Who is No 1 guitarist in the world?

The guitar needs no introduction, as it is one of the most sought-after musical instruments for musical fanatics, listeners, and musicians alike. It’s in a world of its own, as it has the ability to create soothing acoustic melodies to hand-banging rock anthems. 

But who are the most influential guitarists of all time? We have compiled a list of the greatest and most famous guitar players, spanning from jazz and folk to hard rock and heavy metal. 

1. Brian May (Queen)

Brian May is one of the founding members of the iconic band Queen, and he holds a spot as one of the most influential and well-known guitarists, songwriters, and performers of all time. 

As a youngster, he built his own guitar, named “The Red Special,” which he played in all of Queen’s albums. 

But his talents lie in more than just shredding the guitar. He has earned a Ph.D. in astrophysics and has set up multiple animal rights campaigns. 

You can hear his electrifying riffs and talent in over twenty different Queen hits like “We Will Rock You,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and “Fat Bottomed Girls.”

He continues to grace the rock world alongside Adam Lambert and lead drummer Roger Taylor. 

2. Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix, born Johnny Allen Hendrix, was a legendary electric guitarist and one of the most prominent figures in music history.

He got his first acoustic guitar from his father, and soon after, he joined his first musical group, The Velvetones.

But he didn’t stop there – he went on to form multiple music duos and trios. Through the 1960s and the 1970s, he also built his own production company, The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

He released popular hits like “All Along the Watchtower” and “Purple Haze.” Even after his tragic death in 1970, his music still brings together a swirl of rock, blues, and jazz to the music world. 

3. Jimmy Page (Led Zepplin)

Jimmy Page is a world-renowned guitarist, songwriter, and producer. He founded one of the most influential rock bands to ever exist – Led Zeppelin.

His passion for guitar playing was ignited when he found a spare one lying in the house he lived in.

After leaving his first band, The Yardbirds, he used his newly-acquired musical knowledge and formed Led Zeppelin. This innovative group would go on to sell over 200 million records and produce ground-shaking hits like “Good Times Bad Times” and “Whole Lotta Love.” 

Page’s music style introduced an early genre of hard rock and electric blues with sparks of folk and acoustics. He and Led Zeppelin set the stage for many rock n’ roll musicians that came after them. 

4. Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen)

Eddie Van Halen was the leading songwriter and guitarist for the popular rock band Van Halen.

He was born in the Netherlands, but his family soon moved to Pasadena, California, where he and his brother took music lessons. They soon ditched the classics and turned toward the rock genre. 

Van Halen’s earth-rocking success came with the release of 1984, featuring classic hits “Hot for Teacher” and “Jump.” The band continued to soar in popularity and release albums with their ensemble hard rock sound well into the 2000s and 2010s. 

5. Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton was reluctant to go into the spotlight, but his eventual solo career marked him as one of the best guitarists and musicians in the rock genre. 

His music career took off in the 1960s as he strummed his instrument of choice with rock bands Cream, The Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, and The Yardbirds.

But he soon left those bands to pursue his true passion for rock n’ roll with a touch of poetic ballads, producing smashing hits like the rock n’ roll anthem “Layla” and the bluesy “Wonderful Tonight.” 

6. Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck is a Grammy award-winning guitarist that had similar styles as fellow guitarists Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, although he never reached their pinnacle of success. 

He replaced Clapton as the lead guitarist of The Yardbirds and stayed for two years. His next music venture featured many attempts at forming bands and trios. Later, he found success with the pop-rock album Flash, featuring hit singles “People Get Ready” and “Escape.” 

Over the years, Beck continued to take long breaks punctuated with successful collaborations with musicians and a Grammy-winning album, Emotion & Commotion. 

7. Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was one of the earliest pioneers of gospel rock and planted the seed for many other musicians to come.

She grew up in a heavily religious family and environment, one of the main influences of her spiritual lyrics and gospel style. 

She eventually incorporated blues and jazz into her sound, becoming the first gospel artist to record at Decca Records. She also performed beside other jazz singers, despite public disapproval. 

