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Who is (or was) the worlds best guitarist?


Jillianne

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Queensrychefan just reminded me, I don't think I've even made a list here yet! Here's my favorites:

1. Jimi Hendrix

2. David Gilmour

3. Brian May

4. Tony Iommi

5. Jimmy Page

6. Eddie Hazel

7. Malcolm Young (sure, Angus did the solos, but Malcolm's tone is what AC/DC is all about)

8. Rory Gallagher (only heard 2 albums from him so far, but I can tell he's a favorite)

9. Ritchie Blackmore

10. Alex Lifeson

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Firstly, I'm not a guitar player or a musician of any sort, so rather than choose a "best" guitar player, I'm going to choose my favorite.

I'm sure there are countless other players that are technically better than my choice, but there aren't any who move me like he does. In fact, a friend of mine still insists that I had an orgasm while watching him at a concert I went to last year.

So without further ado... my choice (surprise, surprise) is Lindsey Buckingham - whose true talents are nearly wasted within the pop context of Fleetwood Mac (and overshadowed by his chiffon wearing cohort, of whom I am not particularly fond).

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  • 1 year later...

Roger. I probably don't know enough to fully appreciate guitar players styles, etc. What I do know is when one catches my eye, it's because they are dynamic and absolutely blow me away with their talent.

When I watch Roger on stange, his guitar is so very a part of him that to remove it at any given moment would be as removing an arm. I am in awe of those who can play notes on their guitars at exactly the right time without even seeming to think about it.

Everyone in life has a personsl skill/talent that sadly escape notice for those not seeking notoriety. But a guitar player who becomes a part of the instrument during the performance - I've not seen anything that can snap my head around in a fixed position as quickly as to just watch that person.

I don't know if any of this even made sense. I guess I'm paying most humble homage to guitar players everywhere... what I cwouldn't give to have taht talent, too.

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Another thread back from the dead I see. :)

My list:

1. Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)

2. Jimi Hendrix

3. Eric Clapton

4. Eddie Van Halen

5. David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)

6. Carlos Santana

7. Brian May (Queen)

8. Kirk Hammett (Metallica)

9. Angus Young (AC/DC)

10. Pete Townshend (The Who)

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  • 4 weeks later...

I'm glad to see that someone (Batman) mentioned Rory Gallagher. IMO, he is an incredibly underrated guitar player. He was versatile (he could play a mean sitar) and fast. He was a great slide guitar player (much better than Clapton) although he didn't play slide nearly as often as I would have liked.

Since I originally responded to this thread, I have come across some amazing guitar players. Scotty Anderson, Johnny Hiland, Danny Gatton and Albert Lee were players I had never heard of until a few months ago. Each one is an amazingly talented guitarist who has a unique style. Hiland plays everything from country to hard rock. Danny Gatton was primarily a country/jazz player. Scotty Anderson plays an odd (in a good way) blend of bluegrass and traditional jazz while Albert Lee plays rock and roll and country equally well.

It's a shame that many of these talented players do not achieve the notoriety or commercial success of their rock contemporaries.

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The best guitar players. . . . quite the question really. As a serious guitar player, I find it hard to categorize best. I will include Creativity, Technical Ablility, Originality, Tone, versatility, and soul.

Pat Metheny Jazz guitarist extraordinaire. He has explored all possible realms of jazz, and has blistered around the fretboard through all of it. Dark and slow, Upbeat and epic, jazz standard, to rock fusion to Concept. His licks and solos are always memorable, as are his compositions, his tone and style are completely unique, and once you hear Pat, you know it's him. He is the first man to ever play a 42 string harp guitar, and master it while at it.

Michael Hedges Moving on to the acoustic guitar. He reinvented it. Through the use of alternate tunings, exposive harmonics, percussive elements, and two handed techniques, he created music like NO ONE ever before him did. His compositions are melodic and souldful and entertaining, and incredible hard to play.

Eric Johnson Some people classify Eric Johnson along with other 'guitar legends' like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, john Petrucci, Yngwie Malmsteen etc. as a shredder without soul, but they are absolutely wrong. Yes he can play at blistering speeds, but it is the quality of his licks that seperate him. he incorporates jazz and blues into his music, and in his solos incorporates as many low notes as possible while still playing in the higher register to give his solos more depth. A rockers dream.

Eric Clapton When I listen to clapton I just think "In the context of that song, could anyone have played something that sounded better than that?" The answer is usually no. He just knows

Wes Montgomery To solo over the chord changes he does is incredible. Everything he plays is incredible. It's the most intelligent guitar playing I have ever heard. He knows his fretboard.

