The Greatest Guitarist

[gnr2k3]

This is just a poll to see who everyone thinks is the greatest guitarist...I didn't see any on this topic yet, so I figured I'd add it... ;)
I select Yngwie Malmsteen

[Sureitis]

How can you not have Buckethead in there? He gets my vote. He's got the insane skills and sick amounts of creativity to back it up.

[gnr2k3]

Buckethead wasn't in there because, simply I didn't feel that he was good enough. All he is really doing right now is playing songs others made famous (His GnR stint)..But vote is Okay for other...

[Sureitis]

Buckethead not good enough?? Have you even heard him besides GNR?? And he still is putting out records while doing the GNR thing. In fact a hell of lot of them. Electric Tears, Bermuda Triangle for start. Not to mention he is now playing with Les Claypool, Bernie Worell (Parlament/Funkadelic), and Brain (also from Primus and many Buckethead albums. They are even performing Feb 7th in San Francisco (sold out of course).

[gnr2k3]

I still don't really feel that he has the technical back ground to be named with those that I mentioned...but that is my opinion...You have your's and I respect that, so, next time I do a poll like this...I will put in buckethead...LOL

[Sureitis]

I'm not trying to force it I just don't know how you can say that hehe. He's easily as technically skilled as anyone else you listed (except Yngwie... but not horribly far off). Having Paul Gilbert as a teacher doesn't hurt. I mean Slash has a technical background? It's all good just don't leave out the Bucket man next time :thumbsup:

[gnr2k3]

Fair enough...No disrespect to him... I am sorry for leaving him out....

[voice of god]

Jimi's the man

[tthere10]

My two bobs worth, for what it's worth, is that Pat Metheny is the most amazing guitarist on the planet - that I've heard - ; )

T2

[gnr2k3]

Pat Who???

[Snooby]

I dont's see Marty Friedman or Jason Becker up there either

[phatty99]

Watch Song Remains the Same, the DVD for Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page is the best.

[paulprogram]

You have predictably gone for those acrobatic players. What about Neil Young and Tom Verlaine? And Phil Manzanera always plays interesting parts rather than 200mph self indulgent solos.

[gnr2k3]

They obviously fit in the 'others'

[wooddog]

I'm with you paulprogram, 200 miles an hour loses any melody for me.

[M.O.T.E.]

Have you ever played any of Jimi Hendrix's guitar licks? I only ever played one, he is not an easy guy to live up to.

[gnr2k3]

I've played a few riffs, but thats about it

[Zack]

well I voted for EVH! They're all good in different ways though ;)

Zack

[Wolfy]

I voted for Jimi. He's the best.

..but his riffs are very hard to play

[jazzism]

For me its Allan Holdsworth

[Pol]

Depends on the type of guitar playing you're into
Malmstein is great but you'd get a nose-bleed listening to guitar playing at that speed. Personally i like Nuno Bettencourt, Slash, Clapton and Gary Moore.

[chipmunks4ev]

JIMI!!! Need I say more. . .

[aliengrrrl]

What's wrong with everybody....Do you need long hair and a Jackson to get attention ?!!.....Holdsworth may LOOK regular but if people USE THEIR EARS , They'll KNOW he's the best....who gives a rats ass if he looks like a Soccer Dad.....

So typical....People hear with their eyes...not their ears....
OH!. look !...a strat !...Let's smash it so we can get "Best Guitarist Awards"......


PS: Even Eddie Van Halen says that Holdsworth IS "God's Gift to Guitar"..........Nuff said.

[Bossworld]

Tom Morello

[joey]

Not one of you mentioned Chet Atkins, Bruce Mathiske or Django. Surely when you can play with the technique, speed and melodic ability of Bruce Mathiske on an acoustic guitar with only a small amount of reverb as an effect, this counts you as on eof the greats.

[Dallas Aussi]

Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath - amazing how cutting off two fingers changed the world sonically - Tony having to tune down to use prosthetic fingers made the world of death metal possible

[cetech1971]

How can you not have Eric Johnson on there, his playing is lightning fast and CLEAN, his tone is like creamy warm with violin like highs, and sustain that goes for days. This guy was Stevie Ray Vaughns roomate for a few years, so you know they played/practiced together. I've seen Eric in a small club, right up front, and he truely is awesome. Finished up by coming out by himself with just an acoustic, just unreal ability.

