Contrary to rumour and wild speculation, we don't sit around the Guitarist lair sweep picking on our PRSs all day while munching mince pies. We also take time to listen to music too, and it's been a great year for guitar fans in that regard.
With tastes wider than The Grand Canyon Of Mars, we couldn't face the frenzied verbal brawl involved in carving out a definitive team top 5. So we settled on our own individual lists of what we considered our pick of the best…
Mick Taylor, editor
1. John Mayer - Battle Studies
2. Joe Bonamassa - The Ballad Of John Henry
3. Benjamin Taylor - The Legend Of King Folk
4. Martin Simpson - True Stories
5. Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream
Owen Bailey, deputy editor
1. The Invisible - The Invisible
2. Grizzly Bear - Vekitamest
3. Jeffrey Lewis And The Junkyard - ´Em Are I
4. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
5. Doves - Kingdom Of Rust
Paul Robson, Operations editor
1. Manic Street Preachers - Journal For Plague Lovers
2. Pearl Jam - Backspacer
3. Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream
4. Jeniferever - Spring Tides
5. Dead Confederate - Wrecking Ball
Simon Bradley, CD & multi-media editor
1. Kiss - Sonic Boom
2. The Brian Setzer Orchestra - Songs From Lonely Avenue
3. Richard Hawley - Truelove´s Gutter
4. Rammstein - Liebe Is Fur Alle Da
5. Heaven And Hell - The Devil You Know
Josh Gardner, production assistant
1. Converge - Axe To Fall
2. Russian Circles - Geneva
3. Lamb Of God - Wrath
4. People In Planes - Beyond The Horizon
5. Butterfly Effect - Final Conversation Of Kings
Rob Antonello, designer
1. Pearl Jam - Backspacer
2. Russian Circles - Geneva
3. John Mayer - Battle Studies
4. Dan Arborise - Of Tide & Trail
5. Derek Trucks Band - Already Free
Dave Durban, editorial assistant
1. Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions
2. Manchester Orchestra - Everything To Nothing
3. Brand New - Daisy
4. John Mayer - Battle Studies
5. Mew - No More Stories Are Told Today I'm Sorry They Washed Away
Phil Millard, art editor
1. Sonic Youth - The Eternal
2. Russian Circles - Geneva
3. Isis - Wavering Radiant
4. Polvo - In Prism
5. Lydia Lunch´s Big Sexy Noise
Rob Laing, senior staff writer
1. Katatonia - Night Is The New Day
2. Karnivool - Sound Awake
3. Pearl Jam - Backspacer
4. Russian Circles - Geneva
5. Paradise Lost - Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us
Here's to an even better 2010!
“It’s kind of scary to go through these…like, ‘Oh I’m going to take that back!’”: Albert Hammond Jr of the Strokes is (reluctantly) selling a heap of his stage-played gear on Reverb, including a Guild acoustic from the Yours To Keep tour
“There’s three of us playing guitar in Foo Fighters… A lot of tone details can get lost, which is what drew me to the Cleaver – that P-90 cut”: Chris Shiflett on how he found his weapon of choice with his Fender Cleaver Telecaster Deluxe
“It’s kind of scary to go through these…like, ‘Oh I’m going to take that back!’”: Albert Hammond Jr of the Strokes is (reluctantly) selling a heap of his stage-played gear on Reverb, including a Guild acoustic from the Yours To Keep tour
“There’s three of us playing guitar in Foo Fighters… A lot of tone details can get lost, which is what drew me to the Cleaver – that P-90 cut”: Chris Shiflett on how he found his weapon of choice with his Fender Cleaver Telecaster Deluxe
