The 100 greatest guitarists of all time (Rolling Stones Mag.)

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5937559/the_100_greatest_guitarists_of_all_time/1

Kurk Cobain ahead of Jeff Beck, Brian May, Tom Morello, Eddie Van Halen :eek:

Dave Gilmore at 82 :rolleyes:

But the worst thing about this list....no mention of one of the best guitarists of all time, Rory Gallagher. I assumed id see him in the top 5 at least.

bazmaiden

Its impossible to compile these lists as music is subjective personally I wouldn't rate kurt Cobain but someone else might say hes a songwriter.

Suprised Rory G didn't make it,

Motley Crue

This is a few years old, I remember when it came out, and there was a lot of comments about Cobain.

I've never personally liked the man, I always distrusted Nirvana, but that was my personal opinion. Live, Kurt could hardly sing, let along play the guitar. He wrote good songs and Nirvana had success but Cobain was not a guitarist.

Again, its all subjective and the opinion of the Journalist who wrote it based on the fans that voted during the time the voting window was open.

I don't hold much weight on any of these charts really, Kurt Cobain was a genius sure, but NOT for his guitar playing

Tabnabs

Very surprised the likes of J Mascis, Carl Perkins, Dave Navarro, Mike McCready , Larry LaLonde, Pete Frampton and Jerry Cantrell didn't make an appearance, obviously not "cool" enough... :rolleyes:

And John Fogerty only at 40? Come on!!

Jemmaa

The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time (RollingStone 2003)

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5937559/the_100_greatest_guitarists_of_all_time/1


1 Jimi Hendrix
2 Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band
3 B.B. King
4 Eric Clapton
5 Robert Johnson
6 Chuck Berry
7 Stevie Ray Vaughan
8 Ry Cooder
9 Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
10 Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones
11 Kirk Hammett of Metallica
12 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana
13 Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead
14 Jeff Beck
15 Carlos Santana
16 Johnny Ramone of the Ramones
17 Jack White of the White Stripes
18 John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
19 Richard Thompson
20 James Burton
21 George Harrison
22 Mike Bloomfield
23 Warren Haynes of the Allman Brothers
24 The Edge of U2
25 Freddy King
26 Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave
27 Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits
28 Stephen Stills
29 Ron Asheton of the Stooges
30 Buddy Guy
31 Dick Dale
32 John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service
33 & 34 Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth
35 John Fahey
36 Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG's
37 Bo Diddley
38 Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac
39 Brian May of Queen
40 John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival
41 Clarence White of the Byrds
42 Robert Fripp of King Crimson
43 Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic
44 Scotty Moore
45 Frank Zappa
46 Les Paul
47 T-Bone Walker
48 Joe Perry of Aerosmith
49 John McLaughlin
50 Pete Townshend
51 Paul Kossoff of Free
52 Lou Reed
53 Mickey Baker
54 Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane
55 Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple
56 Tom Verlaine of Television
57 Roy Buchanan
58 Dickey Betts
59 & 60 Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead
61 Ike Turner
62 Zoot Horn Rollo of the Magic Band
63 Danny Gatton
64 Mick Ronson
65 Hubert Sumlin
66 Vernon Reid of Living Colour
67 Link Wray
68 Jerry Miller of Moby Grape
69 Steve Howe of Yes
70 Eddie Van Halen
71 Lightnin' Hopkins
72 Joni Mitchell
73 Trey Anastasio of Phish
74 Johnny Winter
75 Adam Jones of Tool
76 Ali Farka Toure
77 Henry Vestine of Canned Heat
78 Robbie Robertson of the Band
79 Cliff Gallup of the Blue Caps
80 Robert Quine of the Voidoids
81 Derek Trucks
82 David Gilmour of Pink Floyd
83 Neil Young
84 Eddie Cochran
85 Randy Rhoads
86 Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath
87 Joan Jett
88 Dave Davies of the Kinks
89 D. Boon of the Minutemen
90 Glen Buxton of Alice Cooper
91 Robby Krieger of the Doors - Hate the Doors but respect Kreiger.
92 & 93 Fred "Sonic" Smith, Wayne Kramer of the MC5
94 Bert Jansch
95 Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine
96 Angus Young of AC/DC
97 Robert Randolph
98 Leigh Stephens of Blue Cheer
99 Greg Ginn of Black Flag
100 Kim Thayil of Soundgarden

