10 Most Underrated Guitarists In Hard Rock

Motley Crue marked the moment where the Sunset Strip started to get really glammified. Van Halen may have been a nice start to the hair metal movement, but the sounds of Nikki Sixx's songs with Vince Neil's voice brought the rock and roll of the '70s back down to street level. Though there was a lot of ridiculous outfits to go around, the band really had a secret weapon in Mick Mars.

As opposed to dabbling in the stylings of Mick Ronson or Van Halen, Mars was the resident blues cat in the world of '80s hard rock. While bands like Poison or Warrant were just trying to make due with a handful of complex scale exercises, Mars knew exactly when to ebb and flow, which often felt like what Eric Clapton would sound like if he grew up listening to a lot of The Sex Pistols.

Sure, the blues style of Mars isn't necessarily going to be on the level of a guy like BB King, but the way he uses old school tricks like a slide on "Smokin in the Boys Room" or the swing feel on "Dr Feelgood" was something that was unheard of on the hair metal scene. Mick Mars may be the only guitar player in Motley Crue, but he has more blues mojo in one hand than most hair metal acts can muster.