Who are some of your favorite underrated guitarists? Let us know in the comments! For more Music content, check out our playlist!: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iLNipNGKqNTSm40.html

Steve Lukather of Toto. In addition to the band, he was a prolific studio musician from the late 70s to the early 90s. Check out the two-minute solo at the end of Lionel Richie's "Running With the Night." That was take ZERO. He didn't know it was being recorded. He walked into the studio, set up, and said, "What key is the song in?" A minor. "OK, roll the tape, let me fool around and get a feel for it."" Also, after the last chorus of Toto's "Rosanna," that whole instrumental thing was completely improvised.

Steve Lukather should be on this list. He’s probably the world’s most heard guitarist, but so many don’t know who he is.

Steve Clark was my inspiration for picking up the guitar in the first place. I loved Leppard's clean riffs and solos that didn't go nuts like those of too many bands of the era.

Good to see John Sykes on here. He was the driving force behind the 87 Whitesnake album both guitar wise and song writing.

Alex lifeson, while not underrated as anyone who has heard him agrees he's a bestial player, is rather under appreciated in the guitar world. He deserves to be talked about more, his innovation and creativity, and his skill of course, are absolutely off the board

Although they're both excellent, I don't think Prince or Mark Knopfler are underrated - they're both well known as great guitarists.

No mention of: Uli Jon Roth/Micheal Schenker: ex members of the scorpions/UFO (Schenker): considered by many to be the progenitors of the play style that would be widely popularized by EVH in the late 70's/early 80s, UJR is also considered a progenitor of the neo-classical shred metal style that would be popularized by Yngwie Malmsteen in the mid 80's with his monumental post scorpions solo releases between 1979 and 1982. Steve Lukathur: Toto/Various: probably one of the small few guitarists who can perform a shred metal style solo over the melody of what is basically a jazz rock track (Rosanna) live and not have it sound hideously out of place, he did all of the guitar work on thriller (barring the EVH guest spots) along with providing guitar tracks and a solo for the don henley classic dirty laundry, he's been credited on over 100 albums over the last 40 years. Steve Morse: Dixie Dreggs/Kansas/Deep Purple: What more needs to be said about the man who saved deep purple from extinction by bringing in his own unique play style (staccato free hand picking, a unique use of harmonics blended with beautiful usage of melody) and musical sensibilities (the dreggs were basically a jazz rock band) too a band that was in desperate need of inspiration and managed to knock home run after home run out of the park with a string of killer releases from 1996's Purpendicular too 2016's Now What!?. Steve Rothery: Marillion: Just listen to the gorgeous solos he plays on tracks like Estonia, Neverland (especially the extended live version) and Incommunicado, his unique combination of punk influences along with incredible technical skills on the level of david gilmore give every solo he plays a unique personality of its own with his work on their earliest releases being some of his best. Blackie Lawless: W.A.S.P: Just listen too The Crimson Idol, that is all. Jake E Lee: Ozzy Osbourne/Badlands: He fucking wrote Bark At The Moon in 20 minutes as a part of his audition for ozzy's band and it was a number one hit, then he wrote what is probably ozzy's strongest album (The Ultimate Sin) before moving on to badlands where he wrote hit after hit (all of which are considered lost media now because of Ray Gillen being an irresponsible asshole and fucking groupies knowing that he had aids) and his latest work has been amazing too, he's the guitarist that guys like kirk hammet talk about when they talk about the best guitarists they've ever heard who aren't really known outside the industry. Bruce Kulick: How do you combine 80's style shred metal with the classic kiss sound and not have it sound completely out of place? Hire someone who understands how to blend the melodic style of the space ace with just enough of eddie van halen to sound good and fit the music like bruce kulick without running away with himself on stage and basically vomiting up notes like the guys he replaced (Vinny Vincent/Mark St John) did, and I don't care what anyone says Revenge is the best album kiss has made since ace left in 1980. Tommy Bolin: James Gang/Tommy Bolin Band/Deep Purple: eagles legend Joe Walsh had nothing but glowing praise for bolin but he got a raw deal in purple because the fans were mad that blackmore was gone, those albums he did with purple in the mid 70's were an amazing blend of hard rock jazz blues and funk and tommy's playing just worked so perfectly, I still love his style of playing the riff too smoke on the water in a completely different method than anyone else has played it while still keeping it 100% recognizable.

