Hand Picked - The Ten Coolest Looking Guitars

There are a lot of guitars out there that look really cool, but once you pick them up to play them you realize that is about all it has to it. However, a lot can be said for how a guitar looks. It is often what has enticed many of us to pick up this wonderful instrument in the first place, and what can make those who have turned their ability to play it into a celebrated art form even more memorable. It is with that in mind I present to you what are, in my opinion, the coolest looking guitars.

The signature guitar of my favorite guitarist of all time Angus Young, though also a staple of axe men like Pete Townshend and Tony Iommi, this will be the most unaltered guitar appearing on this list. A small yet sturdy body with those pseudo devil horn curves allowing for easy access to the fret board's higher registers, this is just a rocking guitar.

What's cooler than one SG? Why two SGs of course. One of the most well known trademarks of the legendary Jimmy Page, sporting a standard 6 string neck and a 12 string neck, I don't normally go for guitars with multiple necks (I find them overly gaudy and often unnecessary), but this one is a beautiful exception.

Another thing I rarely go for is polka dots. In this case though, and I fully admit it may be because of the name of he who first wielded it, not only do I tolerate it, I want it. Instantly recognizable and built for speed, this is the closest polka dots will ever come to looking cool.

Really I could've picked any variation of the Hellraiser for this one. It's not a very complex design but makes up for it with a sleek shiny beauty you could just look at for hours. But for me anyway, knowing that this baby has 8 strings to rip through, makes it just that much more awesome.

With a look as brutal as the man who plays it, this is a guitar that demands only a certain kind of guitar player will use it and only a certain kind of music will be played with it. Bring this one on stage and the audience will know full well what they are in for.

The only fault I can imagine anyone finding with this guitar is the criminally short run they were produced in. A smooth psychedelic design, 7 strings and 30 frets, plus the immortally respected name of Uli Jon Roth stamped on it, as amazing as it is to watch videos of him playing, I guarantee you'll be stealing a few glances at that guitar of his too.

Just look at that. It is absolutely beautiful. The few times in my life I have had the incredible fortune to play one of these guitars, it has been with great displeasure that I relinquished it back to wherever I had picked it up. Courtesy of guitar master Steve Vai, this guitar is just gorgeous in both functionality and physicality.

All of the Dimebag Darrell singature guitars that Dean has put out are just awesome looking and really I would love to own any of them, but this is the one that I think is the definitive Dime guitar. Sharp design with the almost too appropriate lightning bolts, if the Wartribe is a guitar that demands a certain kind of music be played on it, this guitar requires it before it is even picked up.

There are three things Zakk Wylde will always be remembered for: An amazing streak of Ozzy Osbourne albums, epically fast shredding solos almost always followed by a squeal harmonic, and that iconic guitar. Really an incredibly simple design yet virtually every guitar player instantly recognizes this guitar, and even if you don't I know you all want to have one.

Look at it. Just look at that f**king awesome guitar. The official guitar of the hulking guitarist Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein (formerly of the Misfits), this is the perfect guitar for stomping around a stage and pounding out the type of high distortion crunching riffs he is now known for pummeling audiences with as he stomps around the stage. That evil design combined with 27 frets makes this easily the coolest guitar I have ever seen. Sadly it has also been discontinued, but if you can get a hold of one, it will be well worth it

So there are my favorite guitars in terms of looks, though I have gotten to play most of them and I can honestly say all of them handle and sound really great too. Let me know some of your favorite guitars in the comments.