Guitar tabs - Play your favorite song right now!
As far as I'm concerned, guitar tabs is the greatest invention of all time! When I started playing, I was taught (sort of) to read notes on a scale. This was too frustrating for me. I wanted to learn to play now like Hendrix and Clapton. My first (and only) guitar teacher was a young long-haired dude who rode a Honda motorcycle. He was a great teacher and acoustic player. 
He taught me the latest songs from James Taylor, Loggins and Messina and Jim Croce. Unfortunately I wanted to play electric rock guitar (Alice Cooper, Cream, Ten Years After). I watched his finger positions and tried to imitate and memorize them. I would go home and play my favorite songs over and over again and try to figure out where to put my fingers. 
I had a record player back then with three speeds. I would switch from 33rpm to 16rpm and try to catch the notes that were played (it didn't work too well). Sometimes I just couldn't figure out a particular passage in a song. I didn't have enough experience.
Then I discovered guitar tabs... I had thought tablature for guitars was invented by a rock and roll wannabe who couldn't read (or didn't want to read) music. I figured some dude sat in his bedroom back in the 1950's and painstakingly worked out the fretboard arraignment with paper and pen. Lo and behold tabs were invented back during the Renaissance by a bunch of lute players! It went in and out of vogue over the years and came into prominence during the rock and roll era. Anyways it's a cool concept and I'm a much happier guitar player for it! 
Before the internet sprang to life, I would buy Guitar Player magazine, which transcribed 4 or 5 current rock favorites in each issue. These songs just whetted a guitarists appetite! I wanted more! With the advent of the internet, a whole new vista of tabs sites opened up. I have checked them all out at various times over the years and I've settled on Ultimate-Guitar.com as the definitive place to go for all types of guitar tabs. I think they have the best overall collection period. Every one of my favorite bands are represented here. This is truly the lazy way to learn a song. Although let me quantify that. In our hectic world were we work, raise a family and have other stresses in life that pull us every which way, for a guitarist, these sites are a godsend. 
Some tab notes: 1) Most tabs are transcribed along with the musical notation. 2) Sometimes the tabs are tuned to the original song, therefore you would have to retune if it's not standard tuning. 3) Playing a song strictly off tabs without knowing the song can be difficult. 4) Tabs are based on the musical level of the person who transcribes them. 5) Guitar tabs are not necessarily a shortcut, nothing will take the place of practicing in order to get better.
The problem I have noticed with guitar tabs in general, is that each song is the "interpretation" of the person transcribing that song. Some are tabbed out better than others and some just don't sound right. Usually by listening to a song and looking for videos of either studio or live recordings, I'll figure out how it should be played. by watching the guitarist on the video, you'll see where his fingers are in relation to the transcribed tabs. Use all of the sources and tools at your disposal. For me, guitar tabs are at the top of the list.
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