10 Greatest Female Hard Rock Guitarists

Rock music tends to get called a boy's club more often than not. Whereas there's no explicit gender norm for any genre of music, it's almost expected that most of the big stars of the hard rock genre have remained male. However, there have been plenty of incredible female artists over the years willing to rock out just as much as their male counterparts.

As opposed to asserting themselves on their own territory, these artists have made some of the most hard-hitting music ever made. Instead of the novelty that people associate with women in rock and roll, these musicians' work behind a six-string will put most rock and rollers to shame. Whether it's playing while singing, fleshing out songs, or just shredding leads like nobody else, these guitarists have proven themselves as something much more than your average player.

Many of them have garnered the accolades of playing with legends of other genres, from pop to shock rock to thrash metal, while also working behind the scenes to get other artists off the ground. Enough with the machismo...it's time that these guitarists have their just due as some of the greatest presences in rock and roll.

After the prog wave died an abrupt death, it was a dog eat dog world in the era of punk. At any given moment, you knew whatever was coming down the pipelines had to be fast, loose, and actually have meaning behind it if it wanted to grab ahold of the cultural zeitgeist. Just when you thought that the new wave was turning a corner, Chrissie Hynde emerged to show that rock could still have a dark side when it wanted to.

Originally known as a writer on the rock scene, Hynde proved her road stripes when she burst onto the scene with the Pretenders debut record. Hynde had a lot of muscle in her delivery, standing right alongside the great rock frontmen of old like Joey Ramone or Johnny Rotten. While something like Brass in Pocket may have graced the charts, you believed every single word she said.

Even though she ended up losing half of her band due to drug problems, Hynde has turned into one of the most seasoned pros of the rock genre, as she has developed one of the most unique voices in rock and roll. It might be a little too left of center for some to enjoy music, and yet Hynde seems to have picked up right where Elvis Costello left off in terms of raw impassioned songwriting in the rock mold. Instead of using it as just a prop onstage, Chrissie Hynde wields a guitar like a musical warrior, just like all the fierce rockers that came before her.