AC/DC's Angus Young Tops Australian Poll for Best Aussie Guitarist

Eternal schoolboy Angus Young is still at the head of the class.

Readers of Australian Guitar Magazine recently named the AC/DC axeman the best Australian guitarist of all time.

The poll, which the Sydney Morning Herald calls "a highly scientific survey of Australia's musical terrain," was put together by three Australian guitar-playing music writers, including frequent GuitarWorld.com contributor Peter Hodgson.

The report says they troubled themselves less with the guitarists' origins (Young was born in Scotland, for instance), genre and gender (only two women made the original list of 50 players) than with what sounds awesome.

Here are the top-10 vote-getters:

  • 01. Angus Young
  • 02. Tommy Emmanuel
  • 03. Ian Moss of Cold Chisel
  • 04. Chris Cheney of The Living End
  • 05. Rick Brewster of The Angels
  • 06. Slava Grigoryan
  • 07. Deniz Tek (Radio Birdman, The Visitors)
  • 08. Jim Moginie of Midnight Oil
  • 09. Lobby Loyde (Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs)
  • 10. Ross Hannaford of Daddy Cool.

A bit closer to home, Young recently beat out Ace Frehley in a Round 1 matchup in GuitarWorld.com's ongoing Greatest Guitarist of All Time poll. In today's blues-themed Round 1 bout, Albert King squares off with B.B. King. Vote here!

Damian Fanelli
Editor-in-Chief, Guitar World

Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.