Carrie Brownstein "Though she played in early-'90s riot grrrl band Excuse 17, the 33-year-old's most famous work came in the form of her tireless riffing for Portland's Sleater-Kinney from 1994 to 2006."
Kat Bjelland "Babes in Toyland -- featuring Kat Bjelland on lead vocals and guitar, Lori Barbero on drums, and Michelle Leon on bass -- formed in Minneapolis in the late '80s and eventually released the last of their five albums in 1995."
Carol Kaye "Carol Kaye is a Los Angeles-based background guitar and bass musician who has performed on hit records for Phil Spector, David Axelrod, and Brian Wilson throughout the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. Along with playing guitar on Ritchi Valens' "La Bamba," Kaye is also credited with supporting the classic Beach Boys album Pet Sounds."
Ani Difranco "Born in Buffalo, New York in 1970, Ani DiFranco started playing guitar at age 9. With a little bit of money, DiFranco released her first album in 1990 on her own label, Righteous Babe Records."
Memphis Minnie "In the 1930s, Minnie moved to Chicago where she became a staple on the blues scene. During a time when most females of the genre were solely vocalists, Minnie was known and respected as a singer and guitarist."
Bonnie Raitt "Opening for blues greats like John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters, Raitt honed her craft, mastering the slide guitar. The style, also known as bottleneck, uses a slide to alter the pitch of the instrument instead of pressing against frets."
Lita Ford "The London-born, U.S.-raised legend found stardom in the form of an all-girl group in 1976. At age 17, Ford became a lead guitarist for the Runaways."
Peggy "Lady Bo" Jones "When Peggy Jones played guitar alongside rhythm & blues legend Bo Diddley in the '50s and '60s, she dropped audiences' jaws as she kept pace with the master and held her own. As one of the first female guitarists to be taken seriously by major labels, Jones altered the shape of the male-dominated music industry for good."
Joni Mitchell "Mitchell's guitar work is some of the most inventive in popular music history. She is famous for tuning her guitar in dozens of ways (more than 75, at last count) to achieve chords that would be otherwise impossible."
Nancy Wilson "Nancy Wilson, most famous for her guitar prowess in the band Heart, started playing at age 8. ... In the same way that her sister Ann Wilson was born to sing, Nancy Wilson says she's definitely a born guitar player."
