I think Mark is the best guitar player ever!

How about you?

Who?

And no.

Hendrix is, and forever will be... Enough said.

this is my topp 3

1.Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits)
2.Jimmy Hendrix
3.Mathias Jabs (Scorpions)

bb king and rye cooder...oh yes

BB King...good

I also love Hendrix...Stevie Ray Vaughn was great also.

Yeah they ar good i love "Pride and Joy" and "Along the watchtower" goog taste!

I agree with Lisn, when it comes to Stevie Ray. I do think Frank Zappa is amazing, and a genius. Scary thing, I don't think he did any drugs.

blind lemon jefferson, chet atkins... do i mean atkins?... chet somebody, jimi - definitely,eric clapton...
so, Carah, what excuse did he give for naming his kids like that, then?

I'll add Eddie Van Halen to this list of the best. Some excellent names mentioned so far...

Van Halen offcorse how could i forgett

Eruption - Hot for a teacher - Jump - Panama all GREAT songs and lovely guitar play!

But we mosent forgett Angus Young of AC/DC he is also amazing with th guitar!

ROCK ON

techno tryed to kill the metal! but they FAILED as they were stricken to the ground (Tenacious D also verry good with the guitar )

Yeah..Eddie is great also.
But I think we may even forget someone who really doesn't get alot of kudos for the great guitarist that he is...

Brian May from Queen.


He rocks!

i lean more to dave gilmour from pink floyd
surprised he hasnt been named yet

Another one of my favorites to add here: Eric Clapton.

Didn't put Clapton down becaue he is god and cant be included with mere mortals!

Where did the cute little smiley playing guitar come from? I WANT IT!

Frank, he's Aquarius, enough said. Were a bunch of freaks everbody thinks were on drugs, and were not. Speaking of his kids, Dweezle is playing in Kitchener in July, and I get to go see him play his dad's tunes, Yay!!

Yumm..Dwezil...I used to have an album he did back in the early 90s that rocked. DOnny Osmond was on it and it was produced by Nuno Bettencourt who himslef is a dam fine guitarist!

I've noticed you guys mentioning older bands/artists like Jimmy Hendrix and Van Halen. Just because they are classics, dosent necesarily mean that they are better. However, I can agree that they are talented.

I agree...but when you talk BEST EVER it is hard to include a band with only 2 albums under their belt.

But feel free to throw someone in for consideration.
There are some kick butt bands out there now!

I kind of collect smilies I like, but I don't remember where this one came from (and I had to tweak it a bit before posting here, because the original was for a light background and the edges didn't look good on black). If you like it, just take it! (Drag and drop, or copy / paste from your browser).

[back on topic]
There is a reason that the classics are mentioned here... because they've passed the test of time. That's not to say that newer artists won't become classics in the future. Also, art and denoting "the best" are subjective things so there can really be no right or wrong answers here.

Dime bag Darrel, is one of my all time favorites...shame he had his life cut short.

Chet Atkins also was quite skilled, as Les Paul.

BUDDAH!!

Didn't think OLD ONES (smile) like you are allowed to love Pantera?

I am shocked....and pleased as heck!

May Dime Bag rest in peace!

This brings to mind we may be forgetting some great metal guitarist. What about Ingvay Malmsteen. Anybody here know him?

This thread should have ended with the above post.
The man speaks the truth.
Now, y'all hush and listen to Purple Haze....

memory kicking in slow but...slow: Taj Mahal, Paul Simon, Sweet Baby James Taylor and what about a ground breaker - Dwayne Eddy (sp)

I asked what guitar player the peapole from the forums liked the best not who one person liked the best!

We all have different taste! Some say Hendrix some say Clapton!

The best guitar player is.... hmmm let me think........ grumble............Aha! but noo.............. I realy don't Know thers so many good Guitar players that it makes it realy hard to choose!

but here is a little list!

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
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 %&$! Dale
32 John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service
33 34 Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth
35 John Fahey
36 Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG's
37 Bo Diddley
38 Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac
39 Brian May of Queen
40 John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival
41 Clarence White of the Byrds
42 Robert Fripp of King Crimson
43 Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic
44 Scotty Moore
45 Frank Zappa
46 Les Paul
47 T-Bone Walker
48 Joe Perry of Aerosmith
49 John McLaughlin
50 Pete Townsend
51 Paul Kossoff of Free
52 Lou Reed
53 Mickey Baker
54 Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane
55 Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple
56 Tom Verlaine of Television
57 Roy Buchanan
58 %&$!ey 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 (1997)
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
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

hmm.... Malmsteen comes to my mind, also Jason Becker, Marty Friedman, Al Pitrelli, Chriss Oliva (R.I.P.), Dave Murrey, Adrian Smith, Ross the Boss, Timmo Tolkki, Dimebag (R.I.P.)...

