10 Rock Guitarists That Are Impossible To Imitate

When discussing the greatest artists of the '80s, Prince is probably the only musician of his contemporaries who could be considered a genius. Though Michael Jackson might be a close second in terms of popularity in the worlds of R&B and pop, the Purple One managed to mix every genre that made him tick into one glorious ball of noise, creating songs that were as indebted to Hendrix as they were to Curtis Mayfield. Aside from playing all the instruments himself though, the guitar was always Prince's secret weapon.

Along with his technical prowess on piano, drums, and nearly every other instrument he touched, Prince's sense of swagger was indicative every time he strapped on his six string, going through bluesy runs just as well as could going through the traditional melodic guitar playing. Owing a little bit to the music of Carlos Santana, Prince's touch on the instrument almost felt like he was in a constant battle with his guitar, doing everything he could to wrangle more notes out of it.

Even when hopping on other musicians' material, Prince always added his signature stamp to the music, like when he annihilated While My Guitar Gently Weeps at the Concert for George. For as tragic as his passing was in 2016, we didn't lose Prince. The afterlife just gained another genius from the land of the living.