Who Are Your Favorite Guitarists?Music 

  • Thread starter emad
  • 354 comments
  • 27,894 views
In Backwards order:

5. Yngwie Malmsteen - Just been listening to the stuff he made with Alcatrazz; very smooth, very fluid.

4. Steve Vai - David Lee Roth's "Big Trouble" is my favorite Guitar solo of all time.

3. Alvin Lee of Ten Years After - Just discovered him. to me, one of the most underrated guitarists of all time; can play faster and better than half the players on Rolling Stone's 100 greatest guitarists list. Inspired Tony Iommi's guitar style too.

2. (tie) Eddie Van Halen of Van Halen and Kirk Hammett of Metallica - very fast, very fluid players playing two completely different styles

1. Jimi Hendrix - (Enough said).

Honorable Mention:
Eric Clapton
Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath
Slash
KK Dowling and Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest
Buckethead
Michael Schenker
Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top
Neal Schon
Carlos Santana
Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, & Janick Gers of Iron Maiden
Herman Li of Dragonforce
Ritchie Blackmore
Tom Morello
Vernon Reid of Living Colour
Randy Rhoads

:whew:
 
Last edited:
1- Brian May (Queen)
2- Angus Young (AC/DC)
3- Eddie Van Halen
4- Joe Perry (Aerosmith)
5- Slash (Guns N' Roses & Velvet Revolver)
 
It's been awhile and I think I've change my mind on the prior list.

1) Dimebag Darrell
2) Derek Trucks
3) Eric Clapton
4) Kirk Hammet
5) Dave Mustaine
 
1. Dimebag Darrell
2. Slash
3. Eddie Van Halen
4. Jimmy Hendrix


Best modern guitarist IMO - Synyster Gates
 
Ritchie Blackmore
Glenn Tipton
Kerry King
Jeff Waters
Alex Skolnick

What makes an Awesome guitarist is a person who can write aswell as play blindingly.

I'm going to have to update my list a little as my tastes have expanded.

Blackmore
Tipton
Waters
Jeff Loomis
Tommy Vettereli
 
In no real order:

Joe Bonamassa !!!!! - future legend (YouTube him with "Sloe Gin")

Dave Gilmour - of the Floyd

Hendrix - although I don't actually like alot of his stuff

Tom Petty - he plays the guitar, and I can actually play alot of his stuff - so I gotta vote for him!

Mark Knopfler - mainly for Brothers in Arms Live "On the Night" (I assume he was lead then?)

Whoever the guitarist(s) is/are in the 9 minute version of Lynyrd Skynyrds "Free Bird"
 
1. Jason Suecof - Owner of Audiohammer Studios, played lead guitar in technical death metal band Capharnaum & comedy metal band Crotchduster. Listen to his stuff, & you'll know why he's number one.

2. Joel Stroetzel - Lead guitarist of metalcore band Killswitch Engage, he's incredibly underated as the band don't have many solos, but all the technical stuff I've heard from him is original & incredibly tightly played.

3. Corey Beaulieu - Lead guitarist in Trivium. Incredible lead guitarist.

4. Eddie Van Halen - Love his style.

5. Tie between Adam Dutkiewicz & Matt Heafy, both amazing rhythm / lead guitarists with amazing skill.
 
Whoever the guitarist(s) is/are in the 9 minute version of Lynyrd Skynyrds "Free Bird"
I believe that would be Gary Rossington. Allen Collins doubled at live shows but Rossington played all the studio parts. Favourite song of mine.

To add (and these are simply my favourites not a 'best-in-the-world' thing) -
David Gilmour - influenced me more than any other.

