Parent article: Best Acoustic Guitars
When people talk about buying an acoustic guitar for the first time, they often want to start with just the brand, which begs the simple question: What are the best acoustic guitar brands? If you were to shop by those brands and your own budget, you'd be mostly safe to buy. In this article, I'm going to list the five brands that I believe give you the best shot at a high-value acoustic guitar, where "high value" means the following:
- Quality/features/specs
- Lowest possible price point for what you get
- Respected manufacturer and brand name/awareness
While there are a lot of acoustic guitar brands that fit these descriptors in some capacity, there are just a few that do so exceptionally well and on a consistent basis. I'll provide a short list for easy browsing then talk a little bit about each brand individually.
If you're just looking for a list of top recommendations, you can checkout our best acoustic guitars parent page.
Best Acoustic Guitar Brands Overall
Acoustic | DETAILS | RATING | Shop |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Taylor Guitars
| 95 | |
 | Martin & Co.
| 92 | |
 | Seagull/Godin
| 90 | |
 | Epiphone
| 87 | |
 | Yamaha
| 83 |
These are the five brands that I most consistently come back to and recommend. Within each brand you have a wide variety of models and pricing, but I'll go through each one individually and list few acoustics from their ranks that I'm most confident about. Many of these I've played and/or owned myself.
1. Taylor Acoustics
Of the five best acoustic guitar brands I've mentioned, Taylor seems to find a way to get the most out of all their lines, particularly those offered in the $600 - $1000 price range. I might be biased though since I've owned the Taylor 114ce for quite awhile now.
My Top Recommendations
If you're going to buy within the Taylor brand, I'd recommend the 114ce or something in the aforementioned price range. You could also look at the Baby Taylor series for a lower price tag.
My Taylor 114ce with a soundhole cover. Still can't find any wire cutters.
2. Martin Acoustics
Martin's brand profile is similar to Taylor in that they're strongest on the mid to high-end price range. As a whole, Martin acoustics tend to be warmer and more rhythm-focused. Once again, we'd advise looking in the $500 to $1000 range.
My Top Recommendations
For shopping Martin acoustics, we'd target the X series, the D series, the the LX Little Martins.
Ed Sheeran playing one of his signature Little Martin acoustics. Flickr Commons image via Kmeron
3. Seagull Acoustics
Seagull makes it on this list almost entirely based on our affinity for the S6 Coastline and Performer series. Both of those lines are just so stinkin' good and we've been consistently recommending them for years. For those wanting to get down into the mid to lower price ranges, Seagull will get you a fantastic acoustic guitar for under $500.
My Top Recommendations
Getting ahead of myself in the previous paragraph, I've already mentioned the S6 and Coastline. To be honest, there isn't much under the Seagull brand that I don't like.
Seagull guitars are easily identified by their unique headstock design. Flickr Commons image via John Watson
4. Epiphone Acoustics
Getting more firmly into the beginner acoustic guitar price range, you start to see a lot of good offerings from Epiphone. While some of the acoustics we've really liked in the past are no longer in production (hence nothing from Epiphone on our beginner acoustic recommendations page), they still have a lot to offer in the $100 - $500 price range.
My Top Recommendations
Epiphone doesn't really have a flagship acoustic series, though the EJ and PR models are a couple we keep going back to.
5. Yamaha Acoustics
While Yamaha isn't a household name when it comes to acoustic guitars, I'm consistently impressed with how much they're able to give you at such low prices. For example, the Yamaha FG800 retails just under $200 and still comes with a solid top. They're the diamond in the rough of acoustic guitar brands and one of our favorite beginner recommendations.
My Top Recommendations
The FG series alone gives you a lot of variety to choose from. Outside of that, the AP models also have some widespread appeal.
Concluding
The best acoustic guitar brands shouldn't be determined purely by price, high or low. A lot of people buy acoustic guitars - and rate them really high - simply based on a low price tag. I'd argue that's just as foolish as assuming an acoustic guitar is someone's best option simply because it has the most stacked spec sheet, without regard to the price tag.
Brands need to consistently get you a good balance of quality and price, which is what most consumers are looking for.
In my experience, these five acoustic guitar brands do that more than any other.
If you're looking for an easy way to shop, browsing within these brand filters is a safe bet.
Your Questions and Comments
Do you have questions about the brands or acoustic guitars mentioned in this list?
Maybe you disagree with something included or left out?
Let me know in the comments section below.
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I noticed that you did not include Washburn in your evaluation list of guitars. Any particular reason as to why not?
Washburn would be a decent honorable mention. I’m honestly just not as familiar with them as other brands, and for a top five there are just others that are better picks IMHO.
What are your thoughts on a lindo left handed accoustic guitar for me to learn on.
I just realized the Norma accoustic I have was so much easier for my hands and fingers to move on the fret board when I held it up side down and backwards.
I haven’t been playing long.
Just teaching myself on the yousician app.
My boyfriend has shown me I’ve learned nothing and if I did it was ass backwards.
I love the lindo left handed accoustic alien guitar for starting out.
Why isn’t it on your list?
Hey Tondra – we’re not really familiar with the Lindo brand, which is why we haven’t included it. I try to stick to products that I’ve used or can talk to people who have used them. Thanks for bringing it to my attention though. Will check them out for sure.