10 Greatest Guitarists From The '80s - The Guys Who Rewrote The Book

Randy Rhoads died in an air accident in 1982, at just 25 years old. He was already being hailed as a legend; who knows what he might have gone on to do? Rhoads only recorded two studio albums with Ozzy Osbourne, but they were enough to cement his place in the pantheon of the guitar gods. Randy had already made a name for himself in LA metal band Quiet Riot, although their success was mainly confined to California at that time, years before they broke through in the hair metal age.

Randy's solos have been dissected and poured over by shred heads for decades, desperate to try to reproduce his unique mojo. Rhoads had taught guitar at his mother's music store. A guitar teacher of that calibre could either inspire or scare a pupil to death!

There are so many special moments in his playing. For most the go-to is Crazy Train, but the Oz studio albums and the posthumously released live album, Tribute, contain enough ideas for most of to spend the rest of the decade trying to master. Gone too soon is an over-used term, but rarely more apt than when used to describe Randy.