Power blues featuring sizzling guitar work and down home gritty vocals.

Steve Vai first came to public attention as Frank Zappa's "stunt guitarist" in the 1980s. Vai's incredible dexterity and musical acumen made him the thinking man's guitar hero. Striking out on his own, the fleet-fingered Vai released a series of solo…

Joe Satriani is one of the foremost "guitar shredders," a guitarist whose lightning speed virtuosity is matched by his vast theoretical knowledge and musical imagination. The New York six-string demon kicked around as a sideman for a long time before…

This Boston quartet comprised Gary Cherone (b. 26 July 1961, Malden, Massachusetts, USA; vocals), Nuno Bettencourt (b. 20 September 1966, Azores, Portugal; guitar), Pat Badger (b. 22 July 1967, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; bass) and Paul Geary (b. 24 …

The U.K.'s Dire Straits became one of the world's most popular rock bands the old-fashioned way, through songwriting and musicianship. When "Sultans of Swing" broke through on both sides of the Atlantic in 1979, the sound suggested Bob Dylan backed b…

This Athens band's initial mix of Velvet Underground strum, Byrds-like Rickenbacker jangle, and charismatically oblique singing, became the sound of the 1980s as legions of bands followed suit. But even as imitators codified R.E.M.'s approach into th…

Lonley Joe is on the crooner side of life, with a slight Nick Cave and Chris Isaak influence. "Songs from the low side" is his second album, exhibiting a stunning production and musical quality.

Over the course of four decades, Eric Clapton has carried the British blues legacy into the mainstream of pop music. From his mid-1960s days with the Yardbirds and John Mayall, through his years as guitar god with Cream and Blind Faith, and eventuall…

A tasty blend of soul/funk/rock and other styles. It's raw, grooving music. All of The Woodsmen's music is free for you. Go to www.thewoodsmen.net for more

Melodic rock that is a blend of fringe and mainstream.

49 Fingers have a sound ranging from heavy electric guitars to light acoustic guitar and piano, plus everything in between. While the sounds are versatile, there is a cohesiveness that binds them together, consistently driven by irresistible melodie…

Epiphora is instrumental TV and film music which cuts across multiple genres. In any one sitting, you can hear electronica, hard rock, soft synth strings, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and piano. I generally play every instrument on the recordi…

Blend of rock, funk, and DC-based go-go. Music to get your groove on.

Marlango is an amazing journey through nu-jazz sounds with a tinge of cinematic influence and a definite musical and spiritual presence of their major influence, Tom Waits.

b. 12 June 1977, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA. A classically-styled blues rock guitarist, Shepherd recorded his debut album for Revolution Records in 1995 with the aid of singer Corey Sterling. Extracted from the album, "Déjà Voodoo' became a hit on ma…

In the 1980s, many assumed blues rock was left for dead, but Stevie Ray Vaughan helped breath life back into it. More than a straight-ahead bluesman, Texas-native Vaughan was influenced as much by Jimi Hendrix as he was by Otis Rush, and the singer/…

Swedish guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen is considered one of the most technically proficient guitarists in rock history. Thought of by many as the king of shredding--the high-speed, ultra-precise style of metal guitar soloing--Malmsteen combines he…

Van Halen rode the crest of 1970s riff-rock into 1980s abandon. Always able to produce a smile and a killer hook, their songs captured a West Coast attitude that combined Eddie Van Halen's guitar gymnastics and the high-energy antics of vocalist Davi…

Getting his start with one of heavy metal monolith Black Sabbath, singer Ozzy Osbourne split from the band in 1979, and forged a highly successful solo career that quickly eclipsed his former outfit. While Osbourne's strange antics sometimes overshad…