Thread of List...........Guitarist

[Leomaz]

How do you define best? Not sure how you can allow personal favorites to influence this (for instance I despise country, but cannot deny the talent of Roy Clark or Glen Campbell).

In all fairness, you never said "best" in your original post, but that is the direction the thread took.

Indeed I only specified guitarist.

 

[Enasic]

That is kinda the key......to name a list of the "best" guitarist, you first have to define what you qualify as "best".

Influential does not equal best.
Innovative does not equal best.

All admirable traits mind you, and deserving of lists of their own.

Best would seem to imply that if you gave all the listed guitarist lets say 50 different guitar pieces to play, in several different genre's, to be played on acoustic, electric, steel, etc guitars, who could replicate them the best.

Also, names left of the list because of the OP's preferred genre (he didn't say rock guitarist)

Steve Howe
Glen Campbell
Roy Clark

Eh, I don’t really buy into that criteria. There is a difference between playing a song and writing one. But I digress. That weights heavily for me. Creativity, innovation, improvisation. You could play anything, but if you can’t improvise or write , you’re more of just a cover band type of guitarist. And who determines who plays the list of songs with various different type of guitars as “the best?” And how many people even play steel guitars? Who comes up with the list to play? Your criteria is based off a completely hypothetical scenario. Like I said, there is no best guitarist. Best you could do is end up on a list for debate, which is kind of pointless.

 

[Xuder O'Clam]

That is kinda the key......to name a list of the "best" guitarist, you first have to define what you qualify as "best".

Influential does not equal best.
Innovative does not equal best.

All admirable traits mind you, and deserving of lists of their own.

Best would seem to imply that if you gave all the listed guitarist lets say 50 different guitar pieces to play, in several different genre's, to be played on acoustic, electric, steel, etc guitars, who could replicate them the best.

Also, names left of the list because of the OP's preferred genre (he didn't say rock guitarist)

Steve Howe
Glen Campbell
Roy Clark

I appreciate the 3 names you have added, but why do you feel the need to remy up this thread with your nonsense?

Leo did not say best, so maybe it could be listing your favourites, most influential, most innovative, or whatever one wants to list.

You really suck as a poster. And your definition, or implication of what constitutes best guitarist is idiotic.

 

[botfly10]

 

[KittiesKorner]

I fucking knew it

 

[nc0gnet0]

Eh, I don’t really buy into that criteria. There is a difference between playing a song and writing one. But I digress. That weights heavily for me. Creativity, innovation, improvisation. You could play anything, but if you can’t improvise or write , you’re more of just a cover band type of guitarist. And who determines who plays the list of songs with various different type of guitars as “the best?” And how many people even play steel guitars? Who comes up with the list to play? Your criteria is based off a completely hypothetical scenario. Like I said, there is no best guitarist. Best you could do is end up on a list for debate, which is kind of pointless.

Oh come on, I used steel guitar to make a point. There is a flip side to your argument, one can innovate heavy feedback and use of a whamy bar, be considered great, and not be able to play an acoustic worth a lick. I disagree with your disagreement.

 

[nc0gnet0]

I appreciate the 3 names you have added, but why do you feel the need to remy up this thread with your nonsense?

Leo did not say best, so maybe it could be listing your favourites, most influential, most innovative, or whatever one wants to list.

You really suck as a poster. And your definition, or implication of what constitutes best guitarist is idiotic.

go **** yourself.

 

[Enasic]

Oh come on, I used steel guitar to make a point. There is a flip side to your argument, one can innovate heavy feedback and use of a whamy bar, be considered great, and not be able to play an acoustic worth a lick. I disagree with your disagreement.

You have a point. There are plenty of electric guitarists who fade away when handed an acoustic. But I’ve never heard of any guitarist who innovated feedback and a whammy bar but sucked otherwise. Hendrix was one of the first to heavily use both but he did much more than that. Either way, your scenario is completely hypothetical. If that’s the only way to find out the best, it can’t ever happen. It’s decent in theory, but still has flaws even if it were possible.

