• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Bands & Projects
    • Marty Willson-Piper
    • Marty & Olivia
    • Noctorum
    • MOAT
    • Atlantæum Flood
    • Anekdoten
      • How I Joined Anekdoten
    • The Church
      • Sleeve Notes
    • All About Eve
  • Discography
  • Gear
  • Talking
  • Lyrics
    • SOLO ALBUMS
      • In Reflection
      • Art Attack
      • Rhyme
      • Spirit Level
      • Hanging Out In Heaven
      • Nightjar
    • NOCTORUM
      • Sparks Lane
      • Offer The Light
      • Honey Mink Forever
      • The Afterlife
    • MOAT
      • Moat
      • Poison Stream
    • Seeing Stars
  • Sleeve Notes
    • Of Skins And Heart
    • The Blurred Crusade
    • Seance
    • Heyday
    • Starfish
    • Gold Afternoon Fix
    • Priest = Aura
  • Bandcamp

Marty Willson-Piper

The official home of Marty Willson-Piper

  • News
  • Blog
  • Shows
  • Songwriting & Guitar Guidance
  • In Deep Music Archive
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Marty’s Top 147 Rock & Pop Guitarists

Marty’s Top 147 Rock & Pop Guitarists

Jan Akkerman
Duane Allman
Ron Asheton
Ferdinand Bakker
Martin Barre
Syd Barrett
Jeff Skunk Baxter
Jeff Beck
Chris Bell
Eric Bell
Dickie Betts
Ritchie Blackmore
Mike Bloomfield
Marc Bolan
James Burton
Bernard Butler
Michael Bruce
Wally Bryson
Roy Buchanan
Lindsey Buckingham
Glen Buxton
Mike Campbell
Manny Charlton
Alex Chilton
John Cippolina
Eric Clapton
Zal Cleminson
Nels Cline
Ry Cooder
Steve Cropper
Dave Davies
Buck Dharma (Donald Roeser)
Al DiMeola
Nick Drake
The Edge
Elliot Easton
Peter Frampton
Dave Edmonds
Robert Fripp
Fred Frith
Rory Gallagher
Lowell George
David Gilmour
Alice Go
Scott Gorham
Guthrie Govan
Peter Green
Johnny Greenwood
Robin Guthrie
Manuel Göttsching
Steve Hacket
Ollie Halsall
George Harrison
Warren Haynes
Eddie Hazel
Jimi Hendrix
Steve Hillage
Allan Holdsworth
James Honeyman-Scott
Steve Howe
Steve Hunter
Tony Iommi
Bert Jansch
Wilko Johnson
Justin Jones
Steve Jones
Terry Kath
Michael Karoli
Danny Kirwan
Robby Krieger
Mark Knopfler
Paul Kossoff
Wayne Kramer
Andy Latimer
Alvin Lee
Alex Lifeson
Richard Lloyd
Nils Lofgren
Harvey Mandel
Johnny Marr
Steve Marriott
Hank Marvin
Dave Mason
Patrick Mata
Brian May
Nick McCabe
John Mclaughlin
Jimmy McCulloch
John McGeoch
Roger McGuinn
Tony McPhee
Gary Moore
Scotty Moore
Thurston Moore
Bill Nelson
Mike Oldfield
Jimmy Page
Les Paul
Eddie Phillips
Andy Powell
Lee Ranaldo
John Renborn
David Rhodes
Keith Richards
Johnny Ramone
Brian Robertson
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
Mick Ronson
Terje Rypdal
Carlos Santana
Will Sergeant
Michael Schenker
Tom Scholz
Neal Schon
Andy Scott
Kevin Shields
Slash
Fred Sonic Smith
Chris Spedding
Stephen Stills
Andy Summers
Mick Taylor
Richard Thompson
Johnny Thunders
Mary Timony
Pete Townshend
Robin Trower
Derek Trucks
Ted Turner
Eddie Van Halen
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Tom Verlaine
Dick Wagner
Joe Walsh
Jack White
Leslie West
Winged Eel Fingerling (Elliot Ingber)
Clarence White
James Williamson
Johnny Winter
Steve Winwood
Ronnie Wood
Link Wray
Angus Young
Malcolm Young
Neil Young
Zoot Horn Rollo (Bill Harkleroad)
Frank Zappa


Based on Tone/Creativity/Attitude/Mood/Feel

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. tkg313 says

    February 14, 2018 at 8:21 pm

    Nice to see the often under-appreciated and overlooked Mike Campbell on your list. He brings so much depth and feeling with his leads without being overly flashy. And oh, those vintage guitars…

    Literally Tom Petty’s right hand man for over 40 years.

