Top 10 Metal Lead Guitarists

The Top Ten
1 John Petrucci (Dream Theater) John Peter Petrucci is an American guitarist, composer and producer. He is best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Compared to his level of skill, John Petrucci is relatively unknown in the modern music industry.

This guy destroys the other mentioned guitarists by a long shot. I don't even like Dream Theater much, but no one can deny John Petrucci's skill.

Panic attack solo...

2 Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) David Scott "Dave" Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, actor and author. Mustaine is best known as a pioneer in Thrash Metal, being the former lead guitarist of Metallica before his dismissal in 1983, leading to finding and becoming the front man of his own ...read more.
3 Dimebag Darrell (Pantera) Darrell Lance Abbott, also known as Diamond Darrell and Dimebag Darrell, was an American guitarist and songwriter best known as a founding member of two bands, Pantera and Damageplan, alongside his brother, Vinnie Paul. Abbott died in 2004 after he was shot by a mentally unstable fan.

The god of heavy metal guitar.

4 Marty Friedman (Megadeth) Martin Adam "Marty" Friedman is an American guitarist, known for his tenure as the lead guitarist for heavy metal band Megadeth which spanned nearly the full decade of the 1990s, as well as Cacophony alongside Jason Becker until 1989. Friedman has resided in Tokyo, Japan since 2003, where he has hosted Japanese television programs such as Rock Fujiyama and Jukebox English.

This list is screwed up... Where's Adrian Smith and Dave Murray? Glen Tipton? Randy Rhoads? Tony Iommi? Sascha Gerstner? Vivian Campbell? George Lynch? And hundreds of thousands of others who are way better than Synyster Gates!

He is not only a Thrash Metal Guitarist, he is a Guitar God

5 Yngwie Malmsteen (Solo Artist) Yngwie Johan Malmsteen is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter and bandleader who was born on June 30th, 1963, in Stockholm, Sweden. He was known for his neoclassical metal playing style back in the 1980s.

How the hell is Synyster Gates higher than Marty, Yngwie, Jeff Waters, Adrian Smith, Randy Rhoads,...etc?
For most metal experts Synyster Gates isn't even a metal musician!

6 Jeff Waters (Annihilator) Jeff Waters (born February 13, 1966) is a Canadian metal musician and founder of the metal band Annihilator. He's best known as the guitarist for Annihilator, appreciated for his fast riffs and solos. Waters is also the primary songwriter in the band. Very often he has taken on the role of lead singer, bass player, engineer and producer. He has owned Watersound Studios Inc. since 1994. At a young age he took some classical and jazz guitar lessons. Notable songs include Alison Hell, Human Insecticide, The Trend, Ultra-Motion, Detonation.

Been never a mindless shredder, always incorporating cool melodies in solos with great, crisp tone and a tasty guitar sound. Jeff´s solos are of the most melodic, superbly structured, elegant, lightning fast solos ever recorded.

7 Synyster Gates (Avenged Sevenfold) Brian Elwin Haner, Jr., better known by his stage name Synyster Gates or simply Syn, is an American musician, best known for being the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the band Avenged Sevenfold.

Syn gates!
But this list is absolute crap, padget will never be better than hammet, laiho, and where the hell is slash? It's a real dissappointment to see padget second here. But Syn is the best guitarist ever!

Syn really knows how to shred and connect with peoples emotions at the same time

Who can play what he played in "to end the rapture"... That was a legendary piece

Syn is the best because of the difficulty and sharpness of his solos

8 Chris Broderick (Megadeth) Christopher Alan Broderick is an American musician, best known as the former lead and rhythm guitarist of the American heavy metal band Megadeth.

By the way wheres Dave mustaine he ain't on this list.

9 Luca Turilli (Rhapsody)
10 Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom) Alexi "Wildchild" Laiho (April 8th 1979 - December 29th 2020) was a Finnish guitarist, composer, and vocalist. He is best known as the lead guitarist, lead vocalist, and founding member of the melodic death metal band Children of Bodom. He was also the guitarist for Sinergy, The Local Band, and Kylähullut. ...read more.
The Contenders
11 Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple) Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work in the hard rock/metal bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. He was ranked number 16 on Guitar World's "100 Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time" in 2004, and number 50 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the ...read more.
12 Michael Paget (Bullet For My Valentine) Michael "Padge" Paget (Born September 12th 1978) is a Welsh musician, known for being the lead guitarist and a backing vocalist for the Heavy Metal/Metalcore band Bullet for My Valentine.
13 Takayoshi Ohmura (Liv Moon)
14 Nick Hipa (As I Lay Dying)
15 Corey Beaulieu (Trivium) Corey King Beaulieu (Born November 22nd 1983) is an American musician and actor, known for being the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the Heavy Metal band Trivium.
16 Michael Romeo (Symphony X) Michael James Romeo is an American guitarist and a founding member of the progressive metal group Symphony X.
17 Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden) Adrian Frederick "H" Smith is an English guitarist, best known as a member of Iron Maiden, for whom he writes songs and performs live backing vocals on some tracks.

That dude is one of the kings of metal guitar solos along with Marty Friedman, Dimebag, Criss Oliva, Randy Rhoads, Glenn Tipton, Andy Larocque, Jeff Loomis, and Alex Skolnick in my opinion. Adrian has not only technique and accuracy, but also he has tons of feeling, great sense of melody, and a raw/expressive tone. His style of guitar playing is a combination of the elements blues with an operatic sound of the vibrato and in some or several of his solos, there are some elements of classical.

He deserves to be one of the top 5 on the list.

By the way, you forgot Glenn Tipton, Andy Larocque, Jeff Loomis, Muhammed Suicmez, and Alex Skolnick.

18 Chuck Schuldiner (Death) Charles Michael "Chuck" Schuldiner (1967-2001) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known as the founder and vocalist, guitarist and bassist of the American heavy metal band Death. He is considered the most influential figure in Death Metal, with some publications referring to Chuck ...read more.
19 Herman Li (Dragonforce) Herman Li is a Hong Kong-born, British Chinese musician, record producer, and lead guitarist for the British Power-Metal band Dragonforce.
20 Oli Herbert (All That Remains)
21 Timo Tolkki (Stratovarius) Timo Tapio Tolkki is a Finnish musician best known as the former guitarist, songwriter and producer of the power metal band Stratovarius.
22 Kirk Hammett (Metallica) Kirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and songwriter for the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus.

He is best guitarist and I wonder how Chris Broderick is at 5th,... Huh. ! Kirk is best guitarist.. !

Why isn't he in the top?

23 Dave Murray (Iron Maiden) David Michael Murray is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as one of the earliest members of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden.
24 Jonathan Donais (Shadows Fall)
25 Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray) Kai Michael Hansen is a heavy metal guitarist and vocalist. Hansen is the founder, lead guitarist, and vocalist of power metal band Gamma Ray. He is also the co-founder and former member of German metal band Helloween.
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