STRINGVibe’s Top 50 Guitar Sites
We knew that choosing the Top 50 Guitar Sites was going to be tricky. There are probably thousands of sites dedicated to this instrument. We hunted high and low for the best of the best. We think we did a pretty great job.
The Sites are divided into five categories: Learning to Play, the best blogs, the best informational sites, the best guitar vendors, and the best guitar tools. Many of the sites could have been put into two or more categories, so we tried to place them as well as we could.
We also did not bother ranking these sites. This would have been an even more difficult task and simply not worth the time. If a site made this list, it’s a great site with information about the guitar. Plan and Simple.
Lastly, we didn’t include our own site. Call it fake modesty, or whatever, we didn’t feel it was fair. If you want to check out our Guitar section we’ve left links ​to the right!
Quick NavigationBest Sites for Learning to Play GuitarThe Best Guitar BlogsThe Best Guitar Information SitesBest Vendors Online For Guitars Best Online Guitar Tools
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Best Sites for Learning to Play Guitar
Artist Works
This site is an amazing resource for learning to play guitar. Start with their free “Acoustic Guitar 101” program and then pick from courses like Rock, Fingerpicking, Blues, Electric, Jazz and Classical Guitar.
Justin Guitar
Some of the best free lessons you could find online, Justin has a very easy to follow teaching style. If you’re on a budget there is plenty of free material, or purchase his songbooks and DvDs. One of the few sites we’ve spent money on ourselves!
Guitar Jamz
If you’ve ever looked for a guitar lesson on YouTube, you know who Marty Schwartz is. That’s just his free material. Guitar Jamz is the paid membership site that goes along with the tons of free material. Easily one of our favorite teachers, this site is one of the first places you need to go for lessons online.
Guitar Lessons
Just by visiting this site and supplying your email address you’ll get GuitarLessons “Ultimate Toolbox” to sample 50 lessons. Enjoy those? Sign up for the GL Academy and use thier 3 step play to accelerate your learning!
Tom Hess
Not only does Tom Hess teach aspiring musicians to play guitar, he teaches experienced players how to teach the instrument. Along with a great training library this site details his playing career, videos, student testimonials (and performances)!
Virtual Sheet Music
This is one of the few sites on this list that isn’t video based. We realize some students will learn better by reading music than seeing it played. Virtual Sheet music is for you! You can purchase individual sheets or sign up for a monthly membership!
JamPlay
JamPlay has over 5,000 HD guitar lessons with more added everyday. They also have an impressive list of teachers to choose from in various specialties. Almost all of thier content is for members only, but they have some good lessons to explore and make sure it’s a good fit!
Guitar Master Class
Guitar Master Class have a great selection of free and paid lessons, but it’s the “extras” that sets this site apart. The forum is very active and full of useful information, and the scale generator is the best that we’ve found online!
Lick Library
Lick Library is a video learning site that specializes in lessons that are a little more advanced than many others on the Top 50 Guitar Sites list. They have a great system that allows you to pay for single lessons, purchase packages, or order DvDs, tabs books, or CD’s.
Guitar Tricks
Guitar Tricks was one of the very first online guitar lesson sites, dating all the way back to 1998. With a library of over 11,ooo videos, they have something for everyone. Guitar Tricks prides itself on being an easy, fast, and fun way to learn guitar. If you are struggling to improve, this may be the site for you!
Guitar Compass
Guitar Compass might be the best value on this entire list for paid courses. At less than $10 a month the premium content is much less expensive than many competitors. They also have both free and paid lessons broken out into categories which makes navigating 500+ lessons a breeze.
The Guitar Lesson
The Guitar Lesson is run by Tom Fontana and has a completely free Beginner lesson section. The site focuses on helping beginners stay motivated and learn by playing actual songs. A lot of the more advanced material can be accessed with a paid membership. Also, check out the very good blog section with even more free material!
Theory Lessons
Theory Lessons specializes in, you guessed it, guitar theory! We really like this site because so many of the others gloss over this important subject. Chords, Scales and theory are all covered for both Guitar or Bass here!
Fret Jam
Fret Jam has a very good, step-by-step, beginner course to start with before moving on to the more advanced lessons. While Fret Jam lacks the size and sheer volume of many of the other sites on the list, the painstaking detail of its lessons is worth a visit.
