16Derek Trucks

Tim Mosenfelder/Getty ImagesLiterally raised in theAllman Brothersfamily, Derek Trucks the nephew of Allmans drummer Butch Trucks started playing slide guitar at age nine and was touring by 12. But Trucks' precociousness was charged with an explorer's fever. When he stepped into the late Duane Allman's slide-guitar spot in the Allman Brothers Band in 1999, at age 20, Derek's soloing exploded in thrilling directions, managing to incorporate Delta blues, hard-bop jazz, the vocal ecstasies of Southern black gospel, and Indian-raga modality and rhythms."He's got infinitely more sounds than I have,"John Mayerconcedes admiringly. In addition to touring regularly with the Allman Brothers, Trucks now co-leads the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a swinging 11-piece beast in the Delaney and Bonnie tradition, along with his wife, singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi. "He's like a bottomless pit," saidEric Clapton, who took Trucks on tour as a sideman in 2006 and 2007. "His thing is very deep."Key Tracks:"Joyful Noise," "Whipping Post" (One Way Outversio17Neil Young

Gijsbert Hanekroot/RedfernsIf I was ever going to teach a master class to young guitarists, the first thing I would play them is the first minute ofNeil Young's original "Down by the River" solo. It's one note, but it's so melodic, and it just snarls with attitude and anger. It's like he desperately wants to connect. Neil's playing is like an open tube from his heart right to the audience. In the Nineties, we played a festival with Crazy Horse. At the end of "Like a Hurricane," Neil went into this feedback solo that was more like a sonic impressionist painting. He was about six feet back from the microphone, singing so you could just hear him over the colorful waves of hurricanelike sound.I think about that moment a lot when I'm playing. Traditional concepts of rhythm and keys are great, but music is like a giant ocean. It's a big, furious place, and there are a lot of trenches that haven't been explored. Neil is still blazing a trail for people who are younger than him, reminding us you can break artistic ground. By Trey AnastasioKey Tracks:"Down by the River," "Mr. Soul"18Les Paul

David Corio/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty ImagesLes Paulis best known as the genius who invented the solid-body guitar that bears his name. But he was just as imaginative as a player. "He made the very best guitar sounds of the 1950s," said Brian Wilson. "There's nobody that came close." A long string of hits in the Forties and Fifties (on his own and with his wife, singerguitarist Mary Ford) established his signature style: elegant, clean-toned, fleet-fingered improvisations on current pop standards. Paul created a groundbreaking series of technical innovations, including multilayered studio overdubs and varispeed tape playback, to achieve sounds nobody had ever come up with check out the insect-swarm solo on his 1948 recording of "Lover." Until shortly before Paul's 2009 death at age 94, he was still playing weekly gigs at a New York jazz club, with adoring metalheads in the audience. In Richie Sambora's words, "He had all of the licks, and when you heard it, it sounded like it came from outer space."Key Tracks:"How High the Moon," "Vaya Con Dios," "Tiger Rag"