10 Best Hard Rock Guitarists Of All Time
9. Randy Rhoads - Ozzy Osbourne
Metal has had a bad reputation as the more primitive style of rock and roll. As opposed to the sharp minds of something like prog rock or jazz fusion, the artists behind the metal genre tend to get ostracized for the loud tempos and being too fast for their own good. Then again, not to many rock connoisseurs can bring themselves to say that they don't like Randy Rhoads.
Coming to prominence on the Sunset Strip scene, Rhoads really came into his own once he was taken in by Ozzy Osbourne. All of a sudden, this mild mannered little kid from Sunny California was pumping out some of the greatest classical style runs that the metal world had ever seen.
This wasn't lost on the Prince of Darkness either, with Ozzy singling Rhoads out as the reason why he didn't fade into obscurity after leaving Black Sabbath.
No matter which record you find him on, Randy Rhoads' solos always feel like events unto themselves, whether it's the acoustic romp of Dee, the jazz inflections of Diary of a Madman, or the massive arepeggios on Mr. Crowley. Ozzy might have enough to stage charisma to lead a band, but Rhoads may be the one guitarist who outshone the Madman at his own show.