Bill Nelson (Be-Bop Deluxe) - someone whom 99% of people here have never heard of I'm sure. Played in the 70's mainly. But one song, 'Crying to the Sky' from the '76 Sunburst Finish album has probably the most influential solo on it than any other song, with the exception of Comfortably Numb.
Jimi Hendrix - Recently got the Woodstock Blu-ray and it reminded me why he was so influential.
Jeff Beck - A somewhat eccentric guitarist but is wholly unique in my book.
Joe Satriani - Could almost have been Steve Vai, but Satriani takes it because, for me, his sound is so full-bodied.
Jeff Healey - the late Jeff Healey, truly a unique talent and the kind of guitarist that makes you wonder how he does it. Greatly missed.
And there's plenty of others too - Knopfler, Moore, Blackmore, Walsh, SRV, Clapton.
Now, I just need to get myself a new guitar so I can fantasize about being a guitar God!!
 
Last edited:
1. Jimi Hendrix (The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
2. Slash (Gun's N Roses, Slash's Snakepit, Velvet Revolver.)
3. Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society)
4. Joe Perry (Aerosmith)
5. Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine)
 
JIMMY PAGE
TOM MORELLO
ERIC CLAPTON
JOHN LENNON
CARLOS from Santana
THE ROLLING STONES
ZZ TOP
STEELY DAN
PETER FRAMPTON
AEROSMITH
RUSH

I know a lot more but I can't think of them right now.
 
Kirk Hammett
James Hetfield
Mike Schliebaum (Darkest Hour)
Michael Schenker
Kris Norris (Darkest Hour)
Joe Bonnamassa
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Les Paul
Jon Donais (Shadows Fall)
Garry Rossignton
Corey Beaulieu (Trivium)
Matt Heafey (Trivium)
Dimebag Darrell RIP
Mark Morton (Lamb Of God)
Willie Alder (Lamb Of God)
Kerry King
 
You have to back that up dude not to many people out here probably have heard of him. So here you go! 👍

 
No order:

Hendrix, Chuck Berry, Dick Dale or Link Wray I can't decide which, Lou Reed or Thurston Moore I also can't decide which, and B.B. King or Muddy Waters.
 
I gotta say I don't understand why people mention Kirk Hammet but no James Hetfield, since in most Metallica songs the author was Hetfield and that's an ability i guess one of the best guitarist in the world should have.
 
I'm going to go with personal preference because that really is the only way to judge a musician in these kind of lists. And I'm going to put a video for each one because that's how i roll.

1. Joe Satriani This is so easy didn't have to think twice. The man sings with his hands its freakin' incredible.



2. Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt AKA Zakk Wylde. Another very easy decision. The man is just incredible in every way. The man just screams bad ass, every inch of his body.



3. Pepper Keenan I will mirror everything I've ever said about Zakk Wylde and say the same for Pepper. The song 'Seven Days' is one of those songs where you can turn it into a 25 minute song it won't ever get old. Great for those long twisty lonely high ways we have here in Northern California. 👍



4. Kerry King A pioneer of metal and has put together some of the most rifftastic riffs in existence.



5. Mats Björkman Wasn't really sure what to put and if I really thought about it I could put about 50 names in a hat and pulled one out and it wouldn't of mattered so I'm going to put him here because this song has more epicness then the word epic.

 
Last edited:
Here are a few new ones, and some not so new (in fact they are allmost all old)...
Richie Blackmore (will always be top of my list, Rolling Stone can go and **** my boot)
Jimi Hendrix
Paul Kossoff - Free
Dan Auerbach - Black Keys
Jimmy Page
 
My top 5 are:

1)Mark Knopfler
2) Eric Clapton
3)Brian May
4)Slash
5)Jimmi Hendrix

And how the hell could you even consider Noel Gallagher? If you were to listen to him on his own without the rest of the band to mask it, you would see that he is very average.
 
1. Van Halen
2. Stevie Ray Vaughn
3. Jimi Hendrix
4. Peter Frampton
5. Joe Satriani

The top guys can stand on there own for the most part that has to be the difference for me in my choices. They have all been mentioned in earlier posts but here is how i rate them.

Also good mentions

Slash
Mark Knopfler-Dire Straits
Eric Clapton
Billy Gibbons
Hugh Edward Thomasson, Jr - Outlaws,Skynyrd
Eric Johnson

You should definitely have a appreciation for what all these guys can do even if you disagree with my order of them.
 
Back