Best Guitarist

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southernman17

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Who is the best guitarist of all time?

For me its Jimi Hendrix I own most of his cds and they're all brillant displays of guitar virtuosity, especially his live work.
 
I've never been a big fan of Hendrix. I have no doubt that he was a legendary guitarist, but I don't honestly consider him the greatest ever. I don't really know who I'd choose as the greatest, actually.
 
warning long post...but just read through it or skim it...you might learn about some guitarists you have never heard of.

I respect Jimi 100% but he was too drugged up most of the time to sound as good as he could...I hated the feedback he got on most songs (unintentionally) and just the laziness of his playing sometimes...but other times he is insanely awesome. One of the best technical guitarists for sure (technical meaning he technique and how fast he plays etc.). I like other peoples versions of hendrix songs better than his, like Vaughans version of Voodoo Child or even Shepards.

My personal favorite guitarist of all time is hands down David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. The reason why I say that is because he is incredible in all standpoints especially his musical tone...the solo to Comfortably Numb is just so beautiful and as a guitarist myself I have to readjust my whole way of playing whenever I play a Gilmour solo just because he plays each scale and each note differently than most guitarists do. He makes the cliche's not cliche...its just beautiful. Then besides his solo's his guitar riffs are also incredibly original and beautiful. The progression to "Is the anybody out there?" is incredible. His progression in Breathe and almost every other song is just outright original, beautiful and magnificent.

Now the rest of the guitarists that should definately be considered for the top 5 in anyones list are in no order

Stevie Ray Vaughan- He just makes his solos sound so fun and sound great.

Eddie Van Halen-I like him but dont love him...honestly technical guitarists like Edie dont move me because they seem to just try to play the most difficult solo ever without trying to make it match the song. The solo in "jump" is horrific and the intro to Pretty Woman is just as bad. Some of his stuff though sounds awesome, like hot for teacher and Eruption and other great songs of theirs.

Eric Clapton- He plays such a great variety of music and it all sounds beautiful and orginal. He plays fast he plays slow it just all sounds great to me. He can really bring out the emotion in his guitar...but still not as much as gilmour can.

Nuno- He is mostly famous for playing with Extreme which was a pretty horrific band cause their vocals were just retarded but Nuno the guitarist almost redeemed the songs completely with his great and fun riffs and progressions and amazing guitar solos. He plays from a technical standpoint incredibly fast, matching Eddie in how good he is technically but at the same time he makes it sound so great and rarely has it sound unfit for the song or stupid.

Jerry Garcia- From the greatful dead, he just sounds great. He can play for hours to the same progression and it will still sound great. Although the literal quality of their songs kinda turn me off, its as if they are playing on tin instruments with tin amps...they just dont seem to have a literal great sound. Maybe they couldnt afford good equipment who knows.

Kirk Hemmit- From metallica, this guy can play the shit out of his guitar in a variety of styles of music. He incorperates other styles of music into his heavy or even soft songs and makes it sound good and original. He can play such a wide variety too its great.

Justin King- He is the best technical guitarist I have ever seen and his music just sounds great. LEt your jaw drop when you see these videos of him playing, he plays both necks of a double accoustic at the same time...heavy coordination. My favorite song of his is Phundified which is the video of him with one guitar. He also uses the whole instrument to add to his songs which just makes him ever better. http://spikedhumor.com/articles/742/Amazing_Acoustic.html (favorite)

http://spikedhumor.com/articles/821/Justin_King_Knock_on_Wood.html
(double accoustic)


Kenny Wayne Shepard- Same reasons as Vaughan, the two are very similar in my opinion.

Carlos Santana- He added a great twist to the guitar solo when guitar music in general needed it...the spanish/rock style just blows his audiences away. It sounds unbelievable all the time.

Rick Wakeman- I think thats the name of the guitarist from the band Yes. He plays the most awkward sounding stuff but to me it sounds incredible, it seems really soft but its technically amazing and just from a musical standpoint beautiful.

No jimmy page listed here is intentional...the guy can play incredibly well, but not original or technically great or musically great enough to be listed here. A couple songs like stairway cant be the sole reason he should be listed here. Its the band that makes them probably one of the best rock bands ever, not page or his guitar...probably his vocals more than anything else.
 
