Total Guitar Top 20 Guitarists...

cournioni

I read this in the Daily Mirror today and I was wondering if anyone had any disagreements with the selected guitarists. I for one was pissed off at some of the ones chosen and why there were some left out...

1) Jimi Hendrix
2) Jimmy Page
3) Eric Clapton
4) Slash
5) Brian May
6) Joe Satriani
7) Eddie Van Halen
8) Dave Gilmour
9) Kirk Hammett (Metallica)
10) Steve Vai
11) Carlos Santana
12) James Hetfield (Metallica)
13) Tom Morello (former RATM, now Civilian)
14) Kurt Cobain (formerly Nirvana)
15) Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits)
16) Zakk Wylde (Ozzy and BLS)
17) Gary Moore
18) Jeff Beck
19) Stevie Ray Vaughan
20) Angus Young (AC/DC)

John Petrucci, Randy Rhodes, Dimebag Darrell, Trey Azagthoth, Tony Iommi anyone???

Crucifix

Yeah, they left out some great guitarists, and I think Hetfield is better than Hammett. After all it was the best guitarists, not the fastest.

Karl Hungus

In all fairness, there is some pretty god damn brilliant guitarists up there. But there is a couple that shouldn't really be there. I mean, Kurt Cobain? And Zakk Wilde there, but no mention for Randy Rhodes? He should definetly be picked ahead of Widle, because he wrote the majority of the stuff that Zakk's playing with Ozzy now. It's Rhodes' music that is the most famous.

And BOTH Hammet and Hetfield?
You don't see Slash and Izzy, do you?

NeMiSiS

hmmm..
I dont dig Kurt Cobain well to a certain extent but..he's over rated..big time as a guitar player certainly..

I agree about Randy Rhoads..no doubt it was voted for by punkass kids,its good to see Slash in it I dont actully think he made it in last year for some unkown reason,..I think it was all this nu metal bull**** warping the punkass kids minds !

Dimebag Darell is ****ing excellent also...what about like John Lee Hooker..Buddy Guy..also I know Steve Vai is amazing like he's technically superb...but its all a bit souless for my like'in..even still Joe Satriani taught him..and he's a little let souless imho and has a bit more style..Im gonna get even more controversial and say I dont like Santana either *shock* *horror* sure he's a nice guy but he dont..rock my boat

where the **** is Peter Green ? I dunno I could go on for days..but no point..everyones entiteld to their opinion..even if its wrong.. wheh wheh wheh

adios

nem

alb

All a matter of opinion I guess but here's mine:

Out: Kurt Cobain
In: Buddy Guy

otherwise it's fairly decent imho

Frank Grimes

Including Cobain and leaving out Frank Zappa? Doesn't make too much sense. To me anyway.

francie brady

This is the second poll in the last couple of months. Zappa was in the top ten in the other one. It's bad news for those blues men who stood at the crossroads and sold their souls and didn't even get into the top 20.

Ruaidhri

you are missing the point:it's not about skill. it's not about who can hammer out the most notes/second or anything like that. it's POLL. votes from the READERS. so this is the top 20 from readers of Total Guitar. simple really.

when you "best guitarist" do you mean most skillful/most melodic or the guitarist that agrees with you the most?

Robbo

Suprised not to see Keith Richard there.

MrJoeSoap

Kurt cobain? Might as well stick Phoebe in there.

WhiteWashMan

Originally posted by AngelWhore

And BOTH Hammet and Hetfield?
You don't see Slash and Izzy, do you?

in all fairness, all izzy straddlin did was play rythym guitar.

although surprised not to see mr motor mouth mustane. he is an excellent player.

and i agree with buddy guy being in there. crying shame.
but then again, id also add in john lee hooker, muddy waters and aload of other blues artists, as they tend to be more talented than your average metal riffmeister

Karl Hungus

I'm looking at it from a Lead/Rythem aspect, WWMan.
And Izzy probably did write a decent amount of the music.

There's about 1000 different guitarist that could be mentioned. The thing is, you got to take into consideration the readership of Total Guitar.

I think it's great to see the two metallica guitarists in there, for a while I don't think that they got enough credit for some of their amazing work, like Enter Sandman, Nothing Else Matters, Outlaw Torn, etc...it's great to see, as they create some amazing riffs.

Good to see them being recognised for their guitar skills.

cournioni

I can understand Azagthoth not being in there for him being a death metal guitarist (he still is in my opinion one of the best in the world). But what I cant take in is that John Petrucci, one of the best (if not the best) sweep pickers in the world not even being on the list. I would have expected him being in the top ten at least.

Dimebag Darrell and Tony Iommi are probably the best riff writers in the world IMO, plus the fact that Dimebag can write damn good solos aswell (Cemetery Gates, Floods, New Level). And everyone knows what a great guitarist Randy Rhodes was, just listen to Mr. Crowley... point proven.

