The 10 Greatest Guitar Gods of Emo

Discover the 10 best guitar gods of emo music.

If you asked 10 different music fans what exactly “emo” means as a genre, you’ll likely get 10 different answers. We believe in a quantum theory of emo, where all definitions exist at the same time, and Rites of Spring, Hawthorne Heights, and Lil’ Peep are all members of the same lineage of sad music.

One aspect of emo that often goes underappreciated is the technical ability of its guitar players. For an emo band to truly succeed, the “emotion” of a song has to extend beyond what the singer is doing to the rest of the band. The best in the genre are masters of their craft, able to evoke very specific emotions with ease.

READ MORE: 10 Emo Songs That Are Actually Really Heavy

This manifests in many different approaches, as you’ll see on this list. Some guitarists opt for grandiose displays of rock, offering up gigantic solos very much in line with their arena progenitors. Others use their guitars as conduits for pure expression, channeling all the anger and sadness they can summon with their playing.

From mathy twinkle-daddies to prog-emo superstars, we adore all approaches to this nebulous genre.

Here are the 10 greatest guitar gods in all of emo.

Guitar may not always be everyone’s first thought when discussing emo music, but these guitar gods prove that should change.

Gallery Credit: John Hill