Best Guitar Player

[egrogsacul]

Who is the most influential guitar player, ever?

[DefaultFan]

I'd think Carlos Santana is, as kids from this generation are getting to hear him like their parents did. Collaborating with new artists is definitely a way to gain huge popularity.

[Stilcrazy]

All good choices guys but you need to add a few more names to the list … Stevie Ray Vaughan … David Gilmour … Eric Clapton … Joe Satriani … and a lot more that just come to mind right now

[Gator]

I read a quote once that I'll paraphrase

All those people who are saying Clapton is God have never seen Stephen Stills play acoustic guitar.

Man, there's just too many great guitar players. It would be easier to just ask people to name their top 5.

For me (in no order)
1. Clapton
2. Jeff Beck
3. Jimi Hendrix
4. Eddie Van Halen
5. Chet Atkins

[garagefun]

Van Halen most influential and most talented.

John Petrucci for most technical.

[egrogsacul]

ok, everyone, name your top 5 guitar players

[draccon]

Ok if you going to pick the greatest to date it would be chosen on
a - tecnical ablity
b - feel
c - knowlege ( ones grasp of the various genere`s & chords scales etc)
d - live performace
& with all that in mind there`s only one it can be, STEVE VAI take a bow

[draccon]

but i do agree with garbage fun on most influential

[jon-paul]

well my favorite guitarist is Steve Stevens who played with billy idol

[ramku]

Kirk Hammett

[elBIGalberto]

Yes, these are all brillient guitarists... but I also have to mention my man SLASH from Guns n' Roses. Come on now, Slash was incredible!

[apocalyptic]

sorry, why has no-one said Mark Knofler
he is the ausom lead from dire straits.

[apocalyptic]

ps can we have clapton in the vote? he's popular.

[cjones13]

hendrix had the skills but stevie ray could make it sing. Never heard anybody get so much emotion out of a guitar

[jackkie123]

Kirk hammet kicks ass

[byrniezero2]

for technical ability matt bellamy of British band Muse (my v.best ever) is way above the whiny crap of hendrix. i know im going to get slated for this, but Bellamy doesnt rely on gimmicks like playing with his teeth. also they were formed in a seaside village about 30 miles from where i live so theyr're a local act who've found sucess. the instrumental on citizen erazed proved it for me and its a wonderful song, all 7 minutes 20 of it. if anyones got any muse midi's please can you submit them (its a long shot)

[moosetube]

I didn't see Kenny Wayne Shepherd on there, i give him the vote.

[empire]

I really like Johny Marr from the smiths and Bernard Butler. Not really a commercial choice I know but still find them very inspiring and they are probably the best of their generation.

[Pol]

Influential...Clapton
Technical...Nuno Bettencourt

[bob10^1000]

Why only Four choices. this isn't a general election. There are literally hundreds of guitarists who could be nominated greatest in the world. Sort it out. And if there is a problem with adding more choices due to the technology... sort it out! A lot of people feel very strongly about this and you are denying them a voice :-)
PS Have none of you fools heard John McClaughlin (Sure thats wrong), whilst he may not have released any pop records he is the only guitarist I have heard who could play ANYTHING
peace

[Stilcrazy]

Well I for one am glad Bob was able to sort it out ... laffs

[rknrne]

BB king .......for best lifetime use of a pentatonic scale
Freddie King ............best raw emotion from one note
Johnny Winter..........best slide guitar influence on ANYONE
Albert King .............. inspired SRV ....
Santana ..................the Beauty of one note
Joe Satriani .............Always with me/you
Steve Vai ................The Attitude Song
Frank Zappa ........... comedy in rock


more to come..... George Harrison,Alan Holdsworth Frank Gambale, Albert Lee, Arlen Roth Steve Morse, Ry Cooder,Rory Gallagher, Jimmie Page, Jeff Beck ..............

I quit..........lol

[rknrne]

ps Kirk Hammet sucks

[rknrne]

His equipment rack is one of the greatest tho!

