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Rank of Electric Guitarists


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Hello SDS and all!

I fought for Jimmy in 1st place, but understand we are trying to accomplish just getting through the 1st 10 would be the hardest IMHO and you are the thread host and feel along with a few that Hendrix should be first. My forced choice for #2 would of course be Jimmy biggrin.gif

I absolutely love Eddie Van Halen and would rank him at #4 just behind Jeff Beck at #3 since the dynamics have changed since we started. Jeff Beck has remained a true guitarist in every sense IMHO.This is my humble opinion as Jeff Beck can hit one note and you know who it is, he truly has created his own sound and went in many directions taking chances, yet never failing to be magnificent with his electric guitar.

I will respect everyones opinion, but there is my two cents for what it's worth:-)

Well I'm glad you understand.

There were others advocating a high position for Jeff Beck, so he has a very good chance at being chosen for the position. But of course I'll have to look back at the older posts to get an idea of who else is being advocated (I basically generalized the last selection down to "Page vs. Gilmour"). I'm still up to see Eddie Van Halen occupy #3 (won't argue if Beck takes it though). And if anybody else wants to support a guitarist, reiterate one who's already been named, or mention a new one, it will be considered. I just simplified the last selection because I noticed that Page and Gilmour seemed to be coming up a lot.

Might be a good idea for me to keep some sort of account where I can take notes on what people say. Thankfully I can just grab a spare composition book, so it won't cost me any money.

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With only a couple of exceptions, these listings are guitarist's ANY "classic rock" fan has heard of. They're all players that have been in the top 40 of FM hits throughout the last 45 years or so.

So maybe the title of the thread should be Rank of Electric Guitarists, within the most visible parameters

No one has mentioned Frank Zappa, John McLaughlin, Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Johnny Winter, Pat Metheny, Martin Barre, Stanley Jordan, John Abercrombie, Bill Frizell, Larry Carlton, Hugh McCracken, Gary Green, Steve Morse, Eddie Hazel, Steve Hackett, or untold others are so inventive, musical and technically proficient.

This list has looked more like a Rolling Stone reader's poll than anything. Not deep at all.

*Oops, I see some of these HAVE been mentioned. Sorry to those who posted them. I still stand by my observation though, for the most part.

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With only a couple of exceptions, these listings are guitarist's ANY "classic rock" fan has heard of. They're all players that have been in the top 40 of FM hits throughout the last 45 years or so.

So maybe the title of the thread should be Rank of Electric Guitarists, within the most visible parameters

No one has mentioned Frank Zappa, John McLaughlin, Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Johnny Winter, Pat Metheny, Martin Barre, Stanley Jordan, John Abercrombie, Bill Frizell, Larry Carlton, Hugh McCracken, Gary Green, Steve Morse, Eddie Hazel, Steve Hackett, or untold others are so inventive, musical and technically proficient.

This list has looked more like a Rolling Stone reader's poll than anything. Not deep at all.

*Oops, I see some of these HAVE been mentioned. Sorry to those who posted them. I still stand by my observation though, for the most part.

I did have the concern that the list would lean to rock, particularly classic rock. I almost considered naming the list "Rank of Electric Rock Guitarists". Although I know that the most popular guitarists will float to the top, I still wish to be inclusive of electric guitarists playing in other genres. You do bring up good criticism though. Where will guitarists who don't cater to the mainstream go? Well frankly I suppose a lot of them won't be on this list. I knew what I was creating when I made this list: I knew that in a lot of ways it would be just like the lists Rolling Stone and Digital Dream Door (at least there rock guitarists one; not so much for the other predominantly electric genre lists) had made. But I want to say something else in regards to your post: I think part of being great is being the most visible. When you take this concept of greatness to a list of guitarists, there are a lot of factors to consider, but being an unknown generally won't get you on the list. I know for a fact that there are many amazing unknown guitarists out there. I've met such people. Anyways, take Robert Johnson for example (not electric, I know): he was virtually unknown outside of the Mississippi Delta. Then there was a blues revival in the '60s, and all of a sudden somebody had discovered him and he was not just a guitarist anymore. He was also a legend, in part because he was an unknown. If Johnson hadn't been discovered in the '60s, it wouldn't have mattered if he was the greatest bluesman in the Delta or not: he never would have made any list of guitarists ranked by greatness. That is the only possible justification I can offer for the direction the list is taking. I hope you understand what I mean.

And just for the record, I'm a fan of Frank Zappa, John McLaughlin, Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Johnny Winter, Larry Carlton, Steve Morse, Eddie Hazel, and Steve Hackett, and other guitarists who might not be considered players of classic rock, or are not prominent.

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Hello!

Everyone has great points here. I find it interesting why we pick our choices: I picked BB King as one of my top 5 electric guitarist and he is blues....the thread is for us to hopefully debate and have reasons why we choose who we do as asked by our thread host.

Many mentioned here already I am sure will be part of the list as it grows. I personally would like to see more reasons why some people picked their choices. :peace:

Here's to us getting through the top 10 and beyond :toast:

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So maybe the title of the thread should be Rank of Electric Guitarists, within the most visible parameters

No one has mentioned Frank Zappa, John McLaughlin, Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Johnny Winter, Pat Metheny, Martin Barre, Stanley Jordan, John Abercrombie, Bill Frizell, Larry Carlton, Hugh McCracken, Gary Green, Steve Morse, Eddie Hazel, Steve Hackett, or untold others are so inventive, musical and technically proficient.

This list has looked more like a Rolling Stone reader's poll than anything. Not deep at all.

You mention some amazing guitarists for sure, but when debating a list of Top 100 I think that guys who were proficient on the instrument, and visible to mass amounts of people, and sustained success over their careers should be recognized as such. Is Pat Metheny great? Yes. He is. I've seen him live too. Great show. But Metheny plays, by choice, a music that isn't as widely accepted... you won't hear Jazz on too many radio stations and you won't ever find MTV playing his videos.

It doesn't take away from what he is, but what would a top 100 list look like if you have to explain to people who the top guys are?

Another argument is the he's better than that guy or he plays much more technically difficult music than so and so... really... who cares? I've been playing guitar for over 30 years and studied Classical as well... I know what is difficult and what isn't, and yet when I hear David Gilmour I am still moved. Guys like Yngwie or Vai or Satriani can play circles around Gilmour... but I'll take one note from Gilmour's Strat over a flurry of notes from the other guys. {JMO}

To say this list isn't deep just blows my mind... we have Jimi Hendrix, who totally reinvented the way the electric guitar could be played at number one, Jimmy Page who formed the greatest rock band ever and wrote and played on the most requested track in radio history in second and Eddie Van Halen, who, like Hendrix, totally reshaped the landscape of guitar, vying for third.

Not deep? I think that's pretty friggin' deep. Just because those guys were and are still popular shouldn't diminish what they accomplished. Perhaps you can start your own poll titled: The Greatest Guitarists Most Of You Have Never Heard Of...

Music is a personal thing... if it moves you then it has succeeded. Doesn't matter if it's Jimi Hendrix, Led-Zeppelin, David Gilmour, Steve Morse or Hannah Montana. But to say a list isn't deep because the guys mentioned most are popular is just completely absurd.

Now... onward... Eddie at number three? Man, that's a tough one. I wouldn't have a problem w/ that, because he certainly deserves it. I know that what he did and accomplished has only been matched by Hendrix, so to say he's not top three would be wrong. I will go along w/ this and second Eddie at number three.

Now... some other guitarists that you may, or may not know... to be considered as this list grows...

Warren Haynes - Govt. Mule/Allman Brothers

John Sykes - Thin Lizzy/Whitesnake/Blue Murder

Chris Duarte - Chris Duarte Group

Jake E. Lee - Ozzy Osbourne/Badlands

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Hello Dr Death and everyone!

I agree with so much of what you stated above :D But I gotta have a friendly :duel: with you on pick number 3 and 4... I know it's hard because EVH and Beck are both so freakin awesome!!

