4. Van Halen, "Eruption:" Just when we rockers thought we'd heard it all, Eddie Van Halen came up with a whole new approach to guitar and essentially reinvented the instrument. With this one, short blast, Eddie's hammer-ons, pull-offs, and two-handed tapping technique opened up a whole new world of sound, and set a new gold standard for what we expect from our guitar gods.

1. Jimi Hendrix, "Star Spangled Banner:" Who knew a guitar could do that? Beautiful, frightening, and mind-boggling all at once, Jimi's performance of the national anthem at the 1969 Woodstock festival remains a monumental moment of guitar history. Using overdrive, feedback and sheer amp power as artistic tools, Hendrix created a whole knew vocabulary of sonic possibilities that had barely been hinted at in rock 'n' roll's first decade. Cottage industries have sprung up to try to make Jimi's tone easily replicated through effects boxes, but the real key to the sound was in Hendrix's head and hands. - Check out the full list here

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