When you search for "best electric guitars" on Google, one of the top ten results is from a site called "Jen Reviews", which is allegedly run by a faceless, lifeless persona that goes by the name of Jen Miller.
This roundup is absolutely terrible, and clearly written by someone who knows nothing about electric guitars, much less which ones are the best.
I'll link to it here, so you can see what I'm talking about.
Let's start with my favorite clip from the article:
Would you like a Fender Standard Stratocaster for your birthday, a friend of yours asks you. You gasp. Do you mean it, you reply. Are you really going to get me a Fender Stratocaster? Yes, you hear your friend say, because you deserve the best electric guitar out there. Why the Fender Stratocaster? Because as we are about to illustrate to you, it really is the best. The Stratocaster is versatile, good for your pocket and you only have to hold it to look like a rock star.
Just, please don't. P.S., Jen also provides a soccer eBook for players and coaches.
First problem - the Fender Standard Stratocaster was (awhile ago) changed to the Player Stratocaster, so good luck finding one of those.
Moreover, this is just incredibly cringy, and stupid.
What kind of a conversation is this?
And you only have to hold it to look like a rock star? Ugh, I get so sick of this stupid talk from people that obviously know nothing about guitar, or rock music for that matter.
Yet, this is the type of thing that seems to find its way around the internet.
There is no "best electric guitar"
But the biggest problem with stuff like this is that there is no "best electric guitar." That doesn't exist, because like most things in life, it depends on variables that change from person to person.
This Jen Miller character states forcefully that a Fender Standard Stratocaster "really is the best."
She doubles down at the bottom of the page:
We can guarantee you that you can’t go wrong with the Fender Standard Stratocaster, Maple Fretboard – Brown Sunburst.
See the way it's listed, with the "Maple Fretboard - Brown Sunburst" tag? That's a product name that is simply being pulled from Amazon. She didn't even bother to change it.
Don't Listen to this Stuff
This type of content is a huge problem for several reasons, primarily:
- The person writing it knows nothing about guitars
- It's very poor quality and cringe writing
- It recommends guitars, even a singular "best" guitar, as a one-size-fits-all solution
I'm not saying you need to listen to me, but I am asking you not to listen to sites like Jen Reviews. While I don't have a problem with making money in the musical instrument industry (I do so myself), I do have a problem making BS recommendations and trying to tell every aspiring guitarist that a Stratocaster is going to be the perfect fit.
It's not.
But Jen doesn't know that because she doesn't have a blessed clue what she's talking about.
A Fender Strat might be the "best" option for some people, but not for others.
As a quick example, single coil pickups are lighter, and bluesier, and not what you would want if you're into heavy styles like metal and modern rock that use higher levels of gain (distortion).
But Jen doesn't know that because she doesn't have a blessed clue what she's talking about.
An expert in everything!
We went to the Jen Reviews sitemap to see what else they are an expert in. You can see for yourself, but it seems that this site has an encyclopedia's worth of knowledge about what products are the "best".
Houseware, computers, exercise, weight loss, pets, haircare products, lawn care, and even guns are just a few of the expert roundups we get from Jen Miller.
She/he/whatever even covers the best p***s pumps.
So my admonish is this: Don't listen to sites that tell you there's a "best electric guitar" for you, without at least attempting to display some expertise and to address some of the nuance surrounding this topic.
Shamelessly, here's my (our) best electric guitars post.
If you don't use it/buy through it, that's fine. But please don't listen to Jen Reviews.
Questions and Thoughts
Leave thoughts in the comments section.
And by the way, here's me. I'm a real person with a $2000 PRS who knows how to play it.
Everything on this site is written by actual guitar players and musicians.
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A lot of this type of content is now generated by AI.
I’ve seen so many “reviews” of guitars from these sites that conveniently fail to mention anything material about what they feel like to play, or describing the tones as anything other than “breathtaking” or “beautiful”.
Personally I’d remove the links through to their post so they don’t get any SEO benefit.
Oh I know. It was bad before and now it’s even worse. And they all use the same language, like you said “breathtaking/beautiful.”
I added a nofollow tag to the links so they don’t get any benefit.
Yeah, but you’re not looking like a rockstar. If you want to change that, follow the link provided above.😉
Ps According to this article taking things another step further, you can find guitars with both single coils and humbuckers working together to create more complex tones and sounds.
Who knew.
Double facepalm.