9 Best Guitar Picks of 2023

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by Branson Knowles June 6, 2023, 1:20 pm

While choosing a guitar pick may be an afterthought for some guitarists, it shouldn't be. The right pick can improve your sound immensely, allowing you to get the most out of your guitar every time you play it.

In this article, we’ll be going over the nine best guitar picks of 2023, highlighting their most important features.

We’ve selected the best guitar picks based on their grip, material, shape, and thickness. If you’re looking for the overall best guitar pick, our number one choice is Jim Dunlop's Tortex Standard Pick because of its versatility.

The world-famous picks are arranged by color in accordance with their thickness, making it easy to find the perfect size.

Jim Dunlop is a staple of the guitar pick industry, and his flagship pick, the Dunlop Tortex Standard Pick, shows why. The pick comes in 6 different sizes, allowing you to experiment and find the thickness that suits your playing style best.

Each of the six different picks comes in a different color, making it easy to differentiate between your favorites.

When Tortoiseshell was banned in 1977, Jim Dunlop created a new material comparable to the outlawed picks. He came up with Tortex, a highly durable plastic with the perfect amount of flexibility.

While there are plenty of other Tortex picks you can get from Dunlop, we selected the Tortex Standard Pick because of its versatility.

The pick is perfect for beginners and experts alike, allowing your personal playing style to flow through the pick and into your guitar. The matte surface makes for sharp attacks and smooth acoustics.

You can't talk about this pick without bringing up its classic shape – the 351 standard pick is a great choice for anyone looking for more control while playing.

No matter what your personal preference is as a guitar player, the Dunlop Tortex Standard is an excellent guitar pick to use.

Fender celluloid picks are classic. They’ve been embossed with the Fender logo since 1955, and the guitar world hasn't been the same since. Their classic feel, ease of use, and accessibility make them a perfect pick for beginners.

When you’re looking for the best guitar pick, you need to be willing to try out a couple. No matter what pick you end up using, Fender's 351 Classic Celluloid Pick is a perfect place to start.

The classic 351 shape allows players to get a bright tone out of their guitar playing, making every anthem sound good.

Fender's Classic Picks come in several gauges of thickness so you can find the right one for your play style. They come in four gauges: thin, medium, thick, and extra thick.

Thinner guitar picks are going to be better for a player who wants more flexibility from their pick. Thicker picks will usually give you a warmer sound at the cost of flexibility.

If you want to find the right thickness in your pick, starting with the Fender 351 Classic Celluloid Pick is a good choice.

The Ernie Ball Prodigy series of guitar picks is great for new guitarists and experts alike, and their Sharp Pick is no exception. Sharp tips can help guitar players play at speed, but they aren't the best for strumming.

If you want a sharp point on your guitar pick for fast picking, the Ernie Ball Prodigy Sharp Pick might be the pick for you.

All of the Ernie Ball Prodigy guitar picks come in highly-durable Delrin, a propriety blend of plastic that also has a non-slip surface. The thicker gauges also produce a warm tone through your playing.

While they might not be the best guitar picks for a lead guitar or acoustic guitar strumming, their excellent at creating a very warm sound.

Ernie Ball is another staple of the guitar pick world. Their thick picks produce a warm tone you can't get with other picks. Check out the Ernie Ball Prodigy Sharp Pick if you’re looking for a reliable pick with a sharp tip.

Jazz guitarists are usually looking for something different from their guitar picks than their acoustic guitar-playing counterparts. Standard 351 picks are big and often too bulky for jazz players who prioritize speed from their picks.

Enter the Dunlop Jazz III, a smaller pick with a sharper tip that can produce a very unique sound.

The Dunlop Jazz III is perfect for players who want to glide and slice through their strings without much resistance. The Jazz III also has a small size to make sure the pick doesn't stay on the strings too long, allowing you to move to your next chord.

The thickness of the pick means you may not get a bright tone, but you should get a fuller, warmer sound the Jazz III is known for.

If you’re wondering which guitar pick will compliment your jazzy playing style the most, check out the Jim Dunlop Jazz III.

While you can select just about any guitar pick on this list for your acoustic guitars, the Ernie Ball Nylon Guitar Picks in Medium is the best choice. They’re great because of a couple of different factors, including their material, shape, and thickness.

Acoustic players love using Nylon because of its flexibility. Nylon picks also don't require a lot of control or precision, making them great entry-level picks as well.

The standard 351 shape works well for players of any skill level as well, and the easy-grip top makes sure you have the perfect amount of traction in your hands when you’re playing.

When you’re looking for the best guitar pick for an acoustic guitar, thickness is a major factor. If the pick is too thick, you won't be able to strum with enough speed. If it's too thin, you might not be able to get a full sound out of your instrument.

Picks that are medium in thickness work best for players who want to be able to strum quickly while still playing both bright and loud tones.

The Ernie Ball Nylon Guitar Pick series in Medium is the perfect choice for any acoustic guitar player looking to get the most out of their pick with as few drawbacks as possible.

If there's one thing that you can take away from this article, let it be that guitar picks are nowhere near as simple as you thought. The shape alone can change a guitar's sound, even if you’re using the exact same material and thickness.

We picked Gravity Acrylic Guitar Picks because of their ability to be customized. With Gravity Picks, you can create your very own pick, customizing it in key areas.

On Gravity's website, you can change the thickness of your pick as well as the grip holes on the front of the pick if you want front holes at all.

They will also let you choose the shape of your pick from nine unique designs and size from one of four sizes. Overall, there are over 100 different ways to design and customize your Gravity Acrylic Guitar Pick, giving every guitar player a chance to create the perfect pick.

