# Best guitarist of all time? Best solo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 26, 2003, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167 "2003-12-26T22:24:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nurobath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a88e57/32.png) [@Nurobath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nurobath)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/21 "2003-12-27T07:28:53Z")
Hi **ianzin**. Yeah, I play guitar. I’ve honestly tried to get into Hendrix but I just can’t see what the big deal is. Guess I’ll have to keep trying as well… Well, to be honest, Zappa certainly isn’t for everyone. I have a couple of musician friends who can’t understand what I see in his music either. As has been said here a few times, music’s a very subjective thing and what floats my boat may very well sink yours. Try out something like Watermellon In Easter Hay (disk 3 of Joe’s Garage) or Black Napkins (Zoot Allures) for some very nice Zappa solos. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/22 "2003-12-27T10:54:52Z")
I’ll say favorite because that makes more sense to me. My favorite guitar player is Duane Allman, and I think the best work he ever did (if I have to pick one) was his solo in Dreams, as performed by the Allman Brothers on September 19, 1971 in Stonybrook, NY. I love many of his solos, but that’s my favorite version of my favorite song, and on that day, he took it to the limit. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/23 "2003-12-27T14:12:29Z")
Hendrix, Page, Zappa, Jeff Beck, Clapton, Santana, Lesley West, BB King, Pete Townsend, SR Vaughan, Eddie Van Halen, Chet Atkins, Robert Cray, Rick Derringer, Peter Frampton, Buddy Guy, Joe Walsh, Mark Knopfler, Steve Vai, Ted Nugent, Slash, Dickey Betts, Keith Richards, Prince, Joe Perry, Jerry Garcia, John Fogerty, Duane Allman, Brian Setzer, Kirk Hammett, Kurt Cobain, Johnny Ramone, George Harrison, Mike Bloomfield, Stephen Stills, Dick Dale, Brian May, Robert Fripp, Les Paul, T- Bone Walker, Lou Reed, Johnny Winter, Henry Vestine, David Gilmour, Neil Young, Tony Iommi, Glen Buxton, Robin Trower, Noel Gallagher, Matt Bellamy, Brian May, James Hetfield, Elmore James Umm … Zappa ---
**Author:** ![eli\_the\_fanatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ccd318/32.png) [@eli\_the\_fanatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eli_the_fanatic)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/24 "2003-12-27T14:35:05Z")
I never got into Hendrix the way I’m supposed to. My favorite is Jimmy Page… I think he’s an absolute magician. I learned how to play guitar because “Over the Hills and Far Away,” and other Zep songs I never did learn to play satisfactorily. Oh, and I’ll second that Doc Watson vote, even though he’s not rock and roll. He is tremendously expressive, and completely natural. Frankly, after watching The Three Pickers (featuring Watson, Skaggs, and Scruggs) I seriously thought about giving up guitar and mandolin, so feeble are my efforts compared to those guys. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/25 "2003-12-27T14:51:59Z")
I have trouble pegging a best guitarist and a best solo too. Not that I don’t have my opinions on the matter, but I’m just as likely to disagree with myself about an hour later when I think of a nother song/player. At the moment I pretty much agree with everybody posting here. I like Stevie Ray Vaughn, David Gilmore and Skunk Baxter as perennial faves. And of course there’s Jimi and EC and Page and Beck and I even think Peter Frampton deserves kudos. And yes … Eddie Van Halen (for all the flash) is a seriously talented mo-fo. But … and bear with me on this one, as you will undoubtedly say to yourself, “Jack … put down the skinny tie and step away from the eight track player” … … the guitar solo in “My Sharona” (the long version) by The Knack kicks some serious ass. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/26 "2003-12-27T15:31:07Z")
The concept of the rock-guitar solo in the eighties has pretty much been reduced to: Weedly-weedly-wee, make a face, hold your guitar like it’s your weenie, point it heavenward, and look like you’re really doing something. Then, you get a big ovation while the smoke bombs go off, and the motorized lights in your truss twirl around!" – Frank Zappa ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/27 "2003-12-27T15:54:21Z")
I used to produce live sound for rock bands in the 70s and 80s and I have no doubt that the best guitarist I have ever seen, or will ever see, is Tonino Baliardos the lead player for the _Gypsy Kings_. Even if you hate the style of music get the video or DVD of _The Gypsy Kings Live At Albert Hall_ and watch someone play the most majestic, complicated stuff while in an apparent state of bliss. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/28 "2003-12-27T16:44:49Z")
