Top 10 All-Time Guitarists

This is my wife's guitar. Shiny. 

In a world of guitarists, who comes in first?

10. Joni Mitchell

Consistently on Top 100 lists, Mitchell's open tunings revolutionized guitar accompaniment technique. She has created over 50 different tunings, which have led to 8 Grammy awards and a Lifetime Achievement award. (This song might not be the best way to show her virtuosic talent, but it's my favorite, so deal with it.)

9. Bibi McGill

The guitarist for Beyonce, McGill is both a rocking guitarist and an entrepreneur. And before you get all high and mighty with your "Ew pop music doesn't have any good guitar solos," you can check that at the door and listen to McGill shred. 

8. Orianthi Panagari 

Best known for being the lead guitarist in Alice Cooper's live band, and for being chosen as lead for Michael Jackson's 'This is It' tour before his untimely death, Orianthi is legendary. I mean, come on - just listen to her cover of "Voodoo Child" (it starts at 0:55). 

7. Prince 

For someone who usually plays a lower-end guitar, he is truly amazing, and you know it. "Purple Rain" is a jam that you can't help but love. Just listen to this solo: (solo starts 1:50). 

6. Tracy Chapman

Are there words for how much I love Tracy Chapman? How about: she's a 4-time Grammy award winner? Or: she's a social activist who uses her talent for the greater good? Or perhaps: just listen to "Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution" and let the genius of the guitar and lyrics sink in.

5. Kaki King

Proof that guitarists with jazz influence can be some of the best. King's intuitive and smooth playing is medicine for the soul, and her technique is something beautiful to behold.

4. Bonnie Raitt

Raitt's bluesy guitar playing and gritty voice are why she has won no less than 10 Grammy awards. She plays a guitar that she says, "It's kind of a hybrid that I got for $120 at 3 o'clock in the morning in 1969." She's used it for every gig since.

3. Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Called the Godmother of rock and roll, Tharp's wicked guitar skills resonated with many churches as she sought to bring "light" into the "darkness of nightclubs." What a pioneer - this song was chosen for inclusion in the Library of Congress in 2004.

2. Gabriela Quintero

Having mastered the art of flamenco guitar, she makes up one half of the hugely popular Rodrigo y Gabriela. Everyone knows that she plays the harder part- I mean, just look at that technique.

1. Emily Remler

An absolute beast of jazz guitar who was taken before her time, you can still find Remler's jazz guitar lessons on Youtube. Her technique and knowledge of music theory is absolutely astounding.

***If you got through this list and thought, "WHAT? No Jimi Hendrix? No Kirk Hammett? Joe Satriani? Steve Vai? What is WRONG with you, Musically Notable?" then you need to think about how many of these women never make it onto top 100 or top 50 guitarist lists, and instead we only ever get Joni Mitchell somewhere in the bottom third of musicians listed, as a token, rather than being celebrated for her ingenuity and talent. We get Bonnie Raitt if we're lucky, but many of these immensely talented women will never see a top 50 list that isn't prefaced by "female." Why do you think that is?