Number 71 Bjorn Gelotte

Starting his career as the drummer for In Flames, the band quickly realized just how awesome this guy was at the axe, so they gave him a job as the second guitar player for the band. This guys melody's and harmonies put Maiden to shame, plus his solos are a fantastic blend of speed and melody this guy knows what to use and when to use it, and he never feels the need to show off.

Songs: "Zombie Inc." "Deliver Us" "Come Clarity" "Leeches"

Number 72 John Petrucci

Ever progressive guitar player wants to play like Petrucci, and who blames them? Petrucci is a god among men, he has it all the speed of Batio, the preciseness of Yngwie, but the writing capabilities of Hetfield. Did I mention he's jacked out of his mind and can bench about 600lbs? That definitely counts for something.

Songs: "Forsaken" "As I Am" "Count Of Tuscany" "Lines In The Sand" "Under A Glass Moon"

Number 73 KK Downing

If you've checked out any of the Tipton songs I recommended then you know that there is "another guy" that other guy happens to be the legendary KK Downing. This man brings aggressive guitar playing to another level, abusing the whammy like no other, doing dive bombs and fast alternate picking runs that put SLAYER to shame. KK is an inspirtation to all the kids learning guitar to say "FUCK IT I'M GONNA PLAY AS FAST AS I CAN" When you play like KK, being clean is for noobs.

Songs: "Painkiller" "Sinner" "Before The Dawn"

Number 74 Michael Angelo Batio

Speed is one thing, speed is like Yngwie or Loomis, or Gilbert. Batio, is on a whole 'nother level my friends, he's crazy, he uses the fact that he's ambidextrous to his advantage and plays 2 guitars upside down, AT THE SAME TIME. The dedication in this man's heart to become the fastest ever is just astounding, even if you don't like super fast guitar solos you gotta check him out man he's wicked crazy.

Songs: "Speed Kills" "Burn" "Dream On"

Number 75 Michael Padgett

Being in a band like Bullet For My Valentine, you can get over-looked as a guitar player. But trust me when I say whenever they give Padge a blank canvas to paint on, he rips off the paper and uses the world as his canvas. This guy is astonishing, it's almost funny how such a generic, and watered down band can have such a talented and overall brilliant guitar player. What's more impressive is how he stands doing those terrible ballads every show, Padge you deserve points just for not shooting yourself.

Songs: "Scream Aim And Fire" "Waking The Demon" "Crazy Train"

Number 76 Glenn Tipton

I can't say enough good things about this guy, one of the most influential and revolutionary Metal guitarists of all time. He didn't pick up the guitar until his late teens/early twenties, yet he still managed to blow us all away as one of the two legendary lead guitarists in Judas Priest. This guy deserves huge props for being the inspiration he is and for proving us all that "you CAN teach an old dog new tricks."

Songs: "Painkiller" "Electric Eye" "Breaking The Law (live)"

Number 77 Jesper Stromblad

Being the primary song-writer in a band In Flames isn't easy, but Jesper pulls it off like a pro. This guy never runs out of creative ideas, and no 2 In Flames songs sound the same. This guy is a never ending pit of creativity and talent, sure he may not do a lot of solos but who cares? This guy is a legend in my book, disagree if you want but Jesper you will always be badass to me. In Flames we trust!

Songs: "Take This Life" "Alias" "Come Clarity"

Number 78 Stephen Carpenter

A lot of these Nu-Metal guitar players get over-looked because they don't do solos, well I think that's stupid because Stephen can wield the axe like no other. KoRn, I see your 7 string and raise you an 8 STRING. And he pulls it off too, not like some kid with a new toy who uses it every opportunity he has, but using it like he's been playing one all his life, like an 8 string guitar is all he knows. With complex time signatures, odd and funky chord shapes and progressions, Stephen Carpenter is the Frederik Thordendal of Nu-Metal.

