10 Greatest Hard Rock Guitarists Of The '80s

When talking about the LA rock scene in the ‘80s, most of the music was just a bunch of hangers on trying to cash in on the glam rock bandwagon. For as many great players that were in town, there weren’t that many people who could go beyond fast scale exercises. On the other hand, Randy Rhoads felt like a musical alien who was almost destined for legendary status from the moment you heard him.

Initially forming the glam rock outfit Quiet Riot, Rhoads got the opportunity to audition for the coveted guitarist position of ex-Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne. To say he passed the audition was an understatement, with Rhoads becoming the primary concert draw alongside Ozzy himself. Rather than just play songs that were Sabbath-esque, Randy’s background in classical composition guided him towards less conventional song structures than the metal world was used to.

While songs like “Mr. Crowley” or “Diary of a Madman” sound like familiar metal tunes, Rhoads is all over the map, going from jazzy experimental material to lightning-fast leads that sound like they could have been written by Mozart. Rhoads’ time in the spotlight was short though, as he died in a plane crash shortly after cutting Ozzy’s second record. Though he may not have had that much time at the top, countless generations of guitarists are still peeling back the layers of what Randy could do.