My vote goes out to Clapton. It's more of a personal decision though.

Hendrix and Page are also amazing guitarists.
 
I agree with you milkman on most of your list. Gilmour is definately number 2 in my book. His chord progressions are simple yet amazingly catchy i.e. Pigs on the Wing. His solos and grooves also stand out like Shine On. Finally its pretty cool the way he utilizes his whammy bar not just the standard dive everytime. He is definately one of the best

Wow that justin king guy was amazing
 
Probably Jimi Hendrix. He's quite the beginning of Rock Music and pioneer. He was innovative, insane and musically impressive.

Other that that, every other guitarist ain't as good as Jimi, maybe except Joe Satriani, and Steve Vai.
 
bumblebee said:
Probably Jimi Hendrix. He's quite the beginning of Rock Music and pioneer. He was innovative, insane and musically impressive.

Other that that, every other guitarist ain't as good as Jimi, maybe except Joe Satriani, and Steve Vai.
Click to expand...


That statement seems really biased. I mean all 3 of the guitarists you just listed are totally different in every way except for how technically good they are. If you cant think of another technical guitarist better than those guys then let us know because factually, there are guitarists who can play faster and quicker than Jimi, Vai or Satriani.
 
lol, whoever mentions Hammet should be have his/her opinion immeaditley dismissed.

Other than that there really is no "Best guitarist". Vai can play the shit out of his guitar and is technically awesome but can't play anything that sounds as beautiful as what Gilmour could play.

To each his own.
 
You cant say someone is the best guitarist because of they speed they can play. Its all about technicality and whether the passion is in their music.

Take Vai for example, their is so much depth and thought into his songs. As well as being technicality amazing, his range across the fret board is surperb. Yes i do respect artists that add in amazing solos in a song but to have all their songs just pure guitar amazes me. People think that listening to a 5 minute song of pure guitar is a stupid idea, they think "thats lame, wheres the singing??...how boring is this". The people that say this obioulsy do not have an ear for a good guitarist if all the look for is a screaming solo in te middle of a song.

If you do not enjoy pure guitar then listen to the likes of dream theater, and listen to how well John Petrucci plays. His style is immense and song contruction is unbeatable.

Yngwie Malmsteen has yet not been mentioned. Yes he does shread a bit too much but his ability to play from classical music is insane. His knowledge of that genre and then being able to turn it into an unbeatable guitar song is jaw dropping. I noticed that not alot of people enjoy Yngwie because the may find him boring or repetative, but if you listen carefully all of his songs derive from classical pieces, just rocked up.

Another guitarist not mentioned is Paul Gilbert. The way he plays is like no other. How he moves up and down the neck with such ease just makes any guitarist jealous.

Alot of poeple also like to discard Joe Satriani as being a boring guitarist, did you know he taught Steve Vai? His songs are extremely structured and beautiful.

Yes i respect the greats such as Hendrix, Clapton ect ofcourse, no argument there but i thought id take this time to mention these guys.

Speaking as a guitarist my respect for these guys, as you can tell, is very high. Just one of my huge passions in life.
 
MilkMan12 said:
Rick Wakeman- I think thats the name of the guitarist from the band Yes. He plays the most awkward sounding stuff but to me it sounds incredible, it seems really soft but its technically amazing and just from a musical standpoint beautiful.
Click to expand...

Wakeman was the keyboardist from Yes, Steve Howe was the Yes guitarist. And yes, he is an excellent guitarist at that. The opening notes in Siberian Khatru, no matter how easy they are, send shivers down my spine. So good.
 
three way tie - hendrix, garcia, and page.
 
My favourites are Kirk Hammett and Slash, though obviously they ain't the best.

Some of the best are the ones Gui! has mentioned for pure guitar ability, but when it comes to best guitarists in a popular band, it is Page for me
 
Shawn Lane was very very fast and very very fat.

I'm not a guitarist myself, so im not going to judge on who is/was the best. But I will say that my favourite is probably either Gilmour or Buckethead.
 
