Top 10 Guitarists

[CrankItUp!]

By no paticular order :

1.Eddie Van Halen
2.Jimi Hendrix
3.Randy Rhoads
4.Steve Vai
5.Nigel Tufnel
6.Jimmy Page
7.Angus Young
8.Ace Frehley
9.Ted Nugent
10.Steve Clark

[Tzar]

i remember in the Rolling Stones top 100

angus was like, some shit house BULLCRAP 30 position... and jack white was 18th!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK?!?!

Kirk Hamster got 11th though. \m/

[mickill]

1 Jimi Hendrix
2 Jimmy Page
3 Mark Knopfler
4 Kirk Hammet
5 Eddie Van Halen
6 Eric Clapton
7 Slash
8 Joe Satriani
9 Steve Vai
10 Brian May

[Auton]

where the HELL is Robert Fripp on those lists? :(

no respect at all :(

[mickill]

Robert Fripp can suck on some toasty balls. I'd put Kurt Cobain and Don Ho on my list before I'd have any prog-ass avant-garde homosexual defiling it.

[hpdrifter]

Prince would definitely be on mine. I think his guitar prowess is grossly underrated.

[jabumbo]

bo fuckin diddley is my hero

[mickill]

bo fuckin diddley is my hero
What songs specifically are you diggin?

[Knuckles]

1. Jimi Hendrix

2. Robert Johnson

3. Jimmy Page

4. Randy Rhoads

5. Eric Clapton

6. Eddie Van Halen

7. Tony Iommi

8. Slash

9. Stevie Ray Vaughan

10. Brian May

[enree erzweglle]

from a friend and in no real order:

Jimi Hendrix
Eric Clapton
Richard Thompson
Danny Gatton
Steve Howe
Robben Ford
Roy Buchanon
Jeff Beck
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Chet Atkins

edit: removed Ritchie Blackmore and replaced with Chet

[Brass_Munkey]

1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Jimmy Page
3. Eric Clapton
4. Duane Allman
5. Stevie Ray Vaughan
6. B.B. King
7. Pete Townshend
8. Eddie Van Halen
9. Ritchie Blackmore
10. Peter Frampton

[hpdrifter]

You guys are all saying the same thing. There has to be more to guitar than Hendrix, Page, Clapton, and Van Halen. Have any of you ever heard of Jennifer Batten? She's pretty smokin'. Be creative. How about the top 10 guitarists who are not Hendrix, Page, Clapton, and Van Halen. Those people are a given.

Don't you like how I just hijacked this topic?

[mickill]

Whattabout Jeff Beck? He's a given.


Anyway, how bout Rory Gallagher?

Mark Knopfler is incredibly underrated, by the way.

[Monsieur Decuts]

Mark Knopfler reminds me of old jerky boys tapes

[SwimFinFan]

I would like to add Buddy Guy and Brian Setzer.

[K-nowledge]

1.Eric Clapton
2.Jimi Hendrix
3.Kirk Hemmet
4.Dimebag
5.Jeff Hanneman
6.Jimmy Page
7.Thurston Moore
8.Larry LaLonde
9.B.B. King
10.Ted Nuget

[BeastieLips]

in no order.

jimi hendrix
billy corgan
jimmy page
dick dale
dimebag darrel
tony iommi
kurt cobain
les paul
bob marley's lead guitarist (i don't know his name)
kerry king

[Tzar]

1.Eric Clapton
2.Jimi Hendrix
3.Kirk Hemmet
4.Dimebag
5.Jeff Hanneman
6.Jimmy Page
7.Thurston Moore
8.Larry LaLonde
9.B.B. King
10.Ted Nuget

he hasn't got the greatest solos on earth but they suit the certain song so well; it sounds fuckin' so right.

[Auton]

Robert Fripp can suck on some toasty balls. I'd put Kurt Cobain and Don Ho on my list before I'd have any prog-ass avant-garde homosexual defiling it.

fuck you. so yeah, the playing on "Heroes," Peter Gabriel 3, and Another Green World sucks huh? good thinking, dumbass.

[mickill]

I think somebody needs their bottle and a nap. Isn't that right, Mr Grumpy? Yes it is.

