10 Best Instrumental Rock Music Albums Of All Time

You can't talk about instrumental rock albums without putting Richard Anthony Monsour, aka Dick Dale, front and centre. Born in 1937, Dale was inarguably the pioneer of surf music, combining Middle Eastern scales with reverb experimentation and high-speed (and astonishingly fluid) tremolo picking.

He remains one of the most influential guitarists in popular music history, with everyone from Hendrix and Townshend to Brian May acknowledging a debt. Dale also had a hand in pushing forward the technology behind the sound, working alongside Leo Fender (of Fender guitars) to develop ground-breaking amplification systems.

Here, we present the guitarist's 1993 studio album, Tribal Thunder. By this point, the surf king was into his 50s, with nothing left to prove. Not many could have been prepared for the sheer majesty of this set, which contains twelve tracks (ten originals) of astonishing power.

This set comes across like the work of a young maverick, bursting with ideas and burning with fiery energy. Dale sounds as innovative and mercurial as he ever had - a breathtaking achievement. Hear also his 1994 follow-up, Unknown Territory. We might be cheating slightly, as Tribal Thunder does contain small snippets of vocals, in one or two places, but, spiritually, this is instrumental rock all the way.