[pIaNO_PIMP14]

Billy Joe Armstong is NO DOUBT one of the Greatest guitar players. If YoU ever seen him in concert then u would all agree.

[gnr2k3]

:Moved to Guitar Forum

[slowhand62]

It's great to see BB King, Freddie King and Albert King recognized. Guys like SRV, Hendrix, Clapton to name a few, were influnced by many of the other blues greats like:

Buddy Guy
Albert Collins
Johnny Copeland
Taj Mahal
Muddy Waters
Luther Allison
John Lee Hooker

I could go on and on :-)

[mikos]

hmm how can u put kirk hammet agains hendrix thats a joke bb king is tight he cant sing and play guitar at the same time though thats y u notice he stops and sings (for the ones who did not know) on the poll needs alot more i was lookin for van halen page steve ray and etc.. everyones mention them

[rknrne]

16 votes ...that's it so far .....c'mon ppl let's hear from ya

ps BB can sing and play at the same time, he choses those notes as embellishments to his voice. try to play like him and you'll discover it aint easy shutting up and you'll end up with 'wankeritis'

[jazzism]

Its quite hard in dealing in the area of the arts to say who is the best at something because artists work will affect listeners in different and more personal ways.

[ste2k]

1 - Marc Knofler
2 - Santana
3 - Brian May
4 - Eddie Van Halen
5 - Eric Clapton
6 - Hank Marvin
7 - Walter Trout
8 - Jimmy Page
9 - Gary Moore
10 - Jimi Hendrix

[Jayling]

WAY TOO HARD TO CHOOSE!
I BASED MY CHOICES ON FEEL, STYLE AND INFLUENCE
SORRY METAL HEADS THE BLUES RULE!!!
1 ERIC CLAPTON/BB KING/ ALBERT KING
2 FREDDIE KING/PETER GREEN/KEITH RICHARDS/ BEN HARPER

[fission]

Kirk Hammet back in the day was awsome. Theres nothing like oldschool metallica

[Anubus]

ah I'm glad that someone mentioned Joe Satriani. He would've been an easy choice for a greatest guitarist poll.

[M.O.T.E.]

Originally posted by ste2k
1 - Jimi Hendrix
2 - Jimmy Page
3 - Eric Clapton
4 - Eddie Van Halen
5 - Santana
6 - Hank Marvin
7 - Walter Trout
8 - Marc Knofler
9 - Gary Moore
10 - Brian May

[cobulas]

I play guitar. and watch a lot of instructional videos from guitar greats some named above. and without fell , they all seem to say they were influenced or inspired by (Jimmy Page) of Zepp. I must say he's one of my favorites.

[hatcheye]

Kurt Cobain is by far the best

[hatcheye]

Also up their with the best is The Guitarist from Presidents of USA

[hatcheye]

I think alternative guitar is not as easy as poeple say, its very technical

[hatcheye]

Who is SRV??

[hatcheye]

Eric clapton is not the best guitarist, hes a good writer but a very boring guitarist, very overrated..

[hatcheye]

me

[rknrne]

Originally posted by hatcheye
Who is SRV??



No more posting til you find out ..........!!

For **** SAKES

[rknrne]

Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish."

- Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

[Nigel Mulvey]

IMHO

Eric Clapton
Jimmy Page
Steve Vai
Joe Pass
Larry Carlton

Not necessarily in that order.

Nigel

[Nigel Mulvey]

Chuck Steve Cropper in there too.

Nigel

[timw]

Johnny Marr from the Smiths. One of those rare guitar players who took the instrument and did something completely new with it. Kind of an anti-Hendrix in that instead of tearing apart and destroying boundaries he worked within them to create something distinctive

[MikeS]

i would have to say jimmy page or hendrix. they were both amazingly talented guitarists.

[MurDerX187]

Jimi Hendrix wins this poll easily. He was the best guitar player ever and if he were still here he'd still be the best. No one could play the guitar like this man.