Chalk up another vote for Eric Johnson. _Cliffs of Dover_ would get him in the top three even if he’d never recorded anything else. He’s a legend. Hell, I have the sheet music and the tab writing as well as the record and I still can’t play it (and I play). And chalk me up with the ‘Hendrix is overrated’ crowd. I like his work, but he wasn’t that great a songwriter and I find his playing style to be undisciplined and self-indulgent. Good for the time, maybe (and he fit his time well) but I find it takes away from my appreciation of his technique. ---
**Author:** ![Patr100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@Patr100](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patr100)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/29 "2003-12-27T16:58:15Z")
From the 80s My personal favourites are Bill Nelson (Bebop Deluxe et al) John McGeogh (Magazine & Banshees) The late Suart Adamson (when with the Skids only - heavily influenced by B Nelson) The Edge (U2) is very good. ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/30 "2003-12-27T17:53:33Z")
Favorite?, no way I’m touching that. Remarkably good: Frank Zappa (allow me to suggest the “guitar” or the “shut up 'n play yer guitar” records). Adrain Belew (in particular the “Inner revolution” album or “Twang Bar King”). Robert Fripp (Fripp doesn’t rock you say?, try “you burn me up I’m a cigarette” from Exposure"). Carlos Alomar (who used to play for Bowie), Earl Slick (Bowie), Jeff Beck, Brian Setzer, Dick Dale (the king of “surf guitar”), David Rhodes (Peter Gabriel’s guitar player), Steve Hillage, Junior Brown (pickin’, did you say pickin"?), Steve Stevens (who used to play for Billy Idol, check out “Black Light Syndrome”, both albums). unclviny ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/31 "2003-12-27T18:24:56Z")
I can never resist these darn “best guitarist and solo” threads, even though there is one every couple of months and this one got off to a rocky start. We all, myself included, want to share our passions, I guess. Semi-pro guitarist - been in bands off and on for 25 years. A few points: 1. Favorite guitarist? A number make the list - Setzer, Vaughn, Joe Pass in jazz, Page, etc. - but my favorite is **Jeff Beck**. I have never heard anyone else play the most simple, single-note stuff and make it sound like so many emotions. 2. Best solo - the entire lead line of **Let Me Love You** , the second track of Beck’s first solo album **Truth**. Again, single note stuff - anyone can figure it out after playing a year or two - but I defy you to come up with such innovative melodic lines over standard blues. It’s _what he is saying_, not how he is saying it. 3. Is Hendrix that good? In a word, yes. The various arguments made in his favor already in this thread all hold true. One is welcome to not like his songs, but they appear to be withstanding the test of time (I happen to love a few, like _The Wind Cries Mary_ but that is my opinion.). He fused together rock and blues in a way never done before and added a type of psychedelia no one could do the way he did. Add to that the fact that he was a technically competent and all bets are off. I humbly suggest that if you don’t like his stuff, you haven’t listened enough. ---
**Author:** ![Bandanaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ab097/32.png) [@Bandanaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bandanaman)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/32 "2003-12-27T18:32:26Z")
Clapton rocks, as does Mark Knopfler and Eddie Van Halen. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/33 "2003-12-27T19:40:58Z")
**ccwaterback** I love that Frank Zappa quote about the “weedly weedly wee” guitar solos of the 1980’s. (I think it still applies even today). My favorite guitarist is the late **Randy California of Spirit**. He and his band never achieved much fame but he was nonetheless a damned great guitarist. And I’ll cast a solid vote for **Jimi Hendrix**. Besides being accomplished both technically and musically, Jimi was an **innovator**. Sure, he’s been copied, etc but you are a genius when you are the _first_. Who knows who invented the first wheel, but it was _very_ easy for the people after that to _copy_ that idea. I go back a long way and I can remember when Jimi Hendrix came on the scene, _nobody was playing the way he did_. He transformed rock and roll. For solos, here’s 2 that I’m sure no one else would mention: 1. Martin Barre of “Jethro Tull” in the song “ **Aqualung** ”. That is a well-thought-out, well-constructed guitar solo. 2. Paul Revere & the Raiders “ **Just Like Me** ” (Drake Levin on guitar). Folks should really give that solo some serious attention. It is blistering, gritty and defines the rock and roll sound. It is one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s top 500 hundred songs of all time and with good reason. Oh, and I’ve been playing guitar for decades. ---
**Author:** ![hegel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cab0a1/32.png) [@hegel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hegel)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/34 "2003-12-27T19:49:44Z")
I like Randy Rhoads. There’s a live version of “Suicide Solution” where he performs an incredible solo. ---
