# Great rock guitarists of today? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 14, 2016, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181 "2016-04-14T13:18:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/21 "2016-04-15T01:30:30Z")
> [@MadTheSwine](#): > > You left off May. That’s what the “etc.” was for. Thanks all for the suggestions. I will be hitting youtube to check these out. I confess I don’t know half of these names - yet. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/22 "2016-04-15T01:36:39Z")
I really dig Anna Calvi’s guitar playing. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/23 "2016-04-15T01:40:48Z")
> [@MadTheSwine](#): > > You left off May. And Lifeson. One of the best technical guitarists ever. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/24 "2016-04-15T04:00:35Z")
No love for Robert Randolph? Siouxsie Medley of Dead Sara absolutely kills it as well. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/25 "2016-04-15T04:21:26Z")
> [@zoog](#): > > [Samantha Fish](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fVqLHjJii8) can play a little. That was awesome! She has a version of War Pigs out there, too. She’s great! youtube recommended [Ana Popovic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-1_Ev5J79U)- she’s channeling Vaughn - it’s great, too! ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/26 "2016-04-15T10:56:59Z")
**[Oli Brown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oli_Brown)** is 27, I believe. I saw him supporting Walter Trout when he was 19, and this is [him the following year](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oZ5pVfbjSI). Currently he’s fronting a hard rock trio called RavenEye. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/27 "2016-04-15T10:57:27Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > That was awesome! She has a version of War Pigs out there, too. She’s great! > > youtube recommended [Ana Popovic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-1_Ev5J79U)- she’s channeling Vaughn - it’s great, too! Yeah, I thought about name-checking Popovic; she’s beautiful, too. A lot of women blues players out there - Shemekia Copeland, bluesman Johnny’s daughter, is great. I think the basic point from the OP is a bit clearer: guitar is alive and well, but: - Guitar-based music is one of many, and is not seen as where New Music™ is happening. A great guitar band can hit with a song, but it is just like a folk or hip hop or EDM song that crosses over from their own genre to the mainstream charts. - Music, in general - as has been discussed on many threads - isn’t the cultural vanguard phenomenon it was in the 60’s. Back then, music was the thing that parents didn’t understand and that voiced younger rebellion. Now, both of those jobs are owned by the Internet. That period of time was the _exception_ - music rarely has the cultural capital it had in the 60’s. These days it is in a more “standard” position as an important art form amongst many, with a few superstars and a bunch of traveling bands earning via tours and merch. Within that context, the guitar, and mainly the electric guitar, was the defining instrument symbolizing this moment in time when Music Mattered in a mainstream cultural change sort of way. I think it is safe to say that, oh, Hendrix playing the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock was one event that achieved Peak Guitar. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cumbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@Cumbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumbrian)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/28 "2016-04-15T11:34:40Z")
He’s not young necessarily - he’s 37 - but Adam Granduciel is only 3 albums into his career with The War On Drugs, so he’s still early in his time in the spotlight (I hope). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJhGQMHEcl8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJhGQMHEcl8) Someone with a more educated ear than me can probably list off his influences here but the economy with which he plays the long solo, yet still keeps it hypnotic and interesting is superb, like looking into a dancing flame. In that sense, if not many others, he reminds me of some of the long solos Knopfler is capable of tearing off. I guess Granduciel is like the junction between indie, shoegaze and classic rock. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/29 "2016-04-15T11:57:02Z")
> [@Cumbrian](#): > > He’s not young necessarily - he’s 37 - but Adam Granduciel is only 3 albums into his career with The War On Drugs, so he’s still early in his time in the spotlight (I hope). > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJhGQMHEcl8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJhGQMHEcl8) > > Someone with a more educated ear than me can probably list off his influences here but the economy with which he plays the long solo, yet still keeps it hypnotic and interesting is superb, like looking into a dancing flame. In that sense, if not many others, he reminds me of some of the long solos Knopfler is capable of tearing off. I guess Granduciel is like the junction between indie, shoegaze and classic rock. I am just listening to their latest album. I have described it as **Roxy Music’s Avalon** , covered by **Wilco**. He uses a very wet (reverb, delay, etc.) guitar tone, but doesn’t overplay, keeping to small, simple hooks that feature his tone really well. I am enjoying it. They are from Philly. I know a guy who knows their drummer and my son will be in Philly for college. I gotta get to a show or three. ---