 

[botfly10]

I fucking knew it

 

[RacerX]

I'm not a music critic like many posters here so i can only speak to the greatest guitarists I have seen live:
(slightly OT, in no particular order)

Tom Morello - at the peak of Rage, an Axe God
Clapton (front row center at Summerfest, and at the Rosemont Horizon playing lead on Roger Water's Hitchhiker tour)
Michael Schenker - saw him somewhere in the NW Chicago burbs at a dive bar, must have been 500 headcount max there so it was intimate and he really brought it that night
Randy Rhoads - caught him on both the Blizzard and Diary tours
Stevie Ray - saw him right before he passed
Steve Howe - can't remember where, but he was amazing
Fripp & Belew - with King Crimson

Saw the following talent live as well, all amazing:
Lifeson, Iommi, Robbie Robertson, Blackmore, Knopfler, Neil Young, David Gilmour

 

[Leomaz]

I'm not a music critic like many posters here so i can only speak to the greatest guitarists I have seen live:
(slightly OT, in no particular order)

Tom Morello - at the peak of Rage, an Axe God
Clapton (front row center at Summerfest, and at the Rosemont Horizon playing lead on Roger Water's Hitchhiker tour)
Michael Schenker - saw him somewhere in the NW Chicago burbs at a dive bar, must have been 500 headcount max there so it was intimate and he really brought it that night
Randy Rhoads - caught him on both the Blizzard and Diary tours
Stevie Ray - saw him right before he passed
Steve Howe - can't remember where, but he was amazing
Fripp & Belew - with King Crimson

Saw the following talent live as well, all amazing:
Lifeson, Iommi, Robbie Robertson, Blackmore, Knopfler, Neil Young, David Gilmour

thats a lot of great guitarist right there!

 

[LordKOTL]

I agree that it's hard to define, "Best" especially with the multitude of genres out there and each of them requiring different skillsets to get the sound needed.

But one of the criteria I have about being even in consideration is that the playing has to sound as-good, if not better, live vs. studio. You can't slow it down, and you can't noticeably ****-up. Further, (and I only saw this once, at a local show on Bass, not guitar) if something does go wrong like you break a string, you don't stop the show--you improvise and do octave work.

It's why I hold the guitarists of GWAR in such high esteem--they do that: they play as fast or faster than studio (faster fits the genre of "Heavy Metal Comic Theatre")...while wearing rubber costumes...and fighting monsters up to a 2-story tall anamatronic dinosaur...with fake blood and bodily fluids spewing all over them and the crowd. The may not be the virtuoso-level of Vai/Satriani, but you go for a show and you get a show that delivers in terms of music and gore.

Ditto on Alexi Liaho of Children of Bodom--except without the costumes and theater. You see him live and he pulls off everything on the studio albums without slowing up.

Even if you slow it down a lot and go into softer genres, that still applies. The the live experience is less than the studio album, they shouldn't be in "Best" consideration.

Oh, and two more bands to add to the list, and yes, I'm showing my geekiness:

Daniel Tidwell
Vomitron

It takes a ton of skill to pull off a video game cover at speed.

 

[airtime143]

How do you define best? Not sure how you can allow personal favorites to influence this (for instance I despise country, but cannot deny the talent of Roy Clark or Glen Campbell).

In all fairness, you never said "best" in your original post, but that is the direction the thread took.

It is impossible to rank guitarists without some set of criteria.. the original post is a mishmash of random shit and big names.
I propose quantification be required from here on.

 

[MDB111™]

@Omeletpants
Not in any particular order.