Tharpe continued to produce soul music throughout the 60s and 70s, coming out with her most famous hit “Strange Things Happening Every Day,” which was deemed as the first rock n’ roll record ever. 

8. David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)

David Gilmour CBE is a renowned songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist for the rock band Pink Floyd. His skill on the guitar positioned him as one of the greats. 

Pink Floyd achieved global popularity with two number one albums A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell. 

His solo career was just as successful as his band’s, with three albums topping the UK charts, life achievement awards, and world tours that sold out arenas. 

9. Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple)

Not many guitarists can play a riff like Ritchie Blackmore. His energetic guitar riffs and heavy metal rock sound arguably deem him one of the leading rock guitarists ever. 

He is one of the members of the rock band Deep Purple, and he founded two other groups, Rainbow and Blackmore’s Night. He found success with all three. 

His on-and-off relationship with Rainbow resulted in a reunion with Deep Purple after they had parted, where he produced the iconic hit “Smoke on the Water,” and seven albums that went gold. 

He and his Deep Purple bandmates were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a tribute to his domination and influence of the rock genre. 

10. Alex Lifeson

Aleksandar Živojinović, OC, famously known as Alex Lifeson, is a Canadian musician, guitarist, and record producer, and band member of the Canadian rock band Rush. 

He received his first guitar at 13, and from there, his interest and talent for music blossomed. His Rush bandmates deemed him as “The Musical Scientist” for his iconic riffs, talent with numerous stringed instruments, and revolutionary chords. 

With Rush, Lifeson contributed stellar riffs to their most famous hit “Tom Sawyer” and true rock n’ roll albums Clockwork Angels and Signals. 

His instrumental talent led to a third-place spot among Guitar World’s reader poll for best guitarists of all time and gave him a place in Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. 

11. Slash (Guns N’ Roses)

Slash, born Saul Hudson, is one of the most powerfully iconic rock stars in the world. He is famously known as the lead guitarist for Guns N’ Roses in the 1980s and 90s. 

Guns N’ Roses became the anthem for American hard rock, producing the wickedly good hits “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” which are still sung today with the same passion and nostalgia as before. 

He went on a hiatus from GNR, forming Slash’s Snakepit and a couple of bluesy records, and made collaborations with Myles Kennedy, another rock musician. 

GNR eventually reunited and went on tour again in 2016.

12. Carlos Santana

Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán, known professionally as Carlos Santana, is a Mexican-American guitarist and performer known for his early genre-defying work fusing classic rock and Latin American Jazz. 

He began his musical journey with the violin, picking up the guitar a few years later. He founded the popular band Santana, which made a career-defining performance at Woodstock in 1969. 

He and the band made chart-topping albums Abraxas and Santana, both of which made Billboard’s top 10, and Supernatural, a major comeback album in the 90s, which won Grammys and topped the charts once again. 

13. Lita Ford

Lita Ford is the definition of a female rockstar, characterized by belting lyrics, heavy metal chords, and electrifying riffs that challenged the male-dominated genre. 

She was a member of the all-female rock band the Runaways, but she also embarked on an equally successful solo career. 

Her first album to propel her to success was Lita, with top hits “Kiss Me Deadly” and “Close My Eyes Forever,” featuring rockstar Ozzy Osbourne. 

Her long run with pop metal brought her to the surface as an influential guitarist, and her rebellious, assertive on-stage presence gave other female musicians an idol to follow. 

14. Mark Knopfler

It was not just the Americans and the Brits that produced the world’s greatest guitarists. Out of Scotland came Mark Knopfler, a singer-songwriter and guitarist that blended his Scottish sound with the folk-pop genre. 

His early success was attributed to his finger-picking style and genius creations with his band Dire Straits. They produced a best-selling album, Brothers in Arms, among other hit singles like “Sultans of Swing.”

He went on to compose music for soundtracks, including Scottish comedy Local Hero, and play the guitar for musicians like Tina Turner and Bob Dylan, earning him the global recognition and image of one of the greatest to ever string the guitar. 