[searocker]

For me its such a mood oriented thing to answer this question. Speed, chops, traditional creativity, progressive creativity, the sound itself, studio perfection vs live presence and performance. It so completely depends on what Im into at that momemt. Satch always blows me away, Hendrix was a master as was SRV. Petrucci seems to be able to do it all, Gary Moore can give me cicken skin. So many great guitarists, Im reluctant to have to select just "one" as the best.

[D_A_S]

Jimmy Page... No question

[asensayuma]

Me in my dreams (otherwise Martin Simpson)

[roblesb]

My vote on Brian May

[AcidX]

May I ask: Where is Tom Morello? (Rage against the machine & Audioslave)He can do some real crazy and cool stuff on his guitar, anyone got any live CDs with him playing in, I think the things he does are still cool but not as good as the studio things...

[izam74]

I think each guitar player has his own skills. I wonder why Jennifer Betton or Dimebag Darrel aren't in here. I think they are guitar gurus in Berkley...

[bird]

while not my favorite artist, van halen is by far THE BEST GUITARIST EVER. prime examples: Eruption, Hot For Teacher, and Panama

[Jailbreak]

Originally posted by tthere10
My two bobs worth, for what it's worth, is that Pat Metheny is the most amazing guitarist on the planet - that I've heard - ; )

T2

Respect! Pat rules!! :thumbsup:

Actually I'm tied between Pat Metheny and Al Di Meola (both of which I have seen live :) ) Hmm, I think Al wins when it comes to rhythm and technique, but Pat wins when it comes to overall musicality. But still they both rock - or jazz that is ;)

Yngwie is nice in a "guitar hero" kind of way. But he seems to be stuck in the eighties. I mean, he masters tapping to a frightening degree, which is quite impressive, but you sometimes get the feeling that it is the only style he does. Plus his songs seem more like an excuse for him to show off, than actual pieces of music.

Eric Clapton? Best guitarist? Lol, all old "Slowhand" ever does is play pentatonics. Don't get me wrong he does make some nice songs, but come on, he's not in the same league here.

If you think the best guitarist plays rock, you obviously haven't checked out the jazz scene.

Oh, well, guess some people will always prefer redheads, or blondes, or brunettes or... :)

[floyd25]

I think Brian May should be included

[Serban]

I can not believe that Randy Rhoads, Jimmy Page and Zakk Whylde are missing from the list. Especially Randy Rhoads, who holds nr. 3 on Guitar World's Top 100 solo's of all time. Anyhow, my vote will forever go to Randy. R.I.P.

[strat]

I saw a interview on much music
one time with Eddie Van Halen
he said he wanted to play like
Clapton.And I read in guitar player how Joe satriani also tryed to play like clapton.
He gets my vote..But if Jimmy were still
here,I think Clapton would vote for Him.

[alain]

I think it's very difficult to compare.
There are a lot of excellent guitarplayers
Don't forget Jan Akkerman ( remember the Dutch 80's-band Focus
with songs as Sylvia, Hocus Pocus, focus 1,...... )
Another one, and very unknown is Jean-Marie Aerts ( he once played in the famous Belgian band Tc-Matic ) not for his technical skills, but for his innovating style of playing

[fuzzbox_51]

dudes what about brian robertson of thin lizzy fame????
hes a great player!!!

[G-man]

I see lots of decent guitar players listed on here...
For technical proficiency and ability to compose and improvise...

[Bam Margera]

Kurt Cobain

[ashemuffin]

okay i hope i don't get flamed for this--JOHN MAYER!!!

[Archangelis]

look i think that he has the 2 best giutarists up there Jimmi Hendrix and Joe Satriani a close second

[Archangelis]

how could you say John Mayer?

[case]

Kirk Hammet is great

[Inu Yasha]

Santana man. That's some crazy stuff

[Inu Yasha]

Santana man. That's some crazy stuff

[qwertyman]

come on you guys 4% for kirk hammet no one can compete with him he is the greatest theres nothing he cant play!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[roblesb]

Jimi Hendrix!!!

[EmptyLine]

"Clapton is God"

[roblesb]

Really??, what about Hendrix???

