Early in his career he worked as a guitar instructor, with many of his former students achieving fame, including Steve Vai, Larry LaLonde, Rick Hunolt, Kirk Hammett, Andy Timmons, Charlie Hunter, Kevin Cadogan, and Alex Skolnick.

He is a 15-time Grammy Award nominee and has sold over ten million albums, making him the bestselling instrumental rock guitarist of all time.

[4] Satriani briefly toured with Deep Purple, joining shortly after another departure of Ritchie Blackmore from the band in November 1993.

He began teaching guitar, with his most notable student at the time being fellow Long Island native Steve Vai (who also went to Carle Place).

His students included Kirk Hammett of Metallica,[16] David Bryson of Counting Crows, Kevin Cadogan from Third Eye Blind, Larry LaLonde of Primus and Possessed, Alex Skolnick of Testament, Rick Hunolt (ex-Exodus), Phil Kettner of Lȧȧz Rockit, Geoff Tyson of T-Ride, Charlie Hunter, and David Turin.

[citation needed] Satriani started playing in a San Francisco-based band called Squares, which he formed with his brother-in-law Neil Sheehan in the late 1970s.

[17] He was later invited to join the Greg Kihn Band, who were on the downside of their career, but whose generosity helped Satriani pay off the overwhelming credit card debt from recording his first album, Not of This Earth, released in 1986.

[19] In 1987, Satriani's second album, Surfing with the Alien, produced radio hits and was the first all-instrumental release to chart so highly in many years.

"Can't Slow Down" featured in a car chase sequence in the Don Johnson-starring show Nash Bridges.

In late 1993, Satriani joined Deep Purple as a temporary replacement for departed guitarist Ritchie Blackmore during the band's Japanese tour.

The concerts were a success, and Satriani was asked to join the band permanently, but he declined, having just signed a multi-album solo deal with Sony, and Steve Morse took the guitarist slot in Deep Purple.

In 1998, Satriani recorded and released Crystal Planet, followed by Engines of Creation, one of his more experimental works featuring the electronica genre.

In 2006, Satriani signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underserved public schools throughout the US.

The artist has personally delivered instruments to children in the program through a charity raffle for the organization, and like Steve Vai, sits on its board of directors as an honorary member.

This was a two-disc set that includes a remastered album and a DVD of a never-before-seen live show filmed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1988.

[25] On May 29, 2008, Satriani revealed that he was joining hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot, composed of former Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.

[41] In August 2014, Satriani participated in the G4 Experience—a weeklong guitar camp—with fellow guitarists Paul Gilbert and Andy Timmons, and keyboardist Mike Keneally.

[42] In February 2015, the first dates were announced for the Shockwave World Tour, in support of Satriani's 15th studio album, slated for release in July.

The album was conceived after Satriani found himself playing guitar with his teeth a lot during the Unstoppable Momentum tour, and had a daydream about an alter ego, "Shockwave Supernova", making him do it.

He collaborated with former Deep Purple bassist Glenn Hughes and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, two Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members.

The event was led by Satriani, together with Peter Frampton—among his final performances before retirement,[48] Steve Lukather, and Steve Morse, and included workshops and jam sessions led by Alex Skolnick, Andy James, Cory Wong, Eric Gales, John 5, Mateus Asato, and Nili Brosh.

[49] In early 2024, Satriani, Steve Vai, and Eric Johnson embarked on a limited-run "Reunion" tour of the original G3 lineup.

[51] After more than fifty years of professional and personal friendship, the pair wrote and recorded their first single together, "The Sea of Emotion, Pt.1", which was released on March 29, 2024.

[52] In May 2008, Satriani joined hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot, composed of former Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer, Chad Smith.

He composed much of the soundtrack for the racing video game NASCAR 06: Total Team Control,[54] while his song "Crowd Chant" was featured in NHL 2K10[55] and Madden NFL 11.

[57] Satriani has starred in several movies, including the 2006 Christopher Guest film For Your Consideration, as the guitarist in the band that played for the late-night show.

During fast passages, Satriani favors a legato technique (achieved primarily through hammer-ons and pull-offs) that yields smooth and flowing runs.

[64] Satriani was influenced by Jimi Hendrix and by English rock guitarists such as Brian May, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, and Jeff Beck.

On the album Super Colossal, the song titled "Crowd Chant" was originally called "Party on the Enterprise".

Satriani has the fourth-most Grammy Award nominations (15, after Brian McKnight, Snoop Dogg, and Zubin Mehta) of any artist without winning.