Top Ten Greatest Guitar Duos

They deserve being on top. The protests are just blind, self-favoritsm, bias, and ignorance. Expand your knowledge, don't get stuck by favoritsm just being objective! This duo are perfect example what is guitar duo should be. Mostly just play lead & rhythm so unbalanced.

X Japan does twin guitar on main solos not only harmonies. All bands on this list only doing on harmony lines not on main solos. please check their stuff first before judging them. m/

I've listen of these bands like 75-80% on this list. I agree X Japan deserved to be number 1. Don't blind because favoritsm and must knowledge yourself listen to their stuff why they became at the top on the list.

I'll give you the example songs for solos/harmonies stuff for the reason of them became at top:
Vanishing Love, Kurenai, Blue Blood, Weekend, Rose of Pain, Silent Jealousy, Art of Life (masterpiece 30min song), Dahlia.
Just note this, on every their ballad songs they does double lead guitar on the main solos (I've not heard of other bands on this list doing it).

A lot more people would vote for HIDE and Pata if they'd widen their horizons and listen to something besides classic rock and top 40s. YouTube them. I fell in love in 58 seconds, listening to the solos from Endless Rain. Check out The Last Live. Best concert EVER.

200 Hundred Million Records sold! Fans didn't buy them for an amazing vocalist (not that Bon & Brian are bad). They bought those records for Angus & Malcolm's guitar shredding.

Angus Young and Malcolm Young should be #1 I don't even know who Hide and Pata are! Angus and Malcolm are the perfect duo! They have never fighted and have been doing it for almost 40 years!

Absolute tone monsters. Angus' lead work is second to none. Malcolm was the heartbeat. I don't think anyone ever hit the strings as hard. Man they wrre just great

This should be number 1 by far. Think about angus' killer solos and Malcolm's steady rhythm, acdc wouldn't be the same without them.

This list is so disappointing. Sure, I agree hide and Pata are good, but most of these are just wrong. A good guitar duo is two guitaists that compliment each other, as in dual solos and guitar harmonies. Anything else is just lead and rhythm. Slash is an amazing soloist, very good by himself, but Izzy just doesn't add anything to him. Iron Maiden are excellent for this. You just don't say it's just Adrian or Dave, you always talk about both of them. Number Of The Beast solos, anyone?

Oh, and you know what? Thin Lizzy is WAY too low, they basically perfected the art of dual guitars, and don't forget Glenn Tipton and KK Downing of Judas Priest too.

Learn from your masters.

Listen to 80s Maiden, then listen to 90s Maiden - HUGE difference. And why? Because Murray/Gers didn't have the chemistry that Murray/Smith had - in fact, compare them to other 80s metal guitar duos and you realize that Murray/Smith knew how to compliment each other; many other bands sounded like they only had one guitarist for most of each song, but these guys fleshed out the arrangements by playing different guitar parts (and lots of harmony guitar). I give Adrian a lot of credit for this - look how Dickinson's solo work took it to the next level when he brought Adrian on board.

With all my love to Metallica, lyrically I love Metallica much more, but Maiden's both guitar riffs and solos are more melodic, albeit slightly softer. So they should #1 in my opinion.

These guys rock, and I disagree about Gers, in fact now they have Gers, Murray and Smith...best three man attack around, the only ones who could come close were the Southern Rock attack of Rossington, Collins and Gaines...who should be close to, if not in the top ten as well

When you look at these other bands guitarists, you think of them as two guitarists in the same band, but that's not at all the case for kirk and James, they are a living breathing entity if perfect combination. They should be number 1, it is absolutely retarded (no of fence) that X Japan, and Avenged Sevenfold are above these gods.

Kirk Hammett has his fair share of great guitar tracks. He's a proven stud as the lead guitarist. However, James Hetfield is no slouch. In fact, he is better than a lot of lead guitarists for other bands. You like the song Nothing Else Matters? Hammett didn't play in that one. It's all Hetfield.

They are just simply the best guitar duo ever. The end of story. No one can ever beat them. They make awesome songs and solos. Just amazing.

