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50 Greatest Guitar Albums

guitarworld.com — Guitar World ranks the 50 greatest guitar albums in rock and roll history.

Who dugg this? Made popular Feb 20, 2009

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  • YoWhatDaFuxUp, on 02/20/2009, -2/+3150) The Doors, 1967 (The Doors)
    49) Ashes of the Wake, 2004 (Lamb of God)
    48) Boston, 1976 (Boston)
    47) A Night at the Opera, 1975 (Queen)
    46) Metallica, 1991 (Metallica)
    45) Badmotorfinger, 1991 (Soundgarden)
    44) Hate Crew Deathroll, 2003 (Children of Bodom)
    43) Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd, 1973 (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
    42) Follow the Leader, 1998 (Korn)
    41) Highway 61 Revisited, 1965 (Bob Dylan)
    40) Electric Ladyland, 1968 (Jimi Hendrix)
    39) Disraeli Gears, 1967 (Cream)
    38) Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, 1995 (The Smashing Pumpkins)
    37) Elephant, 2003 (The White Stripes)
    36) Vulgar Display of Power, 1992 (Pantera)
    35) 1984, 1983 (Van Halen)
    34) The Joshua Tree, 1987 (U2)
    33) Toxicity, 2001 (System of a Down)
    32) Mafia, 2005 (Black Label Society)
    31) Passion and Warfare, 1990 (Steve Vai)
    30) British Steel, 1980 (Judas Priest)
    29) Reign In Blood, 1986 (Slayer)
    28) OK Computer, 1997 (Radiohead)
    27) Moving Pictures, 1981 (Rush)
    26) Alive!, 1975 (Kiss)
    25) Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?, 1986 (Megadeth)
    24) Rising Force, 1984 (Yngwie J. Malmsteen)
    23) Who's Next, 1971 (The Who)
    22) Wish You Were Here, 1975 (Pink Floyd)
    21) Rage Against the Machine, 1992 (Rage Against the Machine)
    20) Surfing with the Alien, 1987 (Joe Satriani)
    19) Exile on Main St., 1972 (The Rolling Stones)
    18) Blood Sugar Sex Magik, 1991 (The Red Hot Chili Peppers)
    17) The Number of the Beast, 1982 (Iron Maiden)
    16) The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, 2002 (Stevie Ray Vaughan)
    15) Ten, 1991 (Pearl Jam)
    14) Aenima, 1996 (Tool)
    13) Blizzard of Ozz, 1980 (Ozzy Osbourne)
    12) ...And Justice For All, 1988 (Metallica)
    11) Cowboys From Hell, 1990 (Pantera)
    10) Revolver, 1966 (The Beatles)
    9) Physical Graffiti, 1975 (Led Zeppelin)
    8) Nevermind, 1991 (Nirvana)
    7) Van Halen, 1978 (Van Halen)
    6) Paranoid, 1970 (Black Sabbath)
    5) Dark Side of the Moon, 1973 (Pink Floyd)
    4) Master Of Puppets, 1986 (Metallica)
    3) Are You Experienced, 1967 (Jimi Hendrix)
    2) Appetite For Destruction, 1987 (Guns N' Roses)
    1) Led Zeppelin IV, 1971 (Led Zeppelin)
  • dtstuff9, on 02/20/2009, -6/+31Good to see Tool up there with some greats.
  • sjbdallas, on 02/20/2009, -2/+25Great list but I do have 2 issues with it.
    First, a "best of" album shouldn't be on a list like this. The should commit to one of SRVs albums (texas flood is my vote). I'll let them get away with a live album like they did with Kiss (or could have done with Exit Stage Left instead of Moving Pictures) because it's a unique performance but otherwise, they should commit to a single album.
    Second, the White Stripes? What am I missing with this band, they seem SO overrated.
  • mattluiz, on 08/28/2009, -1/+16There's the sloppy Malmsteen but no Eric Johnson? Buried.
  • ZeroVector, on 02/20/2009, -0/+15Yet again I failed to make the list.
  • SeligErasmus, on 02/20/2009, -3/+17"He had a touch most guitarists would kill for." - Chuck Berry

    Shredding mixolydian scales is great and all, but there's really more to guitar than that. It's always very peculiar to me the way some guitarists take this very snobbish mentality towards bands like Nirvana - particularly with Kurt's guitar skill. Sometimes, the creativity and beauty is in the simplicity of a melody - and whether you or any other guitarist disagree, Cobain's body of work has been lauded by his peers, praised by critics and embraced by the generation that followed.

