10 Biggest Geniuses In Rock And Roll

10. Steve Vai

When talking about the greatest musicians in rock and roll, 9 times out of 10 it comes down to the guitar. From the blues legends of old to the speed metal masters, it takes a certain amount of determination to reach the Yngwie Malmsteen levels of guitar shredding. To shred is only one facet though...it's what you do with it once you have the chops down.

As opposed to just being able to play a million notes per second, Steve Vai is one of the few virtuosos able to put some real emotion into what he's doing. Being trained under the warped mind of Frank Zappa, Vai's intense knowledge of music theory has helped him reach new limits for the electric guitar that no one had ever thought of before. Even though his contemporaries like Joe Satriani also have their own type of chops, Vai seems just as interested in seeing what the electric guitar can do rather than put together a symphony of noise every time he picks it up.

Whenever you throw on one of Vai's songs, you're going to get a strong helping of mind-melting licks, off-the-wall kookiness, and some of the most daring musical pieces that the rock world has to offer. In the grand scheme of things, the guitar is still a relatively new instrument, and Vai is one of the few that's still interested to see what he can do with it.