Songs: "Korea" "Back To School (Mini-Maggit)" "Change (In The House Of Flies)"

Number 79 Corey Beaulieu and Matt Heafy

It's hard to make a dynamic duo when it comes to metal, you need 2 guys with a considerable amount of skill but one can't have too much skill because you don't want them stepping on each others toes, but they can't have the same style because that would sound boring. BUT Matt and Corey not only pull it off, but pull it off just as good if not BETTER then the legends (like Maiden) they play as one guitar player, one unit it's astonishing just how tight these guys are, but at the same time they have two completely different styles and two goals to reach for as guitar players these guys blow my mind every time.

Songs: "A Gunshot To The Head Of Trepidation" "Entrance Of Conflagration" "Shattering The Skies Above"

Number 80 Jake E Lee

With guitarists like Randy Rhoads, Zakk Wylde, and Gus G a guy like Jake can get over-looked but that doesn't mean he's not skilled, oh no, this guy could do to that guitar what most bedroom rockers dream of, writing such hits like "Bark At The Moon," and anyone who's tried to play that knows already what a beast this guy is, "Killer Of Giants" "Shot In The Dark" well, just check out those songs and you'll understand what I mean.

Songs: "Bark At The Moon" "Killer Of Giants" "Shot In The Dark"

Number 81 Jeff Loomis

Jeff Loomis isn't the typical shredder who's just in it to make everybody else look bad, he's actually got astounding melodic control over the fret-board, not to mention high knowledge of music theory and he's about as clean as a quarantined house. Being the (former) primary guitarist, and only writer, for Nevermore is challenge enough but then he starts doing solos, yeah consider your face melted.

Songs: "Sanity Assassin" "Miles Of Machines" "Enemies Of Reality"

Number 82 Doug Aldrich

Doug Aldrich usually falls under the radar as a guitar player because he's primarily a session musician, jumping from band to band, leaving his mark wherever he goes. But ol' Doug has been ripping it up with his trademark style longer then a lot of people. With his solo albums of a rocky-blues feel he decided to venture deeper into the roots of metal and join Dio's band. He then went on (and is currently now in) Whitesnake with the legendary Reb Beach.

Songs: "Push" "Live Whitesnake Solo" "Superfly"

Number 83 Johnny Winter

The soul man himself Mr. Johnny Winter isn't one of your common blues musicians (not just because of his looks) but his approach to the fret-board is uncanny mixing in hybrid picking with the blues and shredding up the big licks like he taught VAN HALEN how to play. This guy is a master axe-man and a hero to all the little bluesy boys and girls that got sick and tired of doing those slow bends.

Songs: "Jumpin' Jack Flash"

Number 84 Nergal

Adam Darski, or more known by his stage name Nergal, is the lead guitarist and frontman for the Blackened Death Metal band "Behemoth" the grandmaster of the genre, a man so badass and so "tr00" that he even scared the shit out of the cancer that tried to kill him. A very underrated guitar player his solo in "Conquer All" should go down in history as one of metals best solos.

Songs: "Conquer All"

85 Uli Jon Roth

Lead guitar player to the Scorpions and one of the first guitar virtuoso's this man is just awesome. There's no way to say enough about a master of his instrument. Such a master, in fact, that when he had his custom sky guitar designed he added an extra 10 frets and 1 more knob then your normal 4 knob guitar. Not just a guitar player, but a composer and a master.

Songs: "Sails Of Charon" "Enola Gay"

86 Michael Schenker

Many guitar players and guitar teachers alike would lead you to believe that the only way to be a successful musician is to listen to all your heroes and emulate them, creating your own style through theirs, oh and don't forget to learn a shit load of theory as well. Well both cases are untrue in Michael Schenker's case, a fantastic and VERY influential guitar player who doesn't even know what palm-muting is, he just does it. And once he started his career he gave up listening to music and focused solely on writing it.

Songs: "Lights Out In London" "Rock Bottom" "Only You Can Rock Me"

Number 87 Yngwie Malmsteen

Taking shred guitar to the next level, guitar virtuoso and classically influenced Yngwie Malmsteen is the grand-daddy. If Eddie is the father, then Yngwie is definitely the brother of Eddie. Despite the obsession with blues based guitar playing, Yngwie saw past all that and discovered his own way of playing that didn't use the pentatonic and blues scale but played off of minor scales. This was the birth of Neo-classical.