    What I think most of these critical guitarists mean to say is "I don't connect with his music", which is perfectly valid. But to cover this lack of touch with hackneyed defenses citing Cobain's lack of complexity in his playing is akin to dismissing modern or impressionist art because it lacks the breadth of detail typically found in, say, Renaissance art.

    Kurt Cobain had a knack for knowing how to channel raw emotion into his instrument with amazing fidelity - that was his skill, and it's not a skill you can learn by way of finger exercises. All the notes and speed in the world don't mean ***** if you can't arrange them in a way that genuinely connects with the human emotion (and yes, I'm looking right at you Yngwie)
  • serif69, on 02/20/2009, -5/+15I ***** knew it. A Guitar World list that puts Nirvana in the top ten. Pisses me off every time, even though I know it's coming.

    Say what you will about Nirvana's influence and songwriting; Kurt Cobain was not a good guitarist; Nevermind is not a good guitar album.
  • david4041, on 02/20/2009, -1/+10No "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs"?
    Fail.
  • jbob2000, on 02/20/2009, -1/+10Top 10 was expected, minus Nirvana. As much as I respect them as musicians, their guitar is nothing special.
  • DubYaSee, on 02/20/2009, -1/+8Greatest guitar albums with out Chet Atkins, the Ventures, or Mark Knopfler?
  • Conguent, on 02/20/2009, -1/+8I stopped reading when I saw Korn.
  • lowtolerance, on 02/20/2009, -0/+7It'd be nice to see one of the guitar lists that take into account that there are other genres besides rock. Rock obviously dominates the guitar, but there are some phenomenal guitarists and guitar albums in bluegrass, jazz, classical, and as much as i hate it, country. Not a single acoustic guitar player on the list.
  • inactive, on 02/20/2009, -1/+8You have to realize that when Nevermind came out, Michael Jackson was at the top of the charts. It was a pop musical wasteland and they ***** blew doors off all that and suddenly everything else that was on the radio sounded lame. They paved the way for a resurgence of guitar-orientated rock to dominate the airwaves once again.

    That's why Nevermind gets on the list, not because Kurt was some kind of shredder. Honestly, I was stoked they didn't pull a guitar snob and keep that album off the list.
  • MaddGIJoe, on 02/20/2009, -3/+10Glad to see some SOAD making the list
  • Mankind121, on 02/20/2009, -5/+11Good to see Master of Puppets getting some much deserved credit.
  • UglieJosh, on 02/20/2009, -0/+6Kurt was absolute proof that creativity and emotion triumph over technical skill any day of the week. His riffs weren't complicated but they sounded nothing like anything else that had ever been done before.

    He was a "musical theorist's" worst nightmare.

    EDIT: Also, his songs translated very well to the acoustic guitar without needing changing. Most bands had to practically re-write their songs when it came time for an unplugged CD. I'm not sure many people will understand the point I'm driving at here but, if you do, you are awesome in my book.
  • VinnieDaMac, on 02/20/2009, -3/+9Generals gathered in their masses
  • gnews, on 02/20/2009, -2/+8Cliff Burton, Slash & Duff Albums made it to the top 10... DUGG!
  • inactive, on 02/20/2009, -0/+6"Obviously Jack White can play circles around Hendrix"

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • masterkenobi, on 02/20/2009, -0/+6Wow, they didn't include ________ on this list? Buried.
  • Tevas, on 02/20/2009, -0/+5Dugg for Iron Maiden.
  • jbob2000, on 02/20/2009, -2/+7Just like witches at black masses
  • inactive, on 02/20/2009, -0/+5What could that POSSIBLY mean?? It's one of the most heralded, successful albums of all time.
  • habbofresh, on 02/20/2009, -2/+6Holy crap I expected the self-titled Boston album to rank *much* higher than 48/50
  • OwlFlavored, on 02/20/2009, -1/+5I disagree. You don't have to a technically proficient musician to be a good one, and Kurt knew how to play his guitar with attitude like few others. Jimi Hendrix is a good example of this: he could never keep up with precise speed players like Petrucci, but you don't see Dream Theater on a "top guitar albums" list.

    A good guitarist is one people want to listen to.
  • kelpee, on 02/20/2009, -2/+6Evil minds that plot destruction
  • serif69, on 02/21/2009, -1/+5Your points are valid, but I disagree, excluding your straw man argument. Cobain's lack of skill was extremely limiting to the channeling of his emotion. His singing showcased that emotion brilliantly, but I find his playing simplistic, not beautiful in its simplicity. As an all-around musician and songwriter, he was brilliant, but this is a list of guitar albums, of which Nevermind is not.