[jabumbo]

What songs specifically are you diggin?


nothing really in particular, but he just puts down solid tunes without needing to have all these crazy riffs and solos

[icy manipulator]

tom morello

[Darko]

Right now, Tom Morello and Jack White are some of the best guitarists around. Tom can do anything with the guitar, and Jack can come up with guitar riffs that'd make Jimmy Page applaud.

[Calimero jr.]

In no special order:

- Django Reinhardt
- Jimi Hendrix
- Jimmy Page
- Biréli Lagrène
- Frank Zappa
- Billy Corgan
- Mike Mc Ready
- Stephen Malkmus
- Larry Lalonde
- J Mascis

[custom51]

chuck berry?

[cj hood]

if i played guitar, i'd be jimmy page...

[Drederick Tatum]

Knopfler? May? Corgan? and yet no Richards....what a thread...

[Medellia]

Knopfler? May? Corgan? and yet no Richards....what a thread...
Yeah, and one whole mention of Townsend. Pete deserves better than being mentioned just once.

[mickill]

Knopfler is ridiculously skilled. Don't sleep. Richards is among the alltime greatest conceiver of licks and riffs, I guess, but he's not an immensely gifted player. Neither is Townshend. How 'bout Dave Davies then? Dave Davies pretty much birthed Townshend.

[Thundercracker]

Jimmy Page and Tom Morello Rule.

[jabumbo]

- Django Reinhardt



golden!

[Kid Presentable]

Angus Young.

[Drederick Tatum]

K Richards is among the alltime greatest conceiver of licks and riffs,

that is basically my point, this attribute needs to have greater significance...otherwise it's just who's the biggest wanker

[mickill]

...otherwise it's just who's the biggest wanker
Oh, well, that'd be Pete Townshend.

[Medellia]

Neither is Townshend. How 'bout Dave Davies then? Dave Davies pretty much birthed Townshend.
Oh come on. Townsend may not be the greatest guitarist ever, but he's certainly top ten.

[mickill]

Oh come on. Townsend may not be the greatest guitarist ever, but he's certainly top ten.

Yeah he's in the top ten. Of the list of 100 to 25, though. He doesn't make it into my top 25. But I suppose he's some where inbetween 35 and 25.

[lazatiger]

I can't think of ten at the moment, but I can say that Jimmy Page is my favorite...

[CrankItUp!]

Joan Jett is a great female guitarist. (y)

[Maisailana]

as is tracy chapman. just not as flashy.

[Drederick Tatum]

Pete Townsend was in The Who, that makes him top ten.

[Kid Presentable]

Angus Young should be anywhere between 9 and 10 on the list. Fuck Slowhand.

[Tzar]

Angus Young should be anywhere between 9 and 10 on the list. Fuck Slowhand.
werd.

[Kid Presentable]

werd.
For real, he plays his ass off on every album. Every concert.

[Tzar]

For real, he plays his ass off on everu album. Every concert.
oh i know, i know!

i could watch Family Jewels every day for the rest of my life.

[Junker]

Did someone mention Tom Morello????

[Rancid_Beasties]

Knopfler is ridiculously skilled. Don't sleep. Richards is among the alltime greatest conceiver of licks and riffs, I guess, but he's not an immensely gifted player. Neither is Townshend. How 'bout Dave Davies then? Dave Davies pretty much birthed Townshend.
Hell yes, but Knopfler isn't just rediculously skilled, hes written some of the most recognisable riffs, at least to the musically enlightened, with dire straits...I mean hes solo stuff is not so well known, but to say that he is just rediculously skilled at playing guitar ignores the fact that he has written some of the best riffs and some of the best songs out there. Sultans of Swing the most obvious example, followed by money for nothing and Walk of life...all were massive hits.

1. Hendrix
2. Mark Knopfler
3. Angus Young
4. Eric Clapton
5. Yngwie Malmsteen (Black star is a shining example of his brilliance, how come none of you assholes have mentioned him)
6. Stevie Ray Vaughan
7. Jimmy Page
8. Eddie Van Halen (Eruption is insane (y))
9. Kirk Hammet
10. Tom Morello

[Junker]

10. Tom Morello

Yeah...........he was missing on the other lists

[Rancid_Beasties]

Yeah...........he was missing on the other lists
No he wasn't, he was also on Icy Manipulator's list, Darko and Thundercracker both mentioned him as one of the best guitarists going around right now.

