Guitar Gods
chitowncowboy
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hopefully there are enough guitar fanatics here to keep this thread above water. I wanted to talk about the best and the greatest guitarists of all time. I'm really only familiar with blues/rock guitarists but I want to expand my mind as well, so don't be afraid to spark a discussion about an artist from another genre. As long as you're ready for the flak of Led Zeppelin junkies and Buddy Guy worshipers.
I really want to start by tackling this piece of crap:
Rolling Stones 100 Greatest Guitarists
1Jimi Hendrix
2 Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band
3 B.B. King
4 Eric Clapton
5 Robert Johnson
6 Chuck Berry
7 Stevie Ray Vaughan
8 Ry Cooder
9 Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
10 Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones
11Kirk Hammett of Metallica
12 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana
13 Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead
14 Jeff Beck
15 Carlos Santana
16 Johnny Ramone of the Ramones
17 Jack White of the White Stripes
18 John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
19 Richard Thompson
20 James Burton
21 George Harrison
22 Mike Bloomfield
23 Warren Haynes
24 The Edge of U2
25 Freddy King
26 Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave
27 Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits
28 Stephen Stills
29 Ron Asheton of the Stooges
30 Buddy Guy
31 Dick Dale
32 John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service
33 & 34 Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth
35 John Fahey
36 Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG's
37 Bo Diddley
38 Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac
39 Brian May of Queen
40 John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival
41 Clarence White of the Byrds
42 Robert Fripp of King Crimson
43 Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic
44 Scotty Moore
45 Frank Zappa
46 Les Paul
47 T-Bone Walker
48 Joe Perry of Aerosmith
49 John McLaughlin
50 Pete Townshend
51 Paul Kossoff of Free
52 Lou Reed
53 Mickey Baker
54 Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane
55 Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple
56 Tom Verlaine of Television
57 Roy Buchanan
58 Dickey Betts
59 & 60 Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead
61 Ike Turner
62 Zoot Horn Rollo of the Magic Band
63 Danny Gatton
64 Mick Ronson
65 Hubert Sumlin
66 Vernon Reid of Living Colour
67 Link Wray
68 Jerry Miller of Moby Grape
69 Steve Howe of Yes
70 Eddie Van Halen
71 Lightnin' Hopkins
72 Joni Mitchell
73 Trey Anastasio of Phish
74 Johnny Winter
75 Adam Jones of Tool
76 Ali Farka Toure
77 Henry Vestine of Canned Heat
78 Robbie Robertson of the Band
79 Cliff Gallup of the Blue Caps (1997)
80 Robert Quine of the Voidoids
81 Derek Trucks
82 David Gilmour of Pink Floyd
83 Neil Young
84 Eddie Cochran
85 Randy Rhoads
86 Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath
87 Joan Jett
88 Dave Davies of the Kinks
89 D. Boon of the Minutemen
90 Glen Buxton of Alice Cooper
91 Robby Krieger of the Doors
92 & 93 Fred "Sonic" Smith, Wayne Kramer of the MC5
94 Bert Jansch
95 Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine
96 Angus Young of AC/DC
97 Robert Randolph
98 Leigh Stephens of Blue Cheer
99 Greg Ginn of Black Flag
100 Kim Thayil of Soundgarden
Why Angus Young is #96 is a mystery to me. As well as Jimmy Paige being one step away from Keith Richards (ew). No Prince... Kurt Cobain above Carlos Santana... John Frusciante in 18th place? I don't get it. Someone explain it to me. Please
I really want to start by tackling this piece of crap:
Rolling Stones 100 Greatest Guitarists
1Jimi Hendrix
2 Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band
3 B.B. King
4 Eric Clapton
5 Robert Johnson
6 Chuck Berry
7 Stevie Ray Vaughan
8 Ry Cooder
9 Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
10 Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones
11Kirk Hammett of Metallica
12 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana
13 Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead
14 Jeff Beck
15 Carlos Santana
16 Johnny Ramone of the Ramones
17 Jack White of the White Stripes
18 John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
19 Richard Thompson
20 James Burton
21 George Harrison
22 Mike Bloomfield
23 Warren Haynes
24 The Edge of U2
25 Freddy King
26 Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave
27 Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits
28 Stephen Stills
29 Ron Asheton of the Stooges
30 Buddy Guy
31 Dick Dale
32 John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service
33 & 34 Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth
35 John Fahey
36 Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG's
37 Bo Diddley
38 Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac
39 Brian May of Queen
40 John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival
41 Clarence White of the Byrds
42 Robert Fripp of King Crimson
43 Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic
44 Scotty Moore
45 Frank Zappa
46 Les Paul
47 T-Bone Walker
48 Joe Perry of Aerosmith
49 John McLaughlin
50 Pete Townshend
51 Paul Kossoff of Free
52 Lou Reed
53 Mickey Baker
54 Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane
55 Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple
56 Tom Verlaine of Television
57 Roy Buchanan
58 Dickey Betts
59 & 60 Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead
61 Ike Turner
62 Zoot Horn Rollo of the Magic Band
63 Danny Gatton
64 Mick Ronson
65 Hubert Sumlin
66 Vernon Reid of Living Colour
67 Link Wray
68 Jerry Miller of Moby Grape
69 Steve Howe of Yes
70 Eddie Van Halen
71 Lightnin' Hopkins
72 Joni Mitchell
73 Trey Anastasio of Phish
74 Johnny Winter
75 Adam Jones of Tool
76 Ali Farka Toure
77 Henry Vestine of Canned Heat
78 Robbie Robertson of the Band
79 Cliff Gallup of the Blue Caps (1997)
80 Robert Quine of the Voidoids
81 Derek Trucks
82 David Gilmour of Pink Floyd
83 Neil Young
84 Eddie Cochran
85 Randy Rhoads
86 Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath
87 Joan Jett
88 Dave Davies of the Kinks
89 D. Boon of the Minutemen
90 Glen Buxton of Alice Cooper
91 Robby Krieger of the Doors
92 & 93 Fred "Sonic" Smith, Wayne Kramer of the MC5
94 Bert Jansch
95 Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine
96 Angus Young of AC/DC
97 Robert Randolph
98 Leigh Stephens of Blue Cheer
99 Greg Ginn of Black Flag
100 Kim Thayil of Soundgarden
Why Angus Young is #96 is a mystery to me. As well as Jimmy Paige being one step away from Keith Richards (ew). No Prince... Kurt Cobain above Carlos Santana... John Frusciante in 18th place? I don't get it. Someone explain it to me. Please
chitowncowboy on
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1. Hendirx is fucking overrated as hell.