1. Jimmy Page
2. Jimi Hendrix
3. Michael Schenker
4. Stevie Ray Vaughn
5. Jeff Beck
6. Joe Perry/ Brad Whitford
7. Alex Lifeson
8. Buck Dharma
9. Tony Iomi
10. AngusYoung/Malcom Young
11. Tom Scholz
12. Eddie Clarke
13. Brian May
14. Randy Rhoads
15. David Gilmore
16. Albert Collins
17. Duane Allman
18. Burt Jansch
19. Slash
20. Carlos Santana
21. Eddie Van Halen
22. Scotty Moore
22. Lonesome Dave/Rod Price
23. Dickey Betts
24. B.B. King
25. Kirk Hammet
26. Chuck Berry
27. Ritchie Blackmore
28. Eric Clapton
29. Tom Morello
30. Dimebag Daryl
31. Allen Collins/Garry Rossington
32. Rick Neilson
33. Todd Rudgren
34. Lindsay Buckingham
35. Buddy Holly
36. T Bone Walker
37. Gary Richrath
38. Otis Rush
39. John Lee Hooker
40. Ace Frehley
41. Dick Dale
42. Eddie Hazel
43. Ted Nugent
44. Lou Reed
45. Johnny Ramone
46. Larry Schryner
47. Frank Zappa
48. Steve Turner
49. Johnny Greenwood
50. Jim Heath
51. Dave Matthews
52. The Edge
53. Chet Atkins
54. Joe Satriani
55. Joe Bonamassa
56. Dweezil Zappa
57. Alvin Lee
58. Robin Trower
59. Ronnie Wood
60. Robert Fripp
61. Robert Johnson
62. Rory Gallagher
63. Les Paul
64. Leo Kottke
65. Zack Wylde
66. Y. Malmsteen
67. Kevin MacMichael
68. Paul Stanley
69. Porl Thompson
70. Dave Murray
71. John McLaughlin
72. John Hiatt
73. Dave Mustaine
74. John Fahey
75. Pete Townsend
76. Steve Clark
77. James Hetfield
78. Kerry King
79. Jeff Hanneman
80. Adrian Smith
81. George Harrison
82. Mark Farner
83. Elliot Randall
84. Walter Becker
85. Jerry Garcia
86. Peter Green
87. Steve Cropper
88. K.K. Downing/Glen Tipton
89. Robbie Blunt
90. Mick Box
91. Mark Knopfler
92. Neil Young
93. Billy Gibbons
94. Joe Walsh
95. Dave Davies
96. Nancy Wilson
97. Carl Perkins
98. Mike Campbell
99. Albert King
100. Prince

101. McKinley Morganfield---Muddy Waters

 

[airtime143]

I played for many years and at all times had someone who's work I absolutely loved...only to move on to the next.
So not a list of all my favorites, but a list of the skills I coveted chronologically.

It started with randy Rhodes and crazy train, offset by the acoustic "Dee". Lots of talent and a good mix of sounds and skills.
He was dead before I began playing, and his sound got me in to it.

Van Halen of course was next, but that was all flash and little substance. The tapping and speed were the big skills I admired.

For a long while, dave Murray and adrian Smith of Iron Maiden were on heavy play rotation. Nothing earth shattering but their harmonized solos were really tight.

Then, james Hetfield. Palm muting, fast and articulate right hand, and one of the most interesting blends of classic/metal songwriting that had been seen. Master of puppets was the peak.

For a while, I was way in to joe satriani. Great sound, lightning fast, could do anything anyone else could do (talking about you, vai) but wasn't compelled to break speed records or Cram too much in at the cost of losing a groove.

Then, early Dime bag. Listened to cowboys from hell as a demo I got for free at tower records, and it didn't leave my tape deck for 3 months. Heavy, articulate, and the pinch harmonics were off the charts.

....then grunge and shredder saturation kind of killed the guitar evolution and I put the toys away.

Not even close to my top all time list... but the guys who stood out in big ways.

 

[RacerX]

I played for many years and at all times had someone who's work I absolutely loved...only to move on to the next.
So not a list of all my favorites, but a list of the skills I coveted chronologically.

It started with randy Rhodes and crazy train, offset by the acoustic "Dee". Lots of talent and a good mix of sounds and skills.
He was dead before I began playing, and his sound got me in to it.

Van Halen of course was next, but that was all flash and little substance. The tapping and speed were the big skills I admired.

