Battle of the Underrated Guitarists Achrieve

[a21schizoidman]

Ok, I am totally sick of seeing lists and such and battles of good guitarists all including the same guitarists (Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck) ok there are 100s of guitarists out there, and I am going to start a Battle of the Underrated Guitarists when the BotFB ends:

the lineup:
1. Alvin Lee vs Billy Gibbons
2. Mick Box vs Robert Fripp
3. Johnny Winter vs Robert Randolph
4. Peter Frampton vs Robin Trower
5. Rory Gallagher vs Tommy Bolin
6. Sonny Landreth vs Roy Buchanan
7. Nancy Wilson vs Terry Kath
8. Hughie Thomasson vs Lindsey Buckingham
9. Frank Zappa vs Neal Schon
10. Tom Scholz vs Buck Dharma
11. Prince vs Eddie Hazel
12. Robbie Robertson vs Peter Green
13. The Edge vs Steve Howe
14. Leslie West vs Mick Taylor
15. Steve Hackett vs Mike McReady
16. Rick Nielsen vs Mick Ralphs

17. Billy Gibbons vs Roy Buchanan
18. Johnny Winter vs Tommy Bolin
19. Hughie Thomasson vs Peter Green
20. Steve Howe vs Rick Nielsen
21. Nancy Wilson vs Steve Hackett
22. Robert Fripp vs Frank Zappa
23. Buck Dharma vs Mick Taylor
24. Robin Trower vs Prince

25. Billy Gibbons vs Johnny Winter
26. Hughie Thomasson vs Rick Nielsen
27. Nancy Wilson vs Frank Zappa
28. Buck Dharma vs Prince

29. Billy Gibbons vs Prince
30. Rick Nielsen vs Frank Zappa

31. Billy Gibbons vs Frank Zappa

[Rockbandfan23467]

Tom Scholz (Boston), Buck Dharma (BOC), Dave Mustaine (Megadeth, Metallica), Mick Taylor (Bluesbreakers, The Rolling Stones), Buckethead (Several Bands), and several others deserve it.

A good joke enrty would be Herman Li/Sam Totman.

[a21schizoidman]

Tom Scholz (Boston), Buck Dharma (BOC), Dave Mustaine (Megadeth, Metallica), Mick Taylor (Bluesbreakers, The Rolling Stones), Buckethead (Several Bands), and several others deserve it.

A good joke enrty would be Herman Li/Sam Totman.

no stupidass joke entries and Mustaine, Taylor, and Buckethead are all well rated

[Rockbandfan23467]

But I LOVE Joke Entries! They make more fun!

[tommysparxxx]

frank zappa would own all, but only because my home boy Johnny Thunders from the New York dolls aint there, i bet no one knows who he be, but if u did u would be afraid, so very afraid, also cheetah chrome would demolish somebody wit his speed

[Rockbandfan23467]

^Yes! Thunders is the 5th Sex Pistol!

How about:
Jeff Hanneman (Slayer)
Dimebag (Pantera, Damageplan)
Don Felder (The Eagles)
Jade (AFI)
Johnny Marr (The Smiths, and a few others I think)
Adam Jones (Tool)
Steve Stevens (Billy Idol, Michael Jackson)
Robby Krieger (The Doors)
Mark Tremonti (Creed)
Marcus Hendrson (Drist, Bootsy Collens)
Synister Gates (A7X)
Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chaines)
Wes Borland (Lim Bizkit)
Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
Kim Thayil (Soundgarden)
Lindsay Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac)
John 5 (Marilyn Manson, Solo)
James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins)
And Finnally KK Downing and Glen Tipton (Judas Priest.)

[tommysparxxx]

Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)

i was thinking about kurt too, but idt he was that great of a guitarist, like nirvana will always be number 1 in my heart next to the misfits, no ****, but i gave it sum thought and idt he was that great of a guitarist, but still good, c'mon in In Bloom its mostly all bass, but he does play while singing and thats pretty hard to do.

i wanna add thurston moore from sonic youth up in here too lol

[Runesmith]

^Yes! Thunders is the 5th Sex Pistol!

How about:
Jeff Hanneman (Slayer)
Dimebag (Pantera, Damageplan)
Don Felder (The Eagles)
Jade (AFI)
Johnny Marr (The Smiths, and a few others I think)
Adam Jones (Tool)
Steve Stevens (Billy Idol, Michael Jackson)
Robby Krieger (The Doors)
Mark Tremonti (Creed)
Marcus Hendrson (Drist, Bootsy Collens)
Synister Gates (A7X)
Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chaines)
Wes Borland (Lim Bizkit)
Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
Kim Thayil (Soundgarden)
Lindsay Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac)
John 5 (Marilyn Manson, Solo)
James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins)
And Finnally KK Downing and Glen Tipton (Judas Priest.)

Great list! The ones in bold are some of my favorites. Unfortunately, I doubt many of them would be well-received in a formal Battle.

Kurt Cobain: I love his guitar playing style (or lack thereof), but he's constantly targeted on and off these forums for playing too "simply". Just look at the backlash he gets whenever Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists are brought up. He was number 11 on the list, too, so I'm not sure if he'd still qualify for underrated territory.

Jade Puget and Wes Borland: Both musicians, although talented, receive a lot of negative attention because of the bands they are/were in.

Johnny Marr: Woah. Somebody actually knows who Johnny is!

Marcus Henderson: He might work, actually, as Marcus is pretty well-known amongst fans of GHI & GHII. I'd say a definite 'no' if this poll took place on a non-HMX board, though.

Kim Thayil: Another one that might actually work. He's fairly well-known, but he's not all that famous, either.

Johnny Thunders: Johnny is one of my favorite guitarists, but he's probably too unknown, even for this poll.

Lindsay Buckingham: Definately deserves a spot in the Battle. His fingerpicking is legendary.

Steve Stevens: I could see this going either way. He's usually overshadowed by Billy, but he can definately play. He composed the soundtrack for some surfing documentary, if I remember correctly?

As for the rest of the list, Dimebag isn't really underrated, but I could also see Jerry Cantrell, Adam Jones, Robby Krieger, and John 5 making the cut.

[polishdog90]

^Yes! Thunders is the 5th Sex Pistol!
How about:
Robby Krieger (The Doors)
Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chaines)
And Finnally KK Downing and Glen Tipton (Judas Priest.)

I agree with those^

I would like to suggest:
Johnny Ramone (The Ramones)
Dave Murray and Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden)
Glen Buxton (Alice Cooper)
Mick Ronson (David Bowie)

[OldFogey]

no stupidass joke entries and Mustaine, Taylor, and Buckethead are all well rated

My problem with these discussion is always -- how do we establish rating? And just being highly rated doesn't preclude being underrated.

Underrated to me has always meant "doesn't get the popular attention or praise he/he deserves." By that criterion, if you compare the praise/acclaim that the "big three" of English guitarists (Clapton, Beck and Page) from Mick's era are rated with what the four of them actually do -- then Taylor is way underrated.

But if you want no doubt completely underrated, consider Steve Morse, David Hidalgo of Los Lobos and Joe Bonamassa. Steve Morse gets plenty of critical acclaim, but for a guitarist of his ability he is way underrated by the public at large. Of all these, the guy that I think most captures the spirit of "I had no idea he was this good" is Hidalgo. Consider that Clapton has invited him to both Crossroads festivals now. Bonamassa is just not very well known -- but those who do know him recognize how insanely good he is. And Morse works with a band that is widely believed to be past its prime (Deep Purple) -- which is probably true, but doesn't take away from the fact this guy is as good as it gets in rock.