NationStates Jolt Archive

Note: This poll is only in reference to their skill with a guitar, NOT their amount of #1 hits, or their live preformances.

I think it goes to Hendrix, hands down.

I tend to go for the underrated.

Popular/Radio music

Walter Becker (Steely Dan)
Robert Cray

Jazz

John Pizzarelli
Joe Pass
Django Reinhardt


None of which is to deny that Hendrix is God and Clapton his prophet.

I notice a lack of Eddie Van Halen on that poll.;)

I notice a lack of Eddie Van Halen on that poll.;)

That why I voted other since he wins in my book.

Somebody Else is pretty cool.

Well, I define skill with a guitar as "The ability to provide me with entertainment". And I can honestly say that none of those in the poll provide adequate entertainment.

I'd say Mark Knopfler followed by Eric Clapton.

I tend to go for the underrated.

Popular/Radio music

Walter Becker (Steely Dan)
Robert Cray

Jazz

John Pizzarelli
Joe Pass
Django Reinhardt


None of which is to deny that Hendrix is God and Clapton his prophet.

Those are all great guitarists.
Gotta love Jimi Hendrix though.
George Thorougood is my top though.

*This thread will never end.

Lack of Eddie Van Halen kind of made me scratch my head.

My top five as far as influence on my guitar playing are:
Eddie Van Halen
Jimmy Page
Synyster Gates
Randy Rhoads
Kirk Hammett

I know...not the top five best, but they have influenced me the most.

Lloyd of Burgundy.

What no David Gilmour?? :mad:

Excellent, soulful guitar player IMHO.

What no David Gilmour?? :mad:

Excellent, soulful guitar player IMHO.

He was brilliant too.

I've always thought John McLaughlin, Wes Montgomery, and Pat Metheny were all damn great guitarists.

For both live performance and ingenuity, i have to mention

Reeves Gabrels
John Petrucci
Nuno Bettencourt
Adrian Legg

and perhaps a few others but i'm on a schedule here ...

I don't think there is a "best" guitarist.

this guy

http://www.justinking.com

what? no Mike Bloomfield or Dick Dale or Andre Segovia or Allan Holdsworth or ...?

how can there be a single best guitarist? that's like trying to decide which testicle is your favorite, but with more than 2 to choose from.

but I'll say Hendrix because he gets me stoked every time.

here i found the video of the guy who won the contest at crossroads, he in my opinion is the best i've ever seen.

http://www.justinking.com/video/JustinKing_SoloGuitarVideo_VidFull.mov

I think that I would probably give my vote to Phil Keaggy or Dave Matthews.

I've always thought John McLaughlin, Wes Montgomery, and Pat Metheny were all damn great guitarists.
I have both their autographs :D

Anyways, it depends. Technical skill, like two handed shredding, which is quite boring, or ability to belt out a good solo with ENOUGH technical skill? That would go to Eric Johnson. Shredding-wise, I would say Yngwie without a doubt.

Dimebag Darrell? come on now he was a good guitar player

i just voted Hendrix, then realised my folly, for the poll asks which "is" the better guitarist... and poor Jimmy has left us behind...

EDIT: then I hit myself in the balls for being a dickhead

Django Reinhardt



Simply amazing.

Most rock guitar solos I find kinda boring. They're all scale wanking.

John Petrucci is pretty good though.

Django Reinhardt or Pat Donahough without a doubt.

John Petrucci - Dream Theater
Yngwie Malmsteen
Steve Vai
Joe Satriani
Anthony Mazzella - www.anthonymazzella.com

These are the best guitarists.

Jimmy Page all the way, i dont know if any of you guys have seen him play live on the dvds or nething like that but hes just amazing

No mention of Alex Skolnick (Testament) or Larry LaLaonde (Primus)? And why is SRV so far down on the list? He should be 2nd...only to Hendrix!!!

I would have to say Billy F. Gibbons of ZZ Top. He was Jimi Hendrix's favorite guitar player which says something about the man.

I also like Alex Lifeson of Rush for he was a wizard with his Paul Reed Smith (PRS) guitar.

There is no "best" guitarist. I'm partial to Alex Lifeson's style, though.