But IMO the best guitar player is Dave Mustaine... He is talented, he is a great guitar player, great composer (Look at Ride the Lightning hahahahahahahah) and his spider technique is amazing and really hard to practice also he has a great voice...

How could I forget to mention a master from my home city: Jeff Healey. Sad that he is gone now...

Honorable mention to the late great Stevie Ray Vahn
Honorable mention to the late great Steve Vai

@macmert - Dave Mustaine wasn't with Metallica when they did Ride The Lightning, that was Kirk Hammet, a student of Joe Satriani.

I'm not believing that the greatest and most talented guitarist of all time isn't even mentioned in this thread. And you people call yourselves guitar lovers...meh... behold the awesome power and technical grace of the one and only Joe Satriani

@worm82075 : I know Dave was not with Metallica back in the day, but if you look at the composers of ride the lightning and call of chutulu, one of the composers is Dave Mustaine... He also wrote Four Horsemen aka Mechanix... Hammet was playing most of Dave's solos back in the early albums...

Don't get me wrong I love Dave and Megadeth and quite frankly I would have much rather seen him stay with Metallica but you made a blanket statement referring to the entire Ride The Lightning album. The fact is RTL was largely Cliff Burton's composition along with MOP and although they don't give him credit for it, Justice was his too. They should have never gotten rid of Dave Mustaine and they sure as hell shouldn't have replaced Cliff, a four string plucking virtuoso with Jason Newstead, a five string picker. Jason didn't even appreciate Cliff for the genius that he was and at least now they have Robert Trujillo, a man with a similar style and deep appreciation of who Cliff was. IMHO Kirk Hammet isn't that great a guitarist and Dave Mustaine is much better. Studio recordings are not the way to judge a musician because endless takes and editing can allow anyone to sound good. I've seen Metallica perform live six times and watched and listened to countless live recordings, I've also seen Megadeth perform live five times and have listened to many live recordings and Dave Vs Kirk is no contest. Dave wins hands down.

Yea I know Cliff was also contributed greatly to the RtL and MoP albums but I know that Dave wrote them down, I know that because Hangar 18' s composition is similar to Call of Cthulu, the way chords are used... Mechanix and the Four Horsemen are the same songs, only with different add ons, tFH has some added bridge parts that Mechanix dont have but Mechanix is far more faster then tFH... But after Dave's departure Megadeth has evolved different, the songs became more complex and the song structure has become different then traditional verse chorus verse solo chorus type...

I heartly agree that Dave vs Hammet cause I just adore Dave Mustaine and he just kicks a$$ Hammet might be a decent lead guitar but he is not that creative, especially after you listen to Marty Friedman back in the Deth days... I really dont like him now cause he is way too pop for my taste

Not to mention Hammet's love affair with the wah wah pedal! <snicker>

Yea he loves weird sounds I guess

noone mentioned django reinhardt nor leo kottke... paco de lucia was also completely forgotten... id even call ravi shankar although a sitar aint exactly a guitar...
jimi stand above or besides em all imo... he didnt even know any chords not to speak of scores yet he invented so many things noone thought could have been possible on that piece of wood...

Wait, what? He's still alive isn't he? And yes I have to agree, THANK YOU for pointing out Satriani.


As long as we're on the topic of worthy to be mentioned guitarists, then John Petrucci deserves a place; no one seems to have mentioned him yet





And in fact...a mountain load of others from those who ply their trade in classical, rock, metal, etc.


I've only been seriously playing the guitar for 11 years and I have to say there is just so much talent out there, its difficult to downsize my own favourites to a list. Much respect to all the great guitarists from generations past and present who've given us so many wonderful tunes to enjoy and assess!

Yea we really forgot Petrucci since he is really talented, creative player... But I dont really like Vai since he is a bit too experimental for my taste, I dont like him pounding the whammy bar to get different sounds and staff... But I have a lot of respect for him since he is a very creative intelligent individual and he is always searching for different sounds, variations etc... I know in every country he plays, he buys the local instruments and tries them out... And also there is a myth that he comes to the gig's countries beforehand and meet with the local talented musicians to jam together... I once saw in an interview, they asked Vai about this and he denied to answer that question

To my knowledge, yes, that is true And Vai has specifically mentioned that anywhere in the world, if you get your hands on any of his Ibanez JEMs authentic reproductions, you can be sure that they're made of the exact same materials as the one he personally uses; that is his assurance. Of course no two guitars are ever 100% alike, but it is nice to know that he puts such a stringent quality control over how his issued models go out to the market.

