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Jimmy Page #3 Greatest Guitarist according to Rolling Stone


ZosofanCMR

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I think Ron Wood and especially Mick Taylor are definitely superior to Keef, but that's just me.

Keith deserves to be in the top 10 for the fuzz-tone "Satisfaction" riff and the astounding chord-blast intro to "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" :) Nice to see Mr. Jeff Beck at #5. IMO though, David Gilmour deserves better than #14 and The Edge and Robby Krieger sure as hell deserve more than the basement rankings they were given.

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Danny Gatton is considered by many to be one of the best guitar players that ever lived (he committed suicide in 1994) but you don't always see him making these kinds of lists. Here he is playing at a Holiday Inn in Arlington, VA circa 1987. By the way, I think he first came to my attention via an episode of Austin City Limits back in the early 90s.

Yeah, Gatton was great. But have you heard about Tommy Emmanuel or Lenny Breau?? Me and many other players think that Lenny Breau was the best and most complete player that ever lived (he sadly died at 43 in 1984). Tommy is probably the best player today. Of course, Jimmy can't match up with these guys. Those lists are always crap and show just what the readers like.

Here are clips of the two mentioned guys:

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Keith deserves to be in the top 10 for the fuzz-tone "Satisfaction" riff and the astounding chord-blast intro to "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" :) Nice to see Mr. Jeff Beck at #5. IMO though, David Gilmour deserves better than #14 and The Edge and Robby Krieger sure as hell deserve more than the basement rankings they were given.

Peter Buck of R.E.M. came in at #94 but it didn't really bother me. For one, he's not really known for his solos (as he rarely took any on R.E.M.'s records or in concert) and secondly, I don't think I've ever seen him on a list of "greatest guitarists" before anyway. Not that I think he isn't deserving of that status but since he isn't really known as a soloist, he is probably overlooked more times than not. It's his minimalist approach in that regard that I really appreciate plus the versatility he brings to all of the other artists he performs with (Tuatara, the Minus Five, Robyn Hitchcock, the Baseball Project, John Wesley Harding, etc.). In a sense, Buck is what you'd probably call an guitar anti-hero.

Yeah, Gatton was great. But have you heard about Tommy Emmanuel or Lenny Breau?? Me and many other players think that Lenny Breau was the best and most complete player that ever lived (he sadly died at 43 in 1984). Tommy is probably the best player today. Of course, Jimmy can't match up with these guys.

Thanks for the clips. Yes, I have heard of Emmanuel but not Breau so thanks for the tip.

Those lists are always crap and show just what the readers like.

I don't think that's really true as the musicians listed below are the ones that did the voting so I don't think it was a conscious effort to appeal to just what is popular with Rolling Stone's readers.

Trey Anastasio, Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys), Brian Bell (Weezer), Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple), Carl Broemel (My Morning Jacket), James Burton, Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), Gary Clark Jr., Billy Corgan, Steve Cropper, Dave Davies (The Kinks), Anthony DeCurtis (Contributing editor,Rolling Stone), Tom DeLonge (Blink-182), Rick Derringer, Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars), Elliot Easton (The Cars), Melissa Etheridge, Don Felder (The Eagles), David Fricke (Senior writer,Rolling Stone), Peter Guralnick (Author), Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes), Warren Haynes (The Allman Brothers Band), Brian Hiatt (Senior writer, Rolling Stone), David Hidalgo (Los Lobos), Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Lenny Kravitz, Robby Krieger (The Doors), Jon Landau (Manager), Alex Lifeson (Rush), Nils Lofgren (The E Street Band), Mick Mars (Mötley Crüe), Doug Martsch (Built to Spill), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.), Brian May, Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Roger McGuinn (The Byrds), Scotty Moore, Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Tom Morello, Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Brendan O’Brien (Producer), Joe Perry, Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Robbie Robertson, Rich Robinson (The Black Crowes), Carlos Santana, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Marnie Stern, Stephen Stills, Andy Summers, Mick Taylor, Susan Tedeschi, Vieux Farka Touré, Derek Trucks, Eddie Van Halen, Joe Walsh, Nancy Wilson (Heart)

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Yeah, Gatton was great. But have you heard about Tommy Emmanuel or Lenny Breau?? Me and many other players think that Lenny Breau was the best and most complete player that ever lived (he sadly died at 43 in 1984). Tommy is probably the best player today. Of course, Jimmy can't match up with these guys. Those lists are always crap and show just what the readers like.

Here are clips of the two mentioned guys:

thanks for those clips.

i hadn't heard of lenny breau, he sounded great! tommy of course is aussie, so i have heard him many times, though not live. he used to appear on local tv shows in the 80's and 90's , but seems a bit quieter these days. yeah, he's great!

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I hate these kinds of polls. Every guitarist is different and it's impossible to really compare them because all their styles are different. Of course, everyone incorporates licks and riffs and shit into their stuff based on their influences. I can attest to that; I have my own list of guitarists but it's not based on necessarily skill. It's based on influence. Not whose-a-better-player.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Eric Clapton in front of Chuck Berry, jesus christ. I really do what The Rolling Stone to pass me some of the heavy shit they must be smoking!

How on the earth is Chuck Berry even a bit better/greater guitarist than Clapton?

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i suppose hendrix is right for the no.1 position, most people agree on it , but .........

imvho, jimmy was a far better composer. his music is just SO good. hendrix on the other hand to i can only get into a couple of congs. hey joe, all along the watchtower ..... and he didn't even write that.

"Hey Joe" and "All Along the Watchtower" aren't written by Hendrix. However, he wrote those mind-blowing solos.

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I'd say there's no way of knowing that for sure.

Come on, it is tangible that Richards can't hold his own with Howe. Howe was a much more versatile and technical guitar player and not sticked to rhythm guitar playing. Richards isn't even rock's greatest rhythm guitarist.

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Come on, it is tangible that Richards can't hold his own with Howe. Howe was a much more versatile and technical guitar player and not sticked to rhythm guitar playing. Richards isn't even rock's greatest rhythm guitarist.

Sheesh, did Keith steal your girlfriend or something? You seem to really have it in for old Keef. ;)

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Come on, it is tangible that Richards can't hold his own with Howe. Howe was a much more versatile and technical guitar player and not sticked to rhythm guitar playing. Richards isn't even rock's greatest rhythm guitarist.

In your opinion. Sounds like you have a hit out on the guy. Personally, I respect Howe for his prowess but I'm not a huge fan of prog rock or Yes in general. Doesn't mean I want to knock him at every opportunity. It's just a fucking list, not the Dead Sea Scrolls.

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Come on, it is tangible that Richards can't hold his own with Howe. Howe was a much more versatile and technical guitar player and not sticked to rhythm guitar playing. Richards isn't even rock's greatest rhythm guitarist.

Rubbish. Howe is a great player, no question. But if dirty filthy blues and Chuck Berry are your thing Howe is not even in the same ballpark as Keith. Which guy is "better" depends upon your taste, which is the problem with all of these argument-provoking lists.

Horses for courses.

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