10 Greatest Rhythm Guitarists In Rock History

As soon as Guns N Roses hit the scene in the late '80s, Slash practically had everything you wanted in a lead guitar player. Even without saying a word, his signature look with the top hat and his ability to run through some of the most incredible leads known to man blew all of the poser rock stars off the map. Guns N Roses is still a song-driven band though, and Izzy Stradlin was a good reason why that magic was able to last.

Compared to Slash, Izzy seemed to be an even quieter presence in the world of GNR, usually just keeping to himself in the background and bringing in the song ideas already completed, like the amazing acoustic ballad Patience. Izzy was always more of a songwriter though, and he seemed to stretch out a lot more as the band played on, going so far as to sing duets with Axl Rose on the Use Your Illusion albums like on Dust and Bones.

When you're the quiet one though, it's easy to get stepped on, and Izzy seemed to have had enough of the band when Axl started to become a dictator on tour, getting clean and leaving the rock and roll circus for good midway through the tour. While he remains one of the most anonymous members of one of biggest bands of the '80s, anyone in the original Guns lineup will tell you how important he was to filling out the sound.