Who is the greatest guitarist ever?

[RandyLee]

Randy Rhoads

Nuno Bentcourt

Vito Bratta

Blues Saraceno

Steve Vai

Slash

I love them very much! I am a chinese man,I love guitar very much.
My MSN's address is [email protected]
I wanna some good foreign friends,please join in my MSN zoon!Thank you!~

 

[SteveB]

Randy Rhoads

Nuno Bentcourt

Vito Bratta

Blues Saraceno

Steve Vai

Slash

I love them very much! I am a chinese man,I love guitar very much.
My MSN's address is [email protected]
I wanna some good foreign friends,please join in my MSN zoon!Thank you!~

Wow.. Vito Bratta! I wonder what ever happened to him after White Lion? He really was a good player.. I liked his style. Reminded me a lot of EVH.

 

[jchalas]

whos the best? - hm, depends on how you look at it.
to be important for other guitarists does not mean that you have to 16th notes arpeggios in 200 bpm or tap notes with all fingers of your right hand.
the things that make your hero so important for your are not mainly, his fastest solos but his songs, the way he improvises or writes, the sound & feel he givs you - in other words questions of personal taste.

but when it comes to the ability to play lots of people will agree that carlos santana is not on top of the list however his importants for the world of the guitar is not in question

the best guitarsts, from the standpoint of chops, that i'd mention:

john petrucci
steve vai
yngwie malmsteen
allan holdworth
al dimeola

from the standpoint of writing songs & improvising

eddie van halen
steve morse
ritchie blackmore
and of course jimi hendrix
among many others

Is that you, Ray?
Where ya been!?
Janice (from the Morselanders List..)

 

[jchalas]

You could say Juan Guitarez..El Jardinero de Muerta (sp)

ai carumba! <eyes are rolling>
Janice

 

[jchalas]

i'm a pretty big fanof tommy emmanuel

+1
He's an amazing fingerstylist and very enjoyable to see live. Not only a player, a true entertainer who engages his audience. His DVD is really good too.
Janice

 

[jchalas]

Welcome to the Church of Steve.

Tommy and Janice know what I mean.

You said it!
Janice

 

[Peter]

the greatest guitarist i've ever seen live is john williams....me and my lady saw him play with the english chamber orchestra not so long ago and he completely blew us away....though the violinists were shredding a bit too much for my taste ...

 

[Hookpunch]

the greatest guitarist i've ever seen live is john williams....me and my lady saw him play with the english chamber orchestra not so long ago and he completely blew us away....though the violinists were shredding a bit too much for my taste ...

I have seen him live too and he is a machine - he just does not make any mistakes and is incredibly fluid.

 

[Peter]

need to find out where he gets his bionic fingers from....

 

[Peter]

oh and while i'm on about intimidating classical guitarists.....we saw the Hill Wiltzshninsky (never rememer how to spell polish names) guitar duo last year and they are incredible....do lots of contemporary arrangements as well as the classics...we saw a really fast and manic version of eleanor rigby which was really something. I tried to find a link to soundbytes but there doesnt seem to be any....but if anyone likes classical and gets chance to check them out do so.

pete

 

[Zon]

Steve Morse takes first place for me. Plays a variety of styles, rock, country, classical, etc. All beautifully.

Composes in all different styles better than anyone else I've ever heard. I never tire of this guys music.

I've only heard segovia on record and I love classical music, but the repetoir (sp?) is so limited everyone is always playing the same stuff and for the life of me I can't tell the difference between Segovia, Parkening, Fisk, etc.

Then I hear Morse play one of his classical pieces and I just drop my jaw as how his stuff stands up to stuff by bach, etc. and I'm just in awe. Very fresh.

KEITH

Well said. That is what puts Steve at the top of my list. He is an excellent composer as well a master of every aspect of the Guitar. His ability to wring every tone possible out of those six strings never ceases to amaze me.

And songs like Flat Baroque and Air On a Six String, which is Steve’s Bach influence, WOW! It never get's old

 

[Victrola]

Well said. That is what puts Steve at the top of my list. He is an excellent composer as well a master of every aspect of the Guitar. His ability to wring every tone possible out of those six strings never ceases to amaze me.

And songs like Flat Baroque and Air On a Six String, which is Steve’s Bach influence, WOW! It never get's old

Air on a 6 String! I just played that today on my show. Never really listened that closely to it before. It's a great piece of music.

 

[Steve Dude Barr]

Mick Mars for being alive...

Click

 

[Ali]

Has anyone mentioned Charlie Burchill of Simple Minds? Oh, I just did?

Great, great player, not because of his solos but the tone and sensitivity of his playing and the sheer emotional heights those "simple" chords and arpeggios can take you to. Fantastic stuff

 

[beej]

Agree with most of the guys mentioned. So, so many great players out there.

Throwing in Larry Carlton 'cause nobody's mentioned him.

 

[beej]

Richie Sambora .... I just wish he got more recognition.

He got Heather Locklear. What more can a fella want.

 

[phatduckk]

He got Heather Locklear. What more can a fella want.

angelia jolie too - 2's better than 1

 

[usdblades]

Its like impossible to choose the best Guitarist of all time. To me I like Kirk hammett and John Petrucci. Just the power Kirk has is amazing. BB King is great to if you like the blues.

 

[shamus63]

Agree with most of the guys mentioned. So, so many great players out there.

Throwing in Larry Carlton 'cause nobody's mentioned him.

His obvious abilities aside, Larry's got such a great attitude towards music and life in general.

If you have no other way to see him perform live, "Studio Jams" is a great way to see him improvise and mesh!

 

[lameduck]

It's Joe Pass. I ain't lyin'... just listen to Virtuoso. Everytime I hear that record I image how much studying and knowledge of theory it must have taken to get to that level and I realize that the guitar is some serious stuff.