%
  

  0.0%
  

  0.0%
  
•  Dave Mustaine

  David Scott Mustaine is the lead/rhythm guitarist, main songwriter, and vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. He currently resides in San Diego, California. Mustaine was also the first lead guitarist and co-songwriter of Metallica. In 2009 he appeared as the No. 1 position in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists.

  

  0.0%
  

  50.0%
  

  50.0%
  
•  Muddy Waters

  McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 – April 30, 1983), known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered "the Father of Chicago blues". Blues musicians Big Bill Morganfield and Larry "Mud Morganfield" Williams are his sons. A major inspiration for the British blues explosion in the 1960s, Muddy was ranked #17 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

  

  33.3%
  

  33.3%
  

  33.3%
  
•  Joe Satriani

  Joseph Satriani is an American multi-instrumentalist, known primarily for his work as an instrumental rock guitarist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations. His dexterity and years of dedication to his craft have earned him a reputation as a shred guitarist. Early in his career, Satriani worked as a guitar instructor, and some of his former students have achieved fame with their guitar skills.

  

  20.0%
  

  20.0%
  

  60.0%
  
•  Robbin Crosby

  Robbin Crosby (August 4, 1959 – June 6, 2002), born Robbinson Lantz Crosby and nicknamed "King", was co-lead guitarist in the Glam metal band Ratt, earning several platinum albums in the U.S. in the mid-to-late 1980s.

  

  0.0%
  

  50.0%
  

  50.0%
  
•  Jerry Garcia

  Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for his work with the band the Grateful Dead. Though he vehemently disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader or "spokesman" of the group. One of its original founders, Garcia performed with The Grateful Dead for their entire three-decade career (1965–1995).

  

  33.3%
  

  16.7%
  

  50.0%
  
•  Billie Joe Armstrong

  Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972) is the lead vocalist, chief songwriter and guitarist for the rock band Green Day. He is also a guitarist and vocalist for the rock band Pinhead Gunpowder and sings for garage rock band Foxboro Hot Tubs.

  

  16.7%
  

  33.3%
  

  50.0%
  
•  Brian Jones

  Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) known as Brian Jones was an English musician and founding member of The Rolling Stones. Jones was a gifted multi-instrumentalist, and arguably one of the first English rhythm and blues pioneers from the early 1960s to employ the use of non-traditional instruments, such as the sitar, experiment with the slide guitar, and to integrate other genres, including jazz and psychedelic rock in his musical compositions.

  

  50.0%
  

  50.0%
  

  0.0%
  
•  Randy Bachman

  Randolph Charles "Randy" Bachman, OC, OM (born September 27, 1943) is best known as lead guitarist, songwriter and a founding member for both the 1960s-70s rock band The Guess Who, and the 1970s rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Bachman was also a member of the band Brave Belt with Chad Allan and a band called Ironhorse, and has recorded numerous solo albums.

  

  33.3%
  

  0.0%
  

  66.7%
  
•  Neil Young

  Neil Percival Young, OC OM (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, film director and activist. Young began performing as a solo artist in Canada in 1960. He then migrated to California in 1966, as part of Buffalo Springfield and established himself as the tentative fourth member of Crosby, Stills & Nash.

  

  50.0%
  

  33.3%
  

  16.7%
  
•  Slash (musician)

  Saul Hudson (born 23 July 1965), better known by his stage name Slash, is a British and American musician. Best-known as the former lead guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he performed and recorded between 1985 and 1996, he later formed the eponymous Slash's Snakepit and co-founded Velvet Revolver with his former bandmates Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum. His debut solo album, Slash, is due to be released in 2010. Slash has received critical recognition as a guitarist.

  

  57.1%
  

  14.3%
  

  28.6%
  
•  Roger McGuinn

  James Roger McGuinn (known professionally as Roger McGuinn, previously as Jim McGuinn, and born James Joseph McGuinn III on July 13, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with the Byrds.

  

  33.3%
  

  66.7%
  

  0.0%
  
•  Brian Setzer

  Brian Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and actor.

  

  25.0%
  

  50.0%
  

  25.0%
  
•  Jimmy Page

  James Patrick "Jimmy" Page OBE (born 9 January 1944) is an English guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is described by Allmusic as "unquestionably one of the all-time most influential, important, and versatile guitarists and songwriters in rock history".

  

  0.0%
  

  33.3%
  

  66.7%