David Gilmour, Brian May, Kirk Hammett, Slash, & Al DiMeola

hendrix pwns. anyone who says otherwise is wrong. ;)

seriously though, hendrix just has this way with his guitar that nobody else can even come close to - little wing, catfish blues, a room full of mirrors, red house... listen to any of those (especially live) and you'll see just how great he is. especially the stuff he plays while he's singing - i know its not unheard of but he improvises awesome solos while singing FFS... thats gotta be good!

other guitarists rock, too. satch, yingwe, gary moore, eric johnson, brian may, alex skolnick, i don't particularly like vai's style but he's damn good, stevie ray vaughn, the guy from Dream Theatre, the guy from Extreme, Page i guess, santana and (i suppose) hammett... many of them rock, but none of them can touch hendrix (though for me moore actually comes close - but i might be biased and like him a little more than i should for other reasons :fluffle: )

Bo Diddley

I voted for Jimi.

Though I'm surprised Jeff Beck isn't up there. Or Pete Townsend, or Stephen Stills!!

EDIT: And there I go forgetting Robert Johnson, arrrgh!

This question must be defined, before it can be answered.

What is "the Best" mean?

Obviously, skill figures into it, but skill and knowledge of the instrument alone dont make you "the best".
If that were true, then guys like Joe Satriani, and Vai, and Malmsteen would win, but frankly, I think they all sound like wankers, wanking to show how "good" they can play.

If "the best" means you had some good albums, but then havent produced anything good since the early 70's, then Clapton probably wins for his music with Cream.

Rather, I think "the best", means skill, soul, feeling, and having a good band along with you, to make music that people will listen to forever.
This is why Jimi probably wins, but to be honest, Jimi's music doesnt appeal to everyone.
Not everyone "gets it".

So, the "best" guitar palyers are as follows:

Hendrix.
David Gilmour.
Toni Iommi.
Eric Clapton
George Harrison
Robert Johnson.
Pete Townsend
Ritchie Blackmore
Al Dimeola


My personal favorite is Gilmour.

Oh, yeah. Left out Townsend.

So: Mark Knopfler, Pete Townsend, Eric Clapton

Luca Turilli (Rhapsody) vers quick but the most beautiful melodies

If we were talking about bass players, however, it would be the following four:

James Jamerson

John Entwhistle

Paul McCartney

and a tie between John Paul Jones, and Geezer Butler.


Oh..and an honorable mention to Floyd Pepper, from Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.

Why no Frank Zappa on the poll?
Listen to 'The Muffin Man' if you want to hear great guitar work.

Why no Frank Zappa on the poll?
Listen to 'The Muffin Man' if you want to hear great guitar work.


Frank Zappa always gets overlooked, becuase he made "silly" music.
Too bad, he always had a kick ass band, and was a bitchin' player.

If we were talking about bass players, however, it would be the following four:

James Jamerson

John Entwhistle

Paul McCartney

and a tie between John Paul Jones, and Geezer Butler.


Oh..and an honorable mention to Floyd Pepper, from Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.


I agree... except that I think Geezer is somewhat better than JPJ.

Judsing on who influences my own guitar playing and who I think is the better skilled Hendrix by far. But Clapton, Paul McCartney and Brian May are also some of the guitarists i most admire.

I agree... except that I think Geezer is somewhat better than JPJ.


Its pretty close, but I'd have to agree.

Considering his major influences were McCartney, and Entwhistle, and the fact that he wrote most of Sabbath's lyrics, you cant go wrong.

So, the "best" guitar palyers are as follows:

Hendrix.
David Gilmour.
Toni Iommi.
Eric Clapton
George Harrison
Robert Johnson.
Pete Townsend
Ritchie Blackmore
Al Dimeola


My personal favorite is Gilmour.

My first inspiration was Ritchie Blackmore.. today i think , that he played worse. In my youth , there were the guys whor prefer Blackmore and Iommiant the others who love Al di Meola or JohnMclaughlin....it was a bitter fight ;)
I have seen Blackmore 5 times in my life, and he has a realy great aura. And sadly i have tried to play like him...it was not my best decision

I'd vote for Clapton, not the fastest or the most skillfull, but he transmits more feeling with a single note than most of the "very fast" ones with a complete song.

But, as Clapton is not in the list, my vote went for Jimmy Page.

I'd vote for Clapton, not the fastest or the most skillfull, but he transmits more feeling with a single note than most of the "very fast" ones with a complete song.

As far as I'm concerned the last time Clapton played a note that spoke to me was when he was still playing with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers back in '66 or thereabouts.

My first inspiration was Ritchie Blackmore.. today i think , that he played worse. In my youth , there were the guys whor prefer Blackmore and Iommiant the others who love Al di Meola or JohnMclaughlin....it was a bitter fight ;)
I have seen Blackmore 5 times in my life, and he has a realy great aura. And sadly i have tried to play like him...it was not my best decision


Im just getting into Blackmore's Rainbow.

