Top “lone” guitarists

Ok, so I figured out how I want to go at listing my top guitarists. I have 3 lists. Top Guitarist-Frontmen (they sing lead and play), Top Guitar Duos (neither sing) and Top Solo Guitarists (the only melody maker and doesn’t really sing). So, 7/17/08 was Frontmen, 7/18/08 was Duos, and 7/19/08 will be alone-s. And, maybe I will do a ”best of” compilation after that…I don’t know yet. So for today enjoy my top 10 lone guitarists. Oh, honorable mention goes to System of a Down’s Daron Malakian. I love him as a guitarist, but because he keeps insisting on singing, he loses my favoritism.  

10. Stephen Carpenter (Deftones) - Deftones are another of my favorite bands from high school. Carpenter has some pretty badass riffs. [favorite work - My Own Summer]

9.  Mikko “Linde” Lindström (HIM) - He’s an underrated guitarist in this Finnish band. All the attention goes to Ville, but this dude can play. [favorite work - Wings of a Butterfly]

8. John Fruchiante (Red Hot Chili Peppers, solo) - Everyone’s favorite former junkie guitarist. Now that he’s done with heroin, he’s back with the ‘peppers. You know you’re good, if you skip classes at the Guitar Institute in Hollywood and the reps still drop your name as an alumni. [favorite work - Blood Sugar Sex Magik]

7.  Adam Jones (Tool) - The main artistic-creative force in Tool. Maynord seems like the wacko, but Jones is the one that thought up the imagery. Oh yeah, his guitar playing rules. [favorite work - Parabola]

6. Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit, Black Light Burns) - Hate Fred Durst all you want. Wes Borland kicks ass. Limp Bizkit’s sound seriously lacked when he wasn’t on their “Results May Vary”. But when he came back for one more album “The Unquestionable Truth”, he played some awesome guitar parts. His new band “Black Light Burns” isn’t too bad either. [favorite work - the Truth]

5. Greg Tribbett (Mudvayne, Hellyeah) - I’m not counting the stuff he’s done in Hellyeah, because that’s just “fun rock” with simple riffs. All the guys in Mudvayne are great musicians, and Greg is no slacker in that department either. [favorite work - Happy?]

4. Dan Donegan (Distrubed) - He uses one of the coolest guitar tones in today’s metal. His guitar playing is brutal to go with it. And from what I’ve heard of the new album, Disturbed is only getting better. [favorite work - Inside the Fire]

3. Mike Einziger (Incubus) - Incubus may have gotten softer as they’ve matured, but Mike’s guitar playing is still amazing. If I was grading just on hair, he’d probably raise a couple spots. [favorite work - Certain Shade of Green]

2. Mark Tremonti (Creed, Alter Bridge) - Hell yes I rated Tremoni this high, he’s an amazing guitar player. There’s videos of him shredding on YouTube and they are awesome. His work in both bands is great. Check out his solo in Alter Bridge’s - Open Your Eyes. [favorite work - Stand Here With Me]

1. Tom Morello (Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine, Nightwatchman) - The master of guitar effects. I remember I used to think Rage had a DJ in the band because of some of the effects he’d do. He’s not terrible on his own, doing the singing, as Nightwatchman. Audioslave is probably the best “supergroup” of recent music. [favorite work - Gasoline]