[miks696]

Slash baby

[jack russel]

How about jazz, fusion or avant garde guitar players??


jazz:

Charlie Christian
Grant Green
Wes Montgomery
Jim Hall
Django Reinhardt
Kenny Burell
...

jazz/fusion:

John Scofield
Pat Metheny
John Mclaughlin
Mike Stern
...

jazz/avant garde:

Marc Ribot
Fred Frith
Bill Frisell
...

[Stig]

How come Paul Weller hasn't even had a mention?

[PoisonSnake]

I think Santana is by far the best out of the four. They way he plays the guitar is so melodic. his fingers glide along the fretboard. He is so amazing.

[ezit]

I would say probably the best allrounder in the seventies/eighties - from Whole Lotta Love and Black Dog - to Stairway to Heaven and Rain Song, a lot of famous guitar riffs, and the most beautiful acoustic licks of the period.

[rknrne]

Why Kirk Hammett ......... of all the others that could have been on the list he must be waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy down the list

[Coolguy333]

Carlos Santana is the greatest guitar player ever!

[czpiot]

Mike McCready ... Pearl Jam

[guitarderek]

Here's my two-penny worth..

Hendrix for originality
Stevie Ray for soul
Eric Johnson for technical brilliance
Dave Gilmore for emotion
Jimmy Page for making me play!!

[acidfed]

Cool... looks like I just put Jimi in the lead :)

I voted before I read the first post though... I thought the question was who is the "best" guitar player... then I read the question was who was the most "influential"... D'oh!

[berlinbullet]

just from reading the first page, not sure about the rest of them, but joe satriani isnt getting enough respect out of the people... a great guitar player. not the best, but a good one at that. there are just way too many to give off a top 5, 10 or even 20

[0001001]

come on guys

.... that guitar player getting on top of the piano while smoking his cigarette and playing the most incredible outro solo ....

SLASH in November Rain

[stevenb486]

hendrix all the way

[rknrne]

Originally posted by 0001001
come on guys

.... that guitar player getting on top of the piano while smoking his cigarette and playing the most incredible outro solo ....

SLASH in November Rain



Leon Russel already did that dude ........... with a les paul , plus he smokes on the piano without cigs

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

[decadan]

Had Randy Rhodes not died at such a young age, I think he would be one of the top three. Man could that kid play.

[XxNaSDaQxX]

Kurt Cobain
Cliff B.
Dime bag

some of my favs

[thesilencegu]

the dude from children of bodem rock
and omar rodriguez from at the drive in

[stevo123]

Zakk wylde kick ass big time...

[RyteSyde]

santana without a doubt

[Inu Yasha]

santana 100%

[roblesb]

Definitelly Jimi Hendrix, hear the long instrumental version of Little Wing and you´ll see....

[bnjiman80]

Hi All

Mark Knopfler - clean machine, very difficult to play!
Slash - nice medolic solos
Neil Young - best jam sound i've heard live
Brian May - innovative
Jiimi Hendrix - the Daddy (and a fellow left-hander! I have a Strat too - though red not white unfortunately). He took the concept of "guitar based" rock music to the extreme...no other musician out shows-off Hendrix ;)

Personally I would rate Santana just slightly behind these guys, though his control / subtlety even with overdrive is an example to use all.

[roblesb]

yeap, Jimi is the daddy!

[GC_girl79]

probably different to what everyone else has said, but from the kind of music I listen to, Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) is my inspirational guitar player.

[BryGuy]

Al D'meola is pretty wild. Steve Vai is also great....check out this duet with them "Race with the Devil on a Turkish HighWay" or something like that, really cool.

I think Eric Johnson is pretty amazing, and I think the most influencial has to be Jimmy Page, or perhaps Robert Johnson (in a weird historical way...I mean, Elvis had to steal from someone...)

-Bry

[miks696]

Among the 4 he may not be the most technical player but his sound is close to the heart

[ps1189]

i think kirk hammett

[Mr_Cobain]

Jimi Hendrix...