Guitar Music Theory
Desi Serna has put together a great site for experienced players looking to master the fretboard. Guitar Music Theory requires that basic guitar skills are already mastered, but can take your playing to the next level from there. Multiple courses or a monthly membership option make the site affordable for anyone!
The Best Guitar Blogs
Guitar World
The Magizine we all know and love also comes in a digital version. Granted, you still can subscribe (and you should), but why not check out the website as well? An impressive offering of content includes news, lessons, gear reviews and guides, artists, top lists, and contests galorie!
Guitar.com
The forum at Guitar.com is staggering, at the time of this writing it had well over one million posts. From there you can explore the interviews, videos and pictures, and reviews. Last but not least, don’t miss the Rig Diagrams to find out exactly what equipment your favorite axe players used.
Guitarkadia
A great interview site, Guitarkadia sits down and produces quality films from great guitarists on a number of subjects. Search twitter for #guitarchat will land you with a list of these transcripts. Very interesting reads.
GuitarZ
The self proclaimed “Original and World’s longest-running Guitar Blog” you’ll find a little bit of everything here. This site has long been the place to go for all things guitar, be it weird, new, bizarre, or just plain interesting.
I Heart Guitar
Peter Hodgson, an established guitarist and writer, is the mind behind I Heart Guitar. This blog is a wealth of information, especially in the areas of axe reviews and interviews. Some of our favorite posts are about specific peices of the guitar, like the limited editon Purple Tribute Body.
Six String Bliss
While Six String Bliss hasn’t produced any new content since 2013, there is certainly a reason for them to be on this list, two actually. They have some very interesting, informative interviews from the podcast/blog and if you haven’t been to the forum it’s one of the better guitar related boards still online.
Guitar Lesson World
This site was almost put in the “Learning Sites” category. it simply has that much high quality lessons about how to play. In the end, it winded up here because of the lack of video. Either way, this site is FULL of very good, very detailed information on common and not so common guitar subjects.
Guitar Noise
Another site that could have gone in several categories, Guitar Noise has a wide selection of material. They have some very solid, and popular, guitar lesson videos, great guides to purchasing equipment, and have launched a Podcast that supplements the other information!
Effects Bay
Effects Bay might be the most specialized site on our list. Dealing mostly with guitar pedals, this is the place to go if you are curious how to get a certian sound, an effect, or recommendations!
Guitar Habits
Guitar Habits rounds out our best blogs list. Klaus Crow has put together a gigantic source of information on all things guitar. His lessons go all the way back to May of 2009, if you can’t find it here, it probably hasn’t been written about!
The Best Guitar Information Sites
Ultimate Guitar
Ultimate-Guitar is probably best known for its tab and chord library. If you want know how to play a song, they’ve got the chords and tabs. Although it’s not as well known, they also have a very good forum, review section and news that are worth the visit to the site.
Music Theory
Learning music theory can be challenging. The first thing most people want to do is play their favorite song, not memorize scales, notes, or the fretboard. Music Theory has taken a lot of the basic lessons and turned them into interactive exercises. Especially helpful are the ear training lessons, which are hard to find anywhere else online!
Shredaholic
Shredaholic is one of the most diverse sites on the entire list, they simply cover everything. A great resource for interviews, lessons, videos, and gear, this is a great collection of informational guitar articles.
Songsterr
The only knock we can find on Songsterr, it’s only in tabs. So sorry, you’re going to have to read music rather than just know chords. After that though…. simply awesome. Learn your favorite songs by playing along with a moving tablature. Upgrade to the pro plan and you can get added bonuses like tempo control!
The Gear Page
The guitar forum to rule all other guitar forums. If you need to know anything about guitars, especially somewhat obscure questions, this is your spot. Just a warning though, you very well may fall victim to extreme jealousy over the rigs that are displayed. Your wallet has been warned!
Guitar Adventures
Guitar Adventures is a very well rounded site. We found this site while checking out the guitar tips section, then looked at the clock 45 minutes later when we were still browsing. The site does a great job reviewing individual instruments from acoustic, electric, and classical categories.
Whole Note
Whole note is a community style site. You’ll find a ton of the basic information you’ll find on other sites, including lessons, tabs, interviews and guitar resources. A great feature that is unique to Whole Note is the Groove builder, where you can actually create your own backing tracks!