[jfkerluck]

EVH was my pick, as he basically got the whole 80's rock scene started. And talent was never lacking.

But asking that is like asking you to pick Ferrari, Lambourgini, or Porsche!!

[U-110]

This is too much of a subjective matter to be answered, but just because of the impact he had on guitar playing in the last 30 years or so, I've voted for Jimi Hendrix.

[roblesb]

Jimi´s the real thing

[evanescent]

Sean Watkins, Ben Kasica, and Ben Moody!!

[toshi]

i would say Richard Z. Kruspe-Bernstein of Rammstein :D he's awesome!

[roblesb]

He is alright...

[evanescent]

I forgot! Tyler Burkum from Audio Adrenaline is also REALLY REALLY GOOD.

[cetech1971]

Eric Johnson, this guy takes tone to the max, and borders on the neurotic side when it comes to perfectionism (claims he can tell the difference when his roadies use anything but duracell batteries in his effects)!!! Download "Fine art of guitar" from Kazaa, you'll see what I mean...

[warrenaxe]

Jimi Is great, but I love SRV. He's got so much of FEEL MAN.

[rus_21]

jim hendricks it had to be does anyone dissagree?

[Skookisha]

Eric Clapton, without a doubt, imo.. the original Layla is something..

[fidelio]

"Favorite" guitarist is more appropriate than best or greatest.
Western pop/rock/blues/Jazz has so many great guitarists whose work shines from a few years to a few decades, it's hard to decide who is the best.

[Meto]

Hendrix

[wtuo]

zakk wylde = king of shredding

[cobulas]

I agree with Phatty........I've played guitar for 20 years now, My idol and even most of these great guitarist from articles i've read will tell you "Jimmy Page" was their Mentor....Look how many hit songs and albums Zepp has had. Not only is he versatile on Electric, and slide, but acoustic,12 string, and mandolin as well.
Although Yngwie Malmsteen is a great guitarist like Steve Vai. Not many people can even name a few songs they play. Their is really no (1) great guitarist, since guitar can be broken down into so many different styles......other greats that come to mind are (Angus Young, Randy Rhodes, and David Gilmore)

............Rock On.........

[dmc1078]

Nice.. Someone mentioned Jason Becker. He's got my vote. Read his story if you haven't already. Basically he was insanely good, then was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's

http://www.geocities.com/soho/cafe/5200/jbstory.html

[Gallokab]

Oh my god jeff buckley!!!!!!!!!

[d3fy_one]

y'all heard of jose fellicaiano. spanish classical player. but he gotta get some credit cos he's blind. he gets my vote. but from those up there hendrix gets my vote

[alanfred]

I think spanish players need to get a little more attention than they do... I mean, if we're just talking about technical prowess here, Paco de Lucia or Gerardo Nunez belong right up there on the same list as Malmsteen. And plus, nylon stringers are way harder to play cleanly.

[Distomak]

I had to go for 'Other'... my favourite guitarist has to be Mr. Matt Bellamy from Muse. The reason is partly because he's not just a great guitarist, but also an amazing keyboard player and great singer.

Yeah I know, odd reason, but I'm a muse fan :)

[geckormf]

Is it possible to figure out the worlds <best> guitarist? Buckethead can waste Clapton in a shredfest, but put him up against Brent Mason in a country situation and he'll just lie down and die.

Some of my "best" (aprt from the above)
Satch - for technique
Eric Johnson - pure emotion
Vai - for some completely out there stuff
Buddy Guy

[popey]

slash!!!

[eye2eye]

van halen hands down, got it all great songs and amazing playing and a revolutionary style

[mikos]

lol theres so many cant really rate one player the best cause theres so many diffrent styles of playing that one can kill another at

[psutina]

.. but Jimi Hendrix ROCKS!!!!

[Xx_Terror_xX]

Greetings all, this is my first post here, and I think this is a really cool site.

All of the guitarists in the poll are undoubtedly great, and the guitarists that others have mentioned are awesome as well.

I'm guessing that we're mostly all musicians here, and we all have influences. The same can be said about the guitarists in the poll. Hendrex was influenced by those who came before him, and later guitarists were influenced by Jimi. God only knows what Mr. Hendrix would cook up if he were around today with the effects and processing we currently have at our diposal.