I would add Rik Emmett to this list for his masterful skill with All genres of guitar and Ty Tabor for his great rock stylings

John 5 is criminally underrated. He deserves more recognition for his work and talent.

Gary Richrath of REO Speedwagon. Especially, the pre-adult contemporary stuff. Songs like Golden Country, Son of a Poor man, 157 Riverside Ave, Ridin the Storm Out, Roll with the Changes, etc. Even his solo's on Keep on Lovin you and Take it on the Run are great. Steve Rothery of Marillion. He's been described as David Gilmour if he was in Genesis (prog Genesis not pop Genesis). One of the best prog guitarists ever. Rik Emmett of Triumph. Eric Johnson. Mick Mars of Motley Crue. Vito Bratto of White Lion. Steve Hackett of Genesis. Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains. Terry Kath of Chicago. Just to name a few that I would include on underrated guitarists.

Martin Barre from Jethro Tull is fantastically underrated. Nick Drake on acoustic is stellar.

Where's MIck Mars? At least he should be in honourable list. The guy basically is the sound of Motley Crue. His riffs are iconic and immensely talented.

A few honorable mentions I'd add: Gary Rossington of Lynrd Skynrd, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of The Mars Volta and At the Drive-In, Vernon Reid of Living Colour, Ry Cooder, John 5, James Martin of Faith No More, Rick Derringer, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, East Bay Ray of the Dead Kennedys, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, and J Masics of Dinosaur Jr.

Frank Zappa is highly underrated. I saw him at Nassau coliseum in 1979 or 1980 and his guitar playing was phenomenal! Also, his solo was just amazing!

Not a single Mike Oldfield nod.... shame. He may not be a rocker, punker, blues hound, or whatever, but he will always be one of the greatest guitarists, composers, and musical visionaries of the past century. His influence is legitimately undeniable. The guy was the FIRST artist on Virgin Records and literally made Richard Branson... You want to talk about Prince playing all 20 instruments on his album? Oldfield played over 40! At the age of 18! A small group of us fans will continue to keep this legend in the mind of everyone. I have been with Watchmojo for so many years, and they consistently miss this S-tier artist every time...

Terry Kath deserves more than an honorable mention. He was probably one of the best guitarists of the '70s that flew under the radar, and Chicago was never the same after his death.

Seriously? No Steve Lukather? Easily the most underrated guitarist of all time. ….Althought I’m glad that Steve Clark was included and got the love he deserves.

Chris DeGarmo formerly of Queensrÿche. Not only was he a great guitar player with a unique style and tone, he is a phenomenal backup singer, and a solid songwriter.

Whenever I see these lists, I'm always hoping to see Steve Howe's name pop up. He's had a career lasting over 50 years with bands such as Yes and Asia, not to mention his solo work. He is truly gifted with nearly every string instrument he puts his hands on. Very underrated IMO. Steve Lukather (Toto) is another guitarist I feel doesn't get enough recognition.

Allan holdsworth, Greg lake, masayoshi takanaka, Steve Hackett, I’d say these are all respected by people who know at least

I'm glad you mentioned Robert Fripp. However, you missed a King crimson alumni, Adrian Belew. His work with Bowie, Talking Heads and Frank Zappa are legendary.

I d like to add Robby Krieger of the doors and Steve Hackett of Genesis on this list.

MAN!! Was Steve Clarke a good choice!! The same way Malcom Young was important to ACDC and Scott Ian was important to Anthrax. Not that it was too bad and I still love em, but notice how Def Leppard went straight pop almost after he was gone.