Yngwie Malmsteen (even though I think he's a right prick) should be in there for inventing shredding and being damn good at it also.

I also agree with a few of the lads on the blues musicians, John Lee Hooker should definately have been in there.

Frank Zappa also for being one of the most creative musicians ever.

Now for the rejects... I don't think Kurt Cobain, Kirk Hammett, Zakk Wylde and Tom Morello should have been in the top 20. The only ones who should have even came close was Morello and Wylde. I think Hammett and Cobain are totally overrated. I mean how many riffs did Hammett write in his whole career in Metallica? Only one comes to my mind and that is Enter the Sandman (not that great of a riff either). I think Hanneman is a better guitarist than him technically and also at writing songs. Well I don't need to give a reason why I'd leave Cobain out, I think alot of you know why he shouldn't be in there.

lukin

Why all this anti-Kurt Cobain stuff?
O.K. I admit he wasn't a great guitarist, he even admitted as much himself: ("I'm a ****ty guitar player") but I think that statement had more to do with his self-loathing than anything else. This is a man after all who once proclaimed "I hate myself and want to die".
I will say though that the guitar solo in the middle of "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle" (from In Utero, 1993) is one of the greatest solos I've ever heard.
I'm a massive fan of the band, I just came across this post and had to stick up for the deceased Nirvana leader.

Oeneus

May I point out that Paradise City is the Brainchild of Izzy Stradlin, and in my opinion that is the best song in the world.

But then again it is a poll for best guitarists and not best song writers.

And is Dave Gilmour really better than Steve Vai?

I agree with the idea that Hetfield is better than Hammet. James is one of those few Guitarists that can sing like a bitch while wailing some serious riffs on a guitar. That's talent.

phreak

Originally posted by PORNAPSTER

Now for the rejects... I don't think Kurt Cobain, Kirk Hammett, Zakk Wylde and Tom Morello should have been in the top 20. The only ones who should have even came close was Morello and Wylde. I think Hammett and Cobain are totally overrated. I mean how many riffs did Hammett write in his whole career in Metallica? Only one comes to my mind and that is Enter the Sandman (not that great of a riff either). I think Hanneman is a better guitarist than him technically and also at writing songs. Well I don't need to give a reason why I'd leave Cobain out, I think alot of you know why he shouldn't be in there.

dont take out Tom Morello

Karl Hungus

Originally posted by Oeneus
I agree with the idea that Hetfield is better than Hammet. James is one of those few Guitarists that can sing like a bitch while wailing some serious riffs on a guitar. That's talent.

Yes, The Hetman is a brilliant songwriter, and he's a damn good singer too, and that's definetly where his talent lies. But I don't think he's amazing for being able to sing and play at the same time. He's playing rythem, Hammet is the one doing the work.

But to put things in perspective, take a look at Mikael Akerfeltd from Opeth. He sings and plays lead guitar, and is the main songwriter of the band. I can play Master Of Puppets without batting an eyelid, but the sheer complexity of Opeth's songs nearly have me quivering at the thought of playing them. Not to mention singing at the same time. Seriously, some of the chord changes in the songs are absurd. Give some Opeth a listen to, to see what I mean.

Oeneus

So you can play Master Of Puppets without batting an Eyelid, but can you sing it aswell? I bloody well can't.

I will give Opeth a listen to.

NeMiSiS

Can we agree thats its a mess and TG readers have 'flawed' opinions on whats..good guitar playing..?

nem....

WhiteWashMan

aaaahhhh.
no i have to say i dont think its the same as saying this riff is more compliated than that one so he must be better.
i mean if thats the case, you could put in whatshisname from primus, who havent got a single guitar riff in any of their songs. every piece of guitar in their music is solo type work.
but i dont think hes perticularly brilliant.
youre also talking aobut rocky george from suicidal who is amazing as well, but i still wouldnt stick him in. and mike clark is a fantastic rythym player. god listen to feel like shít/deja vú!
the rythym on that is awesome, as is waking the dead.

to me, its not about the speed someone can play at, or how heavy they can thrash the guitar, its ohw they make that baby sing.
kirt hammett can make a guitar sing. full stop. and i think its right that he should be in there. james hetfield certainly deserves to be in there as well.
im not into the death or black or whatever scene any more, but i wouldnt have added any one of the old earache (Are they still going as a label?) bands in there.

there are certianly plenty of fantastic players out there.
david gilmore is a god on guitar. dont try and convince me otherwise. anyone who has listened to comfortably numb live in concert will tell you that your hair stands up on your arms and necka nd you gets serious chills thought your body. thats powerful. the man makes you want to cry when he plays guitar.

its all well and good putting together the names of the bands you listen too, but what is it that makes you think a guitar player is good?
for me, it is basically being able to amke it sing as ive said before.
not speed, or technique or anything like that. its altogether the whole package.
by the way, id definately stick mark knopfler inthere to. another god on the guitar.
sultans of swing. incredible.