For a long while, dave Murray and adrian Smith of Iron Maiden were on heavy play rotation. Nothing earth shattering but their harmonized solos were really tight.

Then, james Hetfield. Palm muting, fast and articulate right hand, and one of the most interesting blends of classic/metal songwriting that had been seen. Master of puppets was the peak.

For a while, I was way in to joe satriani. Great sound, lightning fast, could do anything anyone else could do (talking about you, vai) but wasn't compelled to break speed records or Cram too much in at the cost of losing a groove.

Then, early Dime bag. Listened to cowboys from hell as a demo I got for free at tower records, and it didn't leave my tape deck for 3 months. Heavy, articulate, and the pinch harmonics were off the charts.

....then grunge and shredder saturation kind of killed the guitar evolution and I put the toys away.

Not even close to my top all time list... but the guys who stood out in big ways.

Hetfield once took me on a 1:1 tour of all his guitars in his house, sadly I never played that instrument and don’t know one from another. I couldn’t even think of a single question to ask him about any of them, what an utterly wasted opportunity.

 

[Leomaz]

101. Mick Mars
102. Neil Schon
103. Buddy Guy.
104. Bonnie Raitt
105. Steve Vai
106. Bo Diddley
107. Mick Ronson
108. Stephan Stills
109. Jack White
110. John Frusciante
111. Link Wray
112. Tom Petty
113. Roy Clark
114. Dave Sabo/ Scotti Hill
115. Chris DeGarmo/ Michael Wilton
116. Thruston Moore
117. Steve Jones
118. Roger McGuinn
119. Tom Verlaine
120. Carl Perkins
121. Robby Krieger
122. Dick Dale
123. Jimmy McCullough
124. Leslie West
125. Rudolph Schenker/Matthias Jabs
126. Duane Eddy
127. Johnny Winters
128. Rick Derringer
129. John Lennon
130. Vernon Reid
131. Joe Walsh
132. Don Felder
133. John Mayall
134. Muddy Waters
135. Rushes Cooder
136. James Burton
137. Freddie King
138. Annie Clark
139. Stone Gossard
140. Jerry Cantrell
141. Steve Hackett

 

[airtime143]

Hetfield once took me on a 1:1 tour of all his guitars in his house, sadly I never played that instrument and don’t know one from another. I couldn’t even think of a single question to ask him about any of them, what an utterly wasted opportunity.

Wasted? It isn't like he could have told you anything about them you couldn't read in an interview...not wasted. You got a great story out of it.
I recall you mentioning that his wife had him by the short hairs... that is far more interesting than guitar talk.

 

[RacerX]

Wasted? It isn't like he could have told you anything about them you couldn't read in an interview...not wasted. You got a great story out of it.
I recall you mentioning that his wife had him by the short hairs... that is far more interesting than guitar talk.

Other than water, she only lets him drink dandelion tea. He can't even have minuscule amounts of caffeine because that might trigger a relapse. No wonder he's angry.

 

[Enasic]

101. Mick Mars
102. Neil Schon
103. Buddy Guy.
104. Bonnie Raitt
105. Steve Vai
106. Bo Diddley
107. Mick Ronson
108. Stephan Stills
109. Jack White
110. John Frusciante
111. Link Wray
112. Tom Petty
113. Roy Clark
114. Dave Sabo/ Scotti Hill
115. Chris DeGarmo/ Michael Wilton
116. Thruston Moore
117. Steve Jones
118. Roger McGuinn
119. Tom Verlaine
120. Carl Perkins
121. Robby Krieger
122. Dick Dale
123. Jimmy McCullough
124. Leslie West
125. Rudolph Schenker/Matthias Jabs
126. Duane Eddy
127. Johnny Winters
128. Rick Derringer
129. John Lennon
130. Vernon Reid
131. Joe Walsh
132. Don Felder
133. John Mayall
134. Muddy Waters
135. Rushes Cooder
136. James Burton
137. Freddie King
138. Annie Clark
139. Stone Gossard
140. Jerry Cantrell

Mick Mars at 101....Steve via at 105. I almost spit out my food.