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Quoted: Who do you guys consider the top 5 greatest guitarist’s of all time!?? Rock , Blues anything. The best guitarist that actually makes the guitar talk and the listener transported to another dimension. My choices Jimmy Page David Gilmour Eddie Van Halen Keith Richards Stevie Ray Vaughan Honorable mentions BB King Albert King Buddy Guy View Quote Well then... Peter Framptons - Talking Guitar |
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No idea who the greatest is, but my favorite is Mark Knopfler.
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I agree with all of the above picks but this guy is pretty good to. Gary Clark.
Gary Clark Jr. - Bright Lights |
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View Quote Best talkbox player is whatever the guy from Bon Jovi's name is. |
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Quoted: Not even close. Tay-Tay https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oTvq5N5qGjU/ToHXc7XfCWI/AAAAAAAAAqA/fPXa6xB-_ac/s1600/Taylor+Swift+concert+photo+Speak+Now+Tour+3.JPG View Quote |
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I have to follow Jimmy Hendrix lead and vote Billy Gibbons. He said he was the best and I believe him.
Also…both of the Young’s but as a set… Billy Gibbons Malcolm/Angus Young |
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Quoted: Prince is beyond this list imo. He was exceptional at every instrument he played, and was almost undoubtedly the most prolific musician ever. Most people write him off as a freak or only know his popular songs but that guy was the greatest musician of our time. But, as a guitarist he belongs on this list and damn near the top. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Prince. Prince is beyond this list imo. He was exceptional at every instrument he played, and was almost undoubtedly the most prolific musician ever. Most people write him off as a freak or only know his popular songs but that guy was the greatest musician of our time. But, as a guitarist he belongs on this list and damn near the top. Yup. |
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Quoted: And Clapton? Just curious. Contributing to the thread, somebody nobodies heard of or likes: j mascis https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/2048/j_JPG-2422361.jpg View Quote He’s definitely the loudest guitar player that ever lived (J Mascis) |
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Derek Trucks
Roy Buchanan Joe Bonamassa Eric Clapton Stevie Ray Vaughan |
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Eddie Shaver was so fukn good. Every song he played , his guitar overshadowed the lyrics , and Billy Jo had some great lyrics.
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While he's not my favorite guitarist by any means, it would be hard to top Yngwie Malmsteen in terms of technical ability and music theory mastery.
Who the greatest guitarist is is completely subjective. I like guitarists who can shred - Marty Friedman, Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Halen, for example. But I also appreciate a guitarist who can do a lot with a little. For instance, Tony Iommi - almost nothing but power chords and pentatonic licks but damn, it works. A more extreme example would be the guitarists from Rammstein - Paul Landers and Richard Kruspe - these guys have songs where there is literally one guitar riff and the rest of the song builds around it. But it works. A good musician knows when to get up front and shine and when to stand back and simply be a cog in a music-making machine. |
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My favorites;
Angus and Malcolm Young Mark Knopfler Chet Atkins Keith Richards |
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different players are better at different genres and playing styles
Slide, fingerpick, chicken picking. May favorites right now Per Nilsson John Browne Nick Johnston Plini |
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Quoted: For instance, Tony Iommi - almost nothing but power chords and pentatonic licks but damn, it works. View Quote At least Tony gave you power chords. Billy corgan and James Iha wrote like 8 albums using only octaves. Power chord without the 5th.. And the bass line was just the same note that the octaves played. |
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Tim Reynolds. Playing with Dave Matthew's won't make your name a top pick for a guitarist but having seen him in concert he is very good, and likes to experiment making sounds that don't even seem possible to come from a guitar.
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Two others that are pretty underrated IMO are Elliott Easton from The Cars & Mike Campbell from The Heartbreaker’s.
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SRV is my #1.
Duane Allman is right up there arguably #1 in southern rock. Hard to believe he was only 25 when he died. |
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Clapton totally ripped him off and they named an entire musical genre after him.
a SONG for Vickie Guerrero From the ROCK |
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Greatest of all time is highly subjective. For me it’s SRV and Jimmy Paige but that’s a very narrow view I suppose. You also can’t overlook James Burton. That guy pretty much defined the Nashville sound.
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Quoted: That’s amazing. Were they beginners lessons? That would be cool, and hilarious at the same time! “No, move your little finger over here!” View Quote This was in Andover NJ. I remember going down into his basement and he had his albums stacked around the place. He taught me a few licks if I remember correctly. |
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These lists are dumb, usually written by people who don't play or study guitar, and do nothing to advance the knowledge of guitar. I will not participate.
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My problem is there are at least 25+ guitarists that I think should be in the top 5.
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Quoted: My problem is there are at least 25+ guitarists that I think should be in the top 5. View Quote Ranking to a top 5 is impossible. Perhaps a top 50? |
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I think the difficulty with lists like these is not defining the reason for greatness. Lots of guitarists on this list may be technically skilled but otherwise unremarkable.
Tone, groove, technical ability, originality, ability to connect with the band members, ability to connect with the audience, etc. are what make someone truly great. This list has a lot of “meh” |
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Quoted: Yes. I have played since I was 8 years old. Thank you. View Quote It's like the 9mm vs 45acp discussion but worse. |
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