Best guitarist.

[andicole0]

I know this has been done to death but why oh why does Jimmy Hendrix always turn up at no. 1? Is it because he is dead!
He can't actually play very well he just makes noises through the electronics. Plus anyone who can play as well with his teeth can't really be the best.
On the same subject why do we never see Mike Oldfield in the lists and seldom see Mark Knopfler.
Open for abuse now, but remember- good will to all men etc.
Andi.

 

[Yaayuh!]

In my opinion, the top 10 are frequently interchangeable depending on my mood and what I've listened to recently. Sometimes even the top 20.

As always, take it with a pinch of salt. Frankly the top 50 list are generally ******* brilliant, it gets hard to narrow down the last few.

Also worth remembering, it's all relative to their time as well and many guitarists wouldn't be on the lists if it wasn't for someone else that's on the list.

 

[Nitefly]

What does best guitarist mean...

‘Best’ songwriter that plays guitar?
Most rounded ‘musician’?
Most technically proficient?

It’s really difficult! Some guitarists I love because the ‘simplicity’ of their playing is outrageous - check out the riff to Township Rebellion by Rage Against the Machine, it’s like king kong kicking down buildings, what a riff!!!

Paul Gilbert is a technical wizard but it’s actually his sense of humour and goofiness that I really dig.

Maybe it’s just best to list my favourites and say why:

Tom Morello - ultra chunky ‘simple’ riffs that fly in the face of conventional guitar playing. Very unique.

Paul Gilbert - absolute beast but super cool and really goofy. I actually had a lesson with him, terrifying!

David Gilmour - those bends man. Great ‘jam’ guitarist with amazing melodies.

James Hetfield and Dave Mustaine - together for the same reason, sing and thrash like mofos!

Matt Bellamy - great showman with rock bombast and chunked riffs / guitar hero moments.

Plenty more I can think of

 

[G-MAN2004]

To me it will always be Hendrix. He did it first. He sent the first proper shockwave through the guitar world and blew everyone away. He was mesmerising on stage and I reckon you'd be hard-pushed to have found another guitarist who wasn't in complete awe of him or utterly envious of his talent. Just look at Clapton.

I found this YouTube comment a few years back and it always makes me smile.

 

[wolfie138]

"first" doesn't always equal "best" though, does it? you'd hardly call the Wright Flier the "best" aircraft jut cos it was first. also, mesmerising on stage perhaps, but that wouldn't equate to "best" guitar player in many cases, more like best showman?
as everything else, I don't think "best" lists mean anything apart from being a group of people, the rank is purely subjective, which is why I'm never bothered w/ them.

 

[IvanDobskey]

Lots of great guitarists.

I always thought Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham was hugely underrated. Dave Gilmore of pink Floyd up there with the best too.

 

[PC777]

Agree with many other here, don't forget about Prince either. He makes a point of casually wrecking everyone else on stage in this live performance to tribute George Harrison with his son on stage. Amazing solo from about 3:29 onward, RIP Prince and Tom Petty too.

 

[Space Monkey]

Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai among my favourites

 

[Combat Fighter]

Brain May (I’m a big queen fan), Slash, Angus Young, Mark Knopfler, Jeff Lynne, Nile Rodgers just to name a few of my favourites. There’s a lot to list and various styles when you put your mind it.

 

[Malevolence]

In no order of preference: Randy Rhoads, Steve Vai (I actually bought a 7 string Ibanez), Jimmy Hendrix, Joe Satriani, Brian May, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Tony Iommi, Glen Tipton, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Dave Gilmour, Bo Diddly, Jeff Beck to name a few.

 

[Andrew_McP]

Three years ago I didn't know Tommy Emmanuel existed.

And while his playing can be a bit Mariah Carey at times (yes, love, so you can do all the notes... but you don't have to use them all, all the time!) so can just about every commonly lauded guitarist at times. But while I'm in awe or his talent I think if I had to pick one player to 'be' it'd probably be Mark Knopfler; such a well grounded individual and thoughtful player.