Gui! said:
You cant say someone is the best guitarist because of they speed they can play. Its all about technicality and whether the passion is in their music.

Take Vai for example, their is so much depth and thought into his songs. As well as being technicality amazing, his range across the fret board is surperb. Yes i do respect artists that add in amazing solos in a song but to have all their songs just pure guitar amazes me. People think that listening to a 5 minute song of pure guitar is a stupid idea, they think "thats lame, wheres the singing??...how boring is this". The people that say this obioulsy do not have an ear for a good guitarist if all the look for is a screaming solo in te middle of a song.

If you do not enjoy pure guitar then listen to the likes of dream theater, and listen to how well John Petrucci plays. His style is immense and song contruction is unbeatable.

Yngwie Malmsteen has yet not been mentioned. Yes he does shread a bit too much but his ability to play from classical music is insane. His knowledge of that genre and then being able to turn it into an unbeatable guitar song is jaw dropping. I noticed that not alot of people enjoy Yngwie because the may find him boring or repetative, but if you listen carefully all of his songs derive from classical pieces, just rocked up.

Another guitarist not mentioned is Paul Gilbert. The way he plays is like no other. How he moves up and down the neck with such ease just makes any guitarist jealous.

Alot of poeple also like to discard Joe Satriani as being a boring guitarist, did you know he taught Steve Vai? His songs are extremely structured and beautiful.

Yes i respect the greats such as Hendrix, Clapton ect ofcourse, no argument there but i thought id take this time to mention these guys.

Speaking as a guitarist my respect for these guys, as you can tell, is very high. Just one of my huge passions in life.
Click to expand...

Yes Vai has entire songs of just guitar but its still just technical excellence in my opinion...I just dont think it sounds that great. You wanna hear only guitar songs that just sound great listen to Traffic Jam by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Maggot Brain (live) by the Funkadelic, Frankenstien by the Edgar Winter Group. So many songs out there that sound better than Vai but arent as technically fast or difficult. I almost consider Shine on You Crazy Diamond parts I-V and VI-IX as only guitar...I think VI-IX is actually only guitar bass and keyboard.

You guys gotta hear some Nuno cause no one has commented on him. Get songs by Extreme called "get the funk out" and "Play with me". I know the vocals and the song are kinda corny but the guitar is just incredible. Listen to the solo in Play with Me...if you cant stand the song fast forward to 2:25 or 2:26. Unbelievable...You can also hear some Nuno riffs in the Janet Jackson song Black Cat.

By the way does anyone know where I can find a guitar version of the 3rd movement of the Moonlight sonata...I heard one once but cant find it anymore. Its an incredibly impossible peice to play on guitar but Im sure it was done.
 
Ok let me revise the question. It's two fold.
1.) Do you believe is the best guitarist in terms of technicality (objective)
2.) Who is the best guitarist when it comes to their soul (subjective)
 
1.Jimi Hendrix
2.Jimi Hendrix

About a year ago I would of said Jimmy Page, but I watched and heard Hendrix and hes just incredble, the style he plays, how he plays... the stuff he plays.

But its close between alot of guitarist, but for ME its Hendrix! :cheers:
 
My favourite guitarist is Jeff Buckley. A rather unusual choice admitedly, but i love how he uses such unusual chords when he's making songs and makes it sound so good. Also under that category would be Jonny Greenwood, I love his abusive guitaring style. But for a normal run of the mill best guitarist choice id go for the Pagemeister.
 
In terms of technicality:

Muhammed Suicmez - Necrophagist
Fredrik Thordendal & Marten Hagstrom - Meshuggah

Then again, all members of Necrophagist are amazingly technical. As are Meshuggahs.
 
MilkMan12 said:
Yes Vai has entire songs of just guitar but its still just technical excellence in my opinion...I just dont think it sounds that great. You wanna hear only guitar songs that just sound great listen to Traffic Jam by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Maggot Brain (live) by the Funkadelic, Frankenstien by the Edgar Winter Group. So many songs out there that sound better than Vai but arent as technically fast or difficult. I almost consider Shine on You Crazy Diamond parts I-V and VI-IX as only guitar...I think VI-IX is actually only guitar bass and keyboard.
Click to expand...