I love killer guitar work, and some of my favorite guitarists are (in no particular order):
Jason Becker
Marty Friedman
Robert Fripp
Al DiMiola
James Murphy
Paco DeLucia
Allen Holdsworth
EVH
Mr. Hendrix
Django
Satriani
Vinnie Moore
Chuck Schuldner
John McLaughlin
Buckethead
Steve Stevens
California Guitar Trio (all of them)
Adrian Belew
John Petrucci
Fred Frith
Shawn Lane
Larry LaLonde
Nicky Skopolitis
Richie Kotzen
Greg Howe
Trey Spruance
Brian Benoit
Fredrik Thordendal
Vai
SRV
Adam Jones
Scott Stine
Carlos Santana
Nils Frykdahl
And many others who definately make the list, I'm just a lazy SOB.

I didn't list what bands these guitarists are from, but if anyone is interested in checking out some music that is new to them just send me a message and I'll be glad to tell you what I can about each persons styles.

I listed quite a few guitarists. I could have listed more. Their styles range from jazz to ambient, from rock to indian, from blues to death metal. So do my tastes in music.

I could never choose a "greatest guitarist". Certainly some are better at a particular style, and some are more influential than others. Unfortunately, some of the best never get the recognition they deserve.

As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, favorite guitarist might be more appropriate than best guitarist. Even then I would have a damn hard time deciding because of my wide tastes in music, and what I want to listen to at the moment.

Bottom line: I don't think there can be a "Greatist Guitarist". There are just too many great players out there past, present, and future to choose from.

My Vote:.....cant choose just one.....cant vote for other (that would leave them all out)....too bad "all of the above, and more" isnt an option!!

:p

Sorry for such a long post, I guess my opinions are a little long winded LOL

Xx_Terror_xX

[Biggy12]

no question, jimmy hendrix, invented many techniques

[R3tt3]

I voted for Kirk Hammet, who is good, and has a totally sweet guitar (the KH2), but Richard Z. Kruspe-Bernstein and Paul Landers are the two best EVER!! And there's that minor detail that they're both from Rammstein, my fav band.:)

[rknrne]

Originally posted by gnr2k3
Pat Who???

Pat Metheny


kidding right ................. time to open your ears

[rknrne]

Yngwie played as a backup to some headliner .........

The review was one sentence.................

"Yngwie is a weinie"

[mbayer4]

Jimi Hendrix

[rknrne]

Jimmie Vaughn

[bigfat!]

Jimi

[rknrne]

Jerry Reed

[Gavanshir]

I think BB KING should be mentioned.

[djs]

Any survey of great Rock guitarists thaclude the brilliant Jan Akkerman is not worth a salt. If you listen to Jan's stunning solos on things like Answers Questions Questions Answers (either live or studio version) or Eruption (the real Eruption, not the Van Halen imposter), then you know that Jan blows them all away.

[chrisjnelson]

Hendrix EASY.

[rknrne]

Roy Buchanan

[bleach]

jimi hendrix, buckethead, kurt cobain, matthew bellamy

[rknrne]

Hari Georgeson

[splender01]

the greatest vguitarest is me.... i can only just about play smoke on the water

[roblesb]

Are you the greatest?, let us hear you Mr. Hendrix!!!

[LiZaRd_brrrothe]

I think technically and speed wise, malmsteem is the best, however soul and feeling wise, hendrix or SRV.

[Concade]

Got to go with good old Jimmy Hendrix

[roblesb]

Hendrix rules!!

[DjEau]

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat??
No Carlos Santana????

That's straight up autistic.

[rknrne]

Larry Carlton

[rknrne]

Jeff Healy :boink:

[rknrne]

Victor Wooten


No one said they couldn't be
BASS Guitarists:assskake:

[chopin60620]

JIMMY PAGE

[ferris_monty]

While not the fastest or most technical Brian May has some of the nicest melodies played on a guitar ever and I'd prefer to listen to that over mindless shredding any day

[Strangehold]

WhAt??? How can everyone not vote for Jimi Hendrix? He is the ALL TIME best guitarist, SO FAR. I will be up there some day. Me and my band.
ryankoy

[Panzerfaust]

Of course Jason Becker is the best.
In "Perpetual Burn" he destroys any opposition.

