Poll: What is the Most Significant Guitar Event of the Past 31 Years?

As chosen recently by the editors of Guitar World, below are some of the heaviest guitar events to hit the music world since the magazine was founded in 1980.

Whether you're a shred guitar disciple, acoustic singer-songwriter, multi-instrumental maestro or just a lover of music, all of the events listed below have affected your world aurally in one small way or another.That said, some moments will naturally impact different people in different ways. We want to know what event stands out most for you. Was it the arrival of grunge? The tragic demise of John Lennon or Dimebag Darrell? Or maybe it was the Internet's ability to forever change the way we consume and distribute music.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**

Join now for unlimited access

US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year

UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year

Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Prices from £2.99/$3.99/€3.49

Latest

A composite image of Robert Fripp and Jimi Hendrix

“Jimi Hendrix came down to see us – he came up to me and said, ‘Shake my left hand, man, it’s closer to my heart’”: King Crimson’s Robert Fripp on the time he met Jimi Hendrix

See more latest ►

“A lot of kids are getting millions of hits because they can play Eruption. If you want to impress me, write Eruption”: Jesse Dayton is glad he didn’t have a hit years ago – it might have taken away his freedom

“When companies have success, or they have iconic models, we can tend to get lazy... Consumers and artists deserve better – they need to feel like we’re working hard”: How Martin made its groundbreaking Inception acoustic

“As guitarists, we’re used to looking at wood on our guitars, but its role in shaping the cabinet’s sound is as important”: How does guitar cabinet material affect the sound?

“He’d pull off bass riffs that were just amazing – he doesn’t just follow the roots”: Listen to Geddy Lee’s “flamenco” strumming technique on Rush’s Snakes & Arrows

“Clyde McCoy was duly paid $500 to endorse a pedal he probably never used”: The wah pedal changed the sound of electric guitar – but was originally intended for the trumpet

“I send two delays out to an amp each and pan them. You get this glorious wash that makes you feel like you’re on drugs”: With Oceansize, Mike Vennart influenced a generation of progressive guitarists – and he’s not ruling out a reunion

“As a guitarist you can come in after the one without the house falling apart. But as a bass player, you always have to be there”: How Jonas Reingold switched from classical guitar and became Steve Hackett’s go-to bassist

“We started at a slow tempo, but as the session wore on, people were heading to the bathroom and sniffing stuff, and the tempo got to be almost twice as fast!” Klaus Voormann’s bassline on John Lennon’s Whatever Gets You Thru The Night is a must-listen

“When the bass comes back in it’s like a punch in the face. Nobody plays like that anymore”: Listen to John Deacon’s isolated bassline on Killer Queen

“When I look back, The Strokes were like this tentpole. They led me to learn how to accompany myself and made me want to start my own band”: Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield found her country voice via indie and riot grrrl

“I know what it’s like to wake up and not having anything to eat… My blues comes out differently than somebody who just plays the blues because they like it”: Cedric Burnside on living the blues – and why he plays guitars built by a brain surgeon