[Henkie007]

I think Jimmi Hendrix is certainly the best, but Stevie Ray Vaughan comes close...

[cetech1971]

Billy Joe armstrong from Green Day, the same guy who couldn't start the song Good Riddance ( Time of your life) properly...three times, ...the greatest guitar player?? What are you smoking piaNO_pimp ? All of their songs are three note power chord songs...just play g5, c5, d5

[geminy]

How come no-one mentioned Billy Corgan? :)

[Ren Hoek]

I can't believe I didn't see Yngwie Malmsteen... I'm still trying to figure out how many fingers this guy has...

[FHBbrah]

hendrix, eddie van halen, kirk hammett and satriani

[esamonte]

There are a million great guitar players, it obviously comes down to preference... so mine are
1)Vito Brato
2)Alex Skolnick
3)John Petrucci
4)Michael Romeo
5)Armik

Now that's a varried group!

[jazzy_jay]

Rock - Satch,Vai,Steve Morse,EVH,paul gilbert
Jazz - Lee Retnour,Stanley Jordan,Mclaughlin
Blues - knopfler,SRV,clapton

[The Big Q]

Here's a few from left field.

Grant Green - Jazz has never been cooler
Davey Johnson (Elton John's long time guitarist) - listen to 'Funeral for a friend'
Jeff Healey - OK, so the last few albums were crap, but See the light is an undeniable classic.

Have to agree with the earlier post, technically, Nuno Bettencort is amazing.

Also - why does everybody forget Brian May??

[Agent 47]

Jimi Hendrix the god of guitars

[Jimee]

Anyone heard of a guy called Les Paul???

[Durden]

Not that he is my favorite, but I can't believe nobody mentioned Jimmy Page.

My personal top 3
(in no certain order)
S.R.V.
Tim Reynolds
Eddie Van Halen

[Oroan]

That is a good question

[* réprouvé *]

jimi hendrix, but van halen at a close second

[Oroan]

i would also have to vote for jimi hendrix

[fidelio]

Rolling Stones Magazine says: Jimi Hendrix.
But hey, it forgot to mention Andre Segovia too.

Why not listen to what the #1-voted Jimi said himself: "Terry Kath is the best guitarist in the world".

I then checked out Chicago Transit Authority and Chicago II, and I must agree with Jimi.

[Burne]

Well Hendrix is the best, but i like Santana's style

[gen79]

carlos santana

[csandipan]

It is a pity that none of classical players were in the voting list

[Durden]

Also what about Lenny Breau. He is just amazing.

I think you need to add a few names to the list.

[saltydogg]

i think joe satriani..

[rknrne]

Barney Kessel................. Rest in Peace
.
.
.
:boink:

[-=BLADE=-]

Well I voted for Kirk, from the choices given but John Petrucci of Dream Theater could seriously out play him.

[mattcking]

Mark Knopler all the way! Add him to your list!

[rknrne]

Cliff Gallup

[donrudios]

why is tommy emanuel not on the list

[donrudios]

or eric clapton

[donrudios]

or harry saksioni

[donrudios]

or my dad

[donrudios]

?!?!?!??!

[Timmo]

Why isn't Tommy Emmanuel on the list?

[Timmo]

Oh yeah, and Eric Clapton.

[DRU5T]

Santana

[DRU5T]

santan's one of d best
eric clapton?

[Infinite94]

James Hetfield

[scarlethawk]

Jimi Hendrix was the only one I have ever heard of and my mom always said was prertty good so I'll go with hendrix ... lol i dont really care for guitar

[ZOOMAN]

eddie van halen..........helllllllllooooo

[tommj]

Frank Zappa, a.k.a. god

[davph30]

i'd list clapton in your poll too

[adwordl]

ME :)

[adwordl]

clapton is very good acoustic thou

[Strangehold]

OH YEA!!! Jimi Hendrix BABY!

ryankoy

[BazzerX]

I think Jimi Hendrix is the most influential because he is so readilly identifiable with using a Strat and inspired so many people to take up the guitar. Also because of his superb mixing of different styles from heavy rock/blues/soul etc.... Multi faceted player.