Karl Hungus

You miss the point completely.
We were talking specifically about skill.
And frankly, Opeth have written songs that are 20 times better than anything Metallica has done since load.

beaver

Be nice to see Allan Holdsworth there, but in a magazine poll -- hah, not likely unfortunatly...

Giblet

A good guitarist sounds good, It doesn't matter if he can play 16th notes at 200bps, That just sounds rubbish. Slash sounds great, and therefore is a great guitarist. Vai sounds like he's been practicing too much for too long, and his music is very long and drawn out, and full of show offy crap. Sure you can apreciate his skill and technique, but its gets repetitive and boring, which is why Hendrix, Page, Slash, and Clapton will always top these polls, becuase they know how to write a good song without having to consult a book on which mode would perfectly fit into this riff and whatever, they just fúcking play.

Robbo

Cheers Giblet, at last a bit of common sense.

MrJoeSoap

Why all this anti-Kurt Cobain stuff? O.K. I admit he wasn't a great guitarist, he even admitted as much himself

This post is about the Best Guitarists and you've just said he wasnt a great guitarist. Point made?

Giblet

OHHHHH BTW!!! Wasn't this a Top Twenty Guitar ICONS!!!
Not best guitarists. Well if so, Kurt Cobain deserves to be high in it.

mike65

Just one comment, Jeff Beck at 18 ? Madness....

Oh yeah no mention of Tommy Bolin or Paul Kossof, both dead too
long I guess....

Mike

pyure

Ok, just for the record Kurt Cobain was so highly hated in this poll because of the passion he had for the music he played, which shone through in his songs

he wasnt a good guitarist, heck dave grohl was better even back then

rubyseyes

where's billy 'the riff' duffy?? or the billy corgan for that matter??

WhiteWashMan

Originally posted by AngelWhore
You miss the point completely.
We were talking specifically about skill.
And frankly, Opeth have written songs that are 20 times better than anything Metallica has done since load.

where does it say skill in the title of this thread?

its says top 20 guitarists or something similar.
so i havent really missed the point.
ive put forward my view on what i think makes a good guitarist.

and quiet frankly, the statement that opeth have writen songs that are 20 times better than anything metallica have done since load is completely subjective and wont hold in a court of law.

You think that.
personally i think opeth suck.
but there you go.
but then again, i think classical is better than metal any day of the week.
nice to be cultured

Karl Hungus

Read the thread.
Get some idea of what context is.

Here... I'll spell it out for you:

Oeneus and I, were speaking "Specifically" of skill.
Ok?

cournioni

Originally posted by Giblet
Sure you can apreciate his skill and technique, but its gets repetitive and boring, which is why Hendrix, Page, Slash, and Clapton will always top these polls, becuase they know how to write a good song without having to consult a book on which mode would perfectly fit into this riff and whatever, they just fúcking play.

If thats the case then both of the guys from In Flames should be in the top ten. I don't see them there do you?

Originally posted by Giblet
A good guitarist sounds good, It doesn't matter if he can play 16th notes at 200bps, That just sounds rubbish.

And by the way, what you just said there is a matter of opinion. It just sounds rubbish to YOU. Some people may like it even though you do not agree with it. I mean, Morbid Angel play pretty damn fast and lots of technique involved there. I like it, but you probably don't.

Robbo

Originally posted by PORNAPSTER


If thats the case then both of the guys from In Flames should be in the top ten. I don't see them there do you?



And by the way, what you just said there is a matter of opinion. It just sounds rubbish to YOU. Some people may like it even though you do not agree with it. I mean, Morbid Angel play pretty damn fast and lots of technique involved there. I like it, but you probably don't.

When In Flames write Sunshine of Your Love, Bold as Love, Strange Brew, Whole Lotta Love and Sweet Child of Mine, you might just have a point. Until then, persist with the wishful thinking.

cournioni

Originally posted by Robbo
When In Flames write Sunshine of Your Love, Bold as Love, Strange Brew, Whole Lotta Love and Sweet Child of Mine, you might just have a point. Until then, persist with the wishful thinking.

And these songs are supposed to mean what to me? I think In Flames have written better songs than Sweet Child 'o Mine and Whole Lotta Love (i.e. Episode 666 and Acoustic Medley). I havent heard the others songs to make a judgement.

In Flames just haven't got the publicity because they are on a very small record label and cannot (and do not want to advertise their albums in any way). You haven't heard any of their songs yet have you Robbo?

Giblet

Well Pornnapster, in this poll of TOP TWENTY GUITAR IDOLS!!!!
Which it is by the way, do you think they should be there. Here let me simplify it for you. Ok Do most people know who Steve Vai is, answer no! Ok, now how many people know Slash, quite a lot. Now Ask your self how many people have the guitarist of in flames as their IDOL!!!! not many.

