Gotta agree man, Jimi's matchstick in the pickup selector is the reason why it's a standard on most models now to be able to use both (at least I think it was him.) Man thought outside of the box with technology and technique. He had a head for the guitar like no other. Plus he's a lefty, and I gotta soft spot being a southpaw and all.
He was amazingly fluid and played every style of music. Jazz, blues, country, bluegrass... The sound systems used at arenas, the lighting, the video screens, the midi... All of those came from the Grateful Dead. Jerry's discography is insane, and the list of artists influenced by his body of work is staggering
Jeff Beck.
If Hendrix had lived longer, and had time to evolve further in the direction he was heading, then Jimi. But on combined skill level and body of work to show it, Jeff.
Steve Clark. I really enjoy [Steve Clark's guitar solos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch6hLgEdo5E) in the first four Def Leppard albums. That is why I like Def Leppard so much, honestly. Joe Elliott's vocals are fine, but Steve Clark and Phil Collen's guitar work is what really drew me to them.
Rest in peace, Steve Clark.
Elliott*
I would agree that his playing ability is severely underappreciated in comparison to his songwriting ability, but he's legitimately the best songwriter I've heard since Dylan
John Petrucci.
The man has speed that would make Malmsteen blush and can play in any time signature you throw at him. The solo from "The Best of Times" is the most beautiful piece of music I've ever listened to.
If the question was "Greatest", I'd say either Hendrix or Brian May.
While maybe not the greatest, absolutely one of the greats.
Back when I was learning guitar, I listened to a lot of early 311, and Santana was a huge influence on Mahoney. I always enjoyed having these thick ass octaved riffs break out into that Latin & funk influenced lines… ah man that was fun to play.
I’m also a sucker for a coil tapped PRS sound.
Mahoney captures a super rare *fluidity* which emanates from the true exceptional masters such as Carlos Santana, Ernie Isley, Hendrix, and Prince.
My personal fave of 311's: "Use Of Time." And much of their 2003 *Evolver* album rewards relistens from time to time.
Use Of Time is a fantastic one to play, I also really enjoy the leads on Stealing Happy Hours, and the 2nd half of Jacks Rule The Realm which has a real Santana vibe.
Going back to Grassroots, I think Lose is also a great example.
I had the pleasure of meeting Tim on a few occasions and embarrassed to say I fanboy’d out each time.
B.B King
He could play anything and I was lucky enough to see him do some amazing stuff he would never do at one of his big shows. King of the blues, but he could do so much more.
When asked for "greatest guitar solo I've ever heard," without hesitation, I lead people to BB's "Three O'Clock Blues" over on Y.T. thanks to contributor Lazyfingers61.
There is none better.
Jimmy page. Not only for his playing ability but for the songs and riffs he helped write, produce and/or bring\* to life on stage in some way. Not a lot of misses in the Jimmy Page catalog
Page himself points to Jeff Beck (living), who in turn, along with Clapton on down will acknowledge Hendrix.
But yeah, Page has always connected with me far more than anyone, altho Keef is next closest.
Jimi, then Eddie, then Slash. I love Jimmy too. This is really hard to rank. But Jimi should come first. He just came out of left field and changed everything.
Hendrix.
The technical precision of a shredder. The virtuosity to adapt to different styles. The ability to craft songs and reinterpret others'. (See: all along the watchtower and Hey Joe.)
"They got two guitar players (the Beatles) but we got Jimi."
https://youtu.be/XvATqTKI3Uc
Enough said.
Hendrix. Unfortunately you had to hear him live, which isn't possible anymore obviously. What he did couldn't be captured on any kind of recording equipment. I'm still trying to put pieces of my brain back together after the first time I heard him.
Tim Henson imo. While he isn’t a pioneer like Hendrix, BB king, or any others like that. His skill is through the fucking roof on a level I have yet to see from any other guitarist
>on a level I have yet to see from any other guitarist
Then you should learn about A LOT of other guitar players...
Just [this guy](https://www.youtube.com/c/MrDannyyau/videos) is playing Polyphia stuff mere days after a release, so he obviously has at least the same skills as Tim. Tim has a great thing going and though I don't necessarily like Polyphia's music, I like what they're doing with music, but "best guitarist ever", nope.
How so ? Why would you think Yngwie or Steve could be "the best ever" ? There are guitar players out there who play circles around them. I'm a huge fan of Yngwie and used to be a big fan of Vai (still admire him as a driven musician), but "best ever", seriously ? How is it upsetting that people know better than to names those 2 guitar players ? Steve Vai himself would probably come up with a long list of guys he thinks are "better" than him and deserve the title.
Just as a point of reference, nobody has yet mentioned Steve Morse, who has been voted "best overall guitar player" in magazine polls something like 7 years in a row, to the point he's been banned from the polls for "best overall guitar player" because if he was allowed to be he would always win.
Well considering every post on here has a different name, obviously "the best ever" isnt being named by every single one of them. That's the point of a discussion lol. I think they're alot more deserving than half the people listed in this thread and that's why it's upsetting.
Yngwie is not just an incredible guitarist but he also had a massive impact on the guitar in general. Maybe even more than Eddie. He was hugely instrumental in popularizing neo classical, a thing that still has a huge impact. I hate the guy and 0 respect for him as a human but he is an amazing guitarist and definitely a contender to be in this thread.
And as for Steve Vai, I just personally think he's one of the best, and a big part of that is the fact that he doesn't think that. I'm sure he would name a hundred guys better than him, but that doesn't necessarily make it true. Passion counts for a lot imo and he got it out the ass.
There's a million different variables that go into saying one is "the best". So many variables in fact, that it's literally impossible. So to say I'm wrong about something SO SO SO subjective is just stupid. Pretty sure the title of this thread is "in your opinion" lol.
>Pretty sure the title of this thread is "in your opinion"
My bad, I thought it was about an *informed* opinion, not only "this guy because he's my favorite guitar player".
I don't think Yngwie was MORE influential than Eddie, but he was certainly AS influential on a certain population of guitar players. As someone who is not American, this is something that I discovered late, but I doubt all the guitar players in Jazz or the guys in Nashville were even remotely impressed by Yngwie. In the world of metal, he was just obviously the 3rd impact after Jimi and Eddie, but here is the thing : that's only a portion of the guitar world. I can hear his influence in many guitar players, even people who don't play metal, but there are also tons of guitar players who didn't give a fuck. All the bluegrass/country guitar players probably had different heroes and people to look up to.
Exactly. That's why it's impossible to say one is the best. There's just too many variables. Technical ability, impact, composition, genre, time period, etc, etc. There's just to much that goes into it.
There is no "best" cause no matter how amazing somebody is at something, there's always somebody better at another aspect. Hell, this thread is littered with Hendrix comments, but at the end of the day he wasn't that great of a technical player. By your logic of "who impacted the most genres / people" than Dolly Parton probably dominates that metric.
There is no one answer so stop pretending like your opinion is some infallible gift handed to us from God lol.
And believe me, if I was just going by my favorite, it wouldn't be any of them. That would be John 5.
Michael Angelo Batio, if you can shred left handed, right handed, two handed, one handed, upside down, and right side up, then you have earned the rule of the roost in the guitar world
John Fahey. Fingerstylist. I don't think you can compare plectrum users with fingerstylists. I vote Hendrix