# Who are your favorite guitarists **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 24, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734 "2005-02-24T17:39:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/41 "2005-02-25T03:03:22Z")
Paco De Lucia Leo Kottke Nick Drake Kaki King Kevin Shields Joey Santiago Johnny Marr Jimmy Page Jimi Hendrix ---
**Author:** ![DocJon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@DocJon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocJon)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/42 "2005-02-25T06:05:50Z")
Roy Buchanon . . .I saw him about 6 months before he died at a little bar in Pittsburgh called Graffiti. Real nice, intimate set. He never really recorded a whole lot that captured his talent. . .my favorite song by him(on vinyl) was “Can I change my mind” with Billy Price vocals. It seemed as though he never let a song stand in the way of a solo, but this one was all about the song, and his understatement here made it great. Adrian Below - Saw him at the same venue. Totally unlike what I was expecting. Not a lot of guitar effects or animal noises, just rock. Did “Pretty Woman” as a tribute to Roy Orbison, as he had died the previous day. He did noodle around with his (I’m pretty sure it was) stereo guitar effects, which were apprently new to him. It was cool to see him just play around with them for ten minutes or so. So many great guitarists. . .Stevie Ray Vaughan(who I saw do a 5 minute solo behind his back. . .), Robert Randolph(not mentioned thus far), Eddie Van Halen, Carlos Santana, Steve Vai. . .Eric Johnson does some great work, of course David Gilmour(haunting, screaming solos), Keith Richards, and I’m not going to ‘sort of’ mention Lindsey Buckingham. I full-heartedly endorse him as a great guitarist. Ever see “The Dance?” he could’ve sleep-walked his way through this ‘best of’ live concert full of songs he’s known for 20 years, but he brought something new to every song, and just blew me away. George Harrison, Jimmy Page, Brian May. . .wow, it’s astonishing the brilliance we’re subjected to on a daily basis and how we grow to take it for granted. These are good days. -DocJon ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/43 "2005-02-25T06:15:04Z")
Danny Gatton. Saw him in Arlington, VA and will never forget it. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/44 "2005-02-25T06:22:00Z")
Bob Mould … back before he decided he wanted to fiddle around with turntables and samplers and sequencers and machines that go blip and bloop. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/45 "2005-02-25T06:30:39Z")
How about Charo? ---
**Author:** ![WpgTriniman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a88e4f/32.png) [@WpgTriniman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WpgTriniman)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/46 "2005-02-25T06:35:55Z")
I’ll mention a couple of guitarists from my hometown: Randy Bachman Lenny Breau ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/47 "2005-02-25T07:01:35Z")
[QUOTE=DarkSideoftheFloyd] David Gilmour. Upon preview, I see someone had already put him down. * * * …The child is grown, the dream is gone… [QUOTE] With a sig line, appropriately enough, from the album with so many world class guitar soloes they had to stuff two in that song 😉 His other stuff is really great too (esp. Obscured by Clouds, and TFC) but The Wall is by far and away the best guitar recorded in the history of mankind. ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/48 "2005-02-25T07:25:33Z")
> [@nitroglycerine](#): > > Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd-The greatest guitar duo in the history of music. > > Robert Quine (RIP)-Richard Hell’s guitarist, and Lou Reeds former right hand man. He was this bearded mild mannered looking old guy (he was already in his 30s at the beginning of the punk rock era), who wore Mister Rogers sweaters and tore off killer riffs that sounded like if Johnny Thinders had the virtuosity of Yingwie Malmsteen. Hell-fucking-yeah to both of those. Amen! Mine: Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine) - Wrote the book on “guitar as instrument of sound design.” Makes similar contenders (the Edge, Adrian Belew) sound like dead-fucking amateurs by comparison. Probably the most underrated guitarist of all time, especially since big-dick Guitar Mags pretend he never existed. I think I’m the first to mention these, which is surprising, but what about Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth)? Also, Rhys Chatham. You’ve not heard the guitar until you’ve heard “An angel moves too fast to see,” which features 100 guitars and a rhythm section. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/49 "2005-02-25T07:33:37Z")
Segovia, Leo Kottke and Chet Atkins are the only guitarists I can reliably identify just by hearing the music. ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/50 "2005-02-25T07:58:54Z")
If I was going to pick my starting five for the “basketball team of guitarists” it would have to be these: Center: Eric Clapton Power Forward: Jimmy Page Small Forward: Stevie Ray Vaughn Shooting Gaurd: Dav Navarro Point Gaurd: Hendrix ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/51 "2005-02-25T08:00:04Z")
Sorry Dav --\> Dave ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/52 "2005-02-25T08:11:13Z")
Sorry Dav --\>Dave ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/53 "2005-02-25T08:25:01Z")
> [@JCorre](#): > > If I was going to pick my starting five for the “basketball team of guitarists” it would have to be these: > > Center: Eric Clapton > Power Forward: Jimmy Page > Small Forward: Stevie Ray Vaughn > Shooting Gaurd: Dav Navarro > Point Gaurd: Hendrix Why did you assign a particular guitarist to a particular position? ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/54 "2005-02-25T08:29:10Z")
I agree with many who have been listed, so let me add: David Bromberg Ian Anderson (Tull’s flute player, who also does a great deal of the accoustic work on their albums.) ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/55 "2005-02-25T08:42:13Z")
Snooooopy: I don’t know, its just my personality; I like basketball. Clapton- Best all-around guitarist in my opinion therefore I’d want him centering my team. Page: IMHO, my favorite guitarist, he has to be the #2 option. Vaughn: Just a slight shade below Page therefore small forward. Navarro: A really creative guitarist. kind of like the ‘Steve Kerr’ of guitars. Hendrix: He runs everything. You can’t go wrong with his leadership. Like the Michael Jordan/Dave Stockton/Jason Kidd of guitarists. ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/56 "2005-02-25T08:45:07Z")
Sorry _John_ Stockton. I’m a mess. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/57 "2005-02-25T11:42:45Z")
Thus far and Yngwie Malmsteen but no Ritchie Blackmore? Hang your heads! {I’m _pretty_ sure he hasn’t been mentioned}: check out his solo on the live version of Child In Time, off _Made In Japan_. Widdly-wee show-off heaven. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/58 "2005-02-25T11:48:46Z")
Since the op question is **Who are your favorite guitarists** … personal taste rather than an attempt at objective judgement, these are the ones I find myself listening to most rather than the “best”, which would be another list (almost) entirely. In no order: \*\*Kimberly Rew \*\* - c’mon, anyone else even know who he is? **Ricky Wilson** - early B52’s did he ever learn to tune a guitar “properly”? Anyone playing a \*\*Steely Dan \*\* guitar solo (this would be a long list) \*\*David Gilmour \*\* - I lean towards the **Animals** stuff, just a sucker for harmonies I guess. **Pete Townshend** - The Who’s rhythm guitarist, he’s really quite good. \*\*Jimmy Page \*\* - another decent rhythm player, can produce decent solos on occasion. \*\*Frank Zappa \*\* - one word **WatermelonInEasterHay** known to play stupid/fast stuff too. And to show I’m not totally rockist – the guys with 12 incredibly agile fingers: **Michael Hedges** **Leo Kottke** ---
**Author:** ![RumMunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@RumMunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RumMunkey)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/59 "2005-02-25T12:30:13Z")
**Billy Diffy** , ex of [**The Cult**](http://www.chartattack.com/pics/19990809-cult.jpg) (currently playing with Jerry Cantrell as [Cardboard Vampyres](http://www.cardboardvampyres.com)). Words cannot describe his crunching riffs and sweet, bluesey solos. **Jeff Martin** from Canadian band [**The Tea Party**](http://www.teaparty.com/). I’ve recommended them around here before, and I cannot speak highly enough of them. Their earlier works are deep rooted in Eastern influence, and their later stuff is a lot more to the rock side but still maintains the Eastern melodies. They kind of have that flavour of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Kashmir’ mixed with pounding rhythm and excellent rock riffs. Just…wow! ---
**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:** [February 25, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734/60 "2005-02-25T17:21:35Z")
I forgot a few: Ottmar Liebert Nick Webb and Greg Carmichael of Acoustic Alchemy Carlos Montoya Chet Atkins [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-guitarists/291734.md?page=4)