Underrated - Roy Buchanan Joe Pass Bill Nelson Brian Greenway Frank Marino Adrian Vandenburg Steve Morse Robin Trower Robben Ford Tommy Bolin Buck Dharma Alvin Lee

One guy I think should’ve been considered for this list is Gary Richrath from REO Speedwagon. They made some really good songs like Time for me to fly, Take it on the run, Keep on loving you and Can’t fight this feeling. The band wouldn’t have as much success if Gary and lead singer Kevin Cronin weren’t a great duo. Even though he did leave in 1989 I think his talent with the guitar really helped REO make a name for themselves during their hay day.

Buckethead is not only a great guitarist... but live, he puts on a truly unique performance. Saw him open for Primus a long while ago.

Tommy Shaw, James “JY” Young, Martin Barre, Frank Zappa, Warren Haynes, Buck Dharma, Jeff Carlisi, and Paul Kossoff are all extremely underrated guitar players that deserve more recognition.

Finally a list that includes Lindsey Buckingham. Sadly, he is one of the most overlooked guitar players.

One I was looking to see here was Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick. Living in the Midwest U.S., I’ve been able to see a lot of Cheap Trick and Rick is a top notch entertainer, guitarist and craftsman when it comes to guitar.

It’s a shame that Jerry Cantrell, Ty Tabor, Michael Schenker, Mike Campbell and Waddy Wachtel didn’t make the list.

Prince? Underrated? Umm, are you sure about that?

In case anyone was wondering Mark Knopfler, Robert Fripp, and Billy Gibbons were also on Watchmojo's countdown of greatest male guitarists as well. How can they be both greatest of all time and underrated?

Billy Gibbons was my top choice. You know you're good when Jimi Hendrix called you his favorite. My second was Prince. You often hear his name mentioned as an over all performer, singer, or songwriter, but his guitar skills are not talked about nearly as often.

Mick Box from Uriah Heep also Andy Powell and Ted Turner from Wishbone Ash. They were one of the first two guitar lineups.

Nuno bettencourt is not only a great guitarist, but he's also a great drummer, song writer, producer, singer and if this music thing doesn't work out, he could probably make it as a comedian. He's funny as hell 🤣♥️

Where’s Mick Mars? 🎸🤷🏼‍♂️ He DEFINITELY deserves to be on list!

For me, Richard Z Kruspe and Paul Landers from Rammstein are extremely underrated.

I still miss these guitarist on this list. Steve Rothery - marillion George kooymans - Golden Earring Glen Campbell Jan Akkerman - Focus Tom Scholz - Boston

A quick list off the top of my head of under rated guitarists: Vito Bratta, Mark Kendall, Rik Emmett, Jake E. Lee (although during his prime in the mid to late 80's i don't think he was considered under rated, everyone knew who he was and he was on that list of "guitar heroes", but he quickly vanished, like Vito and I think the two are kinda forgotten. Tom Keifer, McRocklin, Jeff Healey, Tracii Guns (doesn't get the recognition he deserves), Criss Oliva, Frank Zappa, John 5 (although John is very well known within the guitar community, so is he under rated?

Martin Barre (Jethro Tull) Mark Farner (Grand Funk) Steve Rothery (Marillion) Jeff LaBar (Cinderella)

That George Harrison tribute… Prince just took off… and where did that guitar go at the end?

Michael Schenker(UFO,Scorpions founder). Criminally underrated.

Surprised to see Prince and Mark Knopfler in this list. They're too well renowned to be "underrated". I was half expecting to see Terry Kath up there as number one with some of the stuff I've seen of him (Check out a live version of Dialogue Parts One and Two).

I always wonder why Randy Bachman and Blair Thornton are never included in these lists. Both are great and very underrated.

I am *so* glad you included Neal Schon. The guy had Santana and Eric Clapton fighting over him before he was even 18. The man is so overlooked when it comes to acknowledging super talented guitarists.

