Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Guitarists
Submitted by happyderek1 on Sun, 10/05/2008 - 11:16
Tags:
- I'm just a big music fan with a lot of music I like.My thoughts on the RS top 100 guitarists list:
- 1 Jimi Hendrix - Not my favorite guitarist,but there's no doubt he's the best.
- 2 Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band - My favorite guitarist ever,I'm a sucker for slide.:)
- 3 B.B. King - Samey in his work,though I really like his playing,smooth and nice,can't play chords,a little too high.
- 4 Eric Clapton - Really like a lot of his work,some is not as good,but Layla and other assorted love songs is one of the greatest guitar albums ever.
- 5 Robert Johnson - Tough to criticize,practically invented blues guitar and influence so many,but to me his recordings are boring.Legend more for what he did then his recordings.
- 6 Chuck Berry - Yes,he's samey,but I would rank him higher,right around 3 would be better.And RS said he did the #1 guitar song ever so,whatever,RS is wrong...again.
- 7 Stevie Ray Vaughan - Not into him,but his guitar work is amazing,no denying that.
- 8 Ry Cooder - Simply a great player,good slide.
- 9 Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin - Great riffs,solos,songs,acoustic work,should be higher.Did you ever see the Zeppelin movie?Yeah it sucks but that guitar work!Whooo!
- 10 Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones - Great rhythm guitarist,good solos,about 40 lives,OK with this placement.
- 11 Kirk Hammett of Metallica - Shred!Shred!Very fast,but wouldn't put him this high,like a good part of Metallica's work,but...
- 12 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana - No.I really like Nirvana and Cobain was a good guitarist,but top 40 material?Most likely not.Let alone top 15.Though then again I can't imagine Nirvana without guitar so maybe like mid 50's.
- 13 Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead - I like the Dead and Jerry's guitar work,could play with feeling,real emotion,and that matter's.At least to me.
- 14 Jeff Beck - Should be higher,great unique player,one of the best at making his guitar,"sing".
- 15 Carlos Santana - One of the best tone's to ever come out of a guitar was by him,gorgeous,but somewhat repetitive.Still love his work though.
- 16 Johnny Ramone of the Ramones - Simple!I like his work and the hooks his guitar playing has,and the stubbornness of his down stroke playing.Pretty much started punk rock in America,(a genre I love by the way),a bit high.
- 17 Jack White of the White Stripes - Sue me,I love this guy's guitar playing,but I don't know about 17,maybe 25-27 is more appropriate?Diverse.
- 18 John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers - Quite a good player with some pretty cool work,but too high,in the 20's somewhere makes more sense to me.
- 19 Richard Thompson - Never heard of him.
- 20 James Burton - Have only heard a little of him,but what I heard was really good.
- 21 George Harrison - Good where he is,like his playing more then most people.
- 22 Mike Bloomfield - Great blues player.
- 23 Warren Haynes - Very good player,still a bit too high up on the list.
- 24 The Edge of U2 - Simple melodic and echo filled playing,easily my favorite part of U2.Maybe a little high,but he's cool,so OK.
- 25 Freddy King - More blooooz.In a good spot.
- 26 Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave - A little high,but it's safe to say he's an original.
- 27 Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits - He is the only part about the Dire Straits I like,great player,should be higher.
- 28 Stephen Stills - Not very showy,but has very complex acoustic playing.
- 29 Ron Asheton of the Stooges - Took simple driving riffs and solos,common things in rock and screwed with them using feedback,distortion,wah wah,etc.,couldn't really play,should be lower,(even if I really like him).
- 30 Buddy Guy - Fantastic blues guitarist,should be higher.
- 31 Dick Dale - Surf guitar king,very good,even if I don't really like him,he should be higher.Very,very fast.
- 32 John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service - Good,very good,but not qite great.
- 33 & 34 Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth - Love these guys,great at using noise and feedback to raise complete hell.
- 35 John Fahey - A Folkie,that doesn't mean his playing is crap!Quite the opposite!Amazing player.
- 36 Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG's - Not a fan,but he solos really well,no doubt.
- 37 Bo Diddley - Great,punk minimalism,and metal guitar tone,and this is the 50's!
- 38 Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac - Good guitarist.
- 39 Brian May of Queen - Love his guitar work and sound. Amazing stuff. Should be way higher.Don't always love Queen,but May is always good.
- 40 John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival - Swamp guitar,and damn good at it too!
- 41 Clarence White of the Byrds - Very good acoustic palyer in the vein of Stephen Stills.
- 42 Robert Fripp of King Crimson - Ughhh...King Crimson,I'd rather not talk about that.Fripp is a good player,but...King Crimson,I really dislike King Crimson.
- 43 Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic - Screw this!Eddie Hazel is freaking amazing!God he's good,should be way higher.
- 44 Scotty Moore - Pioneer guitarist on many Elvis songs.
- 45 Frank Zappa -I'm not yet sure wether I like Zappa or not yet,but man this guy could PLAY.Really,really well.Should be higher.