All depends on what you like to listen to in the end doesnt it
 
I'm at the same spot you are at evil. If you asked me a year ago who my favorite guitarist, was I would of said Page (partly because of the Led Zeppelin DVD) but now I Hendrix is my favorite. To see him in action check:

http://www.jimihendrix.dk/index.php?page=videoer.php&lang=en&token=20

This is what changed my opinion. Some of these are only okay but then some are so mind blowingly awesome they'll rock your balls off
 
southernman17 said:
I'm at the same spot you are at evil. If you asked me a year ago who my favorite guitarist, was I would of said Page (partly because of the Led Zeppelin DVD) but now I Hendrix is my favorite. To see him in action check:

http://www.jimihendrix.dk/index.php?page=videoer.php&lang=en&token=20

This is what changed my opinion. Some of these are only okay but then some are so mind blowingly awesome they'll rock your balls off
Click to expand...

While it is pretty objective who the best technical guitarist is we still cant know for sure because there will always bee someone out there no one knows about that will beat others.

Im going to say though that it is a fact that Jimi Hendrix is by far not the best technical guitarist...he died very young so no one knows how good he could have gotten. But you can easily say Eddie Van Halen is better than Jimi just to name one. Steve Vai another...Justin King another...and much more. Jimi was good but he was and still is not the best in terms of technique and how fast he plays.

Also I watched some of those videos...most of it sounded terrible except maybe Voodoo Chile...his live sound is horrendous...he is out of tune...high/drunk (either or both) feedback is high and some notes he hits just outright sound terrible. But some people like that...so I guess I can respect it.
 
well, I hate to say who is the best guitarist because I belive that there isn't one theres to many great guitarists (And ones a lot of people don't even know about and there lies the ignorance in saying who "the best guitarist" is), as goes for other kinds of musicians.

I think Jimi Hendrix is the most influential guitarist for most the great musicians of our time. But for me my "favorite" right now would be John Petrucci from Dreamtheater and other side projects, Specifically Liquid Tension Experiment. Here is a great clip I found on Googles video search:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6147656209173866408&q=liquid+tension

the sound quality sucks, you'll have to turn up.

Edit: also this one:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2109943381931383238&q=drum

BTW the band is:
Drums: Mike Portnoy
Keys: Jordan Rudess
Bass: Tony levin (from King Crimson)

edit2: Clip of Vai: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8603777924506557295&q="Steve+Vai"
 
TheBleeding said:
Fredrik Thordendal & Marten Hagstrom - Meshuggah
Click to expand...

100% agreed. Also, Jens does some guitar on Catch 33, though I'm not sure how much.
 
MilkMan12 said:
That statement seems really biased. I mean all 3 of the guitarists you just listed are totally different in every way except for how technically good they are. If you cant think of another technical guitarist better than those guys then let us know because factually, there are guitarists who can play faster and quicker than Jimi, Vai or Satriani.
Click to expand...

Wtf?!

I'm not biased at all, it was just a personal opinion. Infact, its not about who can play guitar the fastest and technically better, its also about who can make the best riffs, and who can play better MUSICALLY. So meaning, I count Joe Satriani musically great, and its not just Joe Satch, I can name lots lots more who are musicaly great.

I'm not placing any guitarist as the great guitarist of all time, I'm placing the ones who are great guitarists.

If you want technically better, how about Paul Gilbert, John Petrucci, Ritchie Kotzen, Nuno Bettencourt, and Vai. Vai is innovative, making him technically great as well. I could go on for hours, how about Al Dimeola?

So really, you were jumping to the idea that I was talking about technicality when I wasn't. I was talking about which guitarist can make use of the guitar Musically. In my opinion, I also think The Edge is a great guitarist musically too. I mean, listen to the beginning of Where the streets have no name, it sounds awesome.
 
D€vIL² said:
well, I hate to say who is the best guitarist because I belive that there isn't one theres to many great guitarists (And ones a lot of people don't even know about and there lies the ignorance in saying who "the best guitarist" is), as goes for other kinds of musicians.