My reason for putting Beck just ahead of Eddie: I stated a few times that it's Beck range IMHO that puts him just a tad bit above EVH. Beck has gone in so many different directions with the electric guitar while Eddie created a new sound...damn this is hard, but interesting as we are not some reporter from RS...we are the fans of the music :thumbsup:

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To say this list isn't deep just blows my mind...

I realize that some of the very visible guitarists are really good, but even with Hendrix (who IS my favorite), the majority of the list is shallow. Not individually that is, but as far as WIDESPREAD. That only goes beyond the "norm" with a few postings.

I don't see how when Jimi and Jimmy and Jeff Beck and David Gilmour (for instance) are repeated over and over that you thing that's DEEP.

It's like popular albums. That only accounts for a very small percentage of what's out there. And GREAT to me, doesn't have to be POPULAR.

We all have variable depths to what we've listened to in our lives. I know that when I view other's collections, I see very few people that go DEEP. I'm glad I had friends who checked out so much of the obscure music and that influenced me too. Granted, not all of my "venturings" proved satisfying, but I surely discovered alot of music I wouldn't have had I just been a top 40 FM "classic rock" type of devotee.

And still Dr. Death, you're equating DEEP with popular. I find the popular ones just scrape the surface. The most known. Surely you understand what I mean by deep.

I also find many guitarists who aren't the popular ones to match or exceed the popular ones.

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I agree, the only problem for me in that respect is that I'd never be able to choose between him and Beck.

I personally think technically Beck is better, but I enjoy Clapton live more. Next to Jimmy, no other guitarist transports me emotionally as EC.

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Hello Dr Death and everyone!

I agree with so much of what you stated above :D But I gotta have a friendly :duel: with you on pick number 3 and 4... I know it's hard because EVH and Beck are both so freakin awesome!!

My reason for putting Beck just ahead of Eddie: I stated a few times that it's Beck range IMHO that puts him just a tad bit above EVH. Beck has gone in so many different directions with the electric guitar while Eddie created a new sound...damn this is hard, but interesting as we are not some reporter from RS...we are the fans of the music :thumbsup:

Believe me, I love Beck and have been a fan of his since... heck, since I can remember. But I am also aware that Beck uses Eddie's tapping technique... I am not aware of Eddie using any Beck licks and/or tricks... so...

A list of Jimi, Jimmy, Eddie and Jeff is pretty good...

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Believe me, I love Beck and have been a fan of his since... heck, since I can remember. But I am also aware that Beck uses Eddie's tapping technique... I am not aware of Eddie using any Beck licks and/or tricks... so...

A list of Jimi, Jimmy, Eddie and Jeff is pretty good...

Jeff Beck was using tapping techniques when Eddie was still in diapers. Can't argue with who's on your top 4 list though beer.gif

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I also find many guitarists who aren't the popular ones to match or exceed the popular ones.

And I agree, but you can't have a Top 100 list and have a bunch of people nobody knows on that list. Take someone like Page... he formed Zep, and, for the entirety of their career, he helped keep them at the top. He had a decent thing w/ The Firm and did a pretty darn good album w/ David Coverdale. Now, you take some lesser known person, could they have his staying power?

Or would they have fizzled out after an album or two? Same thing w/ David Gilmour... he joins Pink Floyd and they had a sound and style... Syd Barrett was their leader. Yet, over time Gilmour led them to a new sound, both vocally and musically.

Now some may argue that it was Waters who led them there, but I am talking about 1969-1975... and lest we forget Gilmour had the ability to see Roger's ideas to fruition and make them successful...

I should probably just stay out of this thread... LOL I commented on how I hate polls when it comes to music and what you and I are arguing over is one of those very reasons.

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Jeff Beck was using tapping techniques when Eddie was still in diapers. Can't argue with who's on your top 4 list though beer.gif

Hmmm... I have a Guitar World interview w/ Beck where he says differently. And the tapping thing is one of the main things Eddie is known for creating/inventing.

