10 Best Classic Rock Guitarists Of The '80s

It’s every guitarists’ dream to find their own sound on the guitar. For as many influences as you take in on your musical journey, it’s better to be able to stand as your own musical entity rather than imitations of your heroes. It’s a very difficult thing to do, but Thurston Moore’s approach has enough originality for five different guitarists.

Right as the punk revolution was giving way to post punk and new wave, Sonic Youth took all of the great lessons taught by their punk brethren and applied them to make sonic masterpieces. Instead of adopting the minimalist approach to songwriting, Moore incorporated more avant garde sounds into his playing style, as he explored the realms of feedback and distortion.

Moore’s talents weren’t just in his effects though, as he used various abnormal tunings to give each song a pure sonic haze that predicted the alternative movement of the next decade.

Plenty of guitarists have tried delving down the musical rabbit hole, but only Thurston Moore could make up a completely out of tune experiment and turn it into something beautiful like “Teen Age Riot.” Things got even more exciting when he linked up with Lee Ranaldo, with guitar duels that sounded like two buzzsaws locked in a duel. With Sonic Youth gaining traction, the alternative boom was on its way.