About a month ago there was a thread re Eddie Van Halen and other top guitarists, well below is something I read in the paper that is an “official” list.
Psychedelic era guitarist Jimi Hendrix has been voted the instrument’s greatest rock player in a poll conducted by Total Guitar magazine. Hendrix, who died in 1970 at the age of 27, beat Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page to the top spot in the poll of the magazine’s readers.
Hendrix made his name in the late 1960s, with classics like Purple Haze, Hey Joe and Voodoo Chile . Blues veteran Eric Clapton came in third, followed by Slash from Guns N’ Roses and Brian May of Queen. Younger talents also made the top 100, including Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead at 35 and Noel Gallagher from Oasis at 50. Johnny Ramone of the Ramones, who built a long career on rudimentary three-chord rock, was 88th. “What’s nice about it is that it’s not some music critic’s opinion of the best guitarists. These guys might not be `cool’ by any music critic’s viewpoint, but they genuinely are the fastest, loudest, most exciting players in rock and roll,” said the magazine’s editor, Scott Rowley. No woman made the top 100. Only one, Tracy Chapman, was among 440 guitarists nominated by the magazine.
“Personally, I don’t know if it’s a bad thing,” said Mr Rowley. “Women just aren’t as geeky or competitive about it as guys. Instead of showing off, they’re trying to write a good song. Which is probably smarter.”
The top 20:
Jimi Hendrix.
Jimmy Page.
Eric Clapton.
Slash.
Brian May.
Joe Satriani (soloist).
Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen).
Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd).
Kirk Hammett (Metallica).
Steve Vai (soloist).
Carlos Santana (Santana).
James Hetfield (Metallica).
Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine).
Kurt Cobain (Nirvana).
Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits).
Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne).
Gary Moore (Thin Lizzy, others).
Jeff Beck (Yardbirds, others).
Stevie Ray Vaughan (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Double Trouble).
It’s a matter of taste to be sure, but most of the guys mentioned above him, I’d have to put well below. Unless the standard is simply “fastest, loudest, most exciting.” Then that would explain it.
As a guitarist I wouldn’t. Joe Satriani is the best I’ve personally ever heard (or at least one of the top 5) and interesting that Gary Moore is listed up there. Usually Moore isn’t because he is not popular over here. He’s another one of the greatest
It’s a shame that the jazz guitarists remain largely unheralded. George Benson, the late Wes Montgomery, Birelli Lagrene, Martin Taylor…I could go on. With these guys, speed is a prerequisite, not a trump card.
Demo Dick is right that it’s really just a matter of opinion – for the MOST part. There are, however, some blatantly ridiculous placings on that list though (with EVH in mind, as the previous thread had discussed). There is no way on God’s green earth that ANYONE could claim that Jimmy Page, Slash or Brian May are even in the same GALAXY as Edward Van Halen. To suggest otherwise is a joke, and if you asked those three guys they’d probably tell you so THEMSELVES. Of the 3, Jimmy Page probably has the most right to receive a high ranking, but mainly based on his being influential, i.e. he came BEFORE the others – he influenced EVH and others, but no one on earth can argue that he’s a BETTER GUITARIST than Eddie. Eddie took everything to a whole other level. Slash is great, and I’m a big fan of his, but better than EVH? 'Fraid not. Eddie could play circles around the guy. I’m also a big Satriani fan, but much of what he does are techniques that were invented and perfected by EVH, and I certainly wouldn’t put him in the same category as EVH when it comes to songwriting. Opinions? Yes, but certain things are factual.
LMAO. I haven’t heard a discussion like this since I was fifteen. Who’s the best guitarist? Come on guys! What’s the next topic…which band rocks the hardest?
How in the hell did Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield make the top 20. I think even they’d laugh at that. I’m not one for ranking “who’s the best”, but a few prominant names left out of that “top 20” list; Randy Rhoades, Richie Blackmore, Tommy Bolin, Tony Iommi…
Wow…that is one bold statement to say that Jimmy Page did not deserve to be above Eddie. I love them both, personally. Satriani should be higher than Slash and May…look at some of his pupils for God’s sake…two of them are on the list, although I’m not sure I agree with Hammett (or Hetfield) as much as I love Metallica. And I agree with Kip…how in the world does Randy Rhoads and Tony Iommi not make the list? I was also disapointed to see Yngwie Malmsteen’s exclusion. I think it takes a tremendous amount of ability to play classical guitar, and he’s one of the only guitarists that I get goosebumps to listening to his stuff. Although the group was rather lame, another one I really thought was underrated was Nuno Bettencourt from Extreme.
KO, I agree that Brian May INFLUENCED Eddie, and Eddie has said so. Monty, the same is true of Jimmy Page – he INFLUENCED Eddie. In fact, Ed got the idea for two-hand tapping from watching Jimmy at a Led Zeppelin concert doing it with one hand, and just went home and said, “I bet I could apply that with both hands.” That illustrates part of my point, though. Edward took it to another level entirely (and not just with that one technique). Sure, those who came before were more INLFUENTIAL (by definition of having been around first). But no one, especially who has heard EVH play live, can honestly say that May’s or Page’s skillsets are even in the same ballpark as Ed’s. He’s just got SO many tools in his chest, and he uses them left right and sideways, and STILL has the best damn tone ever to rock this earth. Thank you.
The sad part about Mark Knopfler is that most all his recorded stuff is rather tame – he just plays such appropriate stuff in a group. But let the guy cut loose for a while and watch out…
And as for other genre of music – TOMMY LEE HOOKER! Old guy that really knows how to make a guitar sing the blues.
I just noticed another atrocity: KURT COBAIN is on the list. Kurt Cobain should only be on a list of 20 WORST guitarists. Sorry folks, this guy was NOT an ace with the instrument. Say what you will about “ushering in a new era in rock, grunge, feeling/emotion, yada, yada,” but guitar playing skills were not, not, NOT a part of that. Sorry – WRONG name to put on that list.
