# Greatest Guitar Player of All Time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 18, 2005, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696 "2005-10-18T02:12:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![drmark2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@drmark2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drmark2000)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/61 "2005-10-20T19:03:10Z")
> [@Waterman](#): > > Clapton has been, without a doubt, the most overrated, lazy ass player for the last 35 years. If he had (in retrospect) hung it up after Yardbirds, Cream and Layla, then maybe a different opinion. Dude, haven’t you listened to “Just One Night,” live at the Budokan in Japan. Late 70’s, I believe, and Clapton definitely doesn’t sound lazy. The rest of the band is superb throughout. And then there’s hearing thousands of Japanese shouting “cocaine,” very few having any idea what they were saying, I would suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/62 "2005-10-22T05:48:39Z")
Rory Gallagher. Amazing Irish guitarist. Otherwise, Duane Allman was the best I have ever heard. Subjective topic indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/63 "2005-10-22T06:02:46Z")
> [@drmark2000](#): > > Dude, haven’t you listened to “Just One Night,” live at the Budokan in Japan. Late 70’s, I believe, and Clapton definitely doesn’t sound lazy. The rest of the band is superb throughout. And then there’s hearing thousands of Japanese shouting “cocaine,” very few having any idea what they were saying, I would suppose. I’m glad that Eric was willing to showcase his talent live but, as I said, his studio recordings have been complete drivel. Even his efforts with other legends have shown his willingness to just “slide”. But as the last poster said “subjective topic indeed” and there’s no point in beating each other over the head. ---
**Author:** ![SpectBrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@SpectBrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpectBrain)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/64 "2005-10-22T15:23:04Z")
I’m also a huge Richard Thompson Fan. In the country category, there’s Junior Brown. As Joe Landsdale, the author, said about him, “He sings like Ernest Tubb but he plays like Jimi Hendrix” ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/65 "2005-10-22T16:08:15Z")
Gotta get my vote in here for Mike Keneally. And a nod to Robert Fripp, although these days he happily and intentionally plays the fewest notes per minute of any guitarist out there. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/66 "2005-10-22T16:18:43Z")
Johnny Ramone. Hands down. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2005, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/67 "2005-10-22T18:04:33Z")
Y’all don’t get out much. I see no mention of **Al Dimeola, Paco De Lucia or Ottmar Liebert,** let alone **Carlos Montoya** , the legendary flamenco artist. And what about **John McLaughlin?** For shame. ---
**Author:** ![parthenokinesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/cc9497/32.png) [@parthenokinesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parthenokinesis)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/68 "2005-10-23T01:30:46Z")
No love for Joe Walsh? That makes baby jebus cry. ---
**Author:** ![mojave66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mojave66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mojave66)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/69 "2005-10-23T07:20:11Z")
Yeah, but the lack of love for [Charley Patton](http://www.cr.nps.gov/delta/blues/people/charley_patton.htm) makes the baby jeebus cry more, I’d bet. ---
**Author:** ![D.E.S.K.Top668](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@D.E.S.K.Top668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.E.S.K.Top668)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/70 "2005-10-23T12:56:03Z")
One name that always seems to get overlooked on lists like this is Jeff Healey. An amazing guitarist who also knows when to show restraint. Peace - DESK ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/71 "2005-10-23T13:48:32Z")
> [@sangfroid](#): > > [Les Paul.](http://www.iridiumjazzclub.com/les.shtml) Ninety years old, now. Quite literally _invented_ the solid-body electric guitar. Still plays Monday nights… > > You tell me who doesn’t owe their reputation to the father of the electric guitar… > > Damn, I can only hope I make it that long. 🙂 After an accident that should have caused his arm to be amputated, he talked the doctor into “fixing” it into a guitar playing pose. He is definately one of the greats, but since the type of music wasn’t specified, the best would be Andre Segovia, followed closely by [John Williams](http://www.sonyclassical.com/artists/williams_guitar/bio.html)(not the composer) And if you had ever watched Jose Feliciano tune his guitar in the middle of a piece of music, never missing a note, you’d be pretty impressed, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2005, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/72 "2005-10-23T13:59:49Z")
If you held a gun to my head and made me pick just one, I’d probably go with Chet Atkins. Seemed like he could play most anything, in any style, from any genre, with convincing virtuosity. ---
**Author:** ![Pan4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@Pan4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pan4Life)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/73 "2005-10-24T01:27:31Z")
Stevie Ray Vaughn, hands down Close second, tie between Mr. Jimmy and Eric Clapton ---
**Author:** ![Improvisor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/50afbb/32.png) [@Improvisor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improvisor)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/74 "2005-10-24T20:03:53Z")
Hmm… I don’t think you could ever pick a greatest, but if forced to I would have to go with Hendrix for the way the guitar world was night-and-day different after he did his thing. But nipping closely at his heals would be guys like SRV, Lindsey Buckingham, Leo Kottke, Jimmy Page,… … and (I can’t believe he hasn’t been mentioned yet)… Prince. He is truely amazing. There is the story (maybe an urban legend) that Clapton was asked who the greatest living guitar player is to try to be bated into saying himself, and he said Prince. My Google skills are not helping me out finding a cite on this at the moment, so this maybe this tidbit might be shot down. But Prince is still one hell of a musician. ---
**Author:** ![Improvisor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/50afbb/32.png) [@Improvisor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improvisor)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/75 "2005-10-24T20:07:16Z")
Ummm… in my previous post that should be “baited” not “bated”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2005, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/76 "2005-10-24T23:37:21Z")
sure there are better with 10 fingers, but the greatest one-fingered-lead-playing guitar player? **Neil Young** of course… also, while clearly not the _best ever,_ but someone has to mention Mike McCready… ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/77 "2005-10-25T00:39:10Z")
Seems to me that Mike Oldfield belongs on the list somewhere … ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/78 "2005-10-25T03:21:22Z")
I’m going to shout out here for David “Honeyboy” Edwards. [www.davidhoneyboyedwards.com](http://www.davidhoneyboyedwards.com) He was there on the scene when Robert Johnson passed, and has had a long good career in the blues, and is still playing at 90 years old. He ought to at least get the Longevity award. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/79 "2005-10-25T03:29:34Z")
Honeyboy is great. He wasn’t just on the scene when Robert Johnson died- he was _with_ Johnson. I consider myself very fortunate to have seen Honeyboy in person. ---
**Author:** ![John\_F](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@John\_F](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_F)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696/80 "2005-10-25T03:46:26Z")
> [@Improvisor](#): > > … and (I can’t believe he hasn’t been mentioned yet)… Prince. He is truely amazing. This may be strange, and I’m a Prince fan but I’m not 100% sure he actually plays guitar (at least note for note to the songs anyway). It’s been something I’ve wondered about over the years because in video his fingers very often do not look to be in the right places on the fret board for what I’m hearing in the song. Then I saw a Power Generation live video where he had another guitar player “tucked away” on the stage that did seem to be playing the parts. I’ve never seen him live or close enough to be sure. I figure he plays a bit of guitar along with somebody else but it’s more of a showmanship effort on his part. I’ve always wondered…any opinions? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-guitar-player-of-all-time/326696.md?page=5)