Best Guitars 2025: Our Top 5 Guitars of the Year
Which new guitars did we love the most in 2025?
3,7 / 5,0 | 
Another year, another round of fantastic best guitars! We take a look at five of the best guitars of 2025. Some excited us, some surprised us and some just delivered what we needed them to. Let’s take a look.
Our Picks for Best Guitars of 2025:
2025 in Electric Guitars: A Look Back
Before we look at the five best guitars of 2025, let’s rewind. Because 2025 certainly had a few surprises and a few underwhelming releases. Let’s start with Fender. I’m still not entirely sure who the Standard series is for, given that there is, you know, Squier?
Of course, having an actual Fender model as your first (or second) guitar is quite tempting, but I can’t help the feeling that Fender themselves weren’t quite sure what the target audience for these are, especially if Squier is still the first option for many. Make no mistake, you get well-built, Indonesian-made Strats and Teles, but why not just have another round of Squier Affinity models with updated stats?
As for Gibson, it looks like they’ve been fully embracing their legacy with loads of reissues of long-gone oddities, recent signatures and old classics. I have to admit, Epiphone’s releases in 2025 seemed a bit more exciting, albeit sometimes on the pricey side of things.
Epiphone Jeff Beck 1954 Les Paul
First up is the Epiphone Jeff Beck Oxblood 1954 Les Paul. While I am much more of a strat player, both in terms of sound and aesthetics, this is one beautiful guitar. Closely modeled after the iconic axe from Beck from 1954, this signature Les Paul ticks a lot of boxes.
You get the namesake oxblood finish, which, in combination with the single-layer binding, cream-colored pickguard, and nickel hardware, just looks gorgeous.
The model comes with a mahogany body and maple top, mahogany neck (Jeff Beck Custom Large C profile) and rosewood fretboard. Which makes it a very solid foundation to get close to Beck’s sound.
Equipped with two Custombuckers with separate volume and tone controls, a wraparound bridge and Grover Rotomatics tuners with spade buttons, this is one of the best guitars of 2025. Check it out at Thomann*.
Sire Larry Carlton T7
It’s just plain amazing, how good Sire’s guitars are for what they cost. And the T7 series is no different. Announced at NAMM 2024, it brought small but meaningful updates to their popular T-style series T3 and T7. A refined body, new colors, and reworked pickups made these models even better.
And then there is the color. I mean, hello? Skyburst Sparkle? And the flamed maple neck? And the disco vibes? And then there are the updated specs. Stainless steel frets, 9.5″ – 14″ compound radius, Tusq nut, Lumaliy side dots… and that’s just what’s new!
The T7s also come with Sire Premium locking tuners, two LC Super-T single coils (with push/pull functionality on the tone knob), a vintage T bridge with a brass saddle, an alder body and an all-maple neck and fretboard. Through push/pull, you can set the single coils in series, which gets you into humbucker territory. Check out one of the best guitars of 2025 at Thomann*.
PRS Standard 24 Satin
What an amazing year for PRS! For their 40th anniversary, they’ve been releasing one amazing model after another. So, it’s tough to pick the ‘best’ given PRS reputation of stunning build quality and beautiful finishes. But the Satin models in the Standard 24 series were something else.
Both visually and in terms of specs, these models set a new standard. Mahogany neck and body, satin nitro finish, Pattern Thin neck with a 24-fret, 10” radius rosewood fretboard, PRS Patented Gen III Tremolo, and PRS Phase III tuners with unplated brass shafts – when a guitar is this beautiful and refined, it’s tough not to drool.
Each model also comes with two PRS DMO treble and bass pickups with global volume and tone controls and a 5-way blade switch. These pickups are said to be extremely versatile, so you’ll get anything from Strat-like bell sounds to creamy humbucker-style sonics, and much more. Check the three available models out at Thomann*.
Gretsch Synchromatic Falcon
Continuing on the theme of visually stunning guitars, enter the Gretsch Synchromatic Falcon. Aren’t these two just a feast for the eyes? Announced in September, both the Falcon and the more compact Nashville models brought back Gretsch’s iconic Synchromatic archtops.
I’ve tried a few short-scale models, but just like headless guitars, to me personally, it always feels like there is missing something. It may simply be the unusual weight distribution. But that’s why I’d pick the Falcon over the Nashville 50s. To me these are among the best guitars of 2025, because they just “get” that rock ‘n’ roll 50s vibe.
All-maple body and set neck, Ebony fretboard, and 22 medium jumbo frets give you all the ingredients for great tone. You also get two Hi-Fidelity Filter’Tron humbuckers with separate volume controls, plus master volume and master tone. And then there is the look. All-gold hardware with either white or black? Yes, please! Check these two best guitars of 2025 out at Thomann*:
Jackson X Series Surfcaster
How can one forget the return of the Surfcaster! This has to be on the list of the best guitars of 2025 simply because it’s such a weird and wonderful guitar to bring back. There are entry-level models in the JS22 series, too, but the X Series version just offers a little more of everything.
It’s such a fun and odd thing to remodel a guitar meant for surf rock in to this meaner, more metal-leaning version. Consequently, there is also a 7-string version. Both black axes come with a poplar body, bolt-on maple neck, laurel fretboard and a 12″ to 16″ compound radius.
For the all-black hardware, you get get a Jackson hardtail bridge and Jackson tuners, plus two Jackson High-Output humbuckers. An offset model that doesn’t quite know who it wants to be which makes it all the more charming. Check these two best guitars out at Thomann*.
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One response to “Best Guitars 2025: Our Top 5 Guitars of the Year”
I would like to see guitar padels