72   Joni Mitchell

The secret to Mitchell's daring guitar work is that she uses more than fifty different tunings. Mitchell devised the alternate tunings to compensate for a left hand weakened by childhood polio. In time she used them as a tool to break free of standard approaches to harmony and structure.


Essential Recording: "All I Want," Blue (1971)

73   Trey Anastasio
of Phish

Anastasio can play anything he hears. Phish's guitar anti-hero has Pat Metheny's cinematic sense of pacing and Frank Zappa's impish inclination toward noise. His epic solos balance technical finger-work against screaming climaxes, and they're exciting even when he's sloppy. Especially when he's sloppy.


Essential Recording: "You Enjoy Myself," A Live One (1995)

74   Johnny Winter

In the early Seventies, Winter took the blues into hard-rock territory with his overdrive takes on anthems such as "Johnny B. Goode"and "Jumpin' Jack Flash." He produced a string of solid albums for his hero Muddy Waters in the late Seventies. "It's a living music," Winter has said. "For me, blues is a necessity."


Essential Recording: "Prodigal Son," Johnny Winter And (1970)