World's Best Guitarists

If there’s one sure fire way to get music fans into a heated argument, it’s to start a discussion about who are the world’s best guitarists. It’s a very emotive and subjective issue, and the answers will vary depending on musical taste and personal preferences. There are however some names which keep coming up again and again in these sorts of discussions.

Jimi Hendrix
There are only a very few people who have changed the face of world music forever, and one of these is Jimi Hendrix, who exploded onto the rock scene in the late 1960s. The sound he got out of his guitar was like nothing the world had heard before, and his untimely death at the age of 27 guarantees that his music remained high profile through the 1970s too. He was the first to use the pedal extensively in his guitar playing and this added to the unusual sounds. He is one of the most influential guitar players of all time, and was named the best guitar player ever in a survey by Rolling
Stone magazine.

Eric Clapton
Clapton was originally a blues player, and found fame with the Yardbirds before breaking away and forming his own band, Cream. He was well-known for writing his own material and his guitar solos as he was for cover versions of songs by the likes of Bob Marley, and although he has retired from the music scene in recent years he still features highly on lists of the world’s best guitar players. Clapton was a seasoned performer in his own right, and sang as well as playing on most of his most memorable hits. Clapton is unusual in that he does not have a preferred brand of instrument and has played many different types of guitars over his career.

Edge
There was a point in the 1980s when U2 were Ireland’s biggest export, and it would be difficult to name a band which had had more international success over the past 30 years. The Edge’s distinctive guitar sounds is what made the band stand out from the crowd, and many have tried to emulate his sound on their own Rickenbacker 620 Fireglo, with varying degrees of success. U2 may not have as a high a profile as they did a few years ago, but they have an extensive back catalogue of hits and have influenced many of the next generation of guitarists.

George Harrison
The two high profile members of the Beatles were John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and guitarist George Harrison is often overlooked in the popularity stakes. However, his guitar sound contributed greatly to the success of the band, and the Beatles transformed the face of popular music across the world in the 1960s. Harrison had solo success after the break up of the band, and was a high profile campaigner for human rights until his death in 2001. Harrison was a fan of the Rickenbacker brand of guitars, and many a young player wishing to emulate his style has picked up a Rickenbacker 620 Fireglo and strummed a few chords. 

Citations:

• Image courtesy of Matt Gibbons

Peterborough Music offer the Rickenbacker 620 Fireglo guitar, a favourite of The Edge and many other top guitarists.