10 Greatest Rhythm Guitarists In Rock History
5. Stone Gossard - Pearl Jam
As grunge rock started to become a much more prominent force in music, we were starting to leave a lot of the traditional guitar flashiness behind. In the midst of the Kurt Cobains and the Jerry Cantrells of the world, there was no reason to think that the next Eddie Van Halen was going to come to prominence or anything. While Mike McCready may have been the lone guitar hero in Seattle, Stone Gossard found his path forward with some of the strangest riffs known to man.
In the early days of Pearl Jam's career, it really was Stone's band, with him penning most of the riffs and being the driving force behind most of the songs. Along with trying out different tunings from time to time, Stone always had a knack for making something that sounded gigantic. The minute you listen to the first lick of Even Flow or Alive, these sound like songs that are meant to be played in a stadium for millions of adoring fans.
As the years have gone on though, his attention to the rhythmic side of the band hasn't faltered, going so far as to switch roles with Jeff Ament and play bass from time to time while also turning in some more unorthodox songs like Let The Records Play. Whereas some grunge bands tend to stay in their lane and not venture too far away from it, Stone seems just as curious about where to take his guitar playing as he did back in the '90s.