The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time according to rolling stone

[S1ashRev]

This is the most Bulls**t list I have ever seen.

I mean Joan Jett, Jack White, Buddy Holly, and John Fogerty.

I like most of those people but they are just not great guitarist. Maybe good song writers but not Top 100 material guitarist.

[KingofQUEEN92]

Whats stupid about this list is that the "Greatest guitarist" can mean a lot of things. Greatest shredder, chord player, lead guitarist, rythm, innovative, songwriter, well-known, etc. IMO, Brian May should be wayyy higher up, he had the most incredible tone and built his guitar, so should randy rhoads, tony iommi, blackmore, Fripp, heck where the hell is Hackett, and Howe, two of the most innovative guitarists of all time, not just in prog, but in rock in general

I forgot about the Red Special! haha yea that should move Brian May a couple spots up for making his own guitar at 13!

[OutlawMcgraw]

i do think that dimebag shoule be on there and get rid of tool. that just bull$yt. and how is jimi hendrix first. so what if hes left handed. so am i and i play pretty damn well. i think that hives should be on there aswell. jimi should be like 50 and the top should be allen collins from lynryd skynrd. he was awesome.




~~~~~Outlaw McGraw

[OldFogey]

jimi hendrix is not the greatest at all he's ok but not the best he's wayyy overrated

eric clapton is god of the guitar

I saw them both many times, and man you are off base.

Let me just put it to you this way -- how many truly great guitarists have you seen who feature covers of Hendrix tunes and solos, etc. in their acts? I can name four right off the top of my head -- Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, Steve Vai, and Robben Ford.

How many do the same for Clapton? Uh, none that I've ever seen or heard in 40+ years of concert going and record buying.

The reason -- Hendrix is a challenge. Great guitarists want to see how they measure up. Clapton once had gorgeous tone, fluid technique and a lovely vibrato (his tone has never been as good since Cream in my opinion). But -- there's no "how did he do that" factor there.

[OldFogey]

I think the problem is really with the word. And the fact that whoever put the list together for Rolling Stone was not consistent in how they applied it. A lot of the folks on the list are there because they were considered ground-breakers, or influential, or the like. The list is pretty up-front about not being about who is the "best."

It's still pretty messed up because they are not consistent about this, but at least give them some credit for knowing they were not really presenting "the best."

[OldFogey]

I think there is one thing that's pretty impressive about this list -- they included Clarence White (#41).

Clarence was a bluegrass legend at the time he joined the Byrds. Check out his recordings with the Kentucky Colonels albums. As a genre, and excepting classical music because there is no improvisation, bluegrass is only second to jazz in the level of technical proficiency among instrumentalists.

Clarence learned to play some mean rock guitar with the Byrds. He didn't get many extended solos in the song structures the Byrds used, so alot of his better playing is actually in little fills.

He also invented the Telecaster with a device in the back that bends the b-string like on a pedal steel guitar. That gave him some great effects.

First song has him using the b-string bend on the intro. But be sure to catch his work on Wheels of Fire the second song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m37-2eB-wj8

[fracguru]

The Digital Dream Door list is better, as Cobain, White, and Ramone are only Honnorable Mentions.

1. Jimi Hendrix* - Jimi Hendrix Experience
2. Eric Clapton - Yardbirds, Cream, Derek & The Dominos, Solo
3. Jimmy Page - Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, The Firm
4. Jeff Beck - Yardbirds, Jeff Beck Group, Solo
5. Eddie Van Halen - Van Halen
6. Stevie Ray Vaughan* - Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
7. Joe Satriani - Solo
8. Ritchie Blackmore - Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blackmores Night
9. Steve Vai - David Lee Roth, Whitesnake, Solo
10. David Gilmour - Pink Floyd, Solo
11. John Petrucci - Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment
12. Randy Rhoads* - Quiet Riot, Ozzy
13. Allan Holdsworth - Solo
14. Paul Gilbert - Mr. Big, Racer X, Solo
15. Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force, Solo
16. Phil Keaggy - Glass Harp, Solo
17. Jason Becker - Cacophony, David Lee Roth Band, Solo
18. John Mclaughlin- Mahavishnu Orchestra
19. Duane Allman* - Allman Brothers Band, Derek & the Dominos