15. Angus & Malcolm Young (AC/DC)

Angus and Malcolm Young are song-writing and guitar-playing siblings, most notable for their American rock band, AC/DC. The siblings were known for their electrifying performances and rough riffs that defined the heavy rock genre. 

Their time with AC/DC delivered ground-breaking hits like “Back In Black,” “Highway to Hell,” and “Thunderstruck.”

Although Malcolm has since passed, he and his younger brother’s sound set the rock n’ roll world in motion and gave way to a heavier side of rock music. 

16. Gary Moore

Hailing from Northern Ireland, Gary Moore enjoyed a successful solo career but also collaborated with Thin Lizzy, Eddie Howell, Colosseum II, and Gary Boyle. 

With hits like “Parisienne Walkways,” Moore developed a reputation for virtuoso guitar performances.

Throughout his career, he stuck with a heavy metal influence but dutifully returned to more bluesy interests, releasing his most successful album ever, Still Got the Blues in 1990.

17. Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)

Billy Gibbons is an American guitarist and songwriter most associated with the blues-rock band, ZZ Top, formed in 1969.

While he was with another band, Moving Sidewalks, he was endorsed by one of the greatest, Jimi Hendrix, but soon set his sights on bluesy-rock sounds. 

ZZ Top released five albums before a three-year split. They eventually reunited, changing their sound to mimic the rise in modern, electronic rock and producing hits like “Legs” and “Give Me All Your Lovin.” 

After a failed album, Gibbons went solo. From there, he contributed successful records with Big Bad Blues (2018) and Hardware (2021), placing him up among the most rockish and grittiest of guitarists. 

18. Duane Allman (Allman Brothers Band.)

Duane Allman had a short but brilliant career as a guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band.

Allman bought his first guitar after he traded in the parts to his crashed motorcycle. He and his brother soon played gigs around Florida, but it would be a few years before Atlantic Records came calling with a contract offer.

With Atlantic, the Allman Brothers Band found their sound in the southern blues-rock genre. They released Idlewild South and a double album, all of which hit the top charts and propelled them to the front of Southern rock.

19. Joe Walsh (The Eagles)

Joe Walsh is an American guitarist recognized for his work with The Eagles and Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band. 

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Walsh formed part of the unlikely trio Joe and the James Gang who achieved hits with “Funk #49” and “Walk Away,” as well as the golden album James Gang Rides Again (1970). 

He impulsively left the band after a creative music crisis. This led to him landing a place with the Eagles, where he solidified his spot as one of the world’s greatest rock guitarists. 

20. Joni Mitchell

Born Roberta Joan Anderson, Joni Mitchell is a Canadian singer-songwriter whose influence in the pop-rock scene established her as the yang to Bob Dylan’s ying. 

She started playing wherever she could, leading to the release of her EP Songs to a Seagull (1967), which was the first of hers to sell over a million copies. 

Mitchell has described her music as a sound meant to last a lifetime rather than to “grab instantly.” As an artist, Mitchell never confined herself to a single genre. Rather, she experimented with what she felt was right and worth singing. 

21. Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones)

Like many great guitarists, Keith Richards found his way to success with a band that reached the epitome of rock and roll. As a musician and songwriter, he is most notable for his edgy guitar contributions to The Rolling Stones. 

His wild image, original sound, and experimentation with outlandish tastes made him an integral part of the Rolling Stones and rock and roll legend. 

With their commitment to blues and rock, they released hit songs like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and “Paint it Black,” which took them to new musical heights. 

Deep struggles within the band encouraged him to release more solo work, resulting in a gold-selling album Talk is Cheap (1988) and appearances with the Stones. 

22. Pat Metheny

Pat Metheny is considered one of the greatest jazz guitarists of all time. His career has centered around the blending of contemporary, guitar, and Latin jazz. 

Born into a musical family, Metheny started playing guitar at just 12 years of age. He soon found himself working with the best jazz musicians of Kansas. 

