One of the things that draws us all to heavy metal and hard rock is the guitar. It's hard not to lock with the impressive riffing, the catchy licks and the technical prowess that some of these axemen can pull off. But who did it best over the past year?

You have a four guitarists who doubled up this past year. Mark Tremonti not only led his self-titled band, but also brought more aggression to Alter Bridge's sound. Ben Weinman found time to lay down licks with Dillinger Escape Plan and Giraffe Tongue Orchestra. John 5 balanced his main job with Rob Zombie with some creative work with his solo band John 5 and the Creatures. And there was Zakk Wylde who issued a sequel to his Book of Shadows acoustic solo album and maintained his fondness of his relationship with Ozzy Osbourne by leading Zakk Sabbath, his Black Sabbath cover band.

You also had a trio of guitar duos who made their mark in the past year in Megadeth's Dave Mustaine and Kiko Loureiro; Testament's Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick; and Korn's Munky and Head. And we'd be remiss if we didn't include the prowess of Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt, Fates Warning's Jim Matheos and the much celebrated return of Slash to Guns N' Roses.

But which guitar slinger has the best year? You get to have your say, right here, right now, and as much as once per hour through the deadline of Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 10AM ET when the voting for the 6th Annual Loudwire Music Awards concludes. So check out the poll, vote for your favorites and come back to see who wins.

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