20. Chuck Berry - Solo
21. Eric Johnson - Solo
22. Steve Howe - Yes, Solo
23. Neal Schon - Santana, Journey, Solo
24. Brian May - Queen
25. Gary Moore - Thin Lizzy, Colosseum II, Skid Row, Solo
26. Bo Diddley - Solo
27. Steve Morse - Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse Band, Solo
28. Carlos Santana - Santana
29. Tony Iommi - Black Sabbath
30. Buckethead - Solo, Praxis, Thanatopsis, The Deli Creeps, Cornbugs, GNR
31. Mark Knopfler - Dire Straits, Solo
32. Marty Friedman - Cacophony, Megadeth, Solo
33. Nuno Bettencourt - Extreme, Mourning Widows
34. Shawn Lane* - Black Oak Arkansas, Willy, Solo
35. Kirk Hammett - Metallica
36. Uli Jon Roth - Scorpions, Solo
37. Terry Kath* - Chicago Transit Authority
38. Alex Lifeson - Rush
39. Frank Zappa* - Mothers of Invention, Solo
40. Rory Gallagher* - Solo
41. Dimebag Darrell* - Pantera
42. Peter Green - Fleetwood Mac, Solo
43. Robin Trower - Procal Harum, Solo
44. Slash - Guns N' Roses, Slash's Snakepit, Velvet Revolver
45. Mick Taylor - John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Rolling Stones
46. Robert Fripp - King Crimson
47. Tom Morello - Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave
48. Michael Schenker - Scorpions, UFO, MSG, Contraband
49. Ry Cooder - Solo
50. Angus Young - AC/DC
51. Keith Richards - Rolling Stones, Solo
52. Michael Angelo Batio - Nitro, Solo
53. John Squire - Stone Roses
54. Pete Townshend - The Who
55. Steve Hackett - Genisis
56. Zakk Wylde - Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society
57. George Harrison* - Beatles, Traveling Wilberys, Solo
58. Alvin Lee - Ten Years After
59. Dave Davies - Kinks
60. Jerry Cantrell - Alice In Chains, Solo
61. Steve Stevens - Billy Idol
62. Johnny Winter - Solo
63. Dickie Betts - Allman Brothers Band, Dickey Betts & Great Southern
64. John Cipollina* - Quicksilver Messenger Service
65. Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band
66. Steve Cropper - Booker T. & MG's/Stax sessions
67. Adrian Belew - King Crimson
68. Joe Bonamassa - Solo
69. Steve Lukather - Toto, Solo
70. Jerry Garcia* - Grateful Dead
71. Joe Perry - Aerosmith
72. Prince - Prince & The Revolution
73. Kim Mitchell - Max Webster, Solo
74. Adrian Smith - Iron Maiden
75. Dave Murray - Iron Maiden
76. Neil Young - Buffalo Springfield, CSNY, Solo
77. Billy Gibbons - ZZ Top
78. Tony MacAlpine - Solo
79. Mike McCready - Pearl Jam
80. Adam Jones - Tool
81. Gary Hoey - Solo
82. Leslie West - Mountain, Solo
83. Peter Frampton - Humble Pie, Frampton's Camel, Solo
84. Dick Dale - Del-Tones
85. Vito Bratta - White Lion
86. Mickey "Guitar" Baker - 50's sessions/ Mickey & Sylvia
87. John Frusciante - Red Hot Chili Peppers
88. Ronnie Montrose - Montrose, Edgar Winter Group
89. Mick Ronson* - David Bowie, Solo
90. Roy Buchanan* - Solo
91. Warren Haynes - Allman Brothers Band, Gov't Mule
92. Vinnie Moore - Alice Cooper, Solo
93. Robbie Krieger - Doors, Solo
94. Chris DeGarmo - Queensryche
95. Jake E. Lee - RATT, Cutting Crew, Ozzy, Badlands, Solo
96. Glen Tipton - Judas Priest
97. Joe Walsh - James Gang, Eagles, Solo
98. K.K. Downing - Judas Priest
99. Eddie Hazel* - Funkadelic
100. Alex Skolnick - Testament

Note that this is of Rock only. they have an all-genre one too.

This list is good. Rolling Stone's is not.

[OldFogey]

This list is good. Rolling Stone's is not.

On the whole, I like this list better, but --

if it's a rock list, then what's John McLaughlin doing on it? He never played on a rock album. If you open the door to him, then where's DiMeola? Metheny? Schofield? Stern? Frisell? Rosenwinkel?

And -- they miss Clarence White (my other post). I give huge props to Rolling Stone's list for catching that one. I have seen almost all of these great guitarists play, and Clarence could easily play with all of them.

Bottom line -- lists are fun. There's no way everyone will agree, so there's room for lots of argument (this thread is proof). Net Result - they sell magazines and they get people to watch TV shows. For that reason alone, I'm sure RS is very happy about their list. They may even have designed it to be as provocative as possible just for that reason.

[OldFogey]

I see a lot of focus in this discussion and other lists on more recent players, but let's not forget that some of the players from Rock's early days could flat out play. At least Rolling Stone got that right. Love to see Scotty Moore on there, for example.

I'll single one out -- James Burton. Played for Rick Nelson originally, then Elvis in the 70's. Here's a segment from a learning video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XCWYTP9siQ

[rupert_giles]

Flashback article on Jimi Hendrix:

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyl...i%20Hendrix_s/