who is your favorite guitar player of alltime?

[dajoki]

i'm a boomer and there were so many around at that time, but my personal favorite is alvin lee of ten years after. let's hear from some youngsters out there as well as the boomers and everyone in between.:headbang:

[4_Legs_Good]

1. Steve Hackett

Primariy for his work on "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", "Selling England by the Pound", and "Nursery Cryme" (all Genesis).

david

[Tyrone Slothrop]

33. His work on those is excellent

A true master of the 12 string.

[dajoki]

43. have you ever heard

john McClaughlin play 12 string? simply amazing, so fast you couldn't see his hands move between necks.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

49. I have

Frankly, it's a little much for me.

While I appreciate the level of skill and virtuosity, I don't really enjoy listening to someone playing like that. (Same deal with Victor Wooten on the bass.)

Hackett always stirs up amazing atmospherics with his play; that's what I love about his work with Gabiel-era Genesis.

[XNASA]

2. Dave Gregory

[ghostsofgiants]

3. John Frusciante

I don't know what it is, but I fucking love that guy. His solo work is beyond amazing.

[Heidi]

4. You're gonna hate me for this, but there's not just one.

Not necessarily in order:

Andre Segovia

Gordon Lightfoot

Freddy Greene (Count Basie Band and Orchestra)

Steve Vai

Peter Frampton

Eric Clapton

George Harrison

An anonymous Vietnam vet from Oklahoma

[Richardo]

9. nice list - I'd add Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt and Carl Perkins

:)

[Heidi]

12. Excellent.

I don't know the work of Django Reinhardt, though.

(However, I once helped deliver 20 pounds of ribs from Slick's BBQ, Muskogee, OK, to the Count Basie Orchestra, including Mr. Greene, when I was a young and numbile university journalism student. That's one of my many brushes with fame. :rofl:)

[GumboYaYa]

16. When did you deliver to the Count Basie band?

My jazz teacher in high school, Dorsey Summerfield, played in the Count Basie band for years. They would come play at our school every year. We got to jam with them when they were there. Those guys are all awesome.

[Heidi]

19. Lemme ask you this . . .

Ever hear of the Joe Davis jazz program at Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, OK? It was really growing at about the same time as the North Texas State University One o'clock Band was at its zenith, when Pat Matheny and Lyle Mayes were students or had just graduated. :hi:

[GumboYaYa]

22. I'm not familiar with it at all... n/t

[Heidi]

25. That's OK.

Once again, I am proven to be a total geek. :rofl:

[redqueen]

27. Django's on my list ...

Hard to choose between him, Chet and Mark.

[Zuni]

62. as a guitarist

it is hard to find someone who is better than Django. His playing is spectacular and almost flawless

[Zuni]

59. right on Richardo

Django especially---out of this world

[eyepaddle]

73. Steve Vai! NICE!

I knew there was a reason I liked your posts.

There are a lot of greats that have been covered, I just want to mention a few that might have been overlooked:

KK Downing

Glenn Tipton

Adrian Smith

Dave Murray

My musical tastes are a LOT more broad than this list might suggest, but I don't think there is a point in doubling up mention of some of these guitarists.

[GumboYaYa]

5. I was listening to Robert Johnson this weekend.

My answer depends on the mood I am in. There are too many great guitarists to pick just one, but right now, after listening to lots of Robert Jonson recently, he is at or near the top of my list.

That man made sounds come out of an acoustic guitar that have never been matched. I can hear why people thought he sold his soul to Satan.

[Zuni]

61. Robert Johnson is simply amazing

He plays multiple parts at once---bass and rythym while working the bottleneck---just incredible

I can't get enough Robert Johnson. His music is so good and well written, but yet so eerie and primitive---he was without a doubt possibly the greatest Delta Blues Guitarist---although I prefer Muddy Waters or Charlie Patton as a singer (Muddy's delta recordings for the Library of Congress, not his more sophisticated Chicago era stuff)

[DODI]

6. If I had to choose - Clapton -- especially after listening to Jam I from

Derek & the Dominoes live. My top ten would be Clapton, Albert Lee, Buck Dharma, Santana, Townsend, Lowell George, Duane Allman, Peter White, Terry Kath, and the Beatles.

[Richardo]

13. Terry Kath is on my list too.

The soul of Chicago, back in their relevant period.