[guitarmik]

john petrucci is my fave followed by eddie and zakk wylde

[BazzerX]

I think Jimi was the greatest because he made a hell of a lot of people want to take up the guitar with his playing and did it with very little in the way of special equipment and gear.

He relied more on feel, allied to high volume (courtesy of Jim Marshall's amps!) and controlled feeback. He just had a few quite primitive effects pedals.

Cheerz.
Baz.

[Strangehold]

^what he said

ryankoy

[CoDee]

Kirk Hammett.

[Oddjaws]

Steve Vai gets my vote cause he is the greatest 7 string guitar player to live

[scottish_rom]

Angus Young (AC/DC)

[rknrne]

Clyde Roulette:boink:

[sifter]

Anybody listen to Shawn Lane and/or Brett Garsed?

No one comes close.

Not Holdsworth, not Hendrix, not Vai, not Satriani, not Gambale, not Malmsteen, nobody.

Just listen to the album "Centrifugal Funk."

[justme]

I was surprised to see Kurt up there..Yngwie has my vote.

[rknrne]

Danny Tripper .... R.I.P.:boink:

[rp2k2]

Malmsteen #1

[rknrne]

Randy Bachman


The Guess Who

BTO

[U-110]

Danny Gatton. R.I.P.

[Jon Marsh]

Can't belive Clapton is polling so low - must be showing my age!!

[TeoMan77]

Clapton is God.... Granted that a lot of guitarists out there can certainly jam, but what makes a guitarist really great is his level of skill in various forms of the guitar. Face it, when it comes down to just jamming, wether its rock, blues, classical or jazz, Clapton has everyone beat hands down. Not many people have his type of variety. Also no mention of BB King.... 'spose he would fall under the "other" catagory...

[God_Emp_Dark]

There IS No Greatist Guitar Player Thay All have Diffrent Styles...so none of the m are great thay are good but not the Best

[ForteBas]

John Mayer anyone? Heheh...He's not a legend legend...but I like his music?

[rknrne]

Glen Campbell

[lachrymotion]

Robert Fripp
Adam Jones

[zaemon86]

Originally posted by voice of god
Jimi's the man

second to that!:thumbsup:

[begby]

You guys left out the greatest two living jazz guitarists:
Jason Ritledge and Prince

[Bob3]

It'd have to be Robert Johnson. He had to sell his soul to get that good. Look up his stuff.

[Giltwist]

I picked Other because I think it should be Andres Segovia for singlehandedly resurrecting classical guitar.

[Novamarine]

I would have chosen everyone on the list except for Kirk Hammet, I was extremely disapointed with St. Anger, and the Single Some Kind Of Monster. Those 2 CDs just made Metallica go down into the crapper.

[skellxx]

Richie Sambora

[Pol]

I've added 2 new candidates and corrected the results....some plonker just couldn't resist tampering with it :exasper:

[KakashiLP]

yngwie malmsteen for me..

[xkur0xnek0x]

i voted other since i dun even play....>_<

[turbocoo]

where is alex lifeson.......the most underated guitarist ever

[vixen599]

what about gary moore, he should be on the list don't think he should be classed as "other"

[draccon]

I like mike mars from motley crue, just big dumb rock, he kicks ass

[draccon]

Sorry just saw vixens reply, I totally agree gary moore should be somewhere up the top there with eddie & ingwie, & we all know that hendrix was the greatest ever

[fragmare]

my vote goes to Jimi Hendrix. I don't think the measure of a a great guitartist is how technically skilled he is or how many notes he knows or can play per minute. My guage of how great a guitarist is is how much emotion/spirit can be poured into the instrument and made to flow out through the instrument's sound. In this repsect, i believe that no one touches Jimi and Stevie Ray

[Betty_Boop]

Joe Satriani is an awesome guitarist, I still like slash.

[rknrne]

:cool: Jerry Douglas
Bob Brozman :cool:

[sharkyoz]

Hendrix was kickin ass way back when people like George Harrison was seen as the normal level of brilliance. Since then all behind him have copied & honed their skills just adding to what he invented in the 1st place.
Thats who the true inventor of Rock guitar was !!
But i also didnt see Steve Morse on the list. One of my favs but still no JIMMY. :bow:

[voice of god]

Bob Brozman :cool:
that guy played in my home town with Jeff Lange, to a room full of about 50 ppl

he's a little bit different - one thing I remember him saying that seemed to make sense at the time -

he said "All music is really just 1. So, it goes 1,1,1,1,1,1, instead of 1,2,3,4 or 1,2,3,1,2,3. Its all just 1,1,1,1,1,1,1 its only your brain that puts it into groups of 3 or 4."