Temple of the King gives me chills.

How can you go wrong with Dio?

Im just getting into Blackmore's Rainbow.

Temple of the King gives me chills.

How can you go wrong with Dio?

I watched them 3 times with 3 different singers : Dio was the best

*Long live Rock n Roll*

Chuck Schuldiner, with Trey Azagthoth in second place.

Tommy Emmanuel!!


If have a couple of hours and bandwidth to spare check out shows #245 & #349 at Woodsongs (http://www.woodsongs.com/showlist.asp) (wma & wmv formats)


Also 26 minute Quicktime interview and playing:
High speed connection version. (http://www.acousticplayermagazine.com/apm002/apmprofile002/tommy_4_profilevideo_002.html)

Low speed connection version. (http://www.acousticplayermagazine.com/apm002/apmprofile002/tommy_4a_profilevideo_sm_002.html)


But don't just take my word for Tommy being great....

"One of the greatest players on the planet"....."I think he’s probably the greatest fingerpicker in the world today. He’s inventive, fearless and has a flawless sense of rhythm." — Chet Atkins

Todd Rundgren once called Emmanuel "the two best guitarists" he’d ever seen.

An interviewer asked Satriani if he knew of any Australian guitarists, this was his answer: "What comes to mind all the time is Tommy Emmanuel. A guitar player of epic proportions!"

There were two standing ovations at Les Paul's 90th birthday bash....One was for Les himself, the other for Tommy.

Dimebag Darrell!

Anyone who can listening to the solo from Domination and not be impressed is freakin insane.

Brian May

David Gilmour. Just listen to the guitar solos in Time and Comfortably Numb and you will find your answer.

If we were talking about bass players, however, it would be the following four:

James Jamerson

John Entwhistle

Paul McCartney

and a tie between John Paul Jones, and Geezer Butler.


Oh..and an honorable mention to Floyd Pepper, from Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.

*cough*Jack Bruce*cough*

If we were talking about bass players, however, it would be the following four:

James Jamerson

John Entwhistle

Paul McCartney

and a tie between John Paul Jones, and Geezer Butler.


Oh..and an honorable mention to Floyd Pepper, from Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.

ELECTRIC:

Victor Wooten
Brian Bromberg
Terry Nelson Jackson
Matthew Seligman
Nelson Braxton

ACOUSTIC (UPRIGHT):

Ray Brown
Walter Page
George Mraz
Benny Green
Niels Henning Orsted-Peterson
Charlie Byrd
Kristen Korb
Jay Leonhart

Andres Segovia.

"Best" usually sucks. All the "best" guitarists can play guitar really, really well, but couldn't write a song to save their souls. See: Dream Theater.

...

There were two standing ovations at Les Paul's 90th birthday bash....One was for Les himself, the other for Tommy.

Is this really as close as anybody is going to get to mentioning Les Paul? And let's not forget Sonny Boy Williamson (pick any one), Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, and the truck load of other blues guitarists that made the guitar what it is today.

And I see only two other people mentioned Segovia (consider this my mention of him). Ditto Alan Holdsworth -- only one other!? Are there really only two of us here who dig him?

While I'm asking questions, I have one more. Is this poll only about skill, or is it also about the style of music most of us here tend to listen to?

Oh yeah, Bob Mould is damn good, too.

Is this really as close as anybody is going to get to mentioning Les Paul? And let's not forget Sonny Boy Williamson (pick any one), Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, and the truck load of other blues guitarists that made the guitar what it is today.

And I see only one other person mentioned Segovia (consider this my mention of him). Ditto Alan Holdsworth -- are there really only two of us here who dig him?

While I'm asking questions, I have one more. Is this poll only about skill, or is it also about the style of music most of us here tend to listen to?

It's a bad poll. That's all that you need to know. Made by someone who already had their opinion of best guitarist decided and wanted to make a thread to justify that opinion by slanting it towards their choice.

Is this really as close as anybody is going to get to mentioning Les Paul? And let's not forget Sonny Boy Williamson (pick any one), Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, and the truck load of other blues guitarists that made the guitar what it is today.
The Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson people aren't necissarily "good." I mean, they were revolutionary in their time, and that's why they're more influencial than anything else. Robert Johnson was "good" in the sense he laid the foundation for blues and thus rock; and the music he wrote (mainly 12 bar blues progression) was unprecidented even though now a song with 12 bar blues is considered unimaginative.