[draccon]

You would have to say Jimi was the most influential, so many greats of today & yesterday all list him as an influence

[turbocoo]

1.Jimmy page 2.Alex lifeson ....end of story

[Oddjaws]

Kirk Hammett is the most influential on me

[captainderek]

Hendrix was an amazing guitarist. Too bad he had to go :-/

[kuerbo]

I voted B.B. King, but there are lots of names missing. Besides, this should be more categorized, as different music styles have been influenced by different people.
Just my two cents.

[MCastille84]

1. Jimi Hendrix
2. SRV
3. Buddy Guy (absolutely wonderful)
4. Dude from Journey (forgot his name)
5. Lynyrd Skynyrd's guitarists...

[josiah182]

jimi for sure he didnt even have a propper guitar

[rknrne]

Muddy Fraser

[rknrne]

Originally posted by josiah182
jimi for sure he didnt even have a propper guitar


What's that supposed to mean ....!.... he had a choice and chose what about 20 million others picked after seeing him:hit: :hit: :hit: :hit: :hit: :hit: :hit: :hit: :hit: :hit: :hit:

[Phulcrum]

Honestly, nobody can really choose the best, or most influential, because we ALL have diff tastes and ideas for what great guitar playing truly is. Mr. Trey Anastasio has had a TREMENDOUS impact on me personally.

[LollipopGrrl]

my top 5 faves (& it was really hard to shorten the list to 5!): steve vai, joe satriani, stevie ray vaughn, slash & nuno bettencourt... i have to add special mentions for sentimental faves to peter koppes & marty willson-piper from 'the church' who inspired me to pick up the axe :)

[GambleAddict]

JIMI HENDRIX WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

[no0oob]

andres segovia
carlos santana
esteban
eric clapton
me lolz just kidding

[easy]

After 30 years at the top it has to be Alex Lifeson from Rush for me

Easy:)

[suireal]

Leo Kottke

[sevenknot]

Jeff Loomis of Nevermore is a deadly guitar player IMO

[mathieu_stelema]

Lou Reed.

[G-man]

Lou Reed... now that's an interesting choice.

[belle]

Stevie Rea had prob. the best touch i've ever heard in a guitarist.

[rmurphy5]

hendrix

[davejay]

Ughhhh. I hate these questions. It's subjective to each person and based on nothing more than opinions. IMO since I am more of a musician than anything, it's worse than politics. IE: As a musician, I can't stand Hendrix. I hate how people compare his technical ability to true technical masters of the guitar such as Batio, and I hate how people compare his songs to great emotional conveying works, be it classical or modern. I will not deny that he changed the way the mainstream audience looked at the guitar, or that he wrote some great pieces, or even that he was fairly advanced for his time. I just can't stand that people think he is more skilled in his craft than the virtuosos of today.

[rhysb42]

all u tossers that voted for kirk hammet have no idea. u just rekon ur cool coz u no a couple of metallica songs.
if u truly r into metal and guitarists then you would no jimi hendrix is the best guitarist up there. Clapton should have got a mention too.
kirk hammet is a awesome guitar player, don't get me wrong, but hes not quite as good as hendrix.

[lachrymotion]

wheres Robert Fripp?

[bigbaddave81]

if you are talking the 'best'.... steve vai... by a long shot

[Catweazle]

Jimi Hendrix has influenced Everyone. Either directly or indirectly.