[DelawareValleyDem]

7. Django Reinhardt nt

[Dogmudgeon]

8. My brother Steven

He's probably not as "good" as some of those other guitarists, but I'd favor him over the others. And you did state "favorite".

:evilgrin:

--p!

[dajoki]

20. yes

that's exactly what i meant, YOUR personal favorite.

[enigmatic]

10. Eddie Hazel

Better than Hendrix, albeit for a shorter period of time. RIP, Eddie.

[johnnie]

11. I like "rockers" and that was my main influence when I was young

So I have to go with someone like Keith Richards.
I've been playing for 25 years and I never really made it past "rock and roll", I still like to play like that. Other guitarists have blown me away technically, but standard rock riffs are my all-time favorites.

[flakey_foont]

14. Roger McGuinn

Duane Allman, Jerry Garcia, Andy Summers, Hendrix, John Cippolina,
David Gilmour, Neil Young, ..to name a few

[grace0418]

15. Johnny Marr, but Django would be second. eom

[Roland99]

17. David Gilmour, probably

I still like The Edge. I know he's not the most adept, technical, etc. but U2's music has always moved me.


But, Gilmour can just flat-out play the guitar!

[bertha katzenengel]

18. Jim Croce -- so much that I wish I could buy this Martin, made in his

honor.

The D-21 JC Jim Croce Limited Edition


Croce died in 1973. Only 73 of these guitars were made. There is a 1973 dime inlaid at the third fret (the song "Operator:" "you can keep the dime")

[Squeech]

21. Fred Frith

Or maybe Jorma Kaukonen. Or Zoot Horn Rollo. Or Frank Zappa!

Depends when you ask me.

[hobbit709]

23. Guitar player

In no particular order.

Lightning Hopkins
Charlie Patton
Howling Wolf
Hendrix
Clapton
Johnny Winter
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Buddy Guy
Peter Green
W.C. Clark

[frylock]

24. michael schenker

[redqueen]

26. Mark Knopfler.

His playing does something to me.

[evlbstrd]

28. Zappa.

And Pat Metheney.

[ironflange]

29. Segovia

Well, someone had to say it.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

30. Surprised not to

see my favorite,1) Stevie Ray Vaughn......but really, so many are so good it's hard to single one over another.
2) Django's work is superb, he only had 3 fingers I think and yet produced sounds that were never heard before him.
3) Frank Zappa, when he would play and not beat us over the head with his sardonic and satirical lampooning of pop music and American culture.
4) Hendrix, Clapton, Page, Townshend, Stills, Buchanan the list is endless..........
But seriously, find some Django and listen. If you appreciate any kind of fine guitar work, you'll love him.
As a matter of fact, if you like guitar music listen to a radio show called. "Frettin' Fingers" on 90.7fm, KSER in Everett Washington,on Saturday night at 6:30. If you can't pick up the signal, go the the web and listen to this great public radio station, www.kser.org.....

[tenshi816]

31. Ry Cooder

[billyskank]

32. Kenny Burrell

[GumboYaYa]

45. Good call

[kwolf68]

34. Without a doubt

Pat Metheney ... (technically the best I’ve ever seen)

Also love Alex Skolnick (formerly of metal band Testament and Savatage, now doing Jazz fushion, he is the greatest metal guitar EVER not because of how fast he played, but by the sheer creativity and brilliant of his solos. His playing is breathtaking)

Carlos Santana (is there a player that puts more heart into his playing?)

Pete Townsend (for his theatrics and being a Guitar “God”)

Hendrix (pioneer, innovator, ahead of his time by decades, masterful)

Clapton (of course…goes without saying. Any list should include this guy)

Robert Johnson (he really DID sell his soul to the devil to play like he did)

Al DiMeola (Listen to the CD “Kiss My Axe”…playing is so good it makes you laugh)

Jason Becker (he and Marty Friedman in Cacophony? There should be a law against that much talent in one band. Friedman would later do a stint with Megadeth and some jazz work)

Chuck Berry (the Granddaddy of jazzed up blues-based Rock N Roll, or “black music” that pissed off so many in the 1950s)

[Tyrone Slothrop]

35. Josh Homme

Of Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss fame.

