08. B.B. King

You cannot have a list of the greatest guitarists of all time and not include the pioneering B.B. King.

Without the late blues icon, there would arguably be no Rolling Stones, Beatles, or Eric Clapton.

From his free-flowing string bending, shimmering vibrato, and staccato picking, he's on another level.

He and Clapton would go on to win a Grammy for their joint LP 'Riding With the King' in 2001.

In a special ode to his idol, the 'Layla' hitmaker, 78, ensured King took centre stage on all the songs.

Upon his passing aged 89 in 2015, Clapton hailed King "a beacon for all of us who loved this kind of music".