Welcome to our first-ever Greatest Guitarist poll, where 128 guitarists go head to head, round by round, in a bracketed format, all to crown your choice for the Greatest Guitarist of All Time.
We filled 124 of 128 slots with the names of a host of incredible guitarists (dead and living) — players chosen for their technical ability as well as their importance and creativity, not to mention how influential they've been. We asked you to vote in the final four names, which you did. Now the 128 slots are filled, and we're already well into Round 2.
You might come across one or two interesting style matchups in this poll, which may lead some of you to wonder, "How do you compare a shred guitarist to a blues guitarist?" Aside from how good a player is at his or her given style, here are some things to take into consideration:
• Influence: Who inspired more kids to beg their parents for a guitar for Christmas? Who inspired a wave of copycats?
• Chops/Versatility: Is the guitarist in question a one-trick pony or a master of many styles?
• Body of Work: Who had the more consistent career? Who has played on more classic albums?
• Creativity: Who pioneered new techniques? Who sounds the most radically different from what came before them?
You can check out full results via our regularly updated bracket here.
In our next matchup of Round 3, the Godfather of Heavy Metal, Tony Iommi, takes on one of his most prominent disciples in Metallica guitarist James Hetfield. Who will move on the Round 4? Vote now!
Readers Poll: The Greatest Guitarist of All Time — Iommi Vs. HetfieldMonday's matchup saw Alex Lifeson (59.8%) defeat Frank Zappa (40.2%). View the full bracket.
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Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath Opens Up About His Battle with Cancer and the Struggle to Make '13' (5/22/2013) This is an excerpt from the July 2013 issue of Guitar World magazine. For the rest of this story, plus features on Joe Satriani, Ghost B.C., Mick Jones of Foreigner, Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flats, plus transcriptions of "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"... |
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Tony Iommi Issues Update on Cancer Treatment (4/17/2013) In a new interview with the Birmingham Mail in England, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi provided an update on his cancer treatment. The guitarist has been receiving treatment at the Parkway Hospital in Solihull. He will have to return home fr... |
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Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi and Queen's Brian May Plan "Riff" Album (2/15/2013) Tony Iommi, who is knee-deep into recording Black's Sabbath's new album, 13, is already looking beyond that project to something new — a riff-based album with Queen guitarist Brian May. The idea behind the album, as reported by RollingStone.com ... |
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Tony Iommi: Black Sabbath Will Tour "As Much As We're Able" in 2013 (12/27/2012) Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi posted an end-of-year update on his official website. Iommi, who has been battling cancer since earlier this year, assured fans that the band are hard at work on their new album and that they'll be touring as m... |
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Poll: The Greatest Guitarist of All Time, Round 5 — Alex Lifeson Vs. Tony Iommi (9/28/2012) Welcome to the Elite 8 portion of our first-ever Greatest Guitarist poll! It all started a few months back, when 128 132 guitarists went head to head, round by round, in a bracketed format. We filled all but four of the slots with the names of i... |
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Poll: The Greatest Guitarist of All Time, Round 4 — Tony Iommi Vs. Dave Mustaine (9/7/2012) Welcome to our first-ever Greatest Guitarist poll, where 128 132 guitarists go head to head, round by round, in a bracketed format, all to crown your choice for the Greatest Guitarist of All Time. We filled all but four of the slots with the nam... |
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Tony Iommi, Deep Purple's Ian Gillan to Release 2-Disc WhoCares Album August 28 (8/14/2012) After releasing a charity single last year, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and Deep Purple's Ian Gillan have announced the details of the upcoming debut album from their joint project, WhoCares. The two-disc set will include two original Wh... |
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Tony Iommi, Ian Gillan Announce Details of WhoCares Album (6/21/2012) After releasing a charity single last year, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and Deep Purple's Ian Gillan have announced the details of the upcoming debut album from their joint project, WhoCares. The two-disc set will reportedly include two ... |
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Poll: The Greatest Guitarist of All Time, Round 2 — Tony Iommi Vs. Dave Murray (6/18/2012) Welcome to our first-ever Greatest Guitarist poll, where 128 guitarists go head to head, round by round, in a bracketed format, all to crown your choice for the Greatest Guitarist of All Time. We filled 124 of 128 slots with the names of a host ... |
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Tony Iommi Comments on Black Sabbath's Birmingham Show (5/22/2012) This past Saturday, May 19, Black Sabbath made their triumphant return at a hometown show in Birmingham, England. The show would also serve as a warmup gig for their upcoming headlining slot at Download festival. Iommi, who has been undergoing t... |
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In pictures: Tony Iommi's Black Sabbath Laney touring rig (5/18/2012) Tomorrow (19 May), guitarist Tony Iommi joins bassist Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne and a yet-to-be-announced "substitute drummer" for Black Sabbath's first live performance since 2005 at the O2 Academy Birmingham. And it's in the band's hometown... |
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Tony Iommi and Ian Gillan to Release Full Album Together (5/7/2012) As we reported last fall, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan got together to form WhoCares, releasing two songs for a good cause -- to raise funds to rebuild a music school in Armenia. Based on the success of... |
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Poll: The Greatest Guitarist of All Time, Round 1 — Tony Iommi Vs. Leslie West (5/2/2012) Welcome to our first-ever Greatest Guitarist poll, where 128 guitarists go head to head, round by round, in a bracketed format, all to crown your choice for the Greatest Guitarist of All Time. We filled 124 of 128 slots with the names of a host ... |
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