Jemmaa

http://www.listology.com/story/rolling-stone-100-greatest-guitarists

Comments:

Submitted by jokow11 on Sat, 12/06/2003 - 08:29

I'm in a band and I've played guitar for 25 years. Some thoughts about the list.

1 Jimi Hendrix - Can't argue with this. With his output cut short, he could have been much greater.

2 Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band - Cetainly the greatest slide guitarist ever. Another career cut short.

3 B.B. King - I assume he's this high because of influence and what he accomplished in a long career. Technically, he's got the blues chops but doesn't really waver much from that.

4 Eric Clapton - I probably differ in opinion from many, but to me, Clapton peaked on Dekek and the Dominos and his solo records have been spotty at best. He was great for a time but never really blows me away.

5 Robert Johnson - Blues legend. Recordings aren't very listenable. Created so much but relatively unheard. I have trouble with this only because he really wasn't as good as many below him but without him, they wouldn't exist.

6 Chuck Berry - Should be no. 1 in my opinion. Created rock and roll guitar. People still try to copy his licks.

7 Stevie Ray Vaughan - Many people differ on Stevie. Some call him a Hendrix rip off. Either way, he was certainly a phenomonal guitar player.
8 Ry Cooder - Played so many different instruments and in so many different styles, it tends to water down his influence. Great player.

9 Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin - Always thought him a bit sloppy. Came up with great riffs and the Stairway solo is probably one of the greatest of all time.

10 Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones - Not sure about this. Great rhythm guitar player. Great song writer. Great guitar player? I'd put him around 25.

11 Kirk Hammett of Metallica - Some great stuff. Some crappy stuff. Would I put him this high? Probably not. Master of Puppets is a great guitar album though.

12 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana - No way. Yes he started grunge and alternate music. Was NOT a great guitar player. Wrote great songs. Should be around 50.

13 Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead - Never been a fan of the Dead so I feel that might unfairly lower my opinion of Jerry. I like some stuff but I've never listened to a Dead song and had the guitar work jump out at me.

14 Jeff Beck - Great player. Small amount of impressive recorded work. Besides Blow by Blow, not a lot of listenable stuff.

15 Carlos Santana - Very good. Impressive output. A bit repetitive in solo work. Great feel player.

16 Johnny Ramone of the Ramones - Started punk rock in America. Great player? Since any guitar player can learn a Ramones song in about 2 minutes, I would disagree. Influential but not great.

17 Jack White of the White Stripes - I have no idea why he is on the list at all let alone this high. The fact that Eddie Van Halen is at 70 and Jack White is 17 is a travesty. Rolling Stone has a huge bias towards this group.

18 John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers - Good player. Fun licks. A little high but Rolling Stone had to put some names on here that some of their readers would recognize.

19 Richard Thompson - Good player that not alot of people have heard of. Hard to find his CDs as many are out of print.

20 James Burton - Country guitar picker. I haven't heard anything from him so I won't comment.

21 George Harrison - Way too high. Nice slide guitar player. Not a great guitarist.

22 Mike Bloomfield - Great blues player.

23 Warren Haynes - Joined the Allman Brothers in 1989. Nice player. A little high on the list.

24 The Edge of U2 - Hard for me to comment on Edge. Created a style of playing. Did some really nice stuff. Not a great solo player though.

25 Freddy King - Another early blues player.

26 Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave - Always thought every Rage song sounded exactly the same. Too high on the list.

27 Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits - Should be higher. Great style. Great solos. Amazing stuff.

