With the holidays just around the corner hopefully you’re getting a new guitar, or at least getting one for someone you care about. After the first full year of Guitars For Idiots, we’ve cycled through quite a few reviews. We’ve tried out big names like Fender or Yamaha, boutique offerings from CMG Guitars, and vintage reissues from Eastwood and Guild. Let’s take a look at the ratings, cost, and purchase options for each guitar!
If you need a refresher, here is how we rate and review guitars! New guitars will be added as they are reviewed before the end of 2019 so check back to see where they fit in!
The Rules: Only guitars that you can purchase new from the manufacturer or retailers are ranked here. Click on each guitar to get to the original review article. Also, any guitars reviewed starting Jan 1 2020 will be included in next years list.
And remember, each one of these reviews was hands on! Unlike a lot of sites who skim through other writer’s reviews and compile the scores, these are my scores after playing the guitars through my amp and pedals in my house.
Superlatives
Best Overall: Guild Jetstar in Seafoam Green – Buy Here
Best $500 and Under Option: Chapman ML1 Modern V2 in Lunar – Buy Here
Best $1000 and Over Option: Fender Ultra Stratocaster SSS in Red Plasma Burst – Buy Here
Best Guitar to Use for a Mod Project: Squier Affinity Telecaster in Black – Buy Here
Needs Most Improvement: Glarry GST3 in Blue – Buy Here
OVERALL RANKINGS
| Model | Rating | Cost | Find Your Own |
| Guild Jetstar | 9.7 | $599.00 | From Reverb.com |
| Fender Ultra Stratocaster | 9.5 | $1999.99 | From Reverb.com |
| Chapman ML1 Modern V2 | 9.4 | $499.00 | From Reverb.com |
| CMG Guitars Ashlee | 9.2 | $1149.99 | From CMGguitars.com |
| Yamaha Revstar RS420 | 9.2 | $499.99 | From Reverb.com |
| DeMont Guitars Goldfinch | 8.9 | $999.00 | From DeMontGuitars.com |
| Aria Retro-1532 | 8.3 | $299.00 | From Reverb.com |
| Eastwood Sidejack Pro JM | 8.2 | $1099.00 | From Reverb.com |
| Xaviere PRO845 | 8.1 | $229.00 | From GFS.com |
| Harley Benton DC-Junior | 8.0 | $184.00 | From Reverb.com |
| Dean Modern 24 | 7.8 | $649.00 | From Reverb.com |
| Aria DM-01 | 7.1 | $329.00 | From Reverb.com |
| Epiphone SG Special | 6.4 | $179.99 | From Reverb.com |
| Squier 2019 Affinity Telecaster | 6.0 | $199.99 | From Reverb.com |
| Donner DST-100W | 5.4 | $129.00 | From Amazon.com |
| Glarry GST3 | 3.9 | $56.99 | From Amazon.com |
What other guitars do you want to see us review?
What was your favorite guitar we reviewed this year?
Disagree on a score? Let me know in the comments.
Guitars For Idiots 
I am a huge fan of TV Jones pickups, especially the Classics. I am wondering how his guitars stack up? In particular, the Spectra Sonic Supreme. I would like to see if you could review that one.
Thanks again!
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Let me look into it! That guitar seems awesome
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