**Author:** ![musicguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@musicguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/musicguy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/35 "2003-12-27T20:10:37Z")
I’ve never really been comfortable with the whole “who’s the best…” thing when it comes to music. The reason is that, to answer the question, immediately calls to mind so many tracks by others that are equally incredible and memorable. I would like to mention someone though who, although relatively obscure, is quickly rising. IMHO, he is one of the most interesting and tasteful guitarists I have ever heard, equally mesmerizing in both rock and jazz. His name is Jimmy Herring and he is who does it for me these days. A couple of bands which have material available are “The Aquarium Rescue Unit” and “Jazz is Dead”, He also did a stint as lead guitarist for the Allman Bros. a couple of years ago. Google him and check him out. ---
**Author:** ![Tricia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/919ad9/32.png) [@Tricia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tricia)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/36 "2003-12-27T20:11:20Z")
Favoutites: Buddy Guy Eric Clapton Jimi Hendrix Paul Kossoff (Free - died too soon) ---
**Author:** ![musicguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@musicguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/musicguy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/37 "2003-12-27T20:16:01Z")
Just to add a little about Jimmy… > [@](#): > > Jimmy has played with such acts as Blues Traveler, Phish, The Allman Brothers, Widespread Panic, and Bruce Hornsby at the '92-93 HORDE Tour. He also played on a number of albums including " Colonel Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit ". He has apparently busier than I realized. Here is a link where you can hear him play. [Jimmy Herring](http://www.aim-music.com/jimmy_herring.html) ---
**Author:** ![venterap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@venterap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/venterap)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/38 "2003-12-27T21:15:53Z")
Just to different, I’ll opt for Andrés Segovia & anything he played of Antonio Carlos Jobim. As a runner up Nicolo Paganini. Heh heh - the world does not exist of rock guitarists alone… I like Santana and Eric Clapton a whole lot, though… ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/39 "2003-12-27T21:22:31Z")
Don’t forget the acoustic blues masters, like Robert Johnson and Blind Lonnie Johnson. I also love Blind Willie McTell. They are not universally skilled, but what they do can hardly be imitated. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167/40 "2003-12-27T21:23:20Z")
To the extent that using the phrase “the best” generates discussion, fine. Beyond that, it is pretty meaningless. A _favorite_ of mine is **Jeff Beck** - his lead work on the song **Let Me Love You** the second track off his first Jeff Beck Group album, **Truth** stands as the work that changed the way I thought about rock lead guitar as a 15-16 year old. He plays single-note stuff - no dweedly-dweedly tech acrobatics, anybody could do it after playing for a year or two, but I defy anyone to sound so fresh and innovative playing over a blues progression and get that much emotion and storytelling out of single notes like that. I have been playing semi-pro guitar for 25 years and it is still the standard. Other amazing leads are **Sympathy for the Devil** , **Comfortably Numb** , and **My Sharona** - all comparatively simple (maybe not Sharona) but more about the emotion than anything. As for Hendrix, yeah, he is that good. The reasons listed in previous posts and in previous threads speak to why, so no need to re-hash here. Again, as a long-term guitarist, all I can do is humbly suggest that if you think of yourself as a “music person” or even an aficionado, and you think he is overrated, you should: a) invest the time to get into and appreciate his work; and b) do yourself a favor and not state your opinion too loudly in front of working musicians. A lot of people don’t get Picasso as an artist, but you would find yourself laughed at if you tried to tell an artist that Picasso was overrated. Same thing with Hendrix. Really. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-guitarist-of-all-time-best-solo/221167.md?page=3)