Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix's name and image is passed around with such reverence and laden with such iconic imagery, you could safely call him the patron saint of rock guitar. Even those in the pantheon of rock greats put him in a higher, separate pantheon. His youth, energy, talent, style, and indulgence gave him a spark and the flash of inspiration was visible in the eyes of anyone who saw or heard him perform. Blues, funk, acid rock, psychedelic pop, and soul came through his fingers and on to the fretboard and literally lit the thing on fire. More than anything, his music and legacy seem to be about possibility - the possibility of what you could actually do with a guitar, what he could have been, and what mysteries could be unleashed or conjured up with the help of that six-string Fender Stratocaster.