If you’re looking for a unique pick to call your own, check out Gravity Picks.

If you’re looking for one of the best guitar picks on the market and budget isn't a problem, we would strongly recommend the uniquely shaped Original Dragon's Heart Guitar Pick. It costs an astounding $15 per pick, but if you’re a serious guitar player, it could be worth it.

Dragon's Heart Guitar Picks can be used for over 1,000 hours before they’re too dull to play with. That's an insane amount of playtime for a single pick.

The pick also comes with three different playable edges, making it feel like you have three different picks in your hand anytime you play.

The Dragon's Heart Pick series comes with 12% graphite material, making it incredibly fast and an excellent choice for guitarists looking for speed. The asymmetrical shape of the pick may seem odd to new users at first, but once you get used to it, you’ll be able to shred like never before.

We didn't just select the Dragon's Heart Pick because of its price tag; its uniqueness, versatility, and flexibility make it one of the best guitar picks out there.

If you’re willing to spend $15 on this single pick, you might just get 1,000+ hours out of it.

Long guitar sessions can be messy, especially if you’re prone to sweating from your hands. If you do deal with perspiring palms, don't worry, we have the perfect pick for you.

The Fred Kelly Bumblebee Teardrop Guitar Pick takes the best parts of both a flat pick and a thumb pick and combines them into one versatile tool. It's fully adjustable and rotational, making it easy to use for new guitar players and veterans of the sting instrument alike.

You can buy a pack of 3 for $15, which isn't a bad deal for such a specifically shaped pick. You can get them in their regular size or in large, and they’re available for left-handed players too.

Fred Kelly's Bumblebee Teardrop Guitar Pick is a great choice for a guitarist who is looking for more versatility while playing or even just someone who wants to combat sweaty palms.

If you’re looking for the best guitar picks without breaking the bank, look no further than another one of Ernie Ball's wonderful creations – the Everlast Guitar Pick. Not only are these some of the best guitar picks out there, but you can get 12 of them for less than $4.

They come with Ernie Ball's trademark Delrin material, giving you both the flexibility and durability you need from your pick. The Delrin material also contributes to the non-slip surface, making sure your grip is secure without any raised edges or perforations.

They’re called Everlast for a reason – these picks can be used for a very long time. If you do manage to use an Everlast Pick until it's nice and dull, you can simply reach into your 12-pack and grab another one.

Ernie Ball's Everlast Guitar Pick is one of the best guitar picks for anyone shopping on a budget. Buy a 36-pack of these great picks for less than the cost of a single Dragon Heart pick.

If you’re looking for buying advice for a good guitar pick, there are a couple of key features you should take into careful consideration. What you get out of your guitar picks depends on its grip, material, thickness, and shape.

Your playing style and genre matter, too; different playing styles can benefit from different materials.

Grip is essential in controlling your guitar pick and making sure you don't slip while playing. Grip is also largely dependent on the pick's shape; standard-shaped picks are handled differently than their triangularly-shaped counterparts.

Some picks come with a textured grip which gives you even more traction while playing.

Material is a major factor in both how the pick feels in your hand and how your sound comes across. Generally speaking, a soft pick material like nylon produces a warmer tone, while a hard pick material like metal produces a brighter tone.

You can usually find guitar pick deals online, too, so buy several different ones and find out which is best for you.

The pick's thickness is another factor that can make a massive difference in your overall playing feel.

A thinner pick, something around .50mm, can offer more flexibility than thicker picks and produce brighter tones. A thicker pick, closer to .80mm and higher, will give you more control, making them a better choice for lead players.

The shape of a guitar pick affects how you feel it in your hand and how well you can grip it: triangular picks with a sharp pointed tip offer more stability and control, jazz picks have smaller shapes that work better for speed picking, while standard teardrop shaped picks may be the best for acoustic strumming.

Before buying a guitar pick, try a few out in your hand to see which shape fits your best. Your local music store should have some picks ready for you to try.

Acoustic guitar players, electric guitar players, and even metal players don't play the guitar the same way, so why should they use the same pick?

Some players want warmer sounds, others go for a brighter sound. Guitar pick shapes, guitar strings, and other materials play a big role in finding the right pick for you.

The shape of the pick is just as decisive as the song you choose to play; make sure you match the right pick to your playing style before buying.

Thick picks sound louder than thin picks, making them better for lead playing. Thin picks make for a more flexible pick which is much better for strumming chords.

The right thickness depends on your personal preference, and related buyer's guides will say the same.

Beginner guitarists have a lot of choices when looking for their first pick. It's hard to say which pick is best for beginners as it largely depends on what you’re looking for, but the best entry-level guitar picks for us are the Fender Celluloid Picks.

These classic Fender picks produce that balanced tone every beginner should be looking for.

The Dunlop Jazz III is also a good beginner choice for jazz guitar players.

If you play the guitar casually, a good pick should last you around a month. If you’re a professional playing guitar all day, a good pick may not even last the entire session.

Sharp edges on plastic picks may be the first to go, but that's why picks come in packs!

When you’re in the market for guitar picks, keep in mind how different each pick can be.

Different shapes, materials, and grips can change everything, so be willing to experiment with different picks to find the right one for you.

If you want the best pick in the guitar world, check out Jim Dunlop's Standard Tortex Pick. It works for both guitar playing and bass playing like no other. For beginners who seek a more traditional feel, the Fender 351 Shape Classic Celluloid Pick stands as a remarkable alternative.

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