Yeah, I know the favorite guitarists thing is done to death, but we haven’t done it here recently as far as I know.
Peter Buck from REM. I just love the way he played on their early albums. I like the way they built their songs around his jangly riffs.
Johnny Marr from The Smiths. He’s great at getting a catchy melody from his guitar. I think he’s actually kind of similar in some ways to Peter Buck, but there’s a major difference in their style that I can’t put my finger on.
Mick Ronson. I’ve only really heard his stuff with David Bowie, but he did some excellent riffs.
Daniel Ash from Bauhaus/Tones on Tail/Love and Rockets. I’m not a huge fan of the bands he was in, but I appreciate them. He has a very minimalist style, which makes things sound dark and bare.
Dick Dale
Brian Setzer
Django Reinhardt
Brian May
Slash
Wes Montgomery
The Reverend Horton Heat (underrated)
Stevie Ray Vaughn (even though I don’t really listen to his music anymore)
Jimi Hendrix (same thing)
Johnny Marr (vastly underrated)
Steve Morse
Pat Metheny
Marc Ribot (from the little I’ve heard from him)
Poison Ivy
Eric Johnson. “Cliffs of Dover” still blows my mind. I first saw him on “Austin City Limits” when I was skipping a night class back in college. He blew me away. I ran right out and bought A Via Musicom the next day.
Brian May. Everything he ever did, be it flat-out rock or delicate acoustic, makes me want to buy a guitar and practice until my fingers bleed.
Speaking of which…George Harrison Sure Cclapton gets all the press but GH had some fantastic work, too.