10 Greatest Hard Rock Guitarists Of The '90s

Rage Against the Machine were one of the saving graces for the hard rock world in the '90s. For most fans who couldn't get behind the more angsty stylings of grunge, these guys were bringing stadium-sized riffs that were matched only by their anarchic fury. Though Zack de la Rocha was spitting some of the most visceral lyrics of the day, Tom Morello's guitar spoke to another side of your musical mind.

The first thing that normally hooks you in with Rage is the guitar riff, but things get a lot more expansive as the song goes along. With the entire electronic spectrum at his disposal, Morello was a true innovator who used his amplifier and effects to generate weird sounds that no one had ever heard before. Each passing song would have a different sound effect that sounded like nothing else, like the way he practically uses DJ scratches for an entire solo on "Bulls on Parade."

At the same time, songs like "Take the Power Back" would also offer up amazing lead lines that could go toe-to-toe with a legitimate shredder on any day of the week. It's always best to find your identity on your instrument, andMorello truly has his own unique writing style down to a tee.