2. Ramone being on this list takes away any sembelnce of credibility it had.
Preach it!
Jimi Hendrix overrated? Please explain. =|
The list is total BS though. Cobain wrote some good tunes but a great guitarist? Not really no. And SRV is better than B.B. and Clapton.
70
The man that single-handedly defined Guitar in the 80's in number 70 on their list.
Lets just go ahead and disregard it.
Precisely
He's definitely not under-rate, thats for sure.
I agree with this.
That said Steve Howe should be higher.
Second. How exactly do they define "great"?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eBcqhMoxRM (not really a guitar song, but awesome nonetheless)
I think it's been established that the list is fucking retarded.
TV said it so it must be true.
some of my very near and dear favorites are pretty high up there, though. duane allman, stevie ray vaughan, jimmy page... i fuckin' love those guys.
XBL : lJesse Custerl | MWO: Jesse Custer | Best vid ever. | 2nd best vid ever.
And yes, Hendrix is overrated. I'd definitely put him down as one of the greatest guitarists of all time...but not the greatest. B.B. King can do more with six notes than Hendrix can do with an eight-minute solo (and anybody who has heard Hendrix's live stuff can tell you I'm not exaggerating). Which reminds me, it's good to see B.B. Come in so high...sometimes he gets overshadowed by some of the more "face-melting solo" rockers. Having seen the man play, I can tell you he is a fucking guitar God.
EDIT: Holy fuck...Jack White, Johnny Ramone and Kurt Cobain are all above Eddie Van Halen? And well above him at that? Somebody needs to get sodomized. Though if we take the list as being in no particular order then I think it becomes a bit more reasonable.
Everyone says everything was repetitive when it came to AC/DCs riffs. On some level I agree, but on the same level, it was a repetition that worked. The same power chords have been satisfying fans for decades, and Angus's stage presence remains unmatched.
Whereas Kurt Cobain will be completely forgotten in ten to fifteen years. =x
EDIT: Jimi Hendrix's Machine Guns is BY FAR the best 12 minutes of guitar EVER. Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to just cut off their ears because they're doing you no good.
Angus is definitely ranked way too low on that list. Watching him play live is something you don't get from anyone else. He is a maniac and an excellent guitarist. Few other players can make me turn up the volume like he does.
So true.
Also, Buckethead? Vinnie Moore? ANY of Iron Maiden's guitarists? All strangely absent.
I also noticed that Buckethead was not on there. Say what you will about shredding, at least he's experimental.
He has some really beautiful stuff too though. Soothsayer, while not really all that difficult to play, is a really amazing song.
Are they fucking kidding with the Ramones? Is that some kind of fucking joke? THREE CHORDS. Not even real chords, POWER CHORDS. What the fucking hell.
Also, say what you will about Hendrix, but he isn't overrated. Kurt Cobain is. So is Jack White.
Thats not right...
Also, shut up about Hendrix being overrated. Hendrix strung his guitar backwards (so that the high, brassy pickup operated on the low E, instead of the high one), wedged his pickup switch in between standard positions to shape the sound differently (modern strats have five-way switches instead of the three-ways to accomplish this), and was one of the great proponents of the wah pedal (which is still used extensively today.)
Hendrix made completely new sounds come out of his goofy upside-down white Fender Strat. If you want to be cool and dislike Hendrix because he's too popular and on too many Hot Topic t-shirts, then go right ahead. But don't call him overrated... he did a lot of great things for guitar sound, construction, and hardware, and his influence is still widely felt even today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dngDOaS0D4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ienhU2senlc
And that's all it took for him to make some great music.
THANK YOU
That would make him a talented songwriter, not a good guitarist.
yessss.
top songwriters-who-also-play-guitar is so different from guitar gods it's not worth talking about.
guitar gods can be in terrible bands. god bands can have only decent guitar players. but these are two different criteria and to judge one by the other makes your list a piece of shit. which is what we have here.
I don't think Hendrix is over rated. I think this is the only list I've ever seen to overrate cobain, it's not something you generally hear.
I'm happy Frusciante was so high though.
Now, I'm not saying the list makes much more sense that way, but it would explain why some people are on there...
Jeff "I am mother-fucking God" Beck?
Where are all the guitarists at levels that should come between talentless hack and unadulterated genius?