Top 10 Fastest Guitarists of All Time

I strongly agree! Listen to Afterlife. It is so awesome, of course. I like the vocals too, and if you get to the solos while trying to play it... Ouch! (except for Syn). I can press the equal button on a calculator many times and I almost got to a thousand (but probably not as fast as him).

I say Afterlife is harder to play on Guitar Hero than Through the Fire and Flames on expert.

Synyster Gates is simply one of the best guitar players ever. The emotion he puts in his songs is just so great because they go so well together with the lyrics of the songs (of Avenged Sevenfold). It's great that his guitar notes can really touch you.

Not the best, okay, not the best, but surely the fastest. Listen to their new song, Dragonforce - Fallen World. I bet no one can cover it 100%, and don't tell me that they speed up their song in the studio because I have seen them live.

And they erupted the stage. Surely needs to be higher, or surely I think he is number one.

Herman Li should be the second fastest guitarist, and number one should be Michael Angelo Batio. Because both of them have greater skills than the others.

I cannot believe that Synyster Gates and Buckethead are on top. What? They are nothing! Guys who vote for them must be crazy.

This is not a vote on who is best. This is a vote on who is fastest. Quantitative data has no place for preference. You can't change the results because you don't like them.

Buckethead is the fastest guitar player. There are faster pickers, but for overall speed in all aspects, nobody matches Buckethead. Some come close, but ultimately fall a little short of this title.

Buckethead is definitely the fastest guitarist. Just listen to Soothsayer and the Jordan solo. Plus, not only is he fast, but his melodies are amazing.

People argue that his music lacks soul and passion. Just listen to Leave the Light On and see how completely mistaken they are. This guy can take on Synyster Gates. Great guitarist.

I am a guitar player and have been shredding since I was a kid (almost 50 now). All these guitar players are outstanding and worthy of being on this list. But, to pick the top of all time (which I do not like doing, for I love and appreciate all players and styles), Michael Angelo Batio is the king of all shred and teaching shred. His speed, accuracy, and knowledge of theory, and teaching are unmatched.

If you review his career, its main focus is always raising the bar on ability and lifting up everyone else in the guitar community as well. He only gives everyone praise and always teaches everything he knows. He is a blessing to the guitar world. Period.

I play guitar. Trust me when I say there is no one else. When you talk about speed, from a more professional standpoint, it's about how fast your fingers are moving, and Eddie takes the cake.

But all of you who don't play guitar may not understand that speed is not just about playing the same two chords repeatedly at 900 beats per minute, which is entirely possible. Fast is defined by movement, not note lengths or space between notes. As a result, 99 percent of these guitarists do not measure up. Eddie is the best out there.

Yngwie is by far faster than all of those listed above him. He dominates in arpeggios, legato, sweep picking, and accuracy in being able to pick as fast as his legato. Nobody comes close.

Maybe Michael Angelo Batio (overrated because of his unique "over the neck technique" but nonetheless good), Rusty Cooley (a freak of nature and actually an Yngwie worshipper), or Shawn Lane should be at the top or in the same range. Shawn Lane is probably the best, followed by Yngwie Malmsteen and then Rusty Cooley.

Honestly, half of you kids probably know nothing about the art of playing the guitar. I agree with Buckethead, Herman Li, and Eddie Van Halen being in the top five. But Synyster Gates? Great guitarist, not nearly the fastest.

Yngwie is so fast and accurate when he plays it almost seems superhuman. Go watch 'Arpeggios From Hell' or 'Acoustic Solo' on YouTube. You'll see what I mean.

I have heard Slash play, and you can definitely tell he has skill by listening to his latest album, Apocalyptic Love. He might not sound fast when he's with Guns N' Roses, but in his solo career, he really shows his talent. Just listen to the song "Anastasia", and you will hear the speed.

I know, Slash has more melody than speed in his music. Still, Slash has evolved a lot since Guns N' Roses. For his speed samples, try the new "Godfather intro to Sweet Child O' Mine." It's Blitzkrieg.

No one can challenge Slash. He has all the talent of a guitarist. No one can challenge his solo melodies like November Rain, Sweet Child O' Mine, Don't Cry, Welcome to the Jungle. He should be number 1.

This is horrible! Why is he down here? I can't believe Synyster Gates is number 1. I would put Vai up against Synyster on his worst day.

He wasn't just blindingly fast, he was melodic too. His solos were just as much about speed as they were about emotion. He was simply the best at what he did. Along with Jason Becker, Dimebag Darrell, and SRV, one of the biggest losses in the history of rock/metal guitar.