[Drederick Tatum]

fuck Brothers in Arms.

[Rancid_Beasties]

fuck Brothers in Arms.
:mad:

The album or the song

[Drederick Tatum]

the whole album. it's aged terribly and now sounds completely dated and pretty cheesy

[Calimero jr.]

5. Yngwie Malmsteen (Black star is a shining example of his brilliance, how come none of you assholes have mentioned him)

Because he has such an asshole attitude. Although he's a great guitarist he has such a high opinion of himself (and such a low one of many other artist) that he's pretty pathetic. And come one, his albums really suck, always the crappy 80's hard-rock FM background music with him playing over at 10'000 notes/second. Technically amazing, but musically pretty boring and without flavor.... (n)

[Rancid_Beasties]

Because he has such an asshole attitude. Although he's a great guitarist he has such a high opinion of himself (and such a low one of many other artist) that he's pretty pathetic. And come one, his albums really suck, always the crappy 80's hard-rock FM background music with him playing over at 10'000 notes/second. Technically amazing, but musically pretty boring and without flavor.... (n)
Yeah but on technical ability he is probably the best out there. And for that alone, as a guitarist myself, I respect him. I mean if we say that a good guitarist is made up by the sum of his ability to play guitar and his success, whether it be solo or with a band, I think that his ability makes up for his lack of success (at least on the same level as the other guitarists i've listed).

And the fact that Brothers in Arms has dated doesn't change the fact that Knopfler's solo stuff is extremely consistant (in a good way), and include 5 albums that are all probably better than any dire straits stuff. Also, dire straits did release 2 other brilliant albums (making movies and dire straits) and a solid live album (alchemy).

[Calimero jr.]

Yeah but on technical ability he is probably the best out there. And for that alone, as a guitarist myself, I respect him. I mean if we say that a good guitarist is made up by the sum of his ability to play guitar and his success, whether it be solo or with a band, I think that his ability makes up for his lack of success (at least on the same level as the other guitarists i've listed).

As a guitarist I respect his amazing skills too, but with so much talent it's a bit of a shame that he never really tried to play something else that this kind of "technical demos" he does....

[Rancid_Beasties]

As a guitarist I respect his amazing skills too, but with so much talent it's a bit of a shame that he never really tried to play something else that this kind of "technical demos" he does....
True, but this thread isn't the top 10 most successful guitarists, its top 10 guitarists, which I think implies technicality and style. And for Malmsteen to not have even been mentioned at all until I did is a bit of a shame.

[abcdefz]

For your consideration:


Robert Johnson

Robbie Robertson

Dave Navarro

Hubert Sumlin

Jimi Hendrix

Buddy Holly

Richard Thompson

Jack White

Steve Cropper

Grant Green

[TurdBerglar]

ok, who the fuck is jack white?


and morello was great with ratm and is still great with audioslave. but now he seems to do the same shit over and over again since being with audioslave. or is it just me?

[Tzar]

and morello was great with ratm and is still great with audioslave. but now he seems to do the same shit over and over again since being with audioslave. or is it just me?
i don't listen to audioslave so i can't say but his shit with RATM is groundbreaking, even to this day; you'll never see another cunt play the guitar like him.

[Kid Presentable]

Buckethead.

[Calimero jr.]

Buckethead.

Oh yeah, how could I not mention him ?? :eek:
Amazing guy, too bad is actually losing his time with the "brand new LAME" G'n'R :rolleyes:

[Kid Presentable]

Oh yeah, how could I not mention him ?? :eek:
Amazing guy, too bad is actually losing his time with the "brand new LAME" G'n'R :rolleyes:
He quit.

[Calimero jr.]

Really ?? Didn't hear about it. Good news for sure. Still hoping that Brain will quit too :D

[thegoodmrbrodie!]

i dont know shit about guitars, but these guys make some great noise...

j mascis.
steve albini.
george benson.