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The Jimi Hendrix legend was so blown out of proportion by the media and everything. Sure he was good, and he wrote entertaining songs, and he played with a passion, but there are people who play like that, and are a thousand times better technically. He was one of the most creative with the minor pentatonic scale, and maybe if he lived and found some more scales he would have been the best, but he didn't :(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:

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The Jimi Hendrix legend was so blown out of proportion by the media and everything. Sure he was good, and he wrote entertaining songs, and he played with a passion, but there are people who play like that, and are a thousand times better technically. He was one of the most creative with the minor pentatonic scale, and maybe if he lived and found some more scales he would have been the best, but he didn't :(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:

So he didn't toss in a few ragas just to show his virtuosity...he did more with a couple of scales than Yngwie and Vai ever did with all of them....virtuosity is not greatness....otherwise the bloke down our pub is a better guitarist than Jimmy Page...he can play everything by Page twice as fast and with his teeth....but he is not a great guitarist.

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The Jimi Hendrix legend was so blown out of proportion by the media and everything. Sure he was good, and he wrote entertaining songs, and he played with a passion, but there are people who play like that, and are a thousand times better technically. He was one of the most creative with the minor pentatonic scale, and maybe if he lived and found some more scales he would have been the best, but he didn't :(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:

What does technical skill have to do with determining a good guitarist? The truth is, Hendrix was not a trained guitarist. When he made music, he wasn't thinking about scales or anything, he was just letting whatever he had inside flow out of him, by way of the guitar. No amount of lessons can teach someone to do that.

Actually, Daslied said it better and more concise than me.

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hi-i just found this joint

this is my list of who i think of as the very best:

jeff beck

jimmy page

rory gallagher

roy buchanan

robin trower

duane allman

danny gatton

jimi hendrix

les paul

chet atkins

eddie van halen

steve howe

randy rhodes

tony iommi

theres proabbly a few i'm forgetting

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Don't talk to me like I don't know what I'm talking about, even mentioning Yngwie is an insult to Hendrix. I know that guitar isn't only about scales and technical ability, but say what you want, it is an element of the whole package. Keep exploring new genres and artists, and you'll find people with as much soul, character, creativity, and as much or more skill. Jimi was a great, THE pioneer of the electric guiitar after Charlie Christian, but there are better guitarists and musicians.

[q]You can play scales or the guitar. Jimi did the latter like none other

The amazing people are the ones who do both, it opens doors you never thought existed. And don't say Jimi didn't know boundaries, because he rarely left that one scale of his.

I love his music, he's amazing, but not the most amazing.

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I don't think anybody was assuming what you know or don't know. It's merely a difference of opinion. And sure, now there are tons of innovative guitarists, as there always has been. But as far as in the mainstream world, and as far as influence? Nobody else is even close.

Jimi did mostly play pentatonic/blues scales, but he didn't really need much else. Look what he did with such a "boundary".

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Don't talk to me like I don't know what I'm talking about, even mentioning Yngwie is an insult to Hendrix. I know that guitar isn't only about scales and technical ability, but say what you want, it is an element of the whole package. Keep exploring new genres and artists, and you'll find people with as much soul, character, creativity, and as much or more skill. Jimi was a great, THE pioneer of the electric guiitar after Charlie Christian, but there are better guitarists and musicians.

[q]You can play scales or the guitar. Jimi did the latter like none other

The amazing people are the ones who do both, it opens doors you never thought existed. And don't say Jimi didn't know boundaries, because he rarely left that one scale of his.

I love his music, he's amazing, but not the most amazing.

OK...name a single guitarist who wrote as many memorable and ground-breaking tunes as Hendrix....the nearest would be Jimmy Page, and he ran out of steam pretty quickly. They were both pretty-well blues-based thieves, but Hendrix was the genius....as Picasso once said,'Great artists borrow...geniuses steal' So far, technique has progressed aplenty (and, no doubt Hendrix would have kept up with it...can you imagine him tapping?) but composition and sheer tunefulness has stagnated considerably. I happen to think that Satriani has produced a couple (count 'em...maybe two or three) good tunes/compositions...the rest (and especially Vai) are technichal bombast, at best, and widdly bollocks at worst....Recently, pompous shredders have produced some extraordinarily 'fast' playing ...hammering and tapping at fearsome speed and running through every inversion of every arpeggio in every key....I've yet to hear a decent tune though.

JMHO

:)

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