Prince could do anything anyone else could do but whilst dancing in 6 inch heels in the rain. Truly the best guitarist (and much more) of all time

Trevor Rabin from YES! Rocky George from Suicidal tendencies Johnny Kelly from Type O Negative

My mom has seen Parliment & Funkadelic multiple times in the 70s and also she's had the pleasure of seeing Prince live in the 80s probably during his Purple Rain Era said it was awesome. Also do underrated Drummers

Not sure Prince is what you can call underrated. Everyone knows he is a great guitarist. There are a couple of names who can be considered underrated guitarists: George Lynch of Dokken/Lynch Mob/KXM and other bands, Steve Lukather of Toto fame who also played on some of the top albums and was one of the most sought after session guitarists of the 80s including playing on some of the biggest albums of all time.

I think that you guys now need to make a list of the 10 most underrated rappers. I know who should be number one on that list and hes probably also one of the most underappreciated musicians, period....Weird Al.

How about Dave Davies of the Kinks? "You really got me "anyone?Wrote one of the greatest, if not The Greatest guitar Riff of all time !Those guys never got the credit + recognition they so deserved tremendously influential and extremely talented of course.

I am so happy you showed Prince playing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", a well deserved number one.

Anyone watching this should check out Jan Akkerman (formerly of Focus). This guy is amazing.

Kim Thayil from Soundgarden. Insanely good

People for some reason always forget about Steve Lukather, and I think it's because they don't see the big picture of his career. For many, Toto just means the Africa or Hold the Line meme, but Steve Lukather is one of those musicians who have left a huge mark on the music scene. Lukather recorded over 1,800 albums only in the 70's, 80's and 90's. He participated with the most recognized and important musicians in history, such as Michael Jackson, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Donna Summer, Alice Cooper, Olivia NJ, Chris Cross, The Tubes, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Quincy Jones, just to name a few. The guy can play from hard rock to funk and Jazz Fusion with one hand... It's very sad that he is so underestimated just because he was not part of a typical rock band

How people didn't know Prince was an amazing guitar player? He literally plays guitar in every live performance and video.... ... also Paul Gilbert of Mr.Big.. Tom Keifer of Cinderella .. Mark Kendall of Great White..

Prince is not underrated. George Johnson of the Brothers Johnson is underrated.

Rpbert Smith is the reason I bought a guitar. Love the sound. Thumbs up for including him.

Lifeson should be #1. Prince was never underrated. And missed Steve Rothery from Marillion. So overlooked it was not even mentioned. Clearest, cleanest, most melodic and haunting solos ever.

Roy Buchanan AKA the master of the Telecaster. This man deserves too have his own statue.

Next ! Top 20 most underrated bassists .

Neil Geraldo- G.E. Smith- Elliot Easton...I'm an 80's shredder and these guys are all amazing.

Since when has Prince been underrated as a guitar player? oh that's right never,

I'd personally put Steve Clark higher, but if my username didn't make this obvious, I'm biased 😂 Beyond that, the exclusion of Mick Mars and Keith Scott from this list should be considered a crime, and by no means is Prince underrated. He's Prince for Gods' sakes! "Prince" and "underrated" do not belong in the same sentence

I like Izzy Stradlin's riffs. I also like Scott Ian.

Seriously, how is Ed King never mentioned on any list!? He’s the reason we have Sweet home Alabama. Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Rick Medlock, Charlie Starr, Audley Freed, Toy Caldwell, Dickey Betts, Reb Beach etc….

Was Gary Moore under-rated? I think he was widely acknowledged as a guitar virtuoso.

I would say Terry Kath, Mick Taylor, Mike Bloomfield, and Gary Moore are the four "masters" of the instrument that don't get enough credit. I think a guy like Mick Mars might not be at the level of the aforementioned but is severely underrated as his badass guitar tones carry the majority of the load for Motley Crue, particularly live.

Izzy Stradlin deserves more attention now than he did in his hey day

No mention of Carlos Cavazo, Rick Nielsen, Carl Thomas Keifer, Akira Takasaki, Mark Reale, Lars Johannson, Mats Bjørkman, Brent Dorhner, Brian Forsythe, Buck Dharma, Mark Kendall or Chris Holmes etc.? You catch my drift, I’m requesting you do a volume 2 of this list, who agrees with me here?

Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains should have been on this list.

I think Satchel from Steel Panther is severely underrated. He is an amazingly talented guitarist and I think the band and type of music leads to him being overlooked.

A bit of an odd choice I suppose but if there’s someone I feel needs to be hyped more or get honorable mention for their guitar skills, my pick would have to be Glen Campbell. The man was straight out talented, and I’m always in a trance looking at his guitar skills. There’s quite a few vids on KZfaq as well Just showcasing his amazing skills, I’d highly recommend it. Still a great choice and selections of artists nonetheless. Though I have to wonder if Prince is underrated, I suppose he’s more known for being the entire package of talents instead of just a straight up guitarist.

So a few guitarists I feel are underrated who didn't make this list: Dweezil Zappa - Frank Zappa's son. Has guitar chops that rival the mighty Eddie Van Halen. Kee Marcello - Played guitar for Europe for a short stint - his melodic guitar playing was something else - the solo in the song superstitious is one of the best of all time. Criss Oliva - From Savatage. One of the most underrated guitarists in one of the most underrated bands of all time. Mike Slammer - awesome guitarist with a really distinctive sound who adds so much detail to his playing that other people fail to emulate. He did all the guitar solos for Warrants first 2 albums. Jan Akkerman - Played guitar in focus. Dude was doing sweep picking in the 70s. A fucking monster player with an amazing melodic ear that could rival Joe Satriani for coming up with melodies so good they didn't even need vocals. Vito Bratta - My personal favourite guitarist who fused the technical and creative ability of EVH, the melodic sense of Eric Johnson and the classical sensibility of Randy Rhodes. His guitar solos were like songs themselves, going places you don't expect yet feels perfect in every way. Harry Cody - probably the most "wild" sounding guitarist. From the band Shotgun Messiah and was pretty much the only good thing about that band. Dude knew how to work that whammy bar to his advantage and shredded his way through what otherwise would have been rather crap Glam Metal songs. Dan Harmon - A session player (he played the solo on Danger Zone) that is a LOT better than that solo suggests. Check out his band Giant, his two albums in that band are some of the greatest AOR ever made, with some blistering guitar work. Greg Howe - Jazz Fusion guitarist who was likely the main inspiration for Guthrie Govan - the guy could do such fluid and clean scale runs, and had a musicality that was a little beyond his peers. Steve Stevens: Did the guitar solo for the Top Gun Anthem. Also uses a raygun to create crazy effects with the guitar that you only hear from him. His album with Vince Neil really showcases how good he is. Allan Holdsworth - Honestly, this guy is on another level to pretty much everyone else. He's like an alien that wrote his own rulebook for how to make music that no one else can understand, and his guitar playing is so fluid and clean he sounds like a saxophonist, with what is imo the greatest legato technique ever. He was also widely influential to pretty much any guitarist that heard him, and while he's not as well known, his influence is all over the place.

I always thought Neil Giraldo of Pat Benatar was pretty good, maybe not the best but kinda overlooked .

I think Nuno is one of the greatest guitarist on the planet. He started out very underrated but this days the man is amazing and in the spotlight. I feel that a lot of your list are not underrated they just didn't get the mainstream attention. They weren't the big thing at the time or they were but normal humans didn't even notice. Sometimes people get caught up in "Musical Boxes". Musicians would understand this.

Isn't Prince like one of the go to guitarist people talk about especially when it comes to performing and looking cool? Hopefully he is not actually on this list and was just put into the thumbnail... But seriously though his While My Guitar Gently Weeps solo is one of the most pointed to thing in the guitar community.

Danny Kortchmar, Mike Rutherford, Vito Bratta, Stanley Jordan, Tim Reynolds, Doyle Dykes, Greg Koch, Steffen Shackinger, Jack Thammarat, Sam Coulson, Jan Akkerman, Martin Barre, Marty Friedman, Elliot Randall, Allen Collins, Phil Keaggy, Michael Hedges, Shawn Lane, Craig Clinton Chaquico, Joel Hoekstra.