[abcdefz]

I think a top twenty or thirty list would be interesting, because then you'd have one person insisting on Magic Sam, someone else naming Lindsey Buckingham, someone else naming Duanne Allman...

[Rock]

In no particular order

- Slash
- Grant Green
- Eddie Hazel
- Leo Nocentelli
- Dave Navarro
- Wes Montgomery
- Lee Ranaldo
- Danny Spitz
- Tony Iommi
- John Frusciante
- Curtis Mayfield

[mickill]

Dammit. I forgot Eddie Hazel.

I think John Frusciante's kinda gotten lazy with his playing, personally. I still enjoy his music, though.

[abcdefz]

Damn!


I forgot that guy from ? and the Mysterians.

[Rock]

I think John Frusciante's kinda gotten lazy with his playing, personally. I still enjoy his music, though.
Honestly, I was only thinking of Mother's Milk and Blood Sugar, none of his solo stuff. As far as I'm concerned Californication or anything after that never happened.

[mickill]

Honestly, I was only thinking of Mother's Milk and Blood Sugar, none of his solo stuff. As far as I'm concerned Californication or anything after that never happened.

I take it for what it's worth. I wasn't a huge fan of Californication, but I liked By The Way.

On another note, if you were to base him solely on his solo output you'd never know what great playing he actually was/is/sorta is capable of.

I'd like to add Mick Ronson, Mick Taylor and maybe Mick Jones to this discussion.

[abcdefz]

If Bob Dylan's first album had been his only one, he might've been added to this discussion.

But anyway.

I think we could throw in consideration of Springsteen and Miami Steve into our top thirty. Also consider John Fogerty, Adrian Belew [sp?] (did someone already mention him?), Robert Quine, and even Jeff Lynne.

[Kid Presentable]

I finally understand my latent appreciation of Keith Richards.

[earthling]

Frank Zappa 1 thru 10

[Tzar]

James Hetfield wouldn't be in the top 10 but he ain't a shit guitarist. his solos in MOP and Nothing Else Matters are pretty fucking tight. plus some of the licks he does on some of their live dvds (him and kirk trade licks sometimes) are just as good as kirks.

[abcdefz]

Who was Buck Owens' lead guitarist? Man, that guy was good.

Owens went into retreat when the dude died, then kind of gave up credibility to star in Hee Haw.

[mickill]

I think we could throw in consideration of Springsteen

Adam Raised A Caine would justify his inclusion.

And how'd I forget about Zappa?

[abcdefz]

Springsteen's guitar work has been pretty great, largely on those early records. He's just buried in the mix, part of one huge band sound... listen to "Rosalita," or "Kitty's Back," or, yeah -- "Adam Raised a Cain" or most of Born to Run, and it's clearly some outstanding stuff.

[Feel Alright!]

I don't know anything about technical ability, but I think Joey Santiago has to be mentioned here.

[CrankItUp!]

Have you guys seen The Estaban (flamenco-guitar dude) on The Geico Insurance commercials ? I guess his "Gift Of Guitar" orders aren't doing so well lately.

[Documad]

Richard Thompson is the best guitar player I've seen live (many times).
Prince is a close second.
The Edge probably isn't a good guitar player, but I love the sound he created.
I love the sound George Harrison made too.
Eddie Van Halen is the guitar player who seems to most enjoy playing live.
I worship Carrie Brownstein.
I've seen a lot of guitar players this year who opened for other artists and who were really good.

Clapton bores the shit out of me. Always has.

[BangkokB]

Here goes I throw my towel in the ring
1 Chuck Shuldiner RIP~the only musician to have to the balls to put out his best record and then fire the rest of the band
2 Dimebag Darrel ~ Listen to the Sleep. His solo doesn't want to end
3 Dave ~ His ego is bigger than this board can handle but face it people Metallical wouldn't be where they are if it wasn't for his licks
4 KK~Riffs it's all about the riffs
5 Gary Holt ~ Anybody that can make their guitar squeal like that knows what they're getting into
6 Alex Sckholic ~ He quit Testament to join a jazz band...Nuff said6
7 James Murphy ~ He was guitarist on the Death Human LP
8 Cronos ~ Sure he played the bass but FNA he played it like the guitar
9 Stan the Man
10 The guitarist that beat the shit out of Lamb of God's arrogant singer

