10 Best Classic Rock Guitarists
4. Jimmy Page
As rock music came into its own in the 1960's, the types of guitar playing of the British Invasion still seemed incredibly stiff. While many legends of the genre moved away from straightforward solo work, Jimmy Page took the guitar and gave it the swagger that it needed.
After departing from the blues outfit the Yardbirds, Page formed Led Zeppelin and proceeded to transcend the rock genre. From one track to the next, Page's use of single note runs almost single-handedly invented the guitar riff as it stands today. There had been riffs before Zeppelin, but Page made the guitar riff the basis for rock songwriting.
Page's solo work on Zeppelin records were also grand events, ranging from sweaty blues jams to monumental epics. Whenever Zeppelin were at their most rocking, Page's guitar tone had the perfect combination of being slightly off-kilter but at the same time incredibly precise. It was almost as if you were witnessing a man learning to talk through his instrument as he would toss and turn the riffs in his fingers to form juggernauts of rock and roll. With his solos becoming classics, Jimmy Page's guitar playing has helped earned him the title of a true rock and roll sorcerer.