- 46 Les Paul - Not just a guitar inventor,also good in his own right.
- 47 T-Bone Walker - Early blues player.
- 48 Joe Perry of Aerosmith - Good player,even if I only liked Areosmith in the 70's.
- 49 John McLaughlin - Influential jazz guitar player. Should be higher.
- 50 Pete Townshend - Should be way higher,great rhythm guitarist,also good soloist,and invented the windmill,that counts for something.
- 51 Paul Kossoff of Free - Never heard of him.
- 52 Lou Reed - Great rhythm guitarist,good soloist,a pioneer of feedback,distortion,and alternate tunings,(not saying he was the first for those things,but he was one of them.)
- 53 Mickey Baker - Did a lot of session work,was pretty good in the 50's.
- 54 Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane -I'm mostly indifferent to JA,but Jorma is a very good player,shouldbe higher.
- 55 Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple - Only known for the most primative riff of all time,but his other work,especially solos,are great.
- 56 Tom Verlaine of Television - Equal to Eddie Hazel,one of my personal favorites,love his tone,solos,everything.I'd rank him much higher.
- 57 Roy Buchanan - Jeff BEck loves him,he must be good!
- 58 Dickey Betts - Not as good as Duane Allman,but he could hold his own next to him,should be higher.
- 59 & 60 Jonny Greenwood,Ed O'Brien of Radiohead-
- 61 Ike Turner - He's OK...
- 62 Zoot Horn Rollo of the Magic Band - Not really that good of a player.
- 63 Danny Gatton - Very good,shame more people haven't heard of him.
- 64 Mick Ronson - I only know him for playing with David Bowie,but I really liked what I heard of him,great soloist.
- 65 Hubert Sumlin - Blues guitarist for Howlin' Wolf.
- 66 Vernon Reid of Living Colour - Should be higher,almost equal to Kirk Hammett.
- 67 Link Wray - Invented overdrive type guitar,also one of the first to play power chords.Decent placement.
- 68 Jerry Miller of Moby Grape - Would put many people on here before him.
- 69 Steve Howe of Yes - Never liked Yes,but once again I realize the greatness of Howe's guitar playing.
- 70 Eddie Van Halen - Wrong,one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time at 70? So many people have taken note from Eddie Van Halen,like I don't know...every metal guitarist to come after him,should be in top 20,at the least.
- 71 Lightnin' Hopkins - Early blues player.
- 72 Joni Mitchell - Doesn't show off,but has odd tunings and complex playing.OK with this placement.
- 73 Trey Anastasio of Phish - I Like him,should be higher.
- 74 Johnny Winter - I'd put him above some of the random blues players that RS put on her.
- 75 Adam Jones of Tool - Complex riffing and decent soloing,good placement.
- 76 Ali Farka Toure - Never heard of him.
- 77 Henry Vestine of Canned Heat - Never liked Canned Heat,so whenever I hear them,I never listen to the guitar.
- 78 Robbie Robertson of the Band - Great underrated player,The Last Waltz shows his mastery of the instrument.
- 79 Cliff Gallup of the Blue Caps - Impressive guitar playing.
- 80 Robert Quine of the Voidoids - Very good soloist,what he does plays on tends to be great.
- 81 Derek Trucks - Very good slide player,good player.
- 82 David Gilmour of Pink Floyd - Floyd has grown on me,and so has Gilmour.Should be way higher.
- 83 Neil Young - Good acoustic player,but an even better Electric guitarist.Great feel,I'd rank him higher.
- 84 Eddie Cochran - Died early. Good pioneer guitarist.
- 85 Randy Rhoads - Don't like Quiet Riot or Ozzy's solo career,but Randy is the greatest metal/classical guitarist ever.Should be higher.
- 86 Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath - Despite what people say,Iommi is a good soloist,popularized metal guitar,should be in the top 20.
- 87 Joan Jett - No,rhythm guitarists are important,but there are many better rhythm guitarists out there.Shouldn't even be on his list.
- 88 Dave Davies of the Kinks - One of the earliest garage rock guitarists,should be top 50 at least.
- 89 D. Boon of the Minutemen - Like D. Boon's guitar playing,in a good spot.
- 90 Glen Buxton of Alice Cooper - Very good hard rock guitarist.
- 91 Robby Krieger of the Doors - Great diverse guitarist,overshadowed by Jim Morrison very often,should be higher.
- 92 & 93 Fred "Sonic" Smith, Wayne Kramer of the MC5 - Smith is great as rhythm guitar,and Kramer has very good solos.
- 94 Bert Jansch - Good acoustic player.
- 95 Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine - Not a technically great player,but I still like him.
- 96 Angus Young of AC/DC - Simple as hell riffs,but his solos are very good,I'd rank him higher.
- 97 Robert Randolph -Never heard of him.
- 98 Leigh Stephens of Blue Cheer - Good early hard rock guitarist.
- 99 Greg Ginn of Black Flag - Very interesting guitarist,more then other punk guitarists at least.
- 100 Kim Thayil of Soundgarden - Good riff guitarist.