28 Stephen Stills - Very good player. Doesn't show off a lot but has the chops. Some acoustic work is very complex.

29 Ron Asheton of the Stooges - Sigh. I guess he's here for the same reason the Johnny Ramone is here.

30 Buddy Guy - Great blues player.

31 Dick Dale - The King of Surf Guitar. Great player. One of the fastest ever.

32 John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service - Never heard any of their music. Can't comment.

33 & 34 Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth - Great at making feedback noises. Created a new guitar style.

35 John Fahey - Brilliant folk guitar player. Probably only about 10 guys on this list could even play his stuff.

36 Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG's - Played as a studio musician on countless records. Great solo player.

37 Bo Diddley - Blues innovator.

38 Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac - Haven't heard a lot of his stuff, but what I have was pretty good.

39 Brian May of Queen - Love his guitar work and sound. Amazing stuff. Should be way higher. Listen to the Sheer Heart Attack album (not the song) if you don't agree. Metalica even covered a song from it.

40 John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival - Swamp guitar at its finest.

41 Clarence White of the Byrds - Hard for me to pick out exactly what he played on the Byrds songs. Not sure about him.

42 Robert Fripp of King Crimson - Another group I never liked but he's obviously good.

43 Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic - Should be in the top 10. Equal to Hendrix.
44 Scotty Moore - Pioneer guitarist on many Elvis songs.

45 Frank Zappa - Should be in the top 10. Insane at 45. Half the guys above him couldn't play his stuff with a year of practice.

46 Les Paul - Most people only think of him as making the guitar. Was a great player also.

47 T-Bone Walker - Early blues player.

48 Joe Perry of Aerosmith - Some good stuff. Some stuff recorded while stoned and sounds horrible.

49 John McLaughlin - Influential jazz guitar player. Should be higher.

50 Pete Townshend - Created the windmill and some of the greatest guitar songs ever. Not a great soloist but should be higher.

51 Paul Kossoff of Free - Ok with this placement.

52 Lou Reed - I don't think even Lou Reed would put himself this high. Wrote some great songs though.

53 Mickey Baker - Early guitarist that played a lot of session work. Was on many big hits.

54 Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane - Love Jorma. Brilliant player. Should be higher. Solo work and Hot Tuna stuff better than Airplane songs.

55 Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple - Great soloist.

56 Tom Verlaine of Television - I like his stuff alot, especially the Matthew Sweet Girlfriend album.

57 Roy Buchanan - Great blues player.

58 Dickey Betts - Held his own with Duane Allman, I think that counts for higher than 58.

59 & 60 Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead - Here because the band is popular. I love Radiohead but not "greatest" guitar players.

61 Ike Turner - Not a fan.

62 Zoot Horn Rollo of the Magic Band - Played on Trout Mask replica. Not sure why here's on the list.

63 Danny Gatton - Virtuoso player, mostly rockabilly.

64 Mick Ronson - Played with Bowie and Ian Hunter. Not as well known as he should be.

65 Hubert Sumlin - Blues guitarist for Howlin' Wolf.

66 Vernon Reid of Living Colour - Really like his playing. Relatively short life span of the group affects his rating.

67 Link Wray - If you've seen a Quentin Tarantino movie, you've heard Link Wray.

68 Jerry Miller of Moby Grape - Moby Grape has some nice guitar work but I'd put 20 other guys on this list first.

69 Steve Howe of Yes - Should be way higher. Very complicated intricate guitar work.

70 Eddie Van Halen - Should be in the top 10. This is insane.

71 Lightnin' Hopkins - Early blues player.

72 Joni Mitchell - Very complicated player. Lots of strange tunings. Very melodic. Not a soloist though.

73 Trey Anastasio of Phish - I like Try a lot. Should be higher.

74 Johnny Winter - Should be in the top 20 or at least ahead of the other blues players. Great player.

75 Adam Jones of Tool - Like Tool's songs. Guitar never stood out to me. Guess i need to listen more closely.

76 Ali Farka Toure - West African player. Never heard of him. Can't comment.

77 Henry Vestine of Canned Heat - Uggh. Going to the Country is one of my all time least favorite songs. Maybe other stuff is good.