Tough call between these guys or the Eagles, but I have to go with Metallica because they ROCK!

HOW THE "F" is Glenn & K.K. # 23?!?!?
I'll tell you how... EVERYONE that voted has no idea or concept of the history that is involved to the metal they listen to today!
Glenn Tipton & K.K. Downing are #1 in the Best ever in this catergory, based on two simple facts... #1... They put it together for all to follow, and after 30 ' years they can still hammer it out as good as they did before you were even born!

Priest's duo guitarist is the most evolve of all metal guitarist ever. They change their style & upgrade the skills every album. From basic blues style to pseudo technical neoclassical style. This duo eat others duo 90% on term guitar skill. Especially Glenn he's complete total package.

Downing and Tipton being ranked at 23 is simply pathetic. They practically invented the twin-lead guitar sound and laid the groundwork for what was to come in rock and heavy metal. Easily top 2.

Japan x, Kirk & James, angus & Malcolm young holy crap...what a cliche awful list (just like all the lists on this site) seriously glen & KK...I mean Judas Priest IS heavy metal and I mea-just listen to painkiller the song then the whole album, just...listen

Marty Friedman is one of the best lead guitarists if not THE best, Dave Mustaine is one of the best rhythm guitarists, and can play better lead than most lead guitarists.

How the hell this duo under Hammett and Hetfield? They should be number 1. No doubt. Just listen to rust in peace. That will clear all your doubts. Please.

For Pure Technical Prowess (Metal Riffing & melodic soloing) Dave Mustaine & Marty Friedman blows all the duos.

Two great riffmasters and soloists. One of the most equal duos ever in terms of importance of the guitarists.

Amazing duo from what I've heard from studio albums & their Live in the LBC show. Obviously Syn is an amazing guitarist with great solos and Zacky continue to learn from him even though he is a really good guitarist in his own right. Wrll out thaat they work amazing off of each other!

Simply the best. Do not speed their music up very inventive and creative. Harmonies are incredible. They work perfectly together in any instance. Once time goes on I think people will realize they deserve the # 1 spot

Oh come on! They should be in the first place
They're good in duel solo like bat country, afterlife, critical acclaim, nightmare, sidewinder and many of their songs to be mention

At least they're in the top ten

Two very different guys, both the most amazing guitarist soloist. One is lefty the other is righty so they make a mirror image of sorts when they play. Fantastic.

Steve and Phil: a perfect guitar match. Steve with all his heart and soul and Phil with his technical skills. A Perfect example of this would be the songs Hysteria, Love and Affection, Love Bites and Gods of War off the Hysteria album, or any other song on the album.

Most underrated duo in rock. They sacrificed heavy guitar solos with unforgettable riffs and soul. Their sound has been taken for granted.

They really blend well though unfortunately, Slash gets more credit than Izzy. Try Sweet child o mine and November Rain. You will really see how coordinated they are

Slash and Izzy get my vote. I love their blend of different tones, Slash with the Les Paul into a dirty Marshall and Izzy with a Gibson Hollow Body into a clean Fender amp. Also love how they played off of each other and complimented what the other guy was playing. Hardly ever were they playing the same thing at the same time. Their dual guitar sound was the driving force of Guns N' Roses. It was never the same after Izzy left the band.

Angus and Malcolm come in second to these guys. Best combo ever. Wish Izzy showed up to the rock and roll Hall of fame inductions though.

What's cool about gun's n roses' fist few albums with the original lineup is that while Slash had the solos, he and Izzy would play creative, non-concrete riffs that could sound good on tape as well as live. no other band has sounded as good paired together

Very, very underrated!

Don "Fingers" Felder is one of the great underrated guitarist in rock 'n roll history. He brought the hard rock sound to the Eagles and coupled with Walsh, formed one of the great guitar duos in history. If you listen to some of his solos on Eagles deep cuts like 'Too Many Hands', 'Visions', and others its is undeniable how overshadowed he was by the giant egos of Glenn and Don.