Songs: "Black Star" "Rising Force" "Far Beyond The Sun"

Number 88 Eddie Van Halen

The God-father of the tapping technique, he is responsible for the mid-eighties shred era. Wailing guitars, screaming harmonics, dive bombs, the works this guy coined it all. A master, if you play shred guitar you've got to be influenced by Van Halen.

Songs: "Eruption" "You Really Got Me" "Hot For Teacher"

Number 89 Adrian Smith

I know a legendary guitar duo like Iron Maiden and I'm only putting one of the two guitar gods on the list. I have a reason. During Adrian's hiatus from Iron Maiden he grew as a musician, greatly, adapting new techniques to his style and growing from a typical British Metal Master, into a British Musical Genius despite his lack of theory knowledge.

Songs: "The Trooper" "Hallowed Be Thy Name" "Number Of The Beast"

Number 90 Oli Herbert

He's been called Jesus because of his looks and God because of his skill. I think both accusations are true. This man is living prove that with dedication, hard work, and a great attitude your dreams can come true. Starting off his guitar playing life hating solos and only play Metallica riffs, he quickly realized that not all solos have to be so "High and annoying like Slash and his cock-rock buddies played them," so he took a few lessons and started a band, which eventually flopped due to his "sucky playing, I was playing real melodic stuff, like Kerry King solos ha ha." He went to a musicians institute and got his bachelors degree in music theory, he then joined Metalcore band All That Remains. The rest is history!

Songs: "Two Weeks" "Chiron"

Number 91 Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel

Holy guitar duos Bat-man! I know, I know but these guys really deserve a spot on this list, they started Metalcore, I mean, not a big deal right? WRONG! It's a huge deal these guys are fantastic guitar players the way they play almost makes them sound like 1 amazing guitar player, as opposed to 2 great ones. You count on your fingers how many solos these guys actually do. It's astonishing really how these guys can still be so awesome.

Songs "Holy Diver" "Breathe Life" "Never Again"

Number 92 Mike McCready

Logan what's come over you. Aren't you the guy that said too many guitarists use the pentatonic scale? And now you've got 2 guitar players that use nothing BUT pentatonics on your scale? Well there are exceptions to the rule. Every now and again a guitar player comes around with such unique phrasing and ability it doesn't really matter about his preferred scale. That man is Mike McCready of Pearl Jam. One of the most underrated guitarists ever in my opinion, he rocks that strat just as good if not BETTER then Stevie Ray
Vaughan.

Songs: "Alive" "Yellow Ledbetter" "Even Flow"

Number 93 Jeff Healey

Now normally I think pentatonics are greatly over-used and HUGELY overrated, but every now and again a guitarist rises to kick my ass and show me that even the simplest of scales can be made someones bitch if used properly. Jeff Healey kicked my ass. Forget the fact that he learned to play a six string like it's a steel guitar on his lap. Just listen to a couple of his solos, his technique is pretty much indescribable you have to hear it for yourself, but man, trust me when I say, this mo fucka is bad-to-the-ass. RIP

Songs: "Angel Eyes" "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" "See The Light"

Number 94 Eli Santana

Now I'm sure some people would disagree with me in putting him above, in fact I think Eli would disagree with me, but give me a second to explain. His melodic control of the fret board is astounding especially for such a young guitar player. He adds speed like a gourmet cook adding spice, not too much, not too little, just the right amount. He knows tons of theory and you think that would make his playing robotic, but nope you wouldn't be able to tell, he wields his axe like a pro, combining feeling and technique like an' old shred master. As an added plus his phrasing and clarity in his notes make even the lowest of gain settings sing like an angel or wail like a demon.

Songs: "My Last Attack" "Immortal Man"

Number 95 Mark Tremonti

I can't say enough about this guy. Just when you think he's another one of the late 90's conformists of the "guitar solos are for dweebs" group (which was a fucking abomination, excuse me,) he goes and forms a band like Alter Bridge where his fret work mastery is almost unparalleled. His work with his wah wah pedal is INSANE I never knew wah could sound that good. He's a humble guy and probably doesn't think he should be on a list, but goddamn it he does!

