10 Best Rhythm Guitarists You Need To Know
8. Stone Gossard
Pearl Jam had some of the greatest guitar moments of the 90's. With the solos in "Alive" and "Yellow Ledbetter," guitarist Mike McCready's blues-inspired guitar techniques put the band one notch above their grunge peers. So, why dos no one talk about Stone Gossard?
Across Pearl Jam's long career, Stone was the rhythm guitarist who initially brought the band together after his first band Mother Love Bone fell apart. When the band was starting out, Stone wrote most of the riffs for future classics like "Black," "Daughter," and "Alive."
Stone's style of playing is rhythm guitar with a capital RHYTHM, with riffs that have a bouncy structure that you can't help but groove to. While many people tend to hear traces of Led Zeppelin and the Who, there is a unique funk aspect to Stone's playing that owes a lot to early alternative bands like Jane's Addiction. This eclectic mix gave the band the ability to run the gamut of rock genres, from punk to funk to classic rock.
It's impossible to ignore the guitar chops that Mike McCready possesses, but give a listen to Stone's riffs next time you hear a Pearl Jam classic and see just how infectious his guitar can be.