We know that you would normally wait until the end of the year to start recapping the top items of the year, but here at Fretbase we like to do things differently.  We know that people are considering guitars for that special someone right now and so we thought it would be worthwhile to let our users know now which were our most popular guitars in 2009.

So far this year over 400,000 people have visited Fretbase to get information about a guitar, gear, artist or song and we figure those 400,000 people probably know quite a bit (heck, they are reading Fretbase aren’t they?).  So we have compiled a list of the most popular guitars as determined by looking at the number of our readers looking at each of these guitars.  So without any further delay, let’s get to the list.

Here is our list of the Most Popular Guitars of 2009 as determined by our users:

1. ESP Iron Cross ESP

2.  Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top

3.  Gibson J-45 Modern Classic

4.  Gretsch G5120 Electromatic

5.  Epiphone Casino

6.  Fender Stratocaster American Standard

7.  Epiphone Slash Les Paul Standard Plus Top

8.  Seagull S6 Cedar Original

9.  Gibson J-200 Standard

10. Recording King ROS-626

There were a number of interesting trends in 2009 worth noting.

Metallica Rules! The ESP Iron Cross ESP was the runaway winner in terms of number of page views.  And of course, that is because the ESP Iron Cross ESP is a replica of the James Hetfield’s model featured on the 2009 Death Magnetic tour with Metallica.

It’s Still About Electrics. 4 out of the Top 5 guitars this year are electrics and 6 out of the Top 10 were electrics.  I can write as much as I do about acoustics but it is still electrics that rule the day.

It is Hard to Unseat a Classic. While there were some newcomers on the list (most notably the Recording King ROS-626), it is still awfully hard to unseat a classic.  Quite a few of the guitars (including the Gibson J-200 Standard, the Fender Stratocaster American Standard and the Epiphone Casino) have been around for decades.

It is Exciting to Have a New Year on the Horizon.  With 2010 just around the corner and a new NAMM show, we’re sure there will be many new guitars on the way.  Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to learn about what’s new in the new year.

Is there a great guitar you hope to see in the Top 10 for 2010?  Please let us know about it in the comments.