Best Artists Who Play Multiple Instruments

Prince

His 1978 debut 'For You' famously credits him playing all 27 instruments listed in the liner notes, an audacious flex from a 19-year-old that set the template for his entire career. He'd go on to overdub every guitar, drum, synth line and bass part on classics like 'Purple Rain'

Instruments Played: 27 instrumentsRecorded Album Solo: ✓Years Active: 1978–2016Multi-Instrumental Mastery: 10/10

added by IJRin 8 rankings

Stevie Wonder

Blind since infancy, Wonder taught himself piano, harmonica, drums, bass and clavinet, then used that command to essentially become a one-man Motown factory on 'Talking Book' and 'Innervisions'. His synth and drum programming on 'Superstition' alone changed funk forever. Few arti

Instruments Played: 20 instrumentsRecorded Album Solo: ✓Years Active: 1961–presentMulti-Instrumental Mastery: 9.5/10

added by IJRin 6 rankingsStevie Wonder

Paul McCartney

Beyond his signature bass work with the Beatles, McCartney quietly played drums, piano, guitar and mandolin across their later albums, then proved it wasn't a fluke by playing literally every instrument himself on his lo-fi 1970 solo debut 'McCartney'. That album's homemade, one-

Instruments Played: 10 instrumentsRecorded Album Solo: ✓Years Active: 1957–presentMulti-Instrumental Mastery: 9/10

added by IJRin 3 rankingsPaul McCartney

Mike Oldfield

At just 19, Oldfield recorded 'Tubular Bells' (1973) almost entirely alone, credited with playing dozens of instruments including guitars, bells, flutes and glockenspiel across overdub after overdub. The album became a surprise blockbuster and the launch title for Virgin Records,

Instruments Played: 24 instrumentsRecorded Album Solo: ✓Years Active: 1971–presentMulti-Instrumental Mastery: 9/10

added by IJRMike Oldfield

Jack White

White built his career on stripped-down guitar-and-drums minimalism with the White Stripes, but he's a genuine multi-instrumentalist who plays piano, mandolin, marimba and more across his solo work and Raconteurs records. His live shows regularly feature him switching instruments

Instruments Played: 8 instrumentsRecorded Album Solo: ✓Years Active: 1997–presentMulti-Instrumental Mastery: 8.5/10

added by IJR

Dave Grohl

Before fronting Foo Fighters, Grohl was Nirvana's drummer; when that band ended, he retreated to a studio and recorded the entire self-titled Foo Fighters debut himself, playing every guitar, bass and drum part. That one-man-band origin story is the reason he's remembered as more

Instruments Played: 5 instrumentsRecorded Album Solo: ✓Years Active: 1986–presentMulti-Instrumental Mastery: 8.5/10

added by IJRin 2 rankingsDave Grohl

Todd Rundgren

A studio-rat perfectionist, Rundgren played nearly every instrument on his sprawling double album 'Something/Anything?' (1972), then went on to become one of rock's most in-demand multi-instrumentalist producers. His genre-hopping between power-pop, prog and soul only worked beca

Instruments Played: 12 instrumentsRecorded Album Solo: ✓Years Active: 1967–presentMulti-Instrumental Mastery: 8.5/10

added by IJRTodd Rundgren

Frank Zappa

A classically trained composer as much as a rock guitarist, Zappa played guitar, keyboards and percussion while conducting elaborate ensembles that required him to understand every instrumental part intimately. His catalog spans doo-wop pastiche to orchestral modernism, a range o

Instruments Played: 10 instrumentsRecorded Album Solo: ✓Years Active: 1966–1993Multi-Instrumental Mastery: 8.5/10

added by IJRFrank Zappa

Lenny Kravitz

Kravitz has built an entire brand around playing virtually every instrument on his own albums — guitar, drums, bass, keys — crediting himself as a one-man band on liner notes going back to 'Let Love Rule'. His retro-rock sound depends on that hands-on control across every track.

Instruments Played: 15 instrumentsRecorded Album Solo: ✓Years Active: 1989–presentMulti-Instrumental Mastery: 8/10

added by IJRLenny Kravitz

Brian Jones

The founding Rolling Stone was the band's secret weapon, bringing sitar to 'Paint It Black', marimba to 'Under My Thumb' and dulcimer, mellotron and slide guitar to countless other tracks. His restless curiosity for exotic instruments gave the early Stones a texture Jagger and Ri

Instruments Played: 10 instrumentsRecorded Album Solo: —Years Active: 1962–1969Multi-Instrumental Mastery: 8/10

added by IJR

Trent Reznor

Nine Inch Nails is technically a solo project, with Reznor playing guitar, keyboards, programming and percussion on landmark albums like 'The Downward Spiral'. His willingness to master the machines as much as the instruments made him an architect of industrial rock's entire soun

Instruments Played: 10 instrumentsRecorded Album Solo: ✓Years Active: 1988–presentMulti-Instrumental Mastery: 8/10

added by IJRTrent Reznor

Sufjan Stevens

Stevens plays banjo, guitar, piano, oboe and a rotating cast of woodwinds and strings across his 'Illinois' and 'Michigan' state-themed albums, layering them into dense chamber-folk arrangements. Few indie artists can claim that level of orchestral self-sufficiency.

Instruments Played: 15 instrumentsRecorded Album Solo: ✓Years Active: 2000–presentMulti-Instrumental Mastery: 8/10

added by IJRSufjan Stevens

Rick Wakeman

The Yes keyboardist became famous for surrounding himself onstage with a bank of pianos, organs, mellotrons and synthesizers, sometimes playing several simultaneously during a single solo. His theatrical prog-rock excess made keyboard multi-instrumentalism a spectacle in its own

Instruments Played: 6 instrumentsRecorded Album Solo: ✓Years Active: 1969–presentMulti-Instrumental Mastery: 7.5/10

added by IJRRick Wakeman

Beck

Beck plays guitar, harmonica, keyboards and turntables across genre-scrambling albums like 'Odelay' and 'Sea Change', often recording rough instrumental sketches himself before bringing in collaborators. That instrumental fluency is part of why his sound shifts so dramatically fr

Instruments Played: 10 instrumentsRecorded Album Solo: ✓Years Active: 1993–presentMulti-Instrumental Mastery: 7.5/10

added by IJR

Brian Wilson

Wilson composed and arranged the Beach Boys' 'Pet Sounds' with encyclopedic instrumental knowledge, playing piano and bass while directing session musicians through parts he could demonstrate himself on nearly anything. His command of orchestration, if not always hands-on perform

Instruments Played: 8 instrumentsRecorded Album Solo: —Years Active: 1961–presentMulti-Instrumental Mastery: 7.5/10

added by IJR

Emitt Rhodes

A cult hero of power-pop, Rhodes built a home studio in his parents' garage and recorded his self-titled 1970 solo debut entirely alone, playing every guitar, drum, bass and keyboard part himself years before that was common practice. His overlooked one-man-band achievement quiet

Instruments Played: 10 instrumentsRecorded Album Solo: ✓Years Active: 1969–1973Multi-Instrumental Mastery: 7/10

added by IJR