10 Most Underrated Guitarists In Hard Rock

To garner a hard rock pedigree, it normally comes down to how gifted you are behind the fretboard. Though you can get a fair amount of attention as the frontman, the real respect comes when someone can pull off fast riffs and amazing solo work. If that's all you need, these guitarists deserve far more than what they have.

Over the years, many different guitarists have stepped up to the plate with killer hooks and an amazing gift for melody, but for one reason or another the spotlight always strayed away from them.

As opposed to the more popular kids making waves on the scene, these guitarists were hidden in the shadows, waiting to be discovered by newcomers. In fact, some of these guitarists can play circles around their contemporaries, but are never able to capitalize on their massive potential.

So why are they not more celebrated? Sometimes it just comes down to being at the wrong place at the wrong time, but if there's any musicians who deserve to be given a fair shake, it's definitely these guys. They might not be the next Van Halen, but these guitarists have a lot of impressive moments that merit spots among the legends of the six string.

Thin Lizzy seems to get undermined in the grand scheme of rock bands. Since their first few mainstream releases, songwriter Phil Lynott had already hit upon a unique blend of hard rock brashness and poetic storytelling that was sorely lacking in the music sphere at the time. While many have sang the praises of Lynott's legacy, the more important part comes in when you see the actual guitar talent at work.

Though the band initially started off with just one guitarist, it didn't really congeal until Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham entered the fold. At this point, we had seen tons of rock bands employ two guitar players, but this was one of the first of its kind to work as a guitar team in tandem with one another. While other guitar duos would be separated by lead and rhythm or just trade solos back and forth, Lizzy's guitar work always had harmonies playing off each other, which gave every song an added layer of sound.

Some casual rock fans might not know the impact Lizzy's guitar team had on the genre, but bands as diverse as Metallica and Pearl Jam have cited these two guitarists as a primary influence. You can't really rewrite history to put Gorham and Robertson on a pedestal, but just take a listen to something like Jailbreak to see what you've been missing.