Essential Guitar
It looks like Essential Guitar hasn’t updated thier look since the 90’s. They’ve probably been to busy producing some of the best information on the web about guitar theory. The article on learning the fretboard is one of the best you’ll find, anywhere.
911 Tabs
911 Tabs is more than just a tabs site. They do have great tabs, and it’s a nice bonus for bands you can find chords and tabs for the guitar, bass, piano and drums for many songs, a lot even have videos. They’ve also gone through a site re-design which makes it a lot easier to navigate than some others!
Chordie
Chordie is another solid chords and tabs listing site. Two things that really set this place apart are a very good, active forum and the “Songbook” feature. Make your own songbook or check out ones that other members have put together!
The Fretboard
This United Kingdom based forum is one of the busiest guitar hubs you’ll find on either side of the Atlantic. This is a very active community where you can find discussions on gear, reviews, playing advice, and classifieds.
Share My Guitar
This is what Facebook would look like if Mark Zuckerberg was a guitar player. The “Social Network for Guitarists”, this is a great community. Check out awesome photos of other members instruments and watch them play their newest licks.
Vintage Guitar and Bass
This might be THE best site on the web concentrated on vintage guitars. The amount of information on Vintage Guitar and Bass about instruments that were produced as far back as the 1950s. It is also possible to buy or sell a vintage guitar here making it a must see for collectors.
Guitar Chalk
If the name Bobby Kittleberger sounds familiar it’s because he has a normal column in with Guitar World. This is his site. Not only is he a wiz with all things pedals, but his reviews are some of the most in depth we’ve come across.
Best Vendors Online For Guitars
Guitar Center
You might be more familar with Guitar Center’s physical locations, but the online store is a great way to shop for gear. Not only do they have three times more selection, but the used gear section is much better online than in a single store.
Reverb
Reverb is a community of guitar players and other musicians that can buy and sell from each other. You’ll find a great selection of gear on this site, especially if you are looking for something that isn’t availible in a store. While not a traditional store, there are some treasures to be found here.
Musician’s Friend
This site has A LOT of instruments. Many of which are not guitars, but their selection of guitars is impressive. Musician’s Friend prides itself on having the widest selection of instruments, gear, and content on the planet. Add in a nice rewards program, and you’ve got a winner.
Taylor Guitars
Taylor is one of the most famous names in music. Their guitars are played by musicians world wide and are legendary for their quality. Normally we wouldn’t put a brand on this list, but Taylor is the exception. Not only is this site great information about Taylor instruments, the Community section of the site has lots of great content.
Chicago Music Exchange
This is the online face of Chicago Music Exchange, which is a huge store focused on guitars and drums. Not only do they have a massive selection of new instruments, this is one of the best places to find Vintage and Used guitars.
Sweetwater
Sweetwater is more varied than some of the other vendors on the list, as they carry many of the popular instruments you’ll find in todays music. The selection of guitars and bass guitars they carry is great, though, and you’ll also find things like recording gear, software, and wireless upgrades.
Dolphin Music
Another site with a huge selection of instruments and accessories, Dolphin Music is a UK based store. If you’re in the UK, check out one of their stores, if not, check out the great selection for all level of musicians.
ZZounds
With 1 million happy customers, you know that ZZsounds is doing something right. Just like many of the sites on this list, ZZounds has a great selection. The thing that sets them apart is their shipping, which is always free and in many cases a two-day turnaround!
Best Online Guitar Tools
Song Surgeon
Song Surgeon is an extremely useful tool that somehow isn’t a recurring fee, rather, it’s a one time payment. With this tool you’ll be able to slow down songs, find tempo and pitch quickly, transcribe music, and create lessons the easy way. We are extremely impressed not only with its versatility, but buy its functionality as well!
Guitar Pro
Guitar Pro is much more than your average tablature bank. Sure, mySongBook comes with over 2000 transcriptions with more availible with subscription. The best part of this software is how easy it makes it to transcribe songs or even compose music yourself.
Guitar Tone Master
With over 950 free guitar backing tracks, this is the perfect place to come for all your jamming needs. You can check out the top 100 or search by style of music. Once you’ve got your basic chords down this can be a really fun way to continue learning!