Five random guitarists I like:
Richard Thompson
Jimi Hendrix
Scott “Wino” Weinrich
Robert Fripp
Vernon Reid
May I just add:
Jon Renbourn
Nick Drake
Leo Kottke
David Gilmour
Joni Mitchell
And of course my favourite of all time, “Kirk Cobain”.
Ordinarily a mediocre axeman, but when his shirt was torn he could outplay anyone listed above.
I wondered when somebody would mention Junior. Country isn’t my style, but I’ve seen him play twice (once close enough to touch him for an entire extended set) and he is just out there.
- Kevin Shields
- Fred Frith
- Link Wray
- Sonny Sharrock
- Lee Ranaldo
Honorable Mention: Robert Quine
**Let’s consider the field of popular blues/rock up to and including popular metal: **
All of this depends greatly on how you define ‘Great Guitarist’. If you are asking what guitarists reinvented the instrument in their time, then you have what amounts to a small handful including Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen and more unfortunately Yngwie J. Malmsteen. There are others, of course, that had a tremendous impact on the direction that modern guitar was headed, but those that grabbed the wheel and gave it a firm yank include the three above and just a handful of others. These are the quintessential guitarists
There are those that will offer up Steve Vai, Satriani, Clapton, Page, Kirk Hammett, SRV, Dimebag, etc., but these are really just individuals that took what one or more of the greats had done and perfected, or mixed and perfected (in some cases it can be argued to the point of being almost vomit inducing) and called it their own. Unfortunately in most cases, it isn’t.
In Vai and Satriani’s example we have two flawless guitar players who simply took what Eddie Van Halen and Malmsteen had already done and squeezed so much out of the technique that they forgot that they were supposed to be playing music instead of performing nothing but high wire antics without a net. It’s like watching someone who can solve a Rubik’s cube in five seconds. In this case, Eddie Van Halen is Rubik. The majority of what they play is not music, but acrobats. Look at EVH’s recent instrumental Catherine. Pay particular attention to the pick scratch inflections and the subtle use of vibrato and more importantly than all of that, the melodic phrasing. There is more style and more life and more musical talent in that one song than the entire Vai and Satriani catalog combined. And this is far from EVH’s best work. In fact, it was created for a porno! This is from a legend who probably was more than a little drunk and not at the top of his game, yet nothing that Vai or Satriani has created matches this.
This is not to say that this dynamic duo has nothing to offer. They are both enormously gifted guitar players and world class musicians, but they will never leave the mark that the greats have left, because they have long since forgotten the golden rule. It’s all about feel.
Stevie Ray Vaughan knew this. Eric Clapton knew this. Most of the others either forgot or never knew it to begin with.
When we lose Eddie Van Halen, we may likely lose the guitar forever; I do not see anyone taking the instrument in a new and exciting direction.
And I disagree about Nancy Wilson. She is tremendously gifted. Steel Wheels was light years ahead of its time.
I don’t have anything to add, I just wanted to say that joke was awesome!
- Jimmy Page
- Eric Clapton
- Jeff Beck
- Duane Allman
- Jimi Hendrix
Just want to add some names to the (pointless without criteria 
) debate.
Derek Trucks
Warren Haynes
Jimmy Herring
Mahavishnu John McLaughlan
Adrian Belew
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Jonny Lang
Danny Gatton
Roy Buchanan
Jerry Garcia
does Robert Randolph get counted as a guitarist?
Personally I’ve believed for a looong time that the “best” guitarist (probably the best five) are sitting in a room somewhere playing for their own (and maybe a few friends’) amusement. “World famous professional musician” is a harder job to get than it is to keep.
- Duane Allman
- Eric Clapton
- Jimi Hendrix
- Jimmy Page
- Jorma Kaukonnen
Floyd Pepper.
- Eric Clapton
- Peter Green
- Jeff Beck
- Duane Allman
- Jimi Hendrix
I agree that Stevie Ray Vaughn was an excellent player but I think he should be remembered for developing a unique tone more than anything else. Although he was obviously very talented, most of his songs didn’t require exceptional technical skills.
