List

The Greatest Female Guitarists of All Time
Venus Zine applauds 46 of the world's best

By Venus Zine Staff

Rolling Stone’s 2003 special issue about the “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” is an ambitious edition with Jimi Hendrix on the cover and accolades to the great players of our time. But the project is sorely lacking in female presence — there are only two women on the list: Joni Mitchell and Joan Jett.

To shine light on the great female guitarists of our time, we have selected 46 of the best based on an array of excellence factors, including either technical skill, standout performance, and style pioneering. To diversify the selection process, we invited guitar experts and music leaders from various genre backgrounds (read their bios below) to nominate their favorites.

Because of the large number of guitarist profiles, we've split up the editorial content into three postings. Click on the headlines below to read about Venus Zine's 46 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

guitarists a-g
Jennifer Batten
Christina Billotte
Kat Bjelland
Rory Block
Carrie Brownstein
Elizabeth Cotten
Brody Dalle
Kim Deal
Ani DiFranco
Tanya Donelly
Rosie Flores
Lita Ford
Suzi Gardner

guitarists h-m
Sue Ann Harkey
Polly Jean Harvey
Jessie Mae Hemphill
Kristin Hersh
Chrissie Hynde
Sharon Isbin
Cordell Jackson
Joan Jett
Peggy "Lady Bo" Jones
Carol Kaye
Tara Key
Kaki King
Courtney Love
Lydia Lunch
Barbara Lynn
Christina Marrs
Satomi Matsumoto
Memphis Minnie
Joni Mitchell

guitarists o-z
Odetta
Pat Place
Liz Phair
Bonnie Raitt
Toshi Reagon
Michelle Shocked
Donita Sparks
Marnie Stern
Ruyter Suys
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Mary Timony
Sarah Utter
Tal Wilkenfeld
Nancy Wilson