Metheny’s music served as a trailblazing phenomenon that showcased his versatility, originality, and improvisation skills on the strings. Over his career, he has produced three gold albums and been awarded over 20 Grammys as a soloist and with his band, The Pat Metheny Group. 

23. Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa was an American musician, composer, and guitarist notable for his free use of jazz, rock, and experimental musical tastes. 

He was mostly self-taught and began playing right out of high school; he soon formed the rock group Mothers of Invention. Their debut Freak Out! was at first not well-received in the US, but eventually gained cult status. 

Most of his music presented a controversial edge, upsetting many mainstream traditions and calling attention to political and social issues in the US. 

After releasing solo works featuring his passion for jazz and rock, Zappa was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. 

24. Elizabeth Cotten

Before embracing the guitar, Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten played the banjo in her early years. As one of the earliest pioneers of folk and blues, Cotten paved the way for generations of guitarists. 

When she transitioned to her brother’s guitar, Cotten learned to play left-handed, contributing to a distinctive style. 

She abandoned her instrumental talent later in life but returned when her employers discovered her finger-picking style. In 1958, Cotten released her debut album, LP Folksongs and Instrumentals. 

Over the decades, she built up a strong following, particularly with her hit song “Freight Train,” second successful album Shake Sugaree, and acclaimed live performances. 

25. George Harrison (The Beatles)

George Harrison was a British musician and talented lead guitarist with The Beatles, whose iconic impact on music and popular culture in the 60s and 70s endures to this day. 

Born in Liverpool, Harrison showcased a remarkable talent for writing and played a big role in producing many of the Beatles’ biggest hits. 

While Beatlemania was sweeping across the world, he and the band created timeless hits like “Hey Jude,” “Penny Lane,” and “All You Need Is Love.” 

Throughout his career, Harrison experimented with multiple instruments, from his faithful electric guitar to the sitar, violin, and even the glockenspiel. 

After the group broke up, Harrison forged a successful solo career (filled with hits like “My Sweet Lord” and “Got “My Mind Set on You”) and formed part of the superband The Traveling Wilburys. 

26. Pete Townshend (The Who)

Pete Townshend is an English musician, songwriter, and guitarist who rose to fame with the rock band The Who. As well, he made influential appearances in Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band.  

He grew up in a musically-gifted family, where his interest in rock n’ roll was encouraged and supported. His talent brought him together with soon-to-be bandmates, who thrived in the rock n’ roll boom of the 60s. 

His onstage performances and signature windmill style made him a popular member of the band. Their music coined hits like “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “I Can See For Miles.”

As one of the guitar-playing greats, he also found success in his solo career, releasing popular albums Who Came First (1972) and Psychoderelict (1993). 

27. Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac)

Lindsey Buckingham is a guitarist, rock performer, and songwriter who contributed to the success of the popular band Fleetwood Mac. 

Through the 70s and 80s, he and the band ruled the rock music scene, releasing chart-topping albums Tusk and Rumours with popular hits like “Dreams” and “Rhiannon.” 

He made off-and-on appearances with Fleetwood Mac until he finally reunited for good in the late 90s. Despite their continued success, he released many solo projects, including the top 10 hit Law and Order. 

28. Steve Howe (Yes)

Steve Howe is a renowned musician and rock guitarist of the 60s and 70s who performed with rock bands like Yes, Asia, Tomorrow, and GTR. 

He enjoyed particular success with the progressive and popular band, Yes, whose number one hit “Roundabout” spoke largely of their fusion of jazz and rock. 

His formation of the rock supergroup, Asia, brought him even further into the limelight. However, he eventually rejoined Yes on reunion tours while also releasing solo projects. 

Summing Up Our List Of Great Guitarists

Most of the guitarists are from varying genres, from folk and pop-rock to classical jazz and heavy metal. 

Pioneers like Elizabeth Cotton and heavy metal rockers like Slash and Lita Ford paved the way for the guitar to establish itself as an instrument beloved by all. 

Even if you don’t pick up the guitar and start learning its chords, you can appreciate its sound the next time you listen to an AC/DC song!