[PoisonSnake]

Along with the others already mentioned, i would say my favs, without the obvious of : SRV, Satriani, Santana, among others previously mentioned would be(no particular order):

Neil Schon of Journey- one of my truly favs. also was a prodigy of Santana.
Joe Perry of Aerosmith- great rock player with that classic bluesy feel.
Ted Nugent- Even during his Damn Yankees days the Nuge was still great.
Slash- its a given i enjoy his guitar playing.
Richie Sambora of BOn Jovi- Another great guitar player.
The two guitarists from Night Ranger- they are both really good, maybe great on their own, but a great tandem.

There are many others, this is truly a hard poll or type of list to pick greatest because it depends on personal preference.

[mlacey]

the edge

[skellxx]

Richie Sambora and Eric Clapton

[saxmidiman]

Pretty funny thread. Hammett has influenced today's heavier styles, but he's never had me say "He's an untouchable God". Guys like Clapton and Page would listen to Hendrix and be very iimpressed by his very unique (at that tiime) guitar stylings. The purists would say "Vai, Satriani, Bettencourt, Malmsteen" because of their technical merit. To me, the best guitarist is one who does what the song calls for and isn't completely self indulgent. I always say to my guitar students, "Sure he can do this, but can he hold one note for 32 beats and make you say "damn, lets hear that again!!!"". :thumbsup:

[EContrary]

My choices: Jimi Hendrix, Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen, and John Petrucci


No one can touch Dream Theater !

[ayfer75]

Some really good ideas. interesting to see guitarists from many different styles.

My picks would be
1. Steve Vai
2. Angus Young
3. Nuno Bettencourt
4. John Pettrucci
5. Stevie Ray Vaughan

as an aussie I will also throw in Tommy Emmanuel

[riccardodee]

jimi hendrix is the best. no doubt

[pajon82]

Clapton for me... :)

[darren]

How about Danny Gatton or Mark Knofler

[cowtech]

Do anyone like Eric Johnson? He is the only guy who has blown me away in recent times.

[Marc64]

Different styles, different moods, different guitarists...

Gilmour, Satriani, Knopfler, Clapton...

Any guitarist who gives me goosebumps is a great one...

[KakashiLP]

yngwie malmsteen would may be the best...:)

[blumnmz03]

jimi hendrix + john frusciante

[fidelio]

[quote]

jazzism:

'Its quite hard in dealing in the area of the arts to say who is the best at something because artists work will affect listeners in different and more personal ways.['/quote]


Yeah, ask 1,000 people and you'll get something like 200 No.1 guitarists.

[jasonjcrago]

Man where do you start - : mind you this is tuff that has been covered but i agree with draccon and his analogy of what makes a great guitarist,1) technical ability 2) feel 3) knowledge 4) live performance. And yes draccon, Steve Vai certainly has all of these down pat but I also think with the recent inclusion of Tony McAlpine on his recent tour, he definately matches Steve for all of these. Someone who is very underrated is Steve Morse and someone who you never hear of anymore which I would have to say is the best technical player ever.....MR JASON BECKER.....c'mon down!!!!!!! This guy ****s on anyone for technicality. The only person who has ever succesfully covered a JAson BeCKER solo piece has been the monster MR PAUL GILBERT who has been failed to mention in this little debate. But like others have said, there are way too many to mention. What should be said is "Who has the BEst Guitar Tone?? or "Sound" whichever you like!!!!!

[jasonjcrago]

There is also Steve Lukather from Toto who has been one of the most top session muso's of all time, Steve Howe from YES for his inventions to lead playing, One of the best female guitarists of all time and close to being one of the worlds best is Jennifer Batten, Also Al Di Meola, Larry Carlton, Greg Howe, Mark Landau, Jengo Reinhardt, Jeff Healey, Neil Schon, Vinnie Moore, Michaelangelo, Stanley Jordan, Vernon Reid, Richie Sambora, Alex Lifeson, Zakk Wylde, Tommy and Phil Emmanuel, Brett Garced, Stuart Fraser, Dave Hole, Marty Friedman, John Sykes, etc etc the list goes on!!!!

