Reverb has published its annual end-of-year data, which identifies the best-selling guitars of the past 12 months – and, as usual, there are plenty of threads to pull at.
First and foremost, it needs to be said that (as if there was ever any doubt) the Silver Sky has firmly cemented its standing as a modern day classic, once again coming in near the top of the best-selling list.
After topping the electric guitar charts for two years running, John Mayer’s signature guitar was toppled in 2024 and fell to third. For 2025, it rises to second in overall sales – another highly respectable finish – proving Paul Reed Smith’s longevity theory right and confirming its place as a veritable go-to option for players.
It is bested only by the American Professional II Strat, which bumps up one place to claim top spot. Gibson's Les Paul Standard '60s follows behind in third, while the ‘50s version sits in fifth. It marks a solid showing from the firm, with those two Les Pauls gaining ground and rising from .the 6th and 7th place finishes they got in 2024.
That said, Gibson's biggest win comes in a new-for-2025 category. Reverb has also ranked the new guitars that hit the market this year, and the Epiphone reissue of the Back to the Future ES-345 came out on top. Yet more evidence that gear nostalgia is hitting new highs.
Notably, it's followed by the second-placed $599 Fender Standard Telecaster – an Indonesian-made bargain buy that Fender announced at NAMM this year. It's conclusive proof that the firm's Indonesia experiments are paying off.
It was big news when it was announced the Big F would be producing Fender-branded instruments straight out of Indonesia, and it's clear there is an appetite for them. Expect Fender to lean more on its Indonesian factory in the future.
Elsewhere, another affordable guitar arrives in the form of the PRS SE NF 53, which finishes third. The T-type is one of the year’s hottest sub–$1K builds, and this proves it.
But perhaps most surprising is Claudio Sanchez’s new gear venture, Evil Instruments, ranking fourth with the wildly shaped Jackhammer. However, the numbers might have been skewed by the fact the guitar is sold exclusively on Reverb.
Ibanez's AZ24S1F Standard (8th) sees the Japanese firm get in on the action, while Lee Malia's Jackson LM-87 (14th) is the only other signature model ranked in the top 20 of the new to '25 list. Tentative proof that metal offsets are still being embraced by players.
See Reverb for more.
Alongside its guitar lists, Reverb has also published its best-selling amp and modeler round-up for 2025, which showed that modelers continued to reign over traditional tube amps.