Well, I define skill with a guitar as "The ability to provide me with entertainment". And I can honestly say that none of those in the poll provide adequate entertainment.

I'd say Mark Knopfler followed by Eric Clapton.

I don't know. Knopfler definitely is skilled but I think Clapton moreso

Has anyone mentioned Zakk Wylde??

The Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson people aren't necissarily "good." I mean, they were revolutionary in their time, and that's why they're more influencial than anything else. Robert Johnson was "good" in the sense he laid the foundation for blues and thus rock; and the music he wrote (mainly 12 bar blues progression) was unprecidented even though now a song with 12 bar blues is considered unimaginative.


I accept what you mean in the sense that since them, techniques have moved on, and ideas have sometimes moved on. OTOH, if we take that too far, we end up saying that the "best" guitarist(s) (I agree with the people who say the whole idea of a best guitarist is absurd) have to be only the most recent. That means we surrender the acknowledgement of those people who made our current greats possible, because they may have been surpassed in some sense. I can tell that you know what I mean by what you said.

But Muddy Waters is still "fresh" when you listen to him. Different, but fresh. One of the real revolutionaries of blues guitarists. Oh yes, and one of the people Hendrix considered an influence on his own playing.

Robert Johnson does this thing where he bends and pulls the rhythms of songs instead of just banging on like a metronome --- more like a symphony orchestra or a jazz band that varies the rhythms for effect. And as I listen to him doing it, I can hear that he does it for effect, not haphazardly. He's always making a musical/emotional "point" with it. Even today there aren't that many guitarists that do it the way Johnson could. True, we tend to find 12-bar predictable, but then I listen to Hendrix playing his take on 12-bar, or even Clapton or Pete Green or Taj Mahal playing their take on it, and I realize that 12-bar is the perfect frame for "hanging" the most intricate and creative and unpredictable music. And then it's bliss all over again.

I could go on, but only at the risk of seeming even more boring than usual.... :D
Anyway, I've met other people in these forums at least as ready as I am to take this further, so maybe one of them will jump in here.

Eddie Van Halen

The Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson people aren't necissarily "good." I mean, they were revolutionary in their time, and that's why they're more influencial than anything else. Robert Johnson was "good" in the sense he laid the foundation for blues and thus rock; and the music he wrote (mainly 12 bar blues progression) was unprecidented even though now a song with 12 bar blues is considered unimaginative.

if 12 bar blues is unimaginative, you're doing something wrong. either the musician isn't up to playing, or you're not up to listening.

my opinion anyway.

my friend greg is pretty good

My top 5 guitarists in this order are,
1. Jimi Hendrix (Hendix Experience)
2. Jimmy Paige (Led Zepplin)
3. Eric Clapton (Yardbirds, Cream, solo)
4. Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen)
5. Joe Perry (Aerosmith)

And To go old school, Chuck Berry has to be top 10.

Who is the best guitarist? IMO,that's not really a valid question. My personal "favorite" is Larry Carlton.

Dimebag Darrell!

Anyone who can listening to the solo from Domination and not be impressed is freakin insane.
fuck yeah - dimebag was a god :(

Brian May
John Frusciante
Dave Gilmour

AIR GUITAR!
http://www.airguitaraustralia.com/AG%20Layback%20LHS%20Fade.jpg
http://hardhouse2.orcon.net.nz/phpBB2/images/smiles/dancingemote.gif

Hendrix. Seeing him play live was heart-stopping, life-changing, mind-bending -- you name it. They probably will always be the best gigs of my life. Having Jimi to listen to and watch was like nothing else.

As someone who's a pretty decent judge of skills, I'm going to have to say that for pure technical ability, Mark Knopfler hands down.

There are an amazing amount of great guitarists, though. Not sure I'd give anyone the title of "best".

As someone who's a pretty decent judge of skills, I'm going to have to say that for pure technical ability, Mark Knopfler hands down.

There are an amazing amount of great guitarists, though. Not sure I'd give anyone the title of "best".

I can't go with you on Knopfler even though I like a lot of his stuff. true, what technique he's got is really good, but once you've heard a few solos, you can pretty much tell what he'll do in a solo. he's good, but too limited. he stopped surprising me while he was still in Dire Straits, and hasn't surprised me since.

agreed on not getting stuck on any one guitarist though, although I have to go back to Hendrix and Clapton over and over. and since I was turned onto Alan Holdsworth by a friend here I've started listening to him too, and he's amazing.

I can't think of anyone "better" than Steve Vai; he's a superb instrumentist, a brilliant and creative musician and a great entertainer.