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Hmmm... I have a Guitar World interview w/ Beck where he says differently. And the tapping thing is one of the main things Eddie is known for creating/inventing.

Eddie created a style of his own and made it a trademark but Beck was was doing it long before that. Not as often but you can hear it in songs like Goin'Down, Ice Cream Cakes. If your referring to the same Guitar World issue that I read, I believe Beck said something to the effect that he was jealous of how good Eddie was at doing it and wanted to break his fingers biggrin.gif

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Didn't Eddie get the idea of tapping after seeing Jimmy do the Heartbreaker solo at the LA Forum?

That's what Eddie says, but the reason wasn't because Page was tapping... I believe Jimmy was bending behind the nut, and Eddie wondered what would happen if he used his right hand to hammer on notes... that's the story I've heard.

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And I agree, but you can't have a Top 100 list and have a bunch of people nobody knows on that list.

I don't think the guitarist's I mentioned are known by "nobody". Maybe unknown by many devout Led Zeppelin fans, but not overall, especially among knowledgeable guitarists.

Oh well, as I said, all of our wells have different depths and some aren't quite as deep as others.

I suggest you do a top 100 guitarists google search, there'll be many you and I don't recognize. That's just the way it goes. Wells aren't just deep their also measured laterally. ;)

By the way I love Page, Beck and many of the other often mentioned guitarists and among my over 2,000 cd's I have lots of other favorites too, WAY to expansive to begin to list. I'd have 300-400 guitarists to jot down.

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For my rank of guitarists (seeing as everybody else is doing this)

I think making one definite list will be tricky, we should use a voting system instead, in my opinion.

I can't really rank them from 1-10, every guitarist is great in their own way

Jimmy Page (my personal favourite)

Rory Gallagher (:wub:)

Brian May (underrated, I wish some people would listen to more Queen asides from the "We are the Champions" crap)

Jimi Hendrix

David Gilmour

Jeff Beck

Eric Clapton

Duane Allman

Peter Frampton

Stevie Ray Vaughan

George Harrison

Tony Iommi

Stephen Stills (quite the talented musician)

Robby Krieger

Allen Collins (at least for the Free Bird solo, never actually listened to other Lynyrd Skynryd)

Alex Lifeson

Slash (great guitarist, but he's really overrated by people sometimes, and he's kind of sold out recently in my opinion)

Pete Townsend

Joe Perry

I'd include Neil Young on there, I love his music, but his guitar solos just turn me off for some reason, it just doesn't sound right to me ears, though cheers to him for it being unique. There's other guitarists I've missed out on (some blues guitarists) but I'm running out of time

-Braeden

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Hello Zep 4 Life!

I have had the priveledge to see all on your list live with the exception of Hendrix. This is going to get interesting when we get past the first ten. :D

I am enjoying this thread and we will probably end up with a better list than RS!!

I wish I were as lucky as you.

Yes it will certainly get interesting soon!!

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If you just add Jimmy to this video, then you have the top three greatest electric guitarists that are still alive today. With Jimi Hendrix at number one, there are your top four of all time. smile.gif

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=iPOMlGczzx8

Close-up video of their guitar playing: (How can there be much debate as to these two being in the top five?)

These two look so cool together! (Jeff and Jimmy, I mean, lol.)

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

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I wish I were as lucky as you.

Yes it will certainly get interesting soon!!

Well, since it looks like we are at least to the top 4 (almost). I will add a couple more:

#1 Jimi Hendrix

#2 Jimmy Page (reasons listed why I still think he should be #1, but OK)

#3 Jeff Beck - (reasons already listed)

#4 Eddie Van Halen - (reasons already listed )

#5 BB King - (reasons already listed, again would still put him between Jimmy and Jeff)

#6 Stevie Ray Vaughan (reasons listed already)

#7 Eric Clapton - From The Yardbirds, Blind Faith to his own direction, this man is 2nd to BB King when it comes to playing the blues IMHO. I can't imagine not growing up with 361 Ocean Blvd or Slowhand not to mention his other albums/CD's.

Well, there is my list so far :D

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