Best Guitar Amps

For whatever reason, Marshalls have always stood out to me as the most natural-sounding amplifiers. Whether distorted or clean, they are clear and articulate.

With the right guitar, Marshalls can do anything from The Beatles to Metallica and do it well.

Yeah, I've got a Marshall too, and I am fond of it. I mean, you can jack anything into it, from guitars to keyboards, CD players, computers, etc. They sound excellent, and they are so clean to look at!

Solid, dependable, clean or dirty - Marshall does it all. Best amp for resale value. Best amp for replacement parts.

My Mesa Mark V:35 gives me a clean channel that rivals the finest Fender, with all the sparkle and tone you could want. At the same time, a kick to the dirty channel opens up a box of crunchy, overdriven power. No pedals required!

This amp has also forced me to play better because it responds to every playing nuance. Amazing.

You think you've played the best-sounding amps in the world - until you play a Mesa. They are the best amps in the world. Sound, versatile, built like a tank, and changing the tone knobs makes a huge difference.

They are touchy to dial in, but once you have it set, say goodbye to the rest. Yes, they just sound that much better.

I play blues, rock, and almost all kinds of music. My Fender has a way of expressing the sound in the way I have tried to create it.

I do not use many pedals (tuner, distortion, treble boost, wah, looper), and the foundation is set for my interpretation of music.

Clean and dirty sound is top drawer, even in the smaller amp range. The Fender Princeton is the best for studio and small gig work. The Twin Reverb is best for anything bigger or if you want the best "blues" out of your Tele or Strat... or 335, etc.

Love my Fender Deluxe 65 Reissue! I just sold a sweet Fender Super Champ to purchase a Fender Super Sonic 22, which has a great burn channel along with two classic Fender clean tones. In my humble opinion...

The Peavey Masterpiece 50 is the best amp on the market at this time. The craftsmanship, style, components, cascading gain with infinite tone settings, quality, service, and reliability make this the best boutique amplifier on the market.

Yes, I own one and will be buried with it.

The 5150/6505 is a great series of amps. The cleans are mediocre, but it does every type of distortion exceptionally well. Ignore the "better than a Line 6" line, as EVERYTHING is better than a Line 6.

The Peavey Butcher 2 is definitely an amazing amp that can't be beat. It has great vintage tones.

I have a Club 40 and a very basic pedalboard. It's very versatile and plenty loud for any gig I've played. It's built well, and I would recommend it to any player looking for a tube amp under $800.

I play a PRS SE 245 and mostly play Christian rock. It handles everything I need with no problem!

Great brand, especially for the money. Blackstar amps are of very good quality, and the sound they produce is fantastic.

This company was started by four guys who worked for Marshall. You're damn right they make great amplifiers.

Everyone is always looking for that sound - the sound of the great music from the '60s and '70s. Most of the groups at this time used Vox for their amplifiers.

Some of the most beloved and coolest songs of the last century were recorded using Vox amps.

Vox amplifiers always seem to have a clear, distinctive tone no matter what you are playing. Even their Pathfinder series delivers the excellent tone you get from top-end amps.

I have an AC 30 Super Twin. It has served guitarists for 48 years and will certainly serve 100 more. Solid build, anyone?

The ultimate in modern rock and metal sounds. I've owned Marshall, Diezel, and Line 6, but Engl is the go-to for premium sounds and plug-and-play ease.

Very underrated amp... Excellent! Go to your nearest Engl distributor and give it a test run. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

I've owned everything from Mesa to Fender to Kustom. The Engl 530 preamp is the BEST!

Warm clean sound and unbelievable natural overdrive. This amp needs no effects to sound great.

No other amp like it in the world. If you can spring for the bucks, it's worth the cost. It DOES IT ALL.

Simplistic and versatile at the same time. Worth the high cost.

I have been playing the RG80 series for more than 10 years live every weekend. This amp was built for the road. All it needs is to be turned on.

This is a great amp. I took a few minutes to look over the amp's wiring. It's a quality product, inside and out.

The best! The H&K Matrix 100 solid state is better than every other SS on the market. Also, the Tubemeister, Coreblade, and Switchblade tube heads dwarf every other amp head on the market and are half the price of most Engl amps.

If you haven't played through a newer H&K, then you don't know what you're missing. I have a Coreblade and have played a Tubemeister, and both are outstanding! By far, some of the best-sounding amps ever.

I've played the above-listed top four. They simply can't hold a candle to the H&K lower wattage head units. They excel with lower watt amps.

Most flexible amp on the market. The DT all-tube series was designed by Bogner, and when it's combined with the L6 HD500X foot controller effects board, there is nothing that compares to this combination on the market. You can model thousands of presets from your computer and save them to the controller. This should be number one.

I have owned the Eddie Van Halen 5150, Hughes and Kettner TriAmp, Mesa Boogie, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, and Marshall. The Line 6 with the HD500X beats them all.

I have a Line 6 Spider II 30 watts. It sounds more bass and treble heavy, with cut-off mids, compared to my Marshall Valvestate 8040 40 watts, which has more mids.

I have watched Megadeth's Dave Mustaine's gear on YouTube, and he said that Line 6 sounds better than a Marshall amp.

- Michael John S. Manahan

This amp was used by Black Sabbath. It should be ranked higher.

If you want quality sound like no other and simply the best effects on the market, get yourself a Roland Cube, like the GX40 or GX80. All Cube amps by Roland come with the best Boss effects and so much more.

I have a Mini Cube. I use my Line 6 as a cup holder...

I'm incomplete as a musician without my Carvin 2x50 watt. Sweet clean channel and monster fully-valved overdrive dripping luscious tones.

I've owned Fender Twin Reverb and Pro Reverb, many Marshalls, and even been sold on the Blackstar, but nothing can touch my ever-faithful Carvin!

Been playing for over thirty years and have used them all... Carvin has tone and is built to last. Did I say tone?

It's hard to tweak your way into a bad tone with the V3. My Marshall now lives in the basement with Grandma.

The only musical amp that sounds like your guitar, not the other way around. Made to be played loud, and it'll rip your eyes out and kick you in the nuts!

So many guitarists have used the SLO-100: Clapton, Eddie Van Halen, Mark Knopfler... Many claim that the iconic sounds come from other amps, but it's a Soldano!

A diverse palette of sound is obtained by tweaking the various tone knobs and filters. It can't be beat in functionality and power. When the Marshall JVM 410 came out, it was the amp to emulate.