For many years, it was Jimmy Page after seeing him play live on the Page n' Plant tours. For a 60+ heroin vet/guitar hero, he still played amazingly proficiently and quickly, tearing through some amazing solos.

However, he has been supplanted by Mr. Homme now that I have seen him play live a few times. Homme's a little darker and a little more playful -- and while perhaps not amazingly technically proficient, I find that I enjoy his guitar work more than anyone else these days. Which is really what counts when it comes down to it.

[AllegroRondo]

36. B B King

[dbt]

37. George Harrison.

How many people heard his licks as they grew up? How many of their kids are grooving to those licks even now!

Personal fave: The slide solo in Badfinger's "Day After Day."

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

67. agreed

his sound had a personality like no other

[dajoki]

38. best bass guitarist i ever saw

was john entwhistle. he kept that hard driving rythem of the who together so well you could feel it in your entire body. he stood in the corner of all the mayhem that was the who and shook the arena.:hippie:

[AllegroRondo]

72. Victor Wooten

of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
the man is a god of the bass.

[Steve Nash is god 13]

39. clapton

[Magrittes Pipe]

40. Larry Collins

(the real answer, of course, is Jim Shepard -- R.I.P.)

[JimmyJazz]

41. Mariano Cordoba or Victor Jara.

[luvLLB]

42. Stevie Ray Vaughn followed by Henry Garza

[dean_dem]

44. Johnny Marr...

He undid the years of guitar wankery that people began to assume automatically made you a good guitar player. He had a sense of subtlety and melody that all those other guys didn't have. That, and he really should get more credit.

[dajoki]

46. how about

chuck berry, i think he deserves mention.

[ComerPerro]

47. Personal favorite: Trey Anastasio

Just becuase I have seen him the most and am a really big Phish head.

[Rob H.]

48. Another vote for Johnny Marr

(I'm listening to The Smiths right now, even.)

[BikeWriter]

50. Mister Guitar Chet Atkins

[noise626]

51. Reeve Gabrels

Did things on a guitar I didn't think was possible :)

pax
ant

[dajoki]

52. what about some women

lots of great female rockers through the ageslike joan jett, heart and many more.;)

[noise626]

54. Easy...Bonnie Raitt

AMAZING slide technique :)

pax
ant

[DiverDave]

53. E.C. is God

Clapton, baby

[dean_dem]

60. I almost thought you meant Elvis Costello

In which case you would be right :D

[ksilvas]

55. David Gilmour or Robert Fripp

[MN ChimpH8R]

64. or Steve Howe

Can't decide between those three

Welcome to DU ksilvas! :toast:

[Seneca]

56. John Scofield

Especially his work with Miles Davis. What tone and control he has. Taut and smooth at the same time.

Tomorrow I might have a different answer. No, tomorrow I *will* have a different answer.

[SarahB]

57. My 7 year old son.

Mark my words. His day will come. :loveya:

[Zuni]

58. Peter Green is #1

also Mike Bloomfield, Hubert Sumlin, Robert Johnson, Buddy Guy, otis Rush, Steve Cropper

Peter Green---greatest British blues player that ever lived and simply phenomenol on the guitar, but an excellent harmonica player, singer and songwriter as well

Mike Bloomfield

Hubert Sumlin with Howling Wolf

Hubert Sumlin now

Steve Cropper

Muddy Waters

[Lauri16]

63. Joe Satriani

Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jimi, & Randy Rhodes.

[greendog]

65. Richard Thompson

n/t

[AliceWonderland]

74. I opened this thread hoping someone would pick RT! (n/t)

[Burma Jones]

66. Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Garcia and Son Seals

[GumboYaYa]

68. For contemporary players, my favorite has to be Charlie Hunter.

He plays an eight string guitar, playing the lead and bass lines at the same time. The guy is simply amazing. He can play any genre of music as if he has been playing it his whole life. Unlike many great guitar technicians, he has not lost the feel for his instrument. His music has a soul in addition to being some amazing guitar work.

[catzies]

69. George Harrison, Johnny Marr and Peter Buck.

n/t

[Merrick]

70. Adam Jones of Tool

[Raiden]

71. Jimi Hendrix

*purple haze all in my eyes*

[kodi]

75. jerry garcia, and just imagine if he had the use of all 10 of his fingers

.

[mitchum]

76. John Fahey

[MrScorpio]

77. Ernie Isley