And to those who compare him to Eddie Van Halen: look up his solo on Laughing Gas with Quiet Riot.

This dude's awesome and super fast, definitely not the fastest but should be up there a little more, at least numbers 12-10. I agree that Synyster is the fastest and should be, but this guy should be a little higher up.

What do you mean he's the tenth fastest guitarist ever? Go listen to something like Heartbreaker, Dazed and Confused, or even You Shook Me. He plays blazingly fast!

Few people know this, but Van Halen got his famous tapping technique that gives him his speed from watching Jimmy Page play Heartbreaker live. You people don't know true talent.

He's fast. Maybe not quite as fast as some of the others on this list, but keep in mind that many techniques hadn't yet been invented in the 70s.

Not as fast as some of the guitarists on here, but Jimmy Page is still a top three all-time guitarist.

I really like Dream Theater because of their tempos and timings. They have great musicianship. I also like Synyster's playing, but John has got to be before him. He's just better and more technical.

John Petrucci is a god among men, and why he is only number 10, we shall never know. Synyster Gates has nothing on him. Just listen to the Stream Of Consciousness solo at about 3 minutes in. He reaches 38 notes per second.

Let's just let that sink in: 38 notes per second! Tell me that is not fast.

Alright, he may not be the fastest, but Synyster, Slash, and Herman don't even come close. And where is Rustey Cooley? He may not be that great melody-wise, but you cannot deny that his speed is unmatched.

There are live versions that surpass the fastest jazz guitarists I have ever heard. Two examples: LA Forum I Don't Live Today 04-26-69 toward the end of the song, and about 60 percent of the way through Woodstock Instrumental Improvisation.

Many other examples exist, and he does almost every guitar style very well.

WHAT! Jimi Hendrix in 16th place? This man is so good he can play the guitar with his teeth and tongue.

Paul had an endorsement from Makita, who make battery-powered drills, back in the day for the song where he uses one with three picks stuck in a wooden dowel. Nobody can pick as fast as a drill, so he wins, in my opinion.

I don't know what some guys are doing at the top of this list, but this guy is surely the fastest! No one can beat PG.

You know, Paul Gilbert is fast, and he also can play with stretchy fingers quickly.

Fact: Mr. Gates does 198 BPM in Battery, and in Master Of Puppets, Kirk does 220 BPM. One time, Kirk did 19.8 notes per second. Van Halen in Eruption does only 10 notes per second. In Afterlife, he does 16.4 notes per second.

Kirk is the guy who made the Master Of Puppets solos. Even Gates said Kirk could beat him in a contest.

Why is Kirk Hammett so underrated on fastest guitar lists? He may not be the fastest guitarist ever, but he's up there. For me, he is at least top five. I'm fine with Syn at 1, though.

Come on, Kirk might not be the most well-known (even though he should be "Metallica"?), but he should definitely be in the top ten though.

He can play the fastest if he wants. He just has clarity and soul.

Teacher of all the masters mentioned above. He can play at any speed, but most of the time he prefers melody.

I would have voted for Buckethead or Batio, but Joe Satriani deserves to be higher. He's one of the best guitarists ever, and without him, there would be no Kirk Hammett, Steve Vai, or Tom Morello!

He also taught Kevin Cadogan, Larry Lalonde, and Charlie Hunter. In these cases, all these students, including Kirk himself, never surpassed the master.

Go and listen to Brighton Rock live at Hammersmith, 1975. For a couple of bars, he is playing with 10 notes per second. One Vision tapping plays 12 notes per second. Far from a world record, but I challenge you to find faster playing in the classic rock era: Clapton, Hendrix, Page...

Highly underrated because Brian always plays what's best for the song, not what's best for his ego, like so many other guitarists on this list. He may not be the fastest, but he can play pretty fast. Still, that speed, to me, is not a criterion for quality.

Faster than Yngwie, Batio, Gate, etc. Speed was never his priority, but he could play faster than all the guitar players above. Just listen to his live solo with Cacophony.

Best, greatest, and fastest guitar player of all time. The real master of the fretboard.

Not just fast, but ultra-fast and clean. He's a lot more unknown than the others here, and that's too bad because he, like his friend Buckethead, simply outmatches the instrument. He never liked to showcase his speed, preferring substance, tone, and expression.

But ever since I saw him bring down the house in Munich, Germany, one night with an awesome display of speed, I'd say Shawn belongs in the top 2. No disrespect to the other talented guitarists here. Shawn Lane may not be as well known, but I'd invite guitarists everywhere to listen to his unique style.

Since I saw Richie playing his three-necked guitar, I've been so amazed. That song is Wanted Dead or Alive.