[BarryC]

P.O.D.'s guitar player, Lawl :D

[qtip22]

They're all good, but you forgot one of the best.
Dimebag Darrel. He might have seemed like a normal one, but had the singing not been so prominent, you would notice how fast he wipped out the pinch harmonics. Pantera was awesome.

[tcs439]

What about dimebag?! He for sure should be on that list!

[hawkey]

come on fellas! its not hard to work out? when comparing artists it is impossible! as they all have a unique form or signature of expression! but on the point of who rates and why look at it this way! i say for blues there are 3 main ones who stand out head and shoulders above the rest! 1 stevie ray vaughan 2 jeff healey 3 gary moore! for power there is only 1 dave gilmour !for melodic expression there is only 1 mark knopfler, Randy Rhodes "black sabbath)whipped in his short life also, just ask ozzy? if he is up to remembering that is! eddie van halen angus young steve vai, satriani are all speed gurus also! best of luck and happy playing whoever you love listening to then they are worthy of your number 1 vote!

[hawkey]

best all round accoustic player to me is none other than sir tommy emmanuel! mind you 48yrs of practising, 16 hrs a day he,d want to be good!

[dooktcha]

jimi hendrix beats out any other

[ruffnut]

hendrix was just a freak of his time way to advanced for his era! listen to the run in little wing by stevie ray vaughan and tell me hendrix could have matched that! i think not!

[merianne]

I can't help but notice that nobody mentioned Ty Tabor (King's X). He is one of the most original guitarists around in my book!!!

[merianne]

Oh yeah... Forgot about Neil Schon!!! Journey was a very big influence for me.

[d3fy_one]

from the list up top...hendrix for sure...but gotta give a little respect to Jose Felliciano...blind classical player

[hawkey]

Young Majority! I saw what i saw the other night, due to my friends online! There is no guitar solo in the world, like a Steve Vai song, that i only have the video clip ,and not the name! Can you help me out? And can all young foolish, little punks, that cant relate to punk, Go and get Punked!!!

[kuerbo]

My Choices:

Vinnie Moore
Steve Morse
Eric Clapton
Greg Howe
Paul Gilbert

[kuerbo]

I forgot Nuno Bettencourt!

[fragmare]

Yea, i agree with the others when they say there are not enough choices on this poll. I personally favor Jimi (with Stevie Ray V in a close second), but I know that a lot of ppl's first choices aren't even on the list.

Anyway, 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.

[MCastille84]

B.B. King is definately great because blues is so damn awesome. However, I must give props to Carlos Santana because that is a style of music that he can call his own basically. Hendrix is God, period. Hammett is the reason I started playing guitar, and SRV is the reason I haven't given it up.

[mikejm]

My first post so I may as well make it here since I've been playing around 16 years, so these are the top 10 I consider the most proficient, influential etc.

1. Larry Carlton
2. David Gilmour
3. Barney Kessel
4. B.B King
5. Jimi Hendrix
6. Eric Clapton
7. Jimi Page
8. Steve Lukather
9. Steve Vai
10. Mark Knopfler

[billy.hunt]

What about Bert Weedon ?
I can't believe anyone hasn't mentioned him, he taught the superb Hank Marvin to play.

[draccon]

hey whatta about mick mars from motley crue !!! he rocks

[zoomerang]

The Edge!!!!

[greg butcher]

1 the Edge
2 dave gilmour
3 eric clapton
4 stevie ray vaughn
5 Mark Knopfler
6 B.B King
7 Jimi Hendrix
8 jimi page
9 george harrison
10 joe welsh
11 don felder

[Kircky]

1 - Bon Jovi
2 - Carlos Santana
3 - Jimmy Hendrix
4 - Van Halen
5 - Steve Vai
6 - The Edge
7 - Kirk Hammett
8 - Mick Mars
9 - Terry Kath
10 - BB King

[guitarswbars]

Every time this subject comes up and Kurt Cobains name comes up I cant help but laugh. There are a lot of great guitar players out there Kurt was not one of them. He did influence a lot of people.