# In terms of pure skill and ability to push the envelope, who are the greatest guitarist of all time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059 "2013-03-05T01:43:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oedipus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Oedipus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oedipus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/1 "2013-03-05T01:43:43Z")
Lets revive this topic. Reading Rolling Stone’s list of 100 Best Guitarists, I realized that almost all of the lists I see are full of a 60s circlejerk and don’t focus on the true greats who had technical skill that most people couldn’t dream of hearing. I mean COME ON. Fucking John Lennon and Johnny Ramone were posted ahead of men who played with true passion and skill like Yngwie, John Frusciante, Tom Morella, or even some of the other metal guys like Kirk Hammet. Hell, Cliff Burton, a bass player, could play better guitar than most every guy on that list. so I’ll go ahead and name Hendrix #1 because we all know its not even a competition. I’ll leave the rest to you guys. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/2 "2013-03-05T01:57:29Z")
Heh - “60’s circle jerk.” 😃 Nicely put - it sounds like you are also tired of hearing Boomers saying things like, “There hasn’t been any good music made since 1979.” One of my favourite guitarists of all time is Prince. He might not be THE greatest technical guitar player of all time, but he plays with so much passion, like it’s his favourite thing to do in the world (which it very well might be). I adore listening to him play (see what I did there? 🙂 ). ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/3 "2013-03-05T02:14:38Z")
> [@Nostradamus wrong?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nostradamus-wrong/791/5): > > Yngwie Dull as shit. Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd have more feel and verve in their pinkies than Malmsteen has in his whole body. It’s not about envelopes and skill, not really. Jack White, Neil Young, Joey Santiago, Johnny Marr all blow a fret-wanker out of the water. Prince does too. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/4 "2013-03-05T02:21:08Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Heh - “60’s circle jerk.” 😃 Nicely put - it sounds like you are also tired of hearing Boomers saying things like, “There hasn’t been any good music made since 1979.” 1. Technique is nothing without passion. See Al Di Meola for an example. My choice: Carlos Santana. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/5 "2013-03-05T02:26:31Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Dull as shit. Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd have more feel and verve in their pinkies than Malmsteen has in his whole body. It’s not about envelopes and skill, not really. Jack White, Neil Young, Joey Santiago, Johnny Marr all blow a fret-wanker out of the water. > > Prince does too. Yep. Technical skill’s important in that it gives you more avenues to express your feelings, but the guys you listed are all technique and no soul (Hendrix excepted). I’ll take Johnny Ramone or Peter Buck or Bob Mould or Bob Stinson doing 2-note solos with all their hearts over Eric Clapton or Steve Via’s wankery any day. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/6 "2013-03-05T02:28:34Z")
Andres Segovia Narciso Yepes Eric Clapton ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/7 "2013-03-05T02:37:56Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > 1. > > Technique is nothing without passion. See Al Di Meola for an example. My choice: Carlos Santana. Santana is a good shout. Hendrix obviously, too, and Zappa, though I don’t much like Zappa to be honest. Slash is an absolute king of catchy riffs. Dave Gilmour has a lot of skills. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/8 "2013-03-05T03:30:22Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > 1. > > Technique is nothing without passion. See Al Di Meola for an example. If you mean Di Meola in terms of “technique without passion”, yeah, that. Guy sounded like a sewing machine. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/9 "2013-03-05T03:59:34Z")
Michael Hedges Dave Nachmanoff Will Ackerman Mark Knopfler Chet Atkins ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/10 "2013-03-05T04:11:44Z")
SRV Eddie Hazel Eric Johnson Marty Friedman Jason Becker Dave Mustaine Slash …and BTW it’s Tom Morello ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/11 "2013-03-05T04:19:12Z")
No love for Bonamassa? Eric Johnson? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/12 "2013-03-05T04:26:55Z")
No love for Ritchie Blackmore? Phenomenal guitarist. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/13 "2013-03-05T04:34:06Z")
Rick Nielsen. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/14 "2013-03-05T04:36:08Z")
> [@Oedipus](#): > > so I’ll go ahead and name Hendrix #1 because we all know its not even a competition. Not everyone shares that sentiment. Hendrix to me was far more impressive to watch than listen to. I prefer Duane Allman. ---
**Author:** ![Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enter_the_Flagon)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/15 "2013-03-05T04:36:47Z")
While I agree with pretty much all the posts above, most don’t really try to answer the OP’s question, so I’ll go with some ‘skill’ type players who are at least interesting, like: Danny Gatton, who combined monster technique with an immense vocabulary, and is the only guitarist I’ve heard who can make me laugh out loud. Get his live album first - even his YouTube stuff isn’t quite up to that standard, IMO. Scotty Anderson, a transcendent technician playing mostly American standards, sounding like a band unto himself. Tommy Emmanuel and Joe Robinson, a couple of killer Australian fingerstylists. For jazz, Stanley Jordan developed a technique all his own (well, almost, let’s not forget Jeff Healey and Thumbs Carlyle), and can rightfully be called a genius. Shawn Lane was a fusion player who may be the guy more shredders worship than anybody else. You almost have to slow down his solos to realize how complex they actually were. For shredders, I’ll take Guthrie Govan, myself, hands down. Way more interesting than a guy like Yngwie. For a rock player who combines killer chops with great expressiveness, check out some Andy Timmons - seems like nobody’s heard of this guy, and it’s a shame. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/16 "2013-03-05T04:40:12Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Rick Nielsen. Jeez. For a minute there I thought you were talking about Ozzie and Harriet’s son. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/17 "2013-03-05T04:44:08Z")
Oh god, you guys are going to make me defend Yngwie and Dimeola. While you may not like either of them, you do not get to their level of mastery by not being passionate about what you are doing. Yngwie can, when he feels like it, pull out of the Hendrix or SVR bag and do it damned well. Dimeola can also slow down when he chooses to. For depth of knowledge and all around ability I have to mention Steve Morse. He does a huge range of styles and does them all extremely well. Eric Johnson is also up there. John Petrucci is very well rounded as well. Chet Atkins and Les Paul, well, it is Chet amd Les. Hedges was in his own world. Tommy Emmanuel is amazing. Jack White is an overrated hack. Slee ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/18 "2013-03-05T04:57:12Z")
Rory Gallagher. Django Reinhardt. ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/19 "2013-03-05T05:03:15Z")
Blatantly derivative, yet impressively skilled: Frank Marino. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059/20 "2013-03-05T05:20:04Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Jeez. For a minute there I thought you were talking about Ozzie and Harriet’s son. And he was probably a better guitarist. Never was much impressed with Nielsen’s playing. > [@Isosleepy](#): > > Blatantly derivative, yet impressively skilled: Frank Marino. Wow, haven’t heard that name for THIRTY YEARS! Or longer! But that is a fair description. My nominee: [Richard Thompson](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4WGsMplGxU) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-terms-of-pure-skill-and-ability-to-push-the-envelope-who-are-the-greatest-guitarist-of-all-time/652059.md?page=2)