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In addition to this article, an unranked list of 'the 12 greatest Female Electric Guitarists'. What do you think?

12 of the greatest female electric guitar players to ever pick up the instrument:

# Joan Jett

A no-nonsense player who in only a few strums can get an entire barroom howling her 1982 hit, "I Love Rock ’n’ Roll." That kind of power, often amplified by painted-on leather pants, sets the bar high for Twilight’s Kristen Stewart, who’s playing Jett in an upcoming Runaways biopic.

# Lita Ford

After jamming with Jett as lead guitarist in the Runaways, Lita Ford took her pop-metal shedder sound solo and hired fellow rocker chick Sharon Osbourne as her manager. In 1988, she released Lita, a sexy riff-filled album that not only pleased rockers with its head-banging tunes but also got mainstreamers in the pit, especially with "Close My Eyes Forever," her duet with the prince of darkness Ozzy Osbourne.

# Nancy Wilson

Only a few seconds into the riff of Heart’s "Barracuda" and you know that only Nancy Wilson could knock you over with solos that beg to be air-guitared. Which makes us even more excited to hear that Nancy and sister Ann are preparing a new album slated for next summer.

# Jennifer Batten

Jennifer Batten’s shredding is just as outrageous as her platinum-spiked locks, both of which must have caught the attention of Michael Jackson, who called on her to play Eddie Van Halen’s "Beat It" guitar solo on his Bad, Dangerous, and HIStory tours. Watch video here.

# Donita Sparks

Donita Sparks, the woman behind ’80s girl group L7’s guitar-heavy riffs, gave birth to boozy garage grunge (download "Pretend We’re Dead," or play your own version on Rock Band 2), as well as her own group, Donita Sparks + the Stellar Moments, whose 2008 Transmiticate proves she hasn’t lost her hard-rock edge.

# Kelley Deal

Kelley Deal didn’t pick up the guitar until she was 30, but that’s the reason her disheveled playing for the Breeders (and later the Kelley Deal 6000) moves us. It’s untrained, uncalculated, and completely unreal.

# Carrie Brownstein

Sleater-Kinney could have fallen into obscurity like some of their ’90s indie-rock classmates (what ever happened to Joan Osborne?) but not with Carrie Brownstein’s riotous wailing, especially Page-like in the group’s 2002 record, One Beat. And lately, she’s taken to blogging for NPR.

# Poison Ivy

The Cramps were playing envelope-pushing ’80s psychobilly before it became mainstream in the ’90s and influenced bands like the Black Lips, the Jesus And Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine. With Poison Ivy on the ax (and late husband Lux Interior on vocals), her garage-punk attitude, though totally hard-core, seemed to come from a place of love. Creepy, fetish-filled love.

# Ruyter Suys

When her band Nashville Pussy plays live, lead guitarist Ruyter Suys whips her fiery red mane back and forth and lies on the stage floor (sometimes in only her underwear), all while creating the high-pitch electric screams that frame their "good old-fashioned, humping-in-the-back-seat-of-a-car rock ’n’ roll," as Suys describes it to Rolling Stone.

# The Great Kat

Of all the shredders on our list, Juilliard-trained violinist the Great Kat (aka Katherine Thomas) is the most mind-bogglingly fast. Watch her fingers do the talking in the Beethoven Mush video here. (Or just imagine the composer’s electrical symphony on amphetamines.)

# Marnie Stern

Marnie Stern’s twitchy rhythms and face-melting licks take what we love about Eddie Van Halen’s fast-paced playing and paints it with a rock-girl feel. On her second record, This Is It… (2008), Stern is a virtuosic badass.

# Orianthi

At 24, Australian newcomer Orianthi’s melodic wailing has already been endorsed by Carlos Santana ("If I was going to pass the baton to someone, she would be my first choice," he told the Aussie Today show) and Michael Jackson handpicked her for what would have been his comeback tour.

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As an old punker / alt.rocker, I guess I applaud the inclusion of the likes of Joan Jett, Donita Sparks, Poison Ivy, Kelley Deal, Carrie Brownstein, etc. My problem is that none of them are actually such good guitarists. So we're just appreciating them for being there and kicking ass, aren't we really?

I appreciate that there aren't so many female musicians to choose from, but, y'know?

None of the aforementioned are anywhere near as good as Kelly Johnson (RIP) of Girlschool , who not only kicked ass, but was a sh!t-hot guitarist. This list is discredited by her omission. In his autobiography, Lemmy (of Motorhead) asserted that Kelly was as good a rock guitarist as he ever encountered, and I'm sure he must have met a few.

"C'mon Let's Go" - Girlschool

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If I'm not mistaken, I've read this article before. Poison Ivy of the Cramps is a bit overrated appearing on this list.

The Cramps... influenced bands like the Black Lips, the Jesus And Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine.

Please, those bands are much better than the Cramps were, they didn't influence jacks#!t.

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I'm surprised they didn't link to a video of Orianthi Panagaris, she's probably the most skilled female electric guitarist I've seen. And I'm not just saying that because she's Australian and good looking. See here. :)

I also agree with someone who made a comment on that page - if it wasn't just electric guitarists listed, Ana Vidovic should make the top ten. Asturias is my favourite Spanish classical guitar instrumental (originally written for piano), and she plays it amazingly well in this video. I tried to learn Asturias about six years ago. Needless to say, I didn't have much success. :P

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After jamming with Jett as lead guitarist in the Runaways, Lita Ford took her pop-metal shedder sound solo and hired fellow rocker chick Sharon Osbourne as her manager. In 1988, she released Lita, a sexy riff-filled album that not only pleased rockers with its head-banging tunes but also got mainstreamers in the pit, especially with "Close My Eyes Forever," her duet with the prince of darkness Ozzy Osbourne.

Edited by Guest
say with me now, "spamalamadingdong the witch is dead..."
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