Don Felder is such an underrated guitarist. Joe Walsh was always the rock influenced member of a particular soft band. On comes Don Felder paired with Walsh and the eagles transformed into some of the most inspiring music of all time. The Hotel California album is a staple of 2 great guitarists working together and sharing equal brilliance. These 2 guys made the eagles relevant. In the rock world the eagles are nothing without these 2 playing. Idc who founded the band. Listen to hotel California.. then listen to the acoustic version of hotel California. The playing bond they have is unmatched.

Felder and Walsh far surpass any of the other dual-lead duos...Their tandem solos were competing but mutually beneficial. Neither overshadowed the other. Felder's tone and Walsh's grit. Couple this with the longevity and shear number of hits...any other choice is simply made from a biased or emotionally slanted point of view.

I never knew how great Don Felder was until I saw him up close on the "History of the Eagles". When he joined the band he had a nickname. "Fingers". And that name really applied. He's as good as any of the all time greats. And that includes Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Paige and Duane Allman among others.

These two aren't my favorite, but they do damn sure deserve to be in the top 5. I mean, Keith knows all about the guitar and Jones could play multiple instruments! I mean... My god, these two rock! And no, just because I'm a Brian Jones lunatic doesn't mean I hate Mick Taylor. I actually admire the both of them!

Dumb teenagers nowadays need to start getting a clue about the history of Rock music and what Rock 'n' Roll is all about, in the first place.
Not having Richards/Mick Taylor or Richards/Jones and Page/Beck in the Top 5 pretty much summarizes how musically uneducated kids are nowadays.

So much more than playing together. They swapped lead and rhythm seamlessly, like a well oiled machine.

Ditto, what I said about Walsh and Felder...many of these other duo's have one guy who is clearly lead.

These guys are the most underrated guitarists of all time, they're so damn good and yet don't get enough credit, so influential.

why are all those overrated jokers above them?

They should be number one. They're both lead guitarists.

They are the makers of metal, Legends. Gods of guitar riffs, simply the best.

There have NEVER been two simultaneous members of a band with this talent level.
Only something like the short-time pairing of Eric Clapton and Duane Allman on Layla can compare.

I thought Jimmy Page played bass for The Yardbirds.

Why is this not top five?

Actually it's (a7x) man

Frehley* my god

Those they solo together on every song, sometimes they solo on their own in one song but they know how make their own guitar tone figure who plays who. Both can shred, do whammy bar staff such diver bombs and pinch dives and many more. Both guitarist got influenced on their own guitar hero, for example gary is influenced on ted nugent and rick hunolt have tought by joe satriani. They solo just like slayer and megadeth sort of but their agression never slows them down. Gary can duo with any thrash metal guitar player: with lee atlus from heathen and kerry king from slayer. Grind on m/ m/ m/

The original lead/lead guitarist duo, & still the best. Most likely, the reason why they aren't #1 is that the Allman Brothers Band is one of the most unfairly overlooked bands of the Classic Rock era. Prime examples of this duo's sheer power can be found in songs like "Blue Sky", "Whipping Post (Fillmore East)", "Mountain Jam", & "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (Fillmore East)".

These two are the creators gentlemen! They only had a few years together but they meshed immediately. Blue Sky is a masterpiece. Country music evolved into what is today from them also. Who doesn't love those original songs and all of the live awesome recordings. Number one, no doubt!

No others come close to these 2! But I agree with the comments for Richards/Jones, Beck and Page, Collins & Rossington, and Felder and Walsh. All these guys are true legends and musicians, not like some of the other crap mentioned here.

This pair is definitely the greatest dual lead guitars of all time. Often overlooked, but listen to Blue Sky, Rambling Man, Whipping Post and especially Jessica and you will not deny that these guitarists meshed flawlessly.

Next to Tipton and Downing, these guys are the poster boys for dual metal guitar playing

Both guitarists are at least between top 10 guitarists in the world - just listen to their playing - who can repeat their songs!?

This duo can demolish with their guitars. Best thrash duo.

Easily the best out there!

Best guitar duo ever.

Legendary duo, both great guitarists and great singers!
R.I.P. joe strummer