Oeneus

Don't worry Pornapster. Over the last few months the Guitarist of Nightwish(Emppu Vuorinen) has become one of my Fav guitar players (after Slash of course) and it pisses me off that no one has heard of them, therefore would disagree that he would be in the top 20.

There's a lot of talented people out there that don't get the credit they deserve. I mean Emppu would definately be ranked a hell of a lot better than Kurt Cobain.

/|/)etal)-|ead

Ok, this probably isnt going to be a very popular choice, but I think Alexi Laiho should totally be up there. And Kirk hammett should be higher. and it really makes you question the readers when they cant even put Yngwie Malmsteen in there p.s. I dont get jimi hendrix at all - plays all that crap irritating hippie music and just makes stupid white noise instead of actually playing the damn thing

Conorjob

Crap irritating hippie music???? He is the single most influential guitarist who has ever lived!!! Anyway, the poll is quite good, but its pure blasphemy to leave out Rory Gallagher.

Giblet

Well Yngwie should not be there, as most people dont know who he is, and again this was a TOP TWENTY GUITARS IDOLS, idols being the keyword. How many people idolise Yngwie over Slash, not many. anyway he is not even that great, too technical, and has no soul.

BattlingCheese

Well said Giblet and I agree with Conorjob, where is Rory.

Wookie

Got to agree with Conorjob and NeMiSiS

1. Rory Gallagher
2. Peter Green

Without question they should be in the top 20.

They had excellent technical ability. They could also write and put together great music. Thus qualifying on both sides of the discussion.

/|/)etal)-|ead

I blame Yngwie's lack of "idol" status on those damn lycra pants Seriously though he is sooo brilliant when he plays just instrumental tracks, he just got caught up with the whole 80s cheese/ hair metal thing.

Satan's Kitten

plz dont eat me anyone for this but y was there no mention of head from korn? i'm not sayin he should b up there at the top, maybe its rite that he aint there at all, but i still think hes really something of a good guitarist. am i alone in this thought? i just wanted to bring this to ppls attention.

i'm a korn fan goddamit! i have to put a word in for head otherwise i feel disloyal and ****, that and i felt like havin a say.

Oeneus

Hmm...Korn. Could I agree? I think not. We're having enough arguments over Kurt Cobain being in there.

But someone from a Nu-Metal band who just plays 2 overly distorted chords in each song and then think he's good enough to be one of the worlds best Guitarists?

Not a chance

/|/)etal)-|ead

heh i know you said "dont eat me" satans kitten, but ARE YOU INSANE hehheh just kidding . I liked Korn's first album, but head's more of a bass player than a guitar player isn's he?

Satan's Kitten

i did say that maybe it was rite that Head wasnt up there at all, i just like the guy. i like the guitar on korn songs. i'm going to put another name in the running now, jus cuz i can! Daron Malakian, y'know the crazy(er) member of S.O.A.D. i mean c'mon y gotta admit that he's good, maybe not to 20 greatest, but good.

and on second thoughts trying to eat me may not be a good idea, i'd bite back. i'm a bitter!

cournioni

Originally posted by Satan's Kitten
i did say that maybe it was rite that Head wasnt up there at all, i just like the guy. i like the guitar on korn songs. i'm going to put another name in the running now, jus cuz i can! Daron Malakian, y'know the crazy(er) member of S.O.A.D. i mean c'mon y gotta admit that he's good, maybe not to 20 greatest, but good.

To be honest, I wouldn't rate either of them at all cos they don't play solos. In honesty you do need to write good solos to come anywhere near being a good guitarist. Malakian made alot of mistakes just picking at Ozzfest from what I remember, he totally fecked up on Chop Suey! Thats not a sign of a good guitarist now.

I agree with /\/)etal)-|ead, Head down tunes his guitar so much that the fecking strings are nearly falling off the fretboard. He would nearly be better off playing a bass.

and on second thoughts trying to eat me may not be a good idea, i'd bite back. i'm a bitter!

Eat you? In what way?

Satan's Kitten

i only ever heard Malakian on the albums so i hade no idea he made mistakes during live shows. i guess a live playing gives u the proper idea of how good someone is.

the "dont eat me" thing is what gets said to me when ppl r about to question an album or song by a band i like. y'know "dont hurt me, but..." i figured i'd get some reactoin for namin Head and Malakian. i do bite back tho

has AngelWhore seen my posts on this subject? i thought he'd have some comments for me bout korn!

Waylander

I am thinking Lynard Skynnard should have got a mention in that list.

WhiteWashMan

Originally posted by Waylander
I am thinking Lynard Skynnard should have got a mention in that list.

lynard skynard was a band, not a person