I also think that Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepard, and the thousands of other blues guitarists who have modelled themselves on SRV get way too much credit for being great players since they’re doing the exact same thing that SRV did. SRV is notable because he was innovative, but these other guys haven’t done anything new. It’s not hard to just copy other people.
I couldn’t possibly name the five best guitarists. I haven’t heard the five best guitarists. Five guys I like, in no particular order:
Billy McLaughlin (Not John)
Don Ross
John Fahey (not for his technique - he had very little)
Leo Kottke
Michael Hedges
Kelly Joe Phelps
That’s six – one for each string. I wish I could put Liona Boyd on the list. She had great chops, just huge technique, and wide-ranging musical interests, but she ultimately chose to focus on adult contemporary E-Z listening. How unfortunate.
I once saw a book about the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. It was full of serious players, jazz greats, some old-timers and Django, of course. Each guy got about a three-page write up. And then there was EVH. His write up was one line, something like this:
Van Halen is included in this book because neither you, nor I nor anyone else will ever look that cool onstage playing a guitar.
My favorites (as much as for what they play as for how they play it):
[ul]
[li]Mark Knofler: I like how much inflection he squeezes out of each note, the range of styles, and sometimes just his ghost bends.[/li][li]Stevie Ray Vaughan: see below[/li][li]Eddie Van Halen: For many of the reasons mentioned already: style, influence, technique. He has an ear for what sounds melodic and not just cool.[/li][li]Sonny Landreth: Outstanding slide guitar. He doesn’t use it just to get a ‘bluesy slide sound’, but instead to open up the guitar like a trombone opens up the trumpet. His songwriting is pretty solid which is unusual among blues guitarists.[/li][li]Robert Cray: He doesn’t sounds like a blues re-run. Instead I get the feeling that he melded all of his influences (blues, r&b, and soul) into his own sound. He can play leads or rhythm, understated or full-on. And I think he is an even better song writer than Sonny Landreth which means there are at least two original, modern blues guitarists.[/li][/ul]
I agree that his creativity outshines even his technique. His leads, whether fast or slow, are packed with variations in tone, tempo, inflection, and volume. It keeps the leads interesting and maintains the energy level. Little Wing is a prime example of how dynamic a range he could cover.
I always get the feeling that even when he is playing his fastest, his brain is keeping up and he is aware of each note as he goes along. In contrast to when I play my fastest, I just struggle to keep the pace and tempo. If it sounds good, it is as much luck as anything.
And also as you mentioned, he had tremendous influence on both revitalizing electric blues and inspiring a legion of mimics (for better or worse). And all from a guy that was supposedly pretty darn nice.
I really like these guys, particularly Satriani, but there is some truth in what you say. I think a lot of it has to do with the guitar instrumental format. I always thought that it would be ideal if Satriani could team up and gel with a singer/songwriter; someone that could add some balance. He certainly can pack energy and emotion – it is not all high-wire antics, but there are as many misses as hits. Incidentally, I am really surprised you excluded Malmsteen since most of his stuff seems all ‘mind’ and no ‘heart’. At least Vai has his quirkiness to break up the technique.
If you’ll look at the beginning of my post, you’ll see where I mentioned him as one of the greats. I didn’t elaborate on him beyond his influence (which is admittedly great) simply because it is unfortunate considering the type of person he is; his talent far exceeded his attitude.
And totally agree with you on SRV. He and Eddie are my two favorite guitarists.
John Williams (the classical guitarist, not the composer)
Dickie Betts (Allman brothers)
Jose Feliciano
George Benson
Joe Pass
Django Reinhart
Andres Segovia
Even though I haven’t enjoyed listening to the band in ten years and I don’t think much of him as a person, I think Trey Anastasio from Phish is an excellent guitarist with a great Santana-esque tone.
First one I thought of was Leo Kottke.
Pat Metheny gets no love here?
I rather like Rodrigo y Gabriela, but I don’t know how well either would do alone.
Wow, Pat Metheny, a blast from the past. He went to high school with my first husband’s little sister.