78 Robbie Robertson of the Band - Very underrated. Great "feel" guitarist. His guitar sounds searing on The Last Waltz. Should be higher.

79 Cliff Gallup of the Blue Caps - Played guitar for Gene Vincent (Bee Bop a Lula). Early impressive guitarist.

80 Robert Quine of the Voidoids - Also of Television. Like his work of Matthew Sweet's albums.

81 Derek Trucks - Nephew of Virgil. Competent player.

82 David Gilmour of Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb is one of the greatest solos ever. Should be way higher.

83 Neil Young - Not a great player but well known. I like his songs a lot but it doesn't make him one of the greatest 100 guitarists.

84 Eddie Cochran - Died early. Good pinoneer guitarist (Summertime Blues).

85 Randy Rhoads - Should be in the top 10. Amazing player. Died too young.

86 Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath - More of a riff player than known for solos. Probably why he's at 86.

87 Joan Jett - I have no idea why she's on this list. Where's Bonnie Raitt? She could play circles around Joan Jett. Looking good in leather pants gets you on the list I guess.

88 Dave Davies of the Kinks - I love the Kinks. Dave created some of the great early guitar styles.

89 D. Boon of the Minutemen - Haven't heard any of his stuff. Can't comment.

90 Glen Buxton of Alice Cooper - Very good player.

91 Robby Krieger of the Doors - Hate the Doors but respect Kreiger.

92 & 93 Fred "Sonic" Smith, Wayne Kramer of the MC5 - On here for one song - Kick Out The Jams.

94 Bert Jansch - Never heard his work.

95 Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine - Like Sonic Youth, the wall of distortion and sound. Not technically impressive.

96 Angus Young of AC/DC - He's better than you think.

97 Robert Randolph - Pedal Steel player. Have not heard him.

98 Leigh Stephens of Blue Cheer - ????

99 Greg Ginn of Black Flag - Good punk guitarist.

100 Kim Thayil of Soundgarden - Pretty good guitarist.

Jemmaa

Some names from this list are absolutely new for me and I don't know how to comment but I agree that just curious to see 70 Eddie VanHalen, 45 John McLaughlin and 12 Kurt Cobain etc

I didn't find some really important names

Ted Nugent
Joe Satriani
Joe Walsh
Zakk Wylde
Steve Vai
..
and
..
and
..
and

Well we can do it - just Text Name Here :cool:

waltersobchak

What a pretentious load of crap any list that has Jack White but not Joe Satriani is obviously an epically retarded list

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

Jemmaa wrote: »

Some names from this list are absolutely new for me and I don't know how to comment but I agree that just curious to see 70 Eddie VanHalen, 45 John McLaughlin and 12 Kurt Cobain etc

I didn't find some really important names

Ted Nugent
Joe Satriani
Joe Walsh
Zakk Wylde
Steve Vai
..
and
..
and
..
and

Well we can do it - just Text Name Here :cool:

No john petrucci either. Is there any former G3 guitarist there?

As i mentioned earlier, the lack of Rory is just criminal

JohnnyCrash

Jemmaa wrote: »

Some names from this list are absolutely new for me and I don't know how to comment but I agree that just curious to see 70 Eddie VanHalen, 45 John McLaughlin and 12 Kurt Cobain etc

I didn't find some really important names

Ted Nugent
Joe Satriani
Joe Walsh
Zakk Wylde
Steve Vai
..
and
..
and
..
and

Well we can do it - just Text Name Here :cool:

+1 for those 5. Could add Malmsteen to it?

bazmaiden

Could I add Eric Johnson? and Lee Ritenour

Jemmaa

JohnnyCrash wrote: »

+1 for those 5. Could add Malmsteen to it?

Absolutely!

So..

