Van Halen

UNSPECIFIED - MAY 01:  Photo of Van Halen  Photo by Waring Abbott/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Waring Abbott/Michael Ochs Archives

With their 1978 eponymous debut, Van Halen simultaneously rewrote the rules of rock guitar and hard rock in general. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen redefined what electric guitar could do, developing a blindingly fast technique with a variety of self-taught two-handed tapping, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and effects that mimicked the sounds of machines and animals. It was wildly inventive and ov... Read More