Best guitarist lists are dominated by men.
No surprise, since there are far more of them.
But there have been some amazing and famous female guitarists over the years, too.
And the best female guitarists of all time blow the vast majority of male guitarists out of the water.
So who are the best?
Obviously, there is a lot of debate. But the 7 incredible guitar players below are my picks for the best ever. Do you agree?
Table of Contents
Best Female Guitarists Of All Time
I’m sure you’ll notice an absence of modern female guitarists on this list. That’s because I feel you need a long track record of making incredible music to be considered one of the best ever. But there are certainly young guitarists out there who will populate a list like this one in 20 or 30 years.
Lizzie Douglas
Lizzie Douglas, more popularly known as the renowned “Memphis Minnie”, is among the most skilled jazz guitarists and certainly the most influential female guitar player of all time.
She started as a street busker when she was only 13 and has a track record spanning at least five decades. Lizzie was just 16 on her first tour with the famed Ringling Brothers.
She rose to prominence in the Tennessee blues scene when she joined Kansas Joe McCoy. that was when she earned the nickname Memphis Minnie.
The vast majority of blues connoisseurs came to know Lizzie after When The Levee Breaks, although her prolific work encompasses over 15+ blues albums and compilations published by 10+ labels.
What sets Lizzie Douglas apart from her fellow female guitarists is the unique upbeat vibe in her take on blues. Even though most of her tunes had a touch of nostalgic elements, her vibrant character and powerful tone dominated Memphis Minnie’s compositions.
Elizabeth Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten is among the most talented self-taught musicians I have ever heard. I love how she seamlessly weaves dozens of intricate blues chords into gorgeous melodies with her fingerstyle guitar.
Elizabeth is known for her exceptionally smooth playing. So much so that most people are enthralled by the beautiful tunes, forgetting to notice how complex the lines in her songs are.
This is even more impressive once you learn that she’s a left-handed musician playing a right-handed guitar flipped upside-down. You’ll notice that the pickguard on her guitar is pointing upward).
Her songs are a mesh of top-notch blues and folk music, especially her debut LP Folksongs and Instrumentals with Guitar. She soared in popularity after recording and launching Freight Train, which is essentially an expanded re-release of her debut album.
Perfect string control, outstanding fretting accuracy, and the fact that she learned tons of complex blues chords on her own (when the internet didn’t even exist) speak volumes about her ability and quality as a guitar player.
Peggy Jones
The “Queen Mother of Guitar”, “Lady Bo”, and “Malone” are just some of the many nicknames Peggy Jones wore on her sleeve as she dominated the US rock scene alongside top-class acts like Bo Diddley, the Jewels, and many others.
Similar to Lizzie Douglas, Peggy started playing at the very early age of 15. She wasn’t classically trained but did receive lessons in performing arts and opera.
After a brief stint with doo-wop acts, she joined the legendary Bo Diddley when she was 17 and prolifically recorded music with and for him for almost a decade.
Peggy Jones was among the first female rock n’ roll guitarists in big bands. Sporting a strong, grainy distortion and surprisingly clear tone, she was mainly known for her funky idiosyncrasies and exemplary control over her guitar.
She eventually left Bo Diddley’s band to pursue a solo career, which allowed her to experiment with different guitar tones, shapes, and effects. With The Jewels, her tone drastically changed as she began playing a Roland Guitar Synth, dropping the massive gain in favor of a more electronica-oriented approach.
I consider her one of the best female guitarists of all time because she had an opportunity to stay in Bo Diddley’s shadow and enjoy unimaginable success (as a side act), but she dared to explore other possibilities the guitar had to offer.
Joan Jett
Another prolific female guitarist who surfaced in the US rock scene at a very young age, Joan Jett co-founded the Runaways with Lita Ford when she was 16. Her outstanding charisma, stage presence, and impeccable songwriting skills quickly earned her an opening slot with various world-class acts like Ramones, Tom Petty, and Van Halen.
Joan is one of the pioneers of hard rock and punk rock, bringing a distinctively strong, heavily distorted tone to the fading classic rock scene. She has been listed among the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Rolling Stone, but is equally famous as a vocalist. She was inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame in 2015 and was named West Hollywood’s Rock Legend in 2013.
Lita Ford
Lita Rosanna Ford stood beside Joan Jett in The Runaways when she was 16, but after the band broke up merely four years later, she pursued a remarkably successful solo career.
Lita appeared on the radar with her debut Out for Blood, but it wasn’t until she followed it up with Dancin’ on the Edge the following year that she became globally recognized.
Even though Lita’s career was riddled with short breaks, she is considered among the most prolific female guitarists of all time. Throughout her career, she recorded 9 solo albums and even starred in 6+ films
Nancy Wilson
Nancy Wilson became known for her exemplary guitar and songwriting skills as one of the founding members of the legendary female-fronted rock group Heart,.
She also showed the world her gentler, more emotional side as a solo artist. On her own, she favored folk-rock styles, that go beyond plain power chords and melodic solos.
Nancy Wilson is among the scant few old-school female guitarists who still perform and record music today.
She has been gracing the world with powerful tunes and game-changing albums for over four decades, and she continues to do so as a solo artist. Her debut solo album You and Me was released quite recently (2021) and is still gaining traction.
Kristy Marlana Wallace
Kristy Marlana Wallace, otherwise known as the iconic Poison Ivy, is a legend of US punk rock and psychobilly, famed as the lead guitarist of The Cramps.
Even though her technical prowess may pale in comparison to Elizabeth Cotten or Lizzie Douglas, she had an amazing stage presence, outstanding charisma, and a remarkable songwriting talent.
Poison Ivy’s career lasted well over three decades, during which she had a massive influence on the growing punk rock movement in the United States and Europe.
As for her style, Kristy didn’t deviate much from the standard riffing techniques that we all love punk for, but she would often spice things up with short but well-timed, juicy solos.
Famous Female Guitarists: Final Thoughts
As mentioned in the introduction, lists like these are always subjective and fodder for much debate. I love that and I love hearing differing opinions!
So, if you feel there are other guitarists who should have been on this list of the best female guitarists of all time, please let me know in the comments below. I will be happy to add any good suggestions in a future update.
Also let me know if you feel one of my choices does not belong on this list. In that case, I am happy to hear a differing opinion, but I will not remove any of the names.
And if you like lists like these, you should also check out my articles listing the top female bassists of all time, the top blues guitarists in history, the top rhythm guitarists ever, and the top metal guitarists ever.
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