Eddie Van Halen was named the greatest guitarist of all time by a poll taken by Guitar World magazine.

Eddie Van Halen who formed Van Halen in 1972 with Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth, and Michael Anthony, made it clear on the first record that he was different and we were in for something special. With the guitar solo called "Eruption" and other songs like "Atomic Punk", "I'm The One", or "Running With The Devil", the band solidified itself immediately. David Lee Roth was the perfect frontman to bring them to the forefront with a solid group of musicians and unique back round vocals behind him. As each album came out it only added to what people knew, Edward Van Halen is the best guitarist of all time.

In the poll, he beat guitarists Brian May and Jimi Hendrix. Brian May, guitarist for Queen and coming off a very big year with the movie about Queen came second. The way the contest was run, it was decided by pitting musicians against each other in a round by round competition. Kind of like March Madness brackets.  Rush’s Alex Lifeson coming third and Jimi Hendrix took fourth place.

 

The Top 10 greatest guitarists of all time, according to the readers of Guitar World magazine, are as follows:

1. Eddie Van Halen
2. Brian May
3. Alex Lifeson
4. Jimi Hendrix
5. Joe Satriani
6. Jimmy Page
7. Tony Iommi
8. Steve Ray Vaughan
9. Dimebag Darrell Abbott
10. Steve Vai

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