    Now, to the point of the straw man. I agree that mixolydian scales and speed do not a good guitar player make. I'll always take someone like Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughan, who combined the technical skill with the pouring of emotion into every note, over someone like Van Halen or Yngwie, whose styles I find amateurish in a "hey look what I can do" kind of way. To tie this in to my argument about Cobain, he was like a Vaughan or Hendrix, but without any of the technical prowess, and that took away from his ability to translate what he was feeling into notes on the guitar. To put it another way, he poured everything into it, but not everything came out.
  • fartingbob, on 02/21/2009, -0/+4One thing that shocked me: No AC/DC??? Come on! Back in Black has to be at least top 5. Every song on that album has a memorable riff.
  • DubYaSee, on 02/20/2009, -0/+3Wrong way Malmsteen.
  • Calcularius, on 02/20/2009, -0/+3Lack of anything Zappa makes this list crap.
  • edstate, on 02/20/2009, -0/+3My favorite, by far
  • bossm4n, on 02/20/2009, -0/+3Kiss makes the list but not ZZ Top. Billy Gibbons is one of the greatest blues/rock guitarists in history. Tres Hombres stomps the crap musically out of anything that ever had the name Kiss associated with it. Fandango or Degüello could just as easily have made the list. And I know it's already been said, but leaving Knopfler and Eric Johnson off is also a major oversite.
  • DaPirateKing, on 02/20/2009, -1/+4Layla. ***** this list; not bad but not good.
  • tzmguitarist, on 02/20/2009, -2/+5You've got to be kidding that the White Stripes ranks higher than Smashing Pumpkins - or anybody else for that matter. Who makes these lists?!!!!!
  • formerteenager, on 02/20/2009, -0/+3Couldn't agree more! I will say however that a "Greatest Guitar Albums" list without Dire Straits makes me angry. Making Movies is amazing! Well...except for the song "Les Boys" - that song sucks.
  • inactive, on 02/20/2009, -0/+3Rock and roll pretty much leaves Chet out of the running, but as far as the Ventures and Knopfler go, consider the head-banging source.
  • praisethelard, on 02/21/2009, -0/+2Or if he moves, will he fall?
  • Harbinger67, on 02/20/2009, -0/+2Bout time someone mentioned Knopfler...
  • JBravada, on 02/20/2009, -0/+2Steve Vai should be at the top of this list-- it said guitar albums, not classic rock albums
  • LordBathos, on 02/20/2009, -1/+3I wish I could bury it twice for no Band of Gypsys.

  • KingSkeletor, on 02/20/2009, -0/+2I think they forgot to include the "guitar factor into most of these choices....
  • adam2112, on 02/20/2009, -2/+4I expected more from Guitar World. Holy #$^$, Nirvana? wtf does Nirvana have to do with playing guitar?
  • Rozenrot, on 02/20/2009, -5/+7List is invalid because My Bloody Valentine's 'Loveless' album is not on there. Shame on them.
  • inactive, on 02/21/2009, -1/+3No way, with Rush I say go before Moving Pictures, go back to the concept albums - Hemispheres, 2112, that ***** was cutting edge, that was where Alex Lifeson really took his playing to some uncharted territory.
  • inactive, on 02/20/2009, -0/+2No Marquee Moon?? And WAY too much metal (50%+), but I guess that's to be expected from GuitarWorld. . . what a crap list.
  • damienv5, on 02/20/2009, -0/+2Greatest guitar albums? not imho, but still a nice list of really good albums that everyone should at least hear once.
  • cheezedaze, on 02/20/2009, -1/+3Amen.

    Nirvana ranking higher than Pantera on ANY list is a crying shame, especially a guitar one. I enjoy Nirvana's music, don't get me wrong, but I blame them for the dumbing down of modern guitar music. Their riffs were easy to learn and easier for the average shmuck who picks up a guitar to create. I don't know who comes up with these lists, but I don't see much logic in Nirvana being ranked that high.
  • gttim, on 02/21/2009, -0/+2Nah! Get a copy of GUP and put on the headphones. He blistered that album because he was tired of the synths.
  • xzeromark, on 02/20/2009, -0/+2Of course they miss anything by John Petrucci and Paul Gilbert... what a shame
  • gttim, on 02/20/2009, -0/+2***** Thing Sucks! Moving Pictures for Rush? Should have been Grace Under Pressure. Plus, no ***** Robin Trower? Either Bridge of Sighs or Robin Trower Live album have to be included.
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