Yeah, I understand; Vai's techniques and ideas are extremely hard to grasp and analyse, and it's not for everyone. That's the price these people pay for creativity..they tend to turn a few people off from their style of playing. Even I have a headache with the things he does on the guitar sometimes

Yea he is rather an extremist, like van gogh (Uh spelling... Spelling!!! ) he is never a traditionalist and always tries something different, since I am a fundamental headbanger it is not my taste... I like iron maiden style, 2 lead guitars with incredible harmony, triple harmonic melodies (since there are 3 lead guitars lol) or the traditional thrash with hard and fast chords along with head blasting solos (like marty or dave Yea I know I am obsessed) or the classical/rock hybrid, like Malmsteens Concerto Millenium Eb or Almora from Turkiye... And high screaming vocals like Bruce %&$!inson or Eric Adams...

Don't worry you spelled Van Gogh right!

I had a good hell of a time here (Singapore) when Black Sabbath and Megadeth came last year (on back to back dates as well!), Malmsteen the year before that and Helloween and Dream Theater this year. Only Iron Maiden have yet to EVER play here (come on Iron Maiden!! I've been waiting forever!!).

It's truly sad though how some bash Malmsteen for him apparently always 'recycling' his play style; that is so untrue on so many levels. And some of these same people claim to be guitar players.

Malmsteen is one of the few who's truly inspirational for me musically, so much so that I custom scalloped the fretboard on my Mex Strat. His new album will be fronted by Tim 'Ripper' Owens, so that's something to really look forward to for the fans of both!

I hope more people will join in this thread, it'll be interesting to know of other talented guitarists that I can check out

lol thx for checking the spelling

Well if you want another good guitarist Cem Köksal... He is a Turkish guitarist and he was tutored by Malmsteen himself (Also AFAIK Malmsteen's wife is Turkish also) and his playsytle is similar to Malmsteen... He also worked with John Lynn Turner and had some gigs in Turkey too... You might want to check him out...

And another Turkish guitar player is Demir Demirkan... He is the ex - lead for the famous Turkish band Pentagram and after his departure he made some solo career, also he was the composer of the Eurovision winning "Everyway that I can" back in 2004 (I guess ) that is worth checking out...

And lastly you might check out my band Revelation lol if you want progressive/thrash/power metal you will certainly like it... You can look it up in facebook and myspace, sorry I cant give links...

Here is another great musician. He is considered a god in some countries.

Click Here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_lwocmL9dQ
this rocks!

Queen is the greatest band all together. Mark Knopfler is one damn good guitar player, but not best.

If you wanna see a good guitar player, look at jazz players. I'm trying to learn jazz, and it's pretty hard.

The best guitarist of all time is....

DJANGO REINHARDT!

Let me guess, no one in the whole thread knows him, huh?

Yeah Eddie is realy good at electrict guitar!

i myself are more into good old Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits

But Scorpions, Iron Maiden, Guns 'n' Roses, And Credence Clearwater Revival are also Awsome

I know all about Django.
There's also Bireli Lagrene out of the same tradition, and better if anything (though admittedly he does have all his fingers), and Sylvain Luc.

Nobody mentioned Larry Carlton. Nobody mentioned Robben Ford, or Steve Lukather. There is actually a guitar scene outside metal
All these guys are on Youtube..

Knopfler is great, as well as the others. I'm surprised that no one lists Peter Frampton, and you cannot leave David Gilmour off of the list, either. His lead solos on the songs "Time" and "Money" are classic.

Gilmour could hold his own in a "dueling lead guitars" with Hendrix.

And lest we forget, ZZ Top?

TBH, my guitar genius of a teacher, actually, 4 teachers, have said that ZZ Top are not very good guitarists......

The timeless beauty within a lead guitar solo is singularly within the listener's ear. I listen not to detractors, but to the music and derive my own enjoyment.

John Petrucci from Dream Theater could be a true candidate.

As for past glories, for sure Hendrix and Clapton stand up.

More I would candiate from present times:

- Adrian Smith
- Joe Satriani
- David Gilmour
- Mark Knopfler for sure

Personally I do not like Yngwie Malmsteen so much. He is bloody fast but without significant variations, so becomes boring after a bit.

How could we forget BB King!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ny5ajCn0xw