I admit to not ever 'getting' Hendrix, but I think I understand why, at the time, he was such a big deal. My musical awakening was a bit later, when Tubular Bells was released, so I think my brain was 'locked' by that musical shock to my teenage system into a taste for less frantic playing from the likes of Oldfield, Gilmour and then Knopfler.

For a long time though, it was this album from John McLaughlinn, Paco DeLucia and Al DiMeola, that both fascinated me and put me off trying to play for years.

...so I guess the answer to greatest guitarist probably ought to go to any one of the many very early players who picked up a guitar and inspired those we're mentioning. I am only, very slowly, learning about the roots of modern guitar playing. Thanks in part to discovering this guy's channel...

Sorry for the long post. The older you get, the more guitarists you collect.

 

[robfosters]

I know this has been done to death but why oh why does Jimmy Hendrix always turn up at no. 1? Is it because he is dead!
He can't actually play very well he just makes noises through the electronics. Plus anyone who can play as well with his teeth can't really be the best.
On the same subject why do we never see Mike Oldfield in the lists and seldom see Mark Knopfler.
Open for abuse now, but remember- good will to all men etc.
Andi.

I’m not saying he’s the best, but my personal favourite has always been Knopfler. Just something about his playing style and compositions that I find utterly magical, and certain solos like Tunnel of Love genuinely make me quite emotional, and stirring a listeners emotions is a cast iron guarantee of a great musician.

His performance of Going home on the on the night live album is simply from the gods.

 

[jsmoke]

Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai among my favourites

This is what I was going to say, Steve Vai is phenomenal.

 

[wazza300]

Now we all know the best guitarist is slash (thread closed)

 

[Space Monkey]

This is what I was going to say, Steve Vai is phenomenal.

Preach it brother, preach it

 

[spruceant]

John Frusciante, Omar from At the drive in.

 

[Flaevius]

I know this has been done to death but why oh why does Jimmy Hendrix always turn up at no. 1?

The thing with Hendrix is that you'll often see him at no.1 on lists put together by peers too. His influence is undeniable, and added to the notoriety of his early death (the Cobain effect) his legacy has been secured. As with everything music related, such a list can only ever be highly subjective though. Personally, I care less for technical brilliance and virtuosity than I do the groove and simply the reaction the music generates (and I can't judge at all from a technical standpoint).

For that reason, my personal no.1 is Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains). No virtuoso, but the power of his riffs are incredible. The composition, distortion, timings - such a distinctive player. Rarely has a guitarist meshed so seamlessly with a vocalist than the Cantrell/Staley duo. Quality solo work, still releasing brilliant albums three decades in. He'll occasionally pop up on 'best of' lists, but wouldn't be an immediate choice for most - but a Cantrell riff is like music to my soul.

Other guys I have a fondness for:

Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow): particularly on the '76 Rising album, which is a masterpiece.
Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine): inventive, brutal, responsible for some of the best riffs of the past 20 years.
Matthias Jabs (Scorpions): again not an obvious choice, but that band has some unreal material.
Michael Schenker (Scorpions, UFO)
Mike McCready (Pearl Jam)
Brian Robertson (Thin Lizzy)
Alex Lifeson (Rush)

I hear the thoughts on Mark Knopfler. Dire Straits, not a band I often play - nor Knopfler's solo work either - but his composition has a beautiful quality to it. I'd give a little nod to a couple of earlier legends too: Dick Dale, Chuck Berry.

 

[Yadda]

Looking through the thread I think most of mine have already been mentioned but one name I'll add (assuming I didn't miss it): SRV (Stevie Ray Vaughan).

 

[timebomb26]

The best thing is there are so many good guitarists out there. For all the average stuff going around I often find myself running in to players who are not only technically good, but that have something a level above musically as well.

I agree with the comment that my favourite guitarists change with my mood. I think there is too much difference between genres and what is required in those genres to ever have a definitive list of who is “best”.

 

[LOAM]

For me it will always be Jimmy Page with Gilmour a close second. His work on Since I've been loving you on how the west was won, blows my mind.
https://youtu.be/TfRl1TExw3s