“Few guitars in rock ’n’ roll have inspired more adulation and imitation”: Billboard has shared its list of the 100 Greatest Guitars of All Time – and there are some surprises in the top 10

Eddie Van Halen, Willie Nelson, Jimi Hendrix.

Billboard has released its list of the 100 Greatest Guitars of All Time, and it includes a fair few surprising – and at times questionable – rankings.

The guitar, Billboard says, “is probably the most pivotal instrument of the 20th century, serving as a centerpiece for a variety of genres that changed the course of culture in America and around the world”.