The following is a list of notable synthesizers.
| Year | Manufacturer | Synthesizer | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Buchla | Buchla Model 100 Series | [1] | |
| 1965 | Moog Music | Moog synthesizer | First commercial synthesizer | [2] |
| 1970 | Moog Music | Minimoog | First synthesizer sold in retail stores [3] | [4] |
| 1970 | Buchla | Buchla Series 200 | [1] | |
| 1978 | Sequential Circuits | Prophet-5 | First fully programmable polyphonic synthesizer | [5] |
| 2008 | Dave Smith Instruments | Prophet '08 | [6] | |
| 2017 | Dave Smith Instruments | Prophet Rev 2 | [7] | |
| 1983 | Yamaha | DX7 | First commercially successful digital synthesizer | [5] |
| 1987 | Yamaha | DX7II | [8] | |
| 1983 | Yamaha | DX1 | [5] | |
| 1987 | Yamaha | TX81Z | [5] | |
| 1988 | Yamaha | DX11 | [5] | |
| 1985 | Yamaha | DX21 | [5] | |
| 1981 | Roland | TB-303 | Important to the development of acid house | [9] |
| 1982 | Roland | SH-101 | [5] | |
| 1982 | Roland | Juno-6 / Juno-60 | [10] | |
| 1981 | Roland | Jupiter-8 | [11] | |
| 1983 | Roland | Jupiter-6 | First synthesizer with MIDI | [11] |
| 1983 | Roland | JX-3P | [11] | |
| 1984 | Roland | Juno-106 | [10] | |
| 1985 | Roland | Alpha Juno | [12] | |
| 1987 | Roland | D-50 | First synthesizer with digital reverb | [13] |
| 1991 | Roland | JD-800 | [14] | |
| 1981 | Korg | Polysix | [10] | |
| 1980 | Oberheim | OB-Xa | [15] | |
| 1988 | Korg | M1 | Bestselling synthesizer in history | [16] |
| 1990 | Korg | Wavestation | [14] | |
| 1979 | Fairlight | Fairlight CMI | [5] | |
| 1971 | ARP | ARP 2600 | [14] | |
| 1972 | ARP | ARP Odyssey | First duophonic synthesizer (capable of playing two notes at once) | [5] |
| 1975 | Moog Music | Polymoog | [17] | |
| 1969 | EMS | VCS3 | [5] | |
| 1976 | Yamaha | CS-80 | [5] | |
| 1978 | Korg | MS-20 | [5] | |
| 1981 | PPG | Wave | [5] | |
| 1991 | Korg | 01/W | [18] | |
| 1997 | Propellerhead Software | ReBirth | One of the first software synthesizers that could be played in real time via MIDI | [19] |
| 1996 | Roland | JP-8000 | Supersaw technology helped popularise trance music. | [20] |