Jack White

Weird and passionate, with burning eyes and an old man's sensibilities, Jack White spent the 2000s going from promising garage-rocker to international rock star. He was one of the most important guitarists of the decade — on the strength of his forcefulness and ingenuity rather than virtuosity — as well as a great conceptualizer and a top-flight songwriter who could draw on a seemingly bottomless bag of riffs and melodies.

Photo by Carr/Getty