    Log in to Reply
  2. malcolm913 says

    March 8, 2018 at 3:26 pm

    It is hard to argue with this list, however I still think you should check out some of Matt Bellamy’s playing. He has impeccable technique and is very expressive with his guitar playing. Not to mention his overall extraordinary talent.

    Log in to Reply
  3. britfolkgod says

    July 24, 2018 at 11:34 pm

    An excellent list. I would only add Danny Kirwan (ex-Fleetwood Mac).

    Log in to Reply
    • Marty Willson-Piper says

      July 24, 2018 at 11:53 pm

      Yes, he will be added right now.

      Log in to Reply
  4. soja says

    July 25, 2018 at 3:21 am

    Would it be uncouth to put MWP in that list? He’s tops in my book. ;-b

    Seriously though, there are some great guitarists in that list. Personally, I can’t think “favorite guitarists” without including Stuart Adamson. His playing has such feeling and his solos are nothing but astounding. And I like the e-bow.

    Log in to Reply
  5. M3nJL says

    July 25, 2018 at 7:20 pm

    Love that two guitarists I love that many hardly mention are on this list, James Honeyman Scott and Jimmy McCullough. Brilliant and they would have given so much more. The one guy who actually sort of and somewhat at one time or another replaced these two great axe men with McCartney and in the Pretenders and also did fantastic work with Talk Talk and John Mayer etc, Robbie McIntosh would not be out of place on this list at all.

    Log in to Reply
  6. jaxworlds says

    July 26, 2018 at 2:20 am

    MWP, please consider the late/ great Peter Banks, from Yes and Flash fame.. the firs Flash album is one of my faves…

    Jeff

    Log in to Reply
  7. wailingdave says

    July 2, 2019 at 2:06 am

    Great list good to see Rory Gallagher, Mike Campbell and SRV on there.
    I really rate Robbie Robertson as well.

    Log in to Reply
  8. mirrortime says

    September 24, 2019 at 2:23 am

    Hi Marty,
    Like SO MANY artist’s you’ve turned me onto I will add the ones I’ve never heard to my list to hear. I agree 100% with “SOJA”. MWP is already on my list. May I humbly suggest John Lennon?
    Thanks Much 🙂
    Dean (In Oregon)

    Log in to Reply
  9. Ricky_620 says

    May 10, 2022 at 7:05 am

    John Lennon is the most underrated guitar genius, possibly ever…. probably because his song writing was too good. But as Clapton claimed…..he could make it move, or howl as Lennon himself said.
    Notably the Rev Billy Gibbons and the great Earl Slick didn’t make the list either! Neither did the world’s first guitar hero, Charlie Christian. Without him, none of us would be here…..and so tasteful!
    But there are some gems in there. Terry Kath….better than Hendrix, by Jimi’s own admission, allegedly!

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

  • spotify
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • youtube

Liking the blog?

Tour Dates

Instagram

Thanks to The Wernickis for a little glimpse into Thanks to The Wernickis for a little glimpse into their new New Mexico listening space 🌵 #nightjar #schoolkidsrecords
Redeyed lad of the lowlands 🎵 📷 @oliviaelek Redeyed lad of the lowlands 🎵

📷 @oliviaelektra 

#danelectro #danelectrobass #redeyerecords #pleasantrylane #pleasantrylanestudio
You usually don’t spend the day in the studio an You usually don’t spend the day in the studio and the night at a gig but if you put the studio next to the gig then there’s a greater chance. So @salimnourallah did just that, he put the gig and the studio next to each other and made it possible for me to spend the day recording and the evening playing live 🎵