:damn: :gee:

[beerbelly]

havent been in this boards for a loooong time. normally i just frequent the Old Warzone and somewhat the New Warzone which i believe is long gone.

anyway, was going through and this thread catched my eye.

all the guitarist mentioned above are in their own way, great. although none of them cathces me in the way these guys/girls did:

Michael Hedges
Badi Asad
Anni di Franco
Pat Metheny
Pat Martino

cheers!! \(^_^)/

[bobgroome]

Jerry Reed, Albert Lee and Britains own Glenn Mitchel. I've had the privilage of jamming with Glenn and he is just out of this world.

[sunky]

django s d greatest

[fedroger]

django s d greatest

I would have to say either Jimi and Andres Segovia, depending on your musical discipline, because they have been the most in influential. For rock guitarist, without a doubt, Jimi, and for classical, Jazz, and fusion, Segovia.

But there are different styles, and that means different opinions. For example-Take Kurt Cobain. Some people will say he is a genius for driving the grunge movement(by the way, grunge was a part of the Minneapolis music scene way before Seattle, but thats beside the point). Does that mean that he is better guitarist then John Petrucci(Dream theater), which knows more music theory than cobain could ever fatham--no disrespect to Cobain. But Kobain was more famous, so he must be better!

I see a few think Kirk Hammitt is the greatest gutarist ever. Did you know it took him 27 times to finally get the basic chords down on "Nothing Else Matters," ya that slow ass song, for which Hetfield wrote. But he was a major influential force in 80's metal--personally I would rather have JP, Alex Skolnick, Jason Becker, Paul Gilbert, Marty Friedman, etc, by my side.

It is fun, though, to acknowledge who is the "BEST" or "GREATEST" of all time. We all have our Favorites, and that is good.

[saxmidiman]

Tell me the name of any guitar player that can milk a note for 8 or more measures and have you just wanting more and then I'll show you the greatest guitar player ever.

All the speed and dexterity don't mean anything unless you can make it sing.....

Sometimes a great guitarist can be determined by what he doesn't do sometimes.......

[ryster611]

No Jimmy Page?!?! Whatever. Have to go with Jimi Hendrix then.

[niggles]

If someone like Joe Satriani looks up to Jimi than thats the best recommendation a guy could get. Still, Bruce Mathiske and Tommy Emmanuel have to be credited here. Acoustic guitar playing with all the speed of an electric, CLASS. :rock:

[rknrne]

Colin James .............. listen to the solo on Why'd you lie ...
cool tones...give me compression like that I'll be happy. :cool3:

[Leh1234]

That, of course, will be Queen's Brian May!
He not only writes great songs such as Who Wants to Live Forever with one of the best guitar solo's EVER! He also plays very good, just check out the "Save Me" guitar solo.

Anyway the guitarist of Aerosmith ( not Joe Perry) i think his name is Brad Withford he is also a guitar player who pushes it to another level

Leh

[night0wl]

Definitely Brett Garsed and TJ Helmerich! Brett is an awesome guitarist and deserves far more credit and recognition than what he actually gets.

[gtrist]

I've looked all through this thread and nobody has given Martin Taylor a mention, check out his album "Artistry" for really mind blowing SOLO guitar playing.

[gtrist]

just checked out Centrifugal Funk by shawn Lane & Bret Garsed.
WOOOOOOOW.

[AngeLee]

Satriani of course.... are there any other polls for keyboardists?

[Stix]

Hey, what about Steve Morse ? Toured with Deep Purple in recent years.

[priestess]

i think i speak on behalf of all if i say Jimmy will always be the greatest

if only i knew how to play like that
... damn im ina dreamworld again lol

[tsquared]

Other - Pat Metheny - awesome chops

[GaryJ]

Hi all not seen Gary Moore mentioned, he's pretty good too....

[gtr75]

How about Alex Lifeson from Rush!