Songs: "Blackbird" "I Know It Hurts" "Ahavo Rabo Taco Salad"

Number 96 Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

This man is probably one of the greatest guitar players of the 21st century, a revolutionary when it comes to the Post-Hardcore genre of music. Since the dawn of his guitar career he's been ripping up the fretboard of his signature Ibanez. If you play post-hardcore and Omar doesn't influence you, you're a liar.

Songs: "One Armed Scissor" "L'Via L'Viaquez"

Number 97 Jimi Hendrix

This man is a man that needs no introduction, ranked twice as Rolling Stone Magazines greatest guitar player in the world JIMI HENDRIX. This is a man who could confidentley say (if he was still alive) that he pretty much started 90% of the popular music genres we know today. Probably one of the most, if not THE most, influential guitarists of all time, it was no challenge putting him on the list.

Songs: "Little Wing" "Voodoo Child" "All Along The Watchtower"

Number 98 Munky and Head

I put both guitarists in the same spot because their playing acts as one cohesive unit, like a hip Judas Priest that don't do solos. While you may not think off the bat that these guys deserve a spot on the list because, as previously stated, THEY DON'T DO SOLOS!! Bear with me. They can pull out a mean groove, and pretty much popularized the seven string (I understand Steve Vai or someone before probably used it but Munky and Head made it most popular) and come on you've got to be good to use another string on your guitar! These guys go together like peanut butter and jelly and their guitar playing runs smoother then maple syrup on flap jacks.

Songs: "Blind" "Good God" "Clown"

Number 99 Misha Mansoor

Lead guitarist and primary song-writer for the Progressive metal band Periphery. He took me by surprise when first hearing him, they were recommended to me through a friend, and I have to admit I don't really care for prog-metal there are a few bands I like but I find that it's too much on a whole. But the young Misha Mansoor is, on a whole, a phenominal guitar player. His melodic control is astounding for such a young musician, and he definitely can't be charged for over playing in any sense of the word (the same can't be said for many prog guitarists) not to mention this kid can kick out a groove that makes drummers jealous. He definitely deserves to be on this list!

Songs "Icarus Lives" "Buttersnips"

Number 100 Jerry Cantrell

With his brilliant use of the wah pedal and his "simple riff-messed up timing" technique, Jerry Cantrell has got to be one of the single most innovative guitar players in the grunge scene. Being both lead guitar and primary songwriter for the band Alice In Chains, his spot on the list was a shoe in!

Songs To Check Out: "Nutshell" "Man In The Box" "Them Bones"

Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 100 Greatest Guitarists (2011 Edition) List Is GARBAGE!

Well I've just finished reading the most recent bogus list that Rolling Stone Magazine has put out, this one is entitled the 2011 Edition of the Top 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time, and I have to say the entire thing is complete and utter rubbish in my opinion. So for the next 100, count 'em, 100 posts I'm going to be putting up MY version of who I think are the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Feel free to leave a comment below on your favourites.

Donate Now

It's been a while since I've posted anything on my blog. I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday break! I myself had a particularly great one but enough about me, there's no point in blogging if I just wanted to talk about myself that's what job interviews are for! No I'm actually here to talk to you all about a serious topic to my heart, cancer. I've recently had someone close to my heart be diagnosed with this damnable disease (pardon me) and what people say is true, just when you think it could never happen to you it does. I won't bother explaining what cancer is because I'm sure if you have the mental capacity to use the internet and read a blog, you sure as hell (once again pardon me) know what cancer is. Some people in the world have deemed the fight against cancer "useless" and that "there's no point" well people can take what ever point of view they want on the subject but if you're one who thinks that way I'd like to try to sway your decision. We as human beings must find a cure for our children, and our children's children  because they too can be affected by this disease smokeing or non-smoking. A donation as little as 25 cents at your local corner store is a gesture of good will, but eeryday people spend that amount on the impulse buys by the cash register. Feel like going for a run? Not that much exercise? How about a walk? The race against cancer is held every year across the globe, and in Canada the Terry Fox Run helps to raise money for the fight against cancer. This disease has the potential to mutate and truly become and incurable neoplasm and if we don't find a cure fast then it will be too late please donate now.