In music we often describe sound with other adjectives that describe a more visual or physical feeling. Ex: A sound that feels warm/cold, or thick/thin, or bright/dark. There are preferences to be had per the individual player, but different genres of music may demand different tonal colors.
In country music for example, a bright, spanky, telecaster (or stratocaster) sound may be preferred to fit that mold. In metal and rock music you will find many people prefer the sound of two humbuckers on a Les Paul style guitar to give them that thick, roaring sound. These are broad generalizations, as you can use most guitars for most genres and sounds. However, you may find more easy success by utilizing tried and tested sounds, if you’re trying to achieve a specific sound.
Typically, any guitar with a single-coil pickup will be made to be brighter and have more high-end frequencies. Likewise, any guitar with a humbucker pickup will be darker, but also have a more full-bodied sound.
Here is a link to a publication that has a comprehensive and easy to reference list of guitar related tone terms:
https://www.premierguitar.com/tone-terminology
Sound Examples:
- Spank/Spanky -- Polyphia , Cory Wong , Johnny Hiland , Eric Gales
- Warm -- Totorro , Guillaume Muschalle , Eric Johnson
- Mellow -- Pat Martino , Wes Montgomery
- Thick -- John Petrucci , Mick Gordon, Sunn O)))
- Fuzzy -- Jack White , Wolfmother , Muse , (Early) Black Sabbath , Jimi Hendrix
- Glassy -- John Mayer , Mateus Asato , Ichika Nito
- Smooth -- Plini , Carlos Santana , BB King
- Aggressive -- Angus Young , Yngwie Malmsteen , Eddie Van Halen, Mark Tremonti