My first introduction to Nuno Bettancourt was Play With Me from Extreme’s debut and the Bill and Teds Excellent adventure soundtrack. That song shows just how good he is.

Feel like Adam Jones from Tool is always overlooked. Dudes insane

Rory Gallagher isn’t under rated. There is a yearly music festival named after him in Ireland.

Roland Olazabal from Tears for Fears, Alan Murphy from Go West/Level 42, and Steve Farris from Mr. Mister

Great list! Although knopfler, gibbons, prince, and a couple others on this list get TONS of credit. And of course…WHERE IS PETER GREEN!?!?!?!?❤

Another underrated guitarist is Ernie Isley from The Isley Brothers. Dude killed that guitar solo on Who’s That Lady🔥

Nobody has ever underated Mark Knopfler skills. Everybody knows he is one of the greatest guitarists the world has ever seen. Well almost everybody.

Good list, but I thought just about everybody knew Nancy Wilson. They are also probably familiar with Price and Lindsey Buckingham. John Petrucci from Dream Theater on the other hand is pretty underrated and amazing

When prince soloed on as my guitar weeps, he showed the world he's not just dance and boogie player.

Hendrix was asked once who he thought the greatest guitarist was. His response, “you need to talk to Rory Gallagher.” He was so good he broke a string in the middle of a song, kept playing, and restrung the guitar at the same time. And he stayed in tune.

The Edge is easily the most underrated and under appreciated guitarist ever. He is the sound of U2, one of the best selling groups of all time. The way he carries a rhythm, and does it live for over an hr is sublime. He is to the guitar as Tre Cool is to drums. Relentless. He deserves major recognition.

Was surprised not to see Mathias jabs from scorpion’s

Nice to see a list that finally includes Gary Moore and Rory Gallagher. Too many lists fail to include them.

If anyone has seen the Smashing Pumpkins live, Billy Cortana def belongs on this list-and Annie Clark otherwise known as St. Vincent

Can't believe Mick Mars didn't make this list

Rik Emmett - Triuph; Gary Richrath - REO Speedwagon; Adrian Vandenberg - Vandenberg / White Snake; Tom Scholz - Boston; Mark Tremonti - Creed; Rickey Medlocke - Blackfoot; Dickey Betts - Allman Brothers; Billy Jones - Outlaws

Great to see Chris Poland in there, I think Michael Sweet from STRYPER should have made the list considering he's an incredible vocalist as well, not many and sing and shred the way he does.

Seriously? How can you make a list like this and not include Steve Lukather??

I will die on this hill, John Fogerty is one of the most underrated guitar players ever

Bill Nelson of BeBop Deluxe Mick Ronson, for David Bowie. Andrian Belew came much later Steve Hillage Steve Stevens on Top Gun , Billy Idol Ted Hale or Rick Derringer in "in collaboration with the Gods" Peter Green the first lead for John Mayall and Fleetwood Mac Ian Bairnson with Alan Parsons Project Steve Howe Snowy White, that other guitarist with Thin Lizzy Roy Buchannan on the tele Paul Kossof first guitarist with Free. Even Eric Clapton had to ask, "how do you that vibrato?" Tommy Bolin best replacement guitarist for Deep Purple. absolute killer solo sessions with Billy Cobham and Alphonso Mouzon

Yeah Graham Coxon! He is a genius, one of my favorite guitar players ever, so much creative! I put more names on the list: 1. Trey Spruance (Mr. Bungle, Faith No more, etc.) 2. David Fiuczynski (Screaming headless torsos) 3. Alain Johannes (Eleven, Chris Cornell, QOTSA, Them Creooked Vultures) 4. Billy Howerdel (A Perfect Circle) 5. Adrian Belew (King Crimson, Solo) This are the ones i can remember.