Top Five Guitarists Alive Today

I decided to write an opinion essay about the top five best guitarists who are alive today to give some inspiration to young guitar players out there who may not know who these living legends are. My judging criteria will include their technical playing skills, how well they compose their music, their knowledge of musical theory, originality, and how popular their music is. I will again reiterate that this top list is solely my opinion and I am in no way claiming to be a professional judge of guitarists. I know some people may agree with my list, and some may not. I'm not saying all other guitarists are horrible, its just extremely difficult to pick out the best five guitarists out of the thousands that are out there. I will list them in order of age beginning with the youngest, because I believe they have all reached the same level of godliness in guitar playing. I will also provide a brief description about each guitarist.

Matt Rach is only 18 years old and he is already a phenomenal guitarist as well as a great musician in general because in all of his songs you will also see him playing the drums, piano, and the bass guitar. He was born in France and currently resides there as well and has become a youtube superstar with his adept guitar playing and song composition. He has a video of himself playing guitar at the age of 15 and the video has over 11 million views. For being so young, this kid is definitely going to go places and I really can't wait to see what he has in store for us in the future. Some of his original work includes Dark Paradise, You, and Se Déchirer Dans sa Chambre.

John Mayer is 32 years old and is an outstanding guitar player and if you have only heard "Your body is a wonderland" or "Daughters", then you should dig deeper because he is also making a big name for himself when it comes to playing the blues. He is still pretty young but holds his own well when him and BB King have a jam session together and he may even be a better blues player than King and Vaughn. What's more amazing is not only is he a genius when it comes to playing the guitar, he has also been gifted with an astounding voice, and writes powerful lyrics. When it all comes together with his superb playing, you really can't say he doesn't deserve a top spot on this list. Some of his original work includes Gravity and Waiting on the World to Change.

Mark Temonti is one of my favorite guitarists alive today and his work with Creed and Alter Bridge, along with his solo work and side projects, is just amazing. His technical playing and unique solo composition is nearly unsurpassed. He is only 35 years old and has paved his way to the top so it will be interesting to see what else will come from this guy because so far the music he has created is breath taking. He can really speak through the guitar in his playing and to watch him play and hear his music you can really tell that this guy is having a ton of fun doing what he loves, and he's definitely an expert at what he loves. Some of superb playing is noted in Blackbird and Broken Wings.

Steve Vai is a true virtuoso when it comes to playing the guitar and he has been playing for a long time. He is coming in on this list at the age of 49. I have rarely come across anyone else's music that has been so passionately composed and yet it still pales in comparison to Steve Vai. His work really is incredible and his style and sound is the definition of perfection. His solo in the song "For the love of god" is a true masterpiece and just has so much feeling emitting from it. I'm impatient to hear his next batch of songs and I hope he keeps playing until the end. Some of his original work includes For the Love of God and Tender Surrender.

Joe Satriani is 53 years old and is obviously the oldest player on this list. He has taught several guitarists who went on to become very successful and a few of them are Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett, and Charlie Hunter. He is a master of the instrument and his technical abilities prove that he is a legendary guitarist and definitely deserves such recognition. He is an influence to many guitarists and when listening to his music you easily discover why he makes such a big impact on other guitar players. Some of his original work includes Always with me, always with you and If I could Fly.

Sources:
Wikimedia Foundation Inc., John Mayer, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikimedia Foundation Inc., Mark Tremonti, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikimedia Foundation Inc., Steve Vai, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikimedia Foundation Inc., Joe Satriani, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
YouTube, Mattrach's channel, YouTube