What does distortion mean in music?

A clean tone is the sound a guitar string makes when it is plucked. A common sound manipulation trick used in rock, and well, most types of music involving Guitars, is "distortion". Distortion is what gives the guitar that electric sound we all love.

The intro to this song is a guitar that is clean (no distortion):

YouTube.com/watch?v=xPKkKgOJmiM">http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=xPKkKgOJmiM

The intro to this song is a guitar that is distorted:

http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=g9skUH9rSD8

Sorry I can give you the technical specifications. Check this out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distortion_(guitar)