The Greatest Guitars (by boards.ie 2010) :cool:

*Rory Gallagher
*Carl Perkins
*Dave Navarro
*Mike McCready
*Larry LaLonde
*Pete Frampton
*Jerry Cantrell
*Ted Nugent
*Joe Satriani
*Joe Walsh
*Zakk Wylde
*Steve Vai
*Yngwie Malmsteen
*..

bazmaiden

See my previous post plus add Larry Carlton

Jemmaa

bazmaiden wrote: »

See my previous post plus add Larry Carlton

Feel free to copypast it like this



The Greatest Guitars (by boards.ie 2010)

*Rory Gallagher
*Carl Perkins
*Dave Navarro
*Mike McCready
*Larry LaLonde
*Pete Frampton
*Jerry Cantrell
*Ted Nugent
*Joe Satriani
*Joe Walsh
*Zakk Wylde
*Steve Vai
*Yngwie Malmsteen
*..
Eric Johnson
Lee Ritenour
Larry Carlton
..

GLaDOS

Severe lack of John Petrucci for me, whether you like his style or not, he has amaziing technique.

Interesting that Kirk Hammet is so high but Dave Mustaine doesn't make an appearence

Overall, it's pretty biased away from metal, towards classic rock and popular modern rock.

Would have liked to see Alex Lifeson considering that, but what can you do.

Jako8

ScienceNerd wrote: »

Would have liked to see Alex Lifeson considering that, but what can you do.

This.

He's a better guitarist than Kurt Cobain so he should AT LEAST be at 100.

DazMarz

Maybe I missed them, cos I just skimmed the list, but...

Where the fúck are Michael Schenker and Yngwie Malmsteen??? Two of the best Euro-shredders and solo-ers you'll find anywhere. Ok, fair enough, Malmsteen couldn't write a song to save his life, but Schenker has written some class songs over the years and is an amazing guitarist. If he is on the list, apologies, but I honestly did not see him there... for shame....:mad:

Mental Mickey

No James Hetfield or Jeff Healey. :rolleyes:

F**k that for a "list"

dasdog

It all seems very Anglo-American. I know most of these are not rock but off the top of my head some of my favourites that are omitted:

Jerry Reed (Country/Blues A.K.A. Snowman from Smokey and the Bandit movies)
Chet Atkins (Country/Blues)
Django Reinhardt (Jazz)
Andres Segovia (Classical)
Carlos Montoya (Spanish/Flamenco)
Wes Montgomery (Jazz)
Bireli Lagrene (Jazz)
Billy Gibbons (Blues/Rock of ZZ Top fame)
Dave Mustaine (Megadeth)

And some big names that people havent mentioned that I wouldnt really listen too much:

Paco De Lucia
Al Di Meloa

rgt320q

As said before, no Gallagher, no Satriani, no credibility.

PeterIanStaker

Alex Lifeson
Chuck Schuldiner
Rory Gallagher
.....not on it but should be.

and Angus Young should be a lot higher on that so - called list.

demanufactured

No dimebag either , stupid mainstream commecrcial *****.

Blue850

Robert Cray.

edit: and for Phantom of the Opera alone, Dave Murray and Adrian Smith from Maiden

RonMexico

Eh what about Slash? Bull$hit list.

dasdog

Blue850 wrote: »

Robert Cray.

edit: and for Phantom of the Opera alone, Dave Murray and Adrian Smith Dennis Stratton from Maiden

Being pedantic...

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

Blue850 wrote: »

Robert Cray.

edit: and for Phantom of the Opera alone, Dave Murray and Adrian Smith from Maiden

dont think Smith was in the band when the first album was recorded, Murray was there though.........smiling away!:)

Blue850

dasdog wrote: »

Being pedantic...

my bad... mind you my favourite version is from Live after Death on good old twin cassette, bit sick when the original single CD release dropped the track, have it on twin cd now:D

metalmessiah88

really suprised at james hetfield not being on the list considering his song writing ability and no tommy emmanuel acoustic genius.why is jack white on this list ??? it can hardly be for the one finger wonder song (seven nation army).... no mason williams either the man who wrote classical gas .. chirs poland (megadeths leads guitarist on killing is my business) this list needs to be redone the right way

RayCon

No Rory Gallagher makes this list a complete ****in farce ...

other notable omissions :

Alex Lifeson (never gets the recognition he deserves)
Steve Hackett
Jeff Healey
Tom Scholz (iconic sound)
Adrian Smith & Dave Murray (never appear in any list !!)

