SLASH??? Fuck OFF. Seriously, they have to be kidding, he's been a major player in like 3 decent albums in his whole frigging career. His solo work and Velvet Revolver is a joke compared to some of the stuff guys on that list have been responsible for. Besides the obvious Slash/Axl hate, there's a much better reason why Slash isn't on Chinese Democracy, because he couldn't play more than about 20% of anything on the bloody album. An enjoyable player for sure, but does not belong on a list with those names. And no Brian May. Slash no.2, and no Brian May. Give me a break.
Agreed. Joe Satriani? Alex Lifeson? And any list of the Greatest Guitarists that names Prince but leaves out Mark Knopfler is null and void on delivery as far as I'm concerned.
I suggest a better list (ymmv): Dave Gilmour Zakk Wylde Ritchie Blackmore Eddie Van Halen Mike Oldfield Joe Satriani Brian May Steve Jones Tommy Iommi Jimi Hendrix
I remember a chat show on late night Beeb in the 90's which had Pete Townshend and Eric Clapton as two of the guests. At the end of the evening the host asked them if they had ever played together, which surprisingly was not. They then reached behind the chat couch and brought out an acoustic guitar each and proceeded to jam. It was 5 or so minutes of pure magic. Neither of them did any pentatonic wanking either.
Don't worry, I won't judge you for having inferior taste. Good to see people sticking by their favourite musicians no matter how bad they are
Hmm...is this s'posed to be rock guitarists only? Because otherwise, I'd have to ask "Where is Stanley Jordan and Andre Segovia?"
I don't think Andres ever played electric, but no, it's not labeled as "rock guitarists only". No Jerry Donahue or Richard Thompson? No Adrian Legg? No Adrian Belew? No Roy Clark or Jerry Reed? No Amos Garrett? No Jerry Douglas? Yeah, there are a few notable omissions, alright.
For some nice triple threats in today's country music, I recommend Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, and Keith Urban.
No guitarist alive has more class, ability, or restraint than Alex Lifeson. Maybe he and David Gilmoure
Yeah but you've already disqualified yourself from having any meaningful input into the contents of the list anyway!
I'm going to command Pete Townshend hunt you down and smash an electric guitar into your skull. He's made of awesome, along with the rest of the Who.
Gecko-read your earlier comments. Very pretentious and complete fluff. The type of rhythm or beat a musician uses is irrelevant. The end result is what counts. Make music people want to hear and you are successful. In terms of guitarists, while technique may matter to a fellow musician just evoking amazing feelings in the listener is good enough for the rest of us to elevate that player's status. I will listen to Beckola or Cream of Clapton over and over-heck, a Clapton song was what the wife and I danced to at our wedding-and the feelings and imagery that the music brings to mind is enough for me. Page, Beck, Clapton, Gilmour, May, Van Halen, Lifeson, Satriani, Vai - they all succeed on that level, the only one that counts. Malmsteen? Buncha noise to me. Maybe if he slowed it down but it's like he's talking too fast-no matter how important what he has to say, if you don't give the listener time to digest it then the message is lost.
^I have had many discussions over the years with people looking down their noses and trying to tell me how inferior various "popular" guitarists are compared to some prodigy or another. Keith Richards seems to be a frequent target. But I always have to ask, what are the criteria for an effective rock and roll song? It is mostly about making an emotional connection with the listener. Technical instrumental virtuosity has never been high on the list for putting across a rock and roll song successfully. Is it somehow easy for a "bad" guitarist to come up with hook guitar riffs that millions of people remember after 40+ years, like Richards? I would say it is pretty hard; if it wasn't, a lot more people would have done it. Are guitarists who have made memorable music despite not having fast fingers, like Townshend or Gilmour, somehow second rate because of that particular limitation? I say no. Could Malmsteen make a Ramones song sound better than Johnny Ramone did? Doubtful. Nothing succeeds like success, and I have a hard time characterizing any of the players mentioned in this thread as "bad." If they were, nobody would like them. Everyone's personal criteria are different. Some people like to hear how fast someone can play a Paganini-inspired metal piece in the Menoxidilian mode. Not me, I can't listen to that kind of stuff, but I can see how it has its own merits. And I certainly don't feel that my opinion on the matter is superior to anyone else's. --Justin
That;s song writing ability, not guitar ability. For the record, the ultimate standard on guitar is speed. Shredders are the best guitarists, nothing comes close to technical ability and rapid finger movement, its the ultimate standard in guitar.