**Author:** ![Cumbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@Cumbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumbrian)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/30 "2016-04-15T13:03:58Z")
I think that’s an interesting pairing up of potential influences. The tracks themselves (as opposed to necessarily Granduciel’s tone) have those synthy washes that can be found on Avalon, so I definitely hear that. I really should listen to more Wilco by the sounds of things. I know next to nothing about them. Would definitely recommend War on Drugs live. Saw them on their last tour to the UK and thoroughly enjoyed it. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/31 "2016-04-15T13:15:21Z")
I’m surprised I haven’t seen **Kenny Wayne Shepherd** or **Joe Bonamassa** show up in the list. If we can add any **Satriani** aged axe men I’d include **Eric Johnson**. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/32 "2016-04-15T13:23:44Z")
KWS is a fine player - saw him on the Experience Hendrix tour a few years ago. He tours and has a great career. But it _is_ a form of Hendrix tribute band - he is not going to step up to be an innovative guitar god the way, say, Derek Trucks is. As for Bonamassa, well, he is a master player, and seems to be the poster boy for guitar collecting these days, having gotten up to, what, maybe 9 real sunburst Les Paul’s in his collection these days? Oy. I find his playing bores me, similar to Yngwie. Brilliant technique, but limited musicality. Compared to Julian Lage, who I just started a link on and is another player who started off as a child prodigy, it is not even close. ---
**Author:** ![Lowdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Lowdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lowdown)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/33 "2016-04-15T14:19:38Z")
You guys need to get out more! You’re listing mostly old people! (As an old person, I know.) Jake Bugg! I dig Ben McLeod of All Them Witches (I love this whole band.) Parker Griggs of Radio Moscow (don’t love his singing but dude can play.) Reignwolf Also, this guy isn’t necessarily rock but he is friggin’ amazing: Shakey Graves [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/S2e0U26kltU/maxresdefault.jpg "Shakey Graves - Full Performance (Live on KEXP)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2e0U26kltU) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/34 "2016-04-15T14:27:37Z")
Jake Bugg! I love Jake Bugg! I have his first two CD’s and yeah, he is a great player. A Tele guy, which I can relate to. Nice! ETA: he is a great example of what I was trying to articulate above - that a guitar-forward guy can have a crossover hit but mainly just tour a ton. His song Lightning Bolt got a ton of play in the US in a Gatorade commercial. Could he sound more like Liam Gallagher without the laddish douchiness? ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/35 "2016-04-15T14:59:30Z")
Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead should probably be mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/36 "2016-04-15T15:05:48Z")
I was looking for up & coming bands a few weeks ago by checking out the NOLA Jazzfest and SXSW lineups and came across [Marcus King](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5Twzc38NhI&list=RDF5Twzc38NhI). ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/37 "2016-04-15T15:05:58Z")
> [@Cumbrian](#): > > … > > I really should listen to more Wilco by the sounds of things. I know next to nothing about them. > … Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is a good start. ---
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/38 "2016-04-15T16:53:11Z")
In heavier music, there’s [Synyster Gates](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gFlThqCj8I), of Avenged Sevenfold. This is a guitar seminar or something, not as part of the band. Skip to about 3:55 to get past the talking. ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/39 "2016-04-15T17:12:18Z")
> [@Cumbrian](#): > > I really should listen to more Wilco by the sounds of things. I know next to nothing about them. I’ve been trying for years, but really haven’t latched onto them in a big way. They seem kind of all over the place style-wise (which of course is probably part of their charm), like lots of country, some rock, some alt-indie-whatever. The latest album (Star Wars) is kind of grabbing me, though. And this has long been one of my favorite songs, period, even when I couldn’t get into anything else of theirs in a big way: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oI\_D3r85JE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oI_D3r85JE) . At about 2:00 it picks up into a serious guitar jam – melodic, frenetic, seriously groovy…just amazing work. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181/40 "2016-04-15T17:26:06Z")
> [@Satellite\_Guy](#): > > In heavier music, there’s [Synyster Gates](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gFlThqCj8I), of Avenged Sevenfold. This is a guitar seminar or something, not as part of the band. Skip to about 3:55 to get past the talking. His dad is the Guitar Guy who tours with comedian Jeff Dunham: [Brian Haner - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Haner) **troub** , that’s a good choice to showcase their more out-there playing that Nels Cline brought to the band. He isn’t really featured in that clip, but does all kinds of fun noise-generation type stuff in their songs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-rock-guitarists-of-today/752181.md?page=3)