[Beastiegamer]

All Time
1.Jimi Hendrix
2.Eric Clapton
3.Jimmy Page
4.Stevie Ray Vaughn
5.Carlos Santana
6.Chuck Berry
7.B.B. King
8.Dave Gilmour
9.Pete Townsend
10.Robert Johnson
Currently
1.Tom Morello
2.Jack White
3.Omar Rodriguez Lopez
4.John Frusciante
5.Derek Trucks

[Humiliation]

most underrated i think is the guy from the groundhos whatever his name is. he sounds so fucking good, doesn't do any of that bullshit billion notes in a second and does tricky shit whilst singing.

and bert Jansch deserves a mention. he was such a freak guitarist. jimmy page totally ripped Black mountain side off Bert's Backwater Side.

And yes i do realise this is from 2005

[Otis Driftwood]

I'm amazed noone mentioned the naked guy from New York who supports the troops...

[saz]

keith richards and pete townshend are pretty laughable. townshend was once a great songwriter, but he never was and never will be an innovative player or virtuoso. richards is the best worst guitarist ever and is the master of thievery.

[abcdefz]

If these folks haven't been mentioned already, we might need to think about


Robert Quine
Michael Karoli
Tom Verlaine
Robbie Robertson

[Drederick Tatum]

keith richards and pete townshend are pretty laughable. townshend was once a great songwriter, but he never was and never will be an innovative player or virtuoso. richards is the best worst guitarist ever and is the master of thievery.

I'd argue that it's about more than technique...but this thread wouldn't support that.

[afronaut]

I think John McLaughlin should get a mention in this thread. He's a technically great guitarist, but that ain't half of it. The way he lays down that crazy heroin fueled jungle street funk madness with Miles Davis, and more specifically the On the Corner album, is something else.

[DroppinScience]

Aside from Hendrix, Clapton, Page, and the usual suspects (duh)

In no particular order whatsoever:

1) Joe Strummer
2) Johnny Ramone
3) Will Seargeant (Echo & The Bunnymen)
4) The Edge
5) George Harrison
6) Jack White
7) Kurt Cobain
8) Ron Asheton (The Stooges)
9) Lou Reed
10) Bo Diddley

I'm not necessarily impressed with the "guitar virtuoso," so I'm consciously veering more towards minimalist guitarists here. Less is more.

[saz]

I'd argue that it's about more than technique...but this thread wouldn't support that.

i'm really into virtuosos and those who are doing anything interesting, innovative or original, ie flamenco, tremolo, vibrato, finger-picking, folk, jazz, blues/slide, psychedelia, prog et al. i find that conventional rhythm guitarists don't really stand out on their own, ie anyone after a few months of lessons can play what they're playing.

mclaughlin (y)

[Whatitis]

This guy is creeping into my top 10. http://youtube.com/watch?v=CA3domLvC3o


Oh.

Dimebag.
Jimmy Page.
Tony Iommi.
Kerry King/Jeff Hanneman.
Robert Smith.
Kirk Hemmet.
David Glimour.
Thurston Moore.
Santana.
Kurt Cobain.

[Drederick Tatum]

I don't really dig his band's music that much, but The Edge gets some amazing sounds out of his guitar. his effects work is up there.

[Humiliation]

I'm not necessarily impressed with the "guitar virtuoso," so I'm consciously veering more towards minimalist guitarists here. Less is more.
And in the case of Ron Asheton bad is good. I love his sound even though he's not a great guitarist

i don't like Dimebag or pantera in general. Sounds to much like Metallica. I don't like the speed guitarist at all either. i mean its clever and all but there's no soul, no melody and it needs more space, the notes you aren't playing should matter as much as those you are.

Neil Young is good. Very noisy but very melodic solos in his loud stuff and his country stuff is pretty innovative even though i don't like it much.

[Otis Driftwood]

Listening to too much guitar music is like watching someone whack his weasel. I don't like any SOLO artist music... (n)