... and David Gilmour at 82 V's Kurt Cobain at 12 !!! Will you ever go fcuk yourselves ... seriously.

Mental Mickey

RonMexico wrote: »

Eh what about Slash? Bull$hit list.

+ f***in' one billion

djScarey

Is Gary Moore there? And Wilko Johnson, my tuppence worth.

JohnnyCrash

No Downey or Tipton?

ClutchIt

Listen, we have to stop dignifying this list with a discussion.

When I was a youngfeller I used to read lists and find them entertaining. Now I realise they are absolutely worthless drivel.

They appeal to magazine buyers like I was when I was younger. Anyone with any independant cop on just gets really frustrated with them. Pointless.

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

metalmessiah88 wrote: »

really suprised at james hetfield not being on the list considering his song writing ability
why is jack white on this list ???

Both should be on the list, hetfield wrights amazing riffs, and sings while laying them!

As for White, I really like him, but mainly for his work since 2003 (when this list was made!) I seen him with the raconteurs in 2008 at oxegen, out of the 4 oxegens ive been to, their performance is my fav oxegen moment! I would have him up as high as he is in the list though id say 85-100.

Id also have matt bellamy in the list. Like hendrix, morello and Eddie Van Halen, he took guitar in another direction. There are lots of other players less deserving on the list

Djdaforce wrote: »

Now I realise they are absolutely worthless drivel.

You are correct, how many metal heads read rolling stone? roughly the same amount of smiths fans that read metal hammer! It was the same in 2007 or 2008 total guitar had a list of "the best riffs of all time" I think over 50% were metal riffs, as over 50% of the readers of total guitar are metal players

Mr. Presentable

Nils Lofgren?

TangyZizzle

Josh Homme?

what a crock o sh.it..

Didnt see Andreas Kisser there either..

rednik

These lists are a complete joke.

brendansmith

16 Johnny Ramone of the Ramones = Enough said.

A Primal Nut

How can they not include Slash who has so many of the greatest guitar solos of all time?

Even weirder considering they always talk about Guns N' Roses.

Bootsy.

What a crap list. There are loads and loads of great pointless lists here http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/music0.html if you're that way inclined.

A personal top ten:

1 Jimi Hendrix
2 Jimmy Page
3 Rory Gallagher
4 Robert White, Joe Messina, Eddie Willis (Funk Brothers, Motown)
5 Tom Morello
6 Rodrigo y Gabriella
7 Mick Ronson
8 Django Reinhardt
9 Dimebag Darrell
10 Jack White

Honorable mentions to some of the great contemporary players like
Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Kyp Malone and Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio), The boys from The Strokes and thousands more that we'll never hear of...

GLaDOS

Bootsy. wrote: »

6 Rodrigo y Gabriella

Good shout actually

ride-the-spiral

These lists are always the most generic things ever and have a horrible bias for music made before 1995.

Vourney

Is there anyone else out there who is completely sick of rock music? Or am I the only one. It all sounds like crap to me. County, trad, folk is all I can listen to. Or spanish, classical guitar. What about George Jones, Hank Williams. That's a beauty of a sound from a guitar.

Vourney

Hank Williams Sr., not junior.

GLaDOS

Vourney wrote: »

Is there anyone else out there who is completely sick of rock music?

Asking on the wrong forum really :pac:

Vourney

Okay, I'll try to find my crowd elsewhere:D

Malice

Vourney wrote: »

Is there anyone else out there who is completely sick of rock music?

Why are you asking that question on the Rock & Metal forum?