10 Best Hard Rock Guitarists Of All Time
2. Eddie Van Halen - Van Halen
The '70s rock scene was in dire need of a shakeup by the end of the decade. While bands like Aerosmith and KISS set everything off on the right track at the beginning of the decade, most of the heavy hitters were starting to burn out fast, with some of the most lackluster material of their career. Though our old rock heroes couldn't cut the mustard anymore, the entire concept of guitar was reshaped by a little kid out of California.
Once you threw on the first Van Halen record for the first time, Eddie Van Halen became the biggest sensation that the rock world had ever seen. Aside from the lightning fast tremolo licks he would sprinkle into his solos, everyone needed to know how the hell he made so many notes come out of his guitar.
Being the first to pioneer the tapping technique on guitar, Eddie's definitive style made it sound like he had 4 different hands playing his six-string at once.
Even though Eddie could have easily retired after a couple of years with VH, his constant need to innovate led to him making some of the greatest effects known to man, from the meaty tone across the Fair Warning record to the invention of the 5150 amplifier later down the line. Rock may have been thriving in the late '70s, but if it weren't for Eddie's musical mind, the entire rock genre would be in a very different place.