--- description: TIME's music critic Josh Tyrangiel 'picks' a pantheon of six-string masters. But much like our custom amplifiers, this list goes to 11 title: The 10 Greatest Electric-Guitar Players of All Time image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The 10 Greatest Electric-Guitar Players by [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 14, 2009 8:49 PM CUT by [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 14, 2009 8:49 PM CUT  Jimi Hendrix The greatest of all time? Maybe. No one merged the blues, rock and psychedelia with as much ease or wielded a guitar with as much charisma. David Redfern—Getty Images  US guitarist and former lead guitarist of US music band Guns N' Roses, known as 'Slash', performs on the stage during the Quart music festival in Kristiansand, on June 30, 2009\. AFP PHOTO/ Tor Erik Schroder/ Scanpix NORWAY OUT (Photo credit should read Tor Erik Schroder/AFP/Getty Images) Tor Erik Schroder—AFP/Getty Images  B.B. King He doesn't call his guitar Lucille to be cute. With King's emphasis on vibrato, she sounds like a real woman singing the blues. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images  Keith Richards The most notable of Chuck Berry's many disciples is also the creator of more memorable riffs — "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Gimme Shelter," "Start Me Up," etc. — than anyone else in rock 'n' roll. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images  Eric Clapton Fluent in every blues style, Clapton is probably best known as the king of the Tulsa Sound. He's also among the most melodic of guitarists, using his solos to move a song along instead of stopping it cold. Rob Verhorst—Redferns/Getty Images  Jimmy Page Page's guitar sounds like six guitars, and the heaviness of his right hand is key to the instant recognizability of Led Zeppelin's sound. Michael Ochs Archives  Chuck Berry The father of rock-'n'-roll guitar, his staccato influence is still heard on most songs today. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images  Les Paul An amazingly talented guitarist, Paul had a series of futuristic-sounding hits in the 1950s. But his music has been superseded by his invention: Paul pioneered the design and construction of the modern electric guitar, which made everyone else on this list very rich. David Corio—Getty Images  Yngwie Malmsteen The Swede's superfast "neoclassical" style — he credits Bach and Paganini as influences — is a blur of scales and technical precision. It almost makes you forget that the great bulk of his music is so fast that it's unlistenable. Mick Hutson—Redferns/Getty Images  Prince He does a little singing, but Prince also plays a mean lead guitar. The solo on "Let's Go Crazy" is a frequently cited example of his frenetic style, but covers of "Just My Imagination" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" prove he can also play under control. Michael Ochs Archives  Johnny Ramone No one hated guitar solos more than Johnny Ramone, so it's not surprising he perfected the punk style, packing chords together tightly and leaving no space for freelancing. Howard Barlow—Redferns/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3961025/10-greatest-guitar-players/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3961025/10-greatest-guitar-players/"},"headline":"The 10 Greatest Electric-Guitar Players","datePublished":"2009-08-14T20:49:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:27.189Z","description":"TIME's music critic Josh Tyrangiel 'picks' a pantheon of six-string masters. But much like our custom amplifiers, this list goes to 11","url":"https://time.com/3961025/10-greatest-guitar-players/","keywords":["Music","musician","photography","entertainment","Rock","guitar"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3961025/10-greatest-guitar-players/","name":"The 10 Greatest Electric-Guitar Players"}}]}] ```