Who's the best guitarist?

[nolanb123]

Who do you guys reckon is the best guitarist of all time?

Clapton? Knopfler? Malmsteen? Van Halen, maybe even Angus Young?

I've never heard Vai and Satriani but I know they've taught alot of top guitarists.

How does Hendrix stack up against today's six-string virtuosos?

Does a specific genre (rock, metal, jazz etc) produce the best guitarists?

What are the best solos ever?

And no, I can't play myself, but these guys make me wish I could.

 

[Black]

Clapton all the way

 

[Duke E. Pyle]

no such thing as the greatest but Kirk Hammet and Eddie V halen have inspired more people to pick up a guitar than all other guitarists combined in my generation. My favorite is Randy Rhodes

 

[The Young One]

without a doubt, i am the best guitarist ti ever walk this earth.

 

[imprefect]

Clapton all the way

Eric Clapton was once asked who he thought was the greatest guitarist, and he answered "mr. øystein sunde from norway".

I personally find Jimi Hendrix' and David Gilmour's skills quite impressivo..

 

[Nizzle]

Tough question, but I'll have to go with Steve Vai. My favorite guitarist would be David Gilmour. Kenny Wayne Shepherd deserves notice, too.

 

[Zinista]

There's an australian guy named Tommy Emmanuel who can do insane stuff with his guitar.. He doesn't sing so its all instrumental using both acoustic and electric guitars.. If I can find some stuff of his I'll try and post it.. :wink:
http://www.sanity.com.au/product.asp?intProductID=26876&intArtistID=4529

 

[RichieTBaum]

Although Clapton is definitely a legend in his own right, his style was built from the framework of Hendrix's. For that reason and others, I tend to believe that Clapton spent much of his career trying to "catch up" with Hendrix and only became a legend when he began to do his own thing. His recent blues collaborations and records are fantastic.

As for Vai, Hammet, and others of the metal genre, I must admit that I am a bit biased. I have never really gotten into metal of any kind, but I definitely appreciate its impact. For example, I couldn't agree more with Duke E. Pyle on the fact that Hammet and Van Halen have inspired a ton of people to play guitar.

Anyways, my favorites are Jimi Page, Joe Walsh, and Jimi Hendrix. Page and Hendrix may be cliche' choices, but one cannot deny their greatness.

As for current guitarists, one of the best is John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

 

[PasteyBoy]

Everyone mentioned thus far is great. Some may be a little cliche, but there is a reason for that. Because they are that damn good.

How about Carlos Santana? He's pretty good IMHO.

 

[the1the0nly]

Tim Reynolds is pretty damn good too.

Anyone here even HEARD of him?

 

[Da' Pimp]

You're ALL out of your Fucking Minds!

Isaac Hanson from the Group "Hanson"..............MMMM Bop........

Pure Fucking Genius :!:

I'd have to go with Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughan

 

[Hanzo]

im voting on skill not popularity so i would have to say malmsteen or jhon pretucci from dream theater

you may not like the music but if you listen to their songs the skill is undenyable. but music today isnt really about insane guitar skills so...

 

[Conman]

Steve Lukather. No doubt about it. The only real guitarist (not solo performer) that has made more money than all the others mentioned in this thread. Dunno who he is? go Google. The man will make his strings cry.

On the acoustic stage, no one better than Paco Pena. Again? go Google.

 

[Duke E. Pyle]

No doubt Hanzo knows what he's talking about, Malmsteen is crazy. As far as technical playing, Shawn Lane is the scariest guitarist who has ever walked this earth. If youre into speed and technical ability this is the guy to check out over anyone mentioned. Not sure how many have heard of him. He died recently Stevie Ray Vaugn is the only player to really make my jaw drop and that was just from playing all his crazy ass chords in one of his jam sessions. R.I.P. to both of these greats.

 

[Hanzo]

malmsteen| real media | shity qualty

http://webpages.charter.net/cynthias/Demondr.ra

 

[wiley1]

I would have to say Stevie Ray Vaughan. His blues riffs are just incredible.

Have any of you guys heard of the 3 G tour? It has Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Eric Johnson all together in one concert. They would even sometimes come out and play all together. That experience single-handedly got me to pick up my guitar and start playing again.

 

[BJ4015]

Joe Satriani and Steve Vai

 

[The Hostage]

what you all need to do is listen to the band Psyopus, if you dont like hardcore look away, but if you're interested in hearing a fret board get absolutely shredded. listen to "Death, I" and get blown away, the guitarists name is Christopher Arp, and he even won Limp Bizkits northest region contest when they were looking for a guitarist. thank god he didn't join em. :twisted:


http://www.psyopus.com/high/

 

[cracky]

Hendrix was the godfather of psychedlic music but could also rock out and play the blues. Nothing shows amazing skill as much as versatility and Hendrix had that.

Some runner ups would have to be Paige, Clapton, Gilmour, and (I know this won't be popular) Pete Townshend. Also Steve Gaines of Lynyrd Skynyrd deserves mention for the solo on "Freebird" alone.

 

[The Mighty Z]

John Frusciante from the RHCP is definately one of the better guitar players.

I also noticed that nobody mentioned Slash, Kurt Cobain or Dave Grohl (guitar & drums).

Lenny Kravitz was good in the beginning of his career (Mr. Cab Driver, Are you gonna go my way)

Faith No More and Soundgarden had pretty good guitar players too.

And what about Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine)

Or the Fucking Godfather of Rock Mr. Keith Richards.