📷 @drewliophoto 

#galacticheadquarters #happinessarecordlabel #pleasantrylanestudio #salimnourallah #oliviawillsonpiper
TO WHERE I AM NOW A visit in the studio today fro TO WHERE I AM NOW

A visit in the studio today from old mate Mark Burgess from The Chameleons who has been hanging in Texas recently. I was thinking about the two of us growing up in the northwest of England and all these years later finding ourselves in such an unlikely spot together. We fixed a few issues in the universe and I carried on recording some guitars until Mark had to leave. Mark had played at the Galactic Headquarters next to the studio this year as Olivia and I had four years ago and this reminded me to remind myself to remind everyone to remind their friends that we will be playing there with Salim on Saturday, New Year’s Eve, for the ultimate in intimate performance. You can get tickets here (follow link below).

CONTINUE READING: https://martywillson-piper.com/2022/12/to-where-i-am-now-1045

KEEP IN TOUCH: https://linktr.ee/mwillsonpiper

📷 @salimnourallah 

#markburgess #thechameleons #chameleonsvox #pleasantrylanestudio #happinessarecordlabel #martywillsonpiper #oliviawillsonpiper #moatband
📷 @argirgirl 📷 @argirgirl
TO WHERE I AM NOW Sadness manifested in a buildin TO WHERE I AM NOW

Sadness manifested in a building, today we went to visit Paisley Park. Prince built Paisley Park in Chanhassen, about twenty minutes southwest of Minneapolis. It opened in 1987 and he recorded his later albums there. Apart from Prince, REM also recorded and mixed Out Of Time there, recording Kate Pearson’s vocal on Shiny Happy People vocal. Madonna had Prince play guitar on three songs from Like A Prayer and the two co-wrote Love Song, finishing it remotely due to Madonna not being able to stand the cold weather and the rather desolate location of the studio. Of course, there are things around but it’s not in the city and it’s not in the countryside, it’s in a suburb, no distractions, just what Prince wanted.

CONTINUE READING: https://martywillson-piper.com/2022/12/to-where-i-am-now-1032

KEEP IN TOUCH: https://linktr.ee/mwillsonpiper

📷 @argirgirl 

#paisleypark #prince
Marty & Pablo! 📷 Rod MacQuarrie Marty & Pablo!

📷 Rod MacQuarrie
At last, a proper door stop. 📷 @judgeschamber At last, a proper door stop.

📷 @judgeschamber 

#grammysitting 👵
🌵 Texas Acoustic Dates 🌵 31 December - DALL 🌵 Texas Acoustic Dates 🌵

31 December - DALLAS
7 January - CELINA
12 January - HOUSTON
14 January - AUSTIN
15 January - SAN ANTONIO

With @salimnourallah and @joereyesmusic

More info here: https://mailchi.mp/e47ede06acd6/texas-acoustic-dates
Load More… Follow on Instagram

Mailing List

In Deep Music Archive

Songwriting & Guitar Guidance with Marty Willson-Piper
ORDER HERE

"These are awesome sessions that I highly recommend for guitar players of all levels. Very informative, frank discussions on everything related to guitar and music in general. Definitely a must for anyone pursuing songwriting."
(Stephen G., VA, USA)

"Marty knows how to bypass scales and get to the heart of feel and timing. His musical knowledge spans multiple cultures and genres. Perhaps most importantly, Marty is a cool dude. I highly recommend his guitar guidance." (Jed B., MN, USA)

"Ok, so you’re sitting in your home and Marty is across the world but is actually right here teaching you how to play guitar and write songs. He is a delight to talk to and he is your teacher, meaning he wants to see you get something out of his lessons. You know he’s paying attention and wants to steer you in the right direction. I am so grateful and humbled that he offers his time in this manner. This is an amazing opportunity for anyone who admires anything from his enormous body of work. How often do you get to learn from somebody that inspired you in the first place? Amazing." (Ann S., CA, USA)

Missing

This is my stolen 1965 Rickenbacker 12-string, serial number EB157. If there’s any chance of this guitar coming back to me before I go to meet my maker, then that would be wonderful. Please contact me if you have any information.

11209512_1669022976719710_7288437867089763325_n

MARTY WILLSON-PIPER © 2023 - Front Page Images by Hajo Müller