Who is the greatest guitar player of all time and why? and what is the best solo ever performed?
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Check the forum descriptions, this should probably go in Cafe Society
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Email a mod to get this thread moved, don’t just start a thread in the correct forum
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Welcome to the SDMB!
Best is always so subjective. My idea as best would probably not jibe with your idea of best.
Please read this . Every single thread in this forum starts with a question.
What makes you think that the greatest guitarist of all time has even been born yet?
frankie d, please use descriptive titles when posting a question.
Questions about music belong in the Cafe Society forum. I’ll move this for you.
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General Questions Moderator
53 Year-Old checking in: Going Home: Alvin Lee and Ten Years After from Woodstock or studio.
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Rather depends on what you like/appreciate. I’ll put in for Doc Watson. Why? Because the notes flow as if straight from his brain, fit seamlessly into the song, and “feel” like artistic expression rather than mechanical technique (although the technique is indeed superb).
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Let’s say the one by George Harrison on the Beatles’ rendition of “Till There Was You.” Lilting, fluid soul (as in human soul, not as in soul music).
I know he’s not the best ever, but I love Tom Morello and his crazy harmonica-sounding “Guerilla Radio” solo.
My fave solo comes from Zappa’s Roxy and Elsewhere. It’s in Son of Orange County and it’s truly jawdropping.
There’s no such thing as a “greatest” musician in my opinion.
That said, my favorite guitar solos are on Your Gold Teeth II and Kid Charlemagne, both by Steely Dan and the latter by Larry Carlton (I don’t know who did YGTII).
My fave is from Zappa as well…Black Napkins (Zoot Allures). Ship Ahoy (Shut Up And Play Your Guitar) comes in a close second.
I’ve always liked Alex Lifeson (Rush) quite a bit and Ritchie Blackmore (Rainbow, Deep Purple) also gets points fom me.
Best ever? Who knows. It’s totally subjective…my favorite accoustic guitar player is Leo Kottke but there may be many guitarists who are better than he is that I’ve never heard.
As far as pure technical superiority goes I’d have to put Steve Vai at or near the top of the list.
Interpreting the OP to refer to the electric guitar, and within the contemporary/rock idiom, my vote:
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Jimi Hendrix. It’s hard to see how one could nominate anyone else. Great innovator; redefined our understanding of what his chosen instrument could and should do; played with fire and passion and seemingly effortless, joyful brilliance; had his own style that seemed to inherit good traits from many different musical genres and blend them seamlessly into something uniquely his own which crossed all boundaries; was technically unsurpassable; was exciting; created music which seems to endure, to have lasting appeal and to say something new to each generation; is still hugely popular with critics, other guitarists and the general public; is world-famous and not just appreciated by connoisseurs.
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Cliffs of Dover by Eric Johnson. I have been listening to and enjoying rock guitar virtuosos for over 25 years now. I would love to know of any instrumental rock guitar track which can delight me more than this, for its outrageous technical flair, melodic genius, dynamic excitement, improvisational flow and consumate artistry. So far, I’m still looking.
The best guitarist ever is easy… Jimi Hendrix, at least if you’re talking about rock. He pretty much invented the rock vocabulary for the electric guitar.
Best solo is harder. Some standouts for me are Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner,” Eddie Van Halen’s Eruption" (groundbreaking technique for its time) and Jimmy Page’s solo on “Stairway to Heaven”
I’ve always personally adored Randy Rhoads’ solos on “Mr. Crowley” and “Goodbye to Romance” as well but that’s just personal taste.
I could name favorite solos forever and probably no one would even agree with me.
I’m amazed that i’m the first to mention Hendrix, though.
Oops, I guess I’m not the first to mention Hendrix.
(and “Cliffs of Dover” is a good choice, ianzin, Eric Johnson is an under-appreciated musician. IMO.
Darn, forgot all about Eric Johnson .:smack: Cliffs Of Dover is indeed a great choice (the rest of that album is spectacular as well). Has anyone seen the Austin City Limits that he did? Wow.
I never did understand what all the hubbub was about Jimi Hendrix. Don’t get me wrong here, I like his work and think that he was a good guitar player and all but …eh. Guess he just doesn’t really do it for me. I like Stevie Ray Vahan’s version of Voodoo Chile much better. Yes, I know I’m blaspheming but I calls em like I sees em. I always get the feeling that many people say “Jimi’s the best EVAR” because that’s what everyone expects you to say…it’s not exactly PC to say that no…he wasn’t.
Just my opinion, don’t hurt me…Runs and hides.
Maybe that’s why some people say it but that’s not why I say. I genuinely think that Hendrix was an unparalleled talent. Maybe the only true instrumental genius in rock history.
Best guitarist? Joe Satriani. If you’ve only heard his 1st couple of records, check out his later stuff. Eric johnson is great, as well. Steve Vai is very talented, but I do not enjoy his music that much.
Best solo? I have to go with Frampton’s *Do you feel like we do.
Sorry Diogenes, I wasn’t trying to imply that you or ianzin were in that group. I hear the “Hendrix is god” thing from so many people (musicians and non-musicians) that it just sounds like parroting after a while. The fact that I don’t agree with them makes it even harder to believe that so many people actually think this way and are not just trying to sound ‘cool’.
Personally I think that as far as instrumental geniuses go, Frank Zappa mops the floor with Hendrix…but that’s just me. Not trying to start anything here, just my opinion. 
I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree on this one.
Hi Nurobath. Peace all round, and yeah, ‘agree to differ’ is the cool choice on this as with any other ‘artistic’ debate. Not trying to start anything either, but may I just ask… do you play the guitar?
My reason for asking is that I was very slow to appreciate what was so good about Hendrix, and then when I slowly began to develop just a little aptitude on the guitar myself… I went back and listened to Hendrix again and it blew my mind. I was just left wondering how does any mortal soul put that much passion and fire and expression into a plank of wood with six wires on it? I don’t know how he did it, and IMHO neither does anyone else to this day.
Incidentally, I’ve tried and tried and tried to get into Zappa, but it just hasn’t happened yet. Maybe I need to grow my appreciation for a while yet before the scales fall from my eyes. I’ll keep trying…
Best guitarist ever? Django Reinhardt.
Best solo? I think this is an excellent answer: