Top 10 greatest Guitarists?

If you had to list the top 10 greatest guitarists of the past, 100+ years, who would you list? I know Rolling Stone made a list, but it is highly biased (i.e Kurt Cobain a better guitarist than David Gilmour and Buddy Guy among others). It doesnt matter what genre, rock, blues, black metal, Rock-Rap, whatever... it's your choice.

In no specific order i'd say:

1. Hendrix
2. Clapton
3. B.B King
4. Jimmy Page
5. David Gilmour
6. George Harrison
7. Brian May
8. Robert Johnson
9.Muddy Waters
10. Rory Gallagher

You know, I was going to make a poll.......eh, beat me to it.

1. Eric Clapton
2. Jimi Hendrix
3. Jeff Beck
4. Buddy Guy
5. BB King
6. Jimmy Page
7. David Gilmour
8. Brian May
9. Chuck Berry
10. George Harrison


Yup. I don't even know if that's right. But that's my list

Yeah, and the Rolling Stone's list is total BS.

Guitarists from the 60s and 70s are overrated.

1. Yngwie Malmsteen
2. Randy Rhoads
3. Steve Vai
4. Joe Satriani
5. Marty Friedman
6. John petruchi
7. Jimmy Page
8. Eric Johnson
9. Michael Romeo
10. Jimi Hendrix

I'm not realy familiar with Blues and Jazz guitarists, so I might have left out some of the best, but this list is still pretty accurate.

Hope you guys don't mind if I ask a couple of questions...

@Russian

Why do you consider Chuck Berry on the top 10? He was a phenomenal guitarists, but I dunno, I cant see him that good.... But, I can always have my opinion changed, I havn't listened to old Chuck in a long time though...

@Your Lame Sister

Just wondering about Malmsteen. I've personally listened to very little of him, but he seems to stick to the scales, just shred on them though. I've heard him praised as a god, and as a robot, no soul. What's your thoughts on him?

Originally Posted by PyrrhusIV

Hope you guys don't mind if I ask a couple of questions...

@Russian

Why do you consider Chuck Berry on the top 10? He was a phenomenal guitarists, but I dunno, I cant see him that good.... But, I can always have my opinion changed, I havn't listened to old Chuck in a long time though...

Well, he was a good guitarist, but I added him mostly becuase of his contributions to music through his guitar. He was a true pioneer of the electric guitar, and introduced it to rock music

Your lame sister: Yeah, even though most if not all of the current guitarists find great inspiration in them.


By the way, I don't really like the shredders. yeah, they're good, but from what I have heard they have no melody. I'll gladly take a David Gilmour solo from Comfortably Numb over anything by the G3 any day. There just doesn't seem to be any soul or passion in it.

Originally Posted by Bulgaroctonus

By the way, I don't really like the shredders. yeah, they're good, but from what I have heard they have no melody. I'll gladly take a David Gilmour solo from Comfortably Numb over anything by the G3 any day. There just doesn't seem to be any soul or passion in it.

This is just so true my friend

what makes you think that there's no soul in shredding? I might as well say that gilmour, clapton, page and others simply play pentatonic scales with no emotion.

PyrrhusIV
hmmmm, Yngwie is first of all FAST. he is the third fastest guitarist in the world. many people say that he is just grinding scales, but he usually doesn't (every song has a minute-long part of nothing but mindless scales, but most of it is beautiful). his fast solos are cool, but he makes a lot of slow and awsome licks. anyway, even if you don't like his music, you can't deny that he was revolutionary.

bulgaroctonus
Of course some shredding is not that pretty (*cough* dave mustaine *cough*), but that's just a stereotype. check out marty friedman's solo on 'tornado of souls' from megadeth. that's shredding, and it's more emotional and beatuifull than any solo by pink floyd.

The whole 'nothing but scales' label on shredding started in the 90s, when grunge turned everything from the 80s to unpopular. Shredding was created in the 80s, so it got all the media attacking it. Anyway, i could say that mozart's work is nothing but scales, shredding on a piano.

@therussian

Why did you put Clapton ahead of Hendrix? I think any music expert (or whatever) could agree that Hendrix was much more proficient on the guitar than Clapton.

1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Eric Clapton
3. Jimmy Page
4. B.B. King
5. Duane Allman
8. George Harrison

Originally Posted by Livia

@therussian

Why did you put Clapton ahead of Hendrix?

Because I did

Originally Posted by Bulgaroctonus

Because I did

There must be some reasoning behind a silly choice.

Some of my favorites:

1) Ernest Ranglin (Lead/Rhythm) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RXPsmzuxKw

2) John Kpiaye (Lead/Rhythm) - Guitarist for Dennis Bovell Dub which backs LKJ: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY_S3D1iX9E

3) Bob Marley (acoustic) - rare long footage of Redemption song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN7OKk534Jk

4) Peter Tosh (Rhythm/acoustic) - plays solo here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlk9Sj4Ns2k

5) Jimi Hendrix (Lead)

Originally Posted by Livia

There must be some reasoning behind a silly choice.

None at all.

Is this skill or art? Honestly, I am not into the big "guitar music" in the sense that I like sparse playig. Art List (in no order):
1. Steve Cropper
2. The Hook
3. Chuck Berry
4. Jimi Hendrix
5. Buddy Guy
6. Eddie Cochran
7. Django Reinhardt
8. Brian Setzer
9. Elvis Costello
10. Clapton
This was actually hard for me. Like I said, I'm not that fond of popular "rock-guitar music".

Uhh... the guy from the Moffats....


Clapton, Guy, Vaughan perhaps, Hendrix, Allman, BB and Albert King, Harrison, and a couple others I can't remember quite now.

Hendrix should be at the top. Clapton may be better in the technical aspect, but Hendrix has better music/style/flare.

How exactly are we supposed to measure greatness? The number of people who have heard of each guitarist? The number influenced by each?

In my mind the best is Django Reinhardt, plus he had a crippled hand! His ring and small finger were stuck together due to a fire (I have no clue how) as such, he could only fret with three extremities. Great guitar laying too.
Listen to Minor Swing, and your mind will be blown.
I forgot to mention Stevie Ray Vaughan in my earlier post.

Originally Posted by SickBoy13

In my mind the best is Django Reinhardt, plus he had a crippled hand! His ring and small finger were stuck together due to a fire (I have no clue how) as such, he could only fret with three extremities.

Pssh, Toni Iommi lost the tips of his fingers...

Originally Posted by Lucius Vorenus

Pssh, Toni Iommi lost the tips of his fingers...

Iommi had, if I remember correctly, steel or some other metal implants for his finger tips. Also, I am not a big Black Sabbath person, and as I stated earlier, am not into what would be construed as rock-guitar. I like the whole sound, from bands. The only single-instrument-that-is-a-guitar-music I can listen to is blues.
Just listen to Reinhardt. I still can't play his music, and it sounds so good.