I think Jimi Hendrix is the most influential guitarist for most the great musicians of our time. But for me my "favorite" right now would be John Petrucci from Dreamtheater and other side projects, Specifically Liquid Tension Experiment. Here is a great clip I found on Googles video search:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6147656209173866408&q=liquid+tension

the sound quality sucks, you'll have to turn up.

Edit: also this one:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2109943381931383238&q=drum

BTW the band is:
Drums: Mike Portnoy
Keys: Jordan Rudess
Bass: Tony levin (from King Crimson)

edit2: Clip of Vai: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8603777924506557295&q="Steve+Vai"
Click to expand...


Isnt Dream Theater just amazing...you seen the dvd 'live at budokan'..Thats amazing. Their music is just amazing. Why they didnt use myung i dont no. Hes excellent at bass

OMG ITS ALL AMAZIN
 
Yup... I haven't seen the DVD of 'Live At Budokan' But I have heard the CD. I Have to say I didn't like there new CD very much "Octavarium"

Those clips were Liquid Tension Expirement, a side project put together by Mike Portnoy. Thats why they have a different bass player... also the keyboard player who soon later joined Dreamtheater because of these albums.

BTW these guys made a whole CD in a WEEK!!, actually both LTE 1 and 2 were made in a week. WHO ELSE CAN DO THAT?
 
Led Zeppelin made their first album in thirty hours. That 2 days. You know but a week is good, just not Zeppelin good. Haha.
 
the best guitarists in the world are relatively unknown ..none of the big name guys come cvlose to any of the real greats ..except Hendrix and Van Halen

the best are always the pioneers:

Les Paul
Chet Atkins
Andre Segovia
Wes Montgomery
Al Di Meola
Steve Howe
 
southernman17 said:
Led Zeppelin made their first album in thirty hours. That 2 days. You know but a week is good, just not Zeppelin good. Haha.
Click to expand...

Ok, but did they write and put together all there songs in a week?
 
CptStern said:
the best guitarists in the world are relatively unknown ..none of the big name guys come cvlose to any of the real greats ..except Hendrix and Van Halen

the best are always the pioneers:

Les Paul
Chet Atkins
Andre Segovia
Wes Montgomery
Al Di Meola
Steve Howe
Click to expand...


All greats in my book. But I think they are just the best technically speaking...Al Di Meola is probably the best on that list. Have you heard Meditteranian Sundance? Its insane. Steve Howe is awesome like I said on the first page. And bumblebee sorry I thought you meant technically speaking.
 
Top Secret said:
100% agreed. Also, Jens does some guitar on Catch 33, though I'm not sure how much.
Click to expand...

Ah, that I did not know. I haven't actually heard Catch 33 yet, though. Heard mixed reviews on it. Cannot wait till I get to see them this December. Going to be mindblowingly kickass.
 
TheBleeding said:
Ah, that I did not know. I haven't actually heard Catch 33 yet, though. Heard mixed reviews on it. Cannot wait till I get to see them this December. Going to be mindblowingly kickass.
Click to expand...

Haha, I'm going to go see them on October 29th in San Francisco. I'll send you a PM on my *review*. =) Catch 33 is godlike in my opinion, especially "Shed" and "In Life - Is Death"

See the video for Shed here -> http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/meshuggah/artist.jhtml
 
MilkMan12 said:
All greats in my book. But I think they are just the best technically speaking...Al Di Meola is probably the best on that list. Have you heard Meditteranian Sundance? Its insane. Steve Howe is awesome like I said on the first page. And bumblebee sorry I thought you meant technically speaking.
Click to expand...


not sure which album is sundance but my brother had most of his stuff ..and yes I agree technically they're great but they also had something more than just chops ..if I only wanted to list by technical prowess I would have listed Yngwie Malmsteen (ugh)
 
Angry Lawyer said:
Ritchie Sambora is a bit of a legend with the guitar.

-Angry Lawyer
Click to expand...
I was waiting for your obligatory Bon Jovi reference in this thread. :LOL:
I was sure that if an ID/evolution discussion could spawn a Bon Jovi appreciation post, this thread definately had one coming.
 
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