Jimi Hendrix

Arguably the greatest guitarist to ever live, Jimi Hendrix came onto the music scene like a shooting star, only to tragically flame out before he even reached his 28th birthday. His sound was raw and fierce, and vastly different than anything anyone had heard before. Hendrix had an incredible versatility with his guitar, equally adept with blues, rock, and heartfelt classics, or he could bring them all together to create a unique genre no one could duplicate.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience only released three albums, but all have become legendary. Are You Experienced is widely considered one of the greatest debut albums in the history of music. Despite being a fine songwriter, the closest Hendrix ever came to reaching the top of the US charts was not with one of his own songs, but a cover of Bob Dylan’s All Along The Watchtower, which hit number 20 on the single’s charts in 1968. Jimi’s version was so powerful that, as the legend goes, after Dylan heard it he would only play it the way Hendrix had.