Every "armchair" and professional guitarist has their favorite artist whose music they would like to emulate. Guitar tablature is plentiful online through major databases, as well as personal websites. Sift through famous guitar tabs from BB King, Jimi Hendrix, Slash, Eric Clapton, James Hetfield, Wes Montgomery, and Johnny Cash. Study the tabs from the genres of blues, rock, pop, jazz, metal, and country. Check out the riffs. Try them out and enjoy the journey.
Blues/Blues Rock
Feel the emotion of the chords. The tempo tends to change often with the blues.
Robert Johnson: Sweet Home Chicago
Jerry Garcia: Knockin' on Heaven's Door
Warren Haynes: Forevermore Chords
Muddy Waters: Mannish Boy Bass Tab
Duane Allman: Blue Sky, Ramblin' Man
Pop/Rock
Electricity runs through these chords!
Jimi Hendrix: A Merman I Should Turn To Be
Brian May: Bohemian Rhapsody Tab/Chords
Pete Townsend: Let My Love Open the Door
Jimmy Page: Heart Full of Soul
George Harrison: Here Comes the Sun
Mark Knopfler: Sultans of Swing
Carlos Santana: Black Magic Woman
Metal
Not all metal guitarists are head-bangers striking a chord of discord. Check out the dyads on these tabs. Turn up the amps to practice these power chords!
James Hetfield: The Unforgiven
Glenn Tipton: You Don't Have to be Old to be Wise
Country/Bluegrass
Ya'all heard of country twang? Prebend those strings and bend them back. It's country/bluegrass tabs from the best country guitarists of now and yore.
Johnny Cash: Folsom Prison Blues
Porter Wagoner: If Teardrops Were Pennies
David Rawlings: We're All in This Thing Together
Ricky Skaggs: Soldier of the Cross
Carl Perkins: Blue Suede Shoes
Jazz
Watch for the seventh degree, but don't often look for triads. Listening and improvisation are great techniques to learn jazz, but reading the tabs and listening for them in the songs will give you a better ear to start.
Wes Montgomery: Days of Wine and Roses
Pat Metheny: All the Things You Are
General Tab Sites
Check out these databases where guitarists, young and old, have written out the tabs from their favorite artists, or they are from the artists themselves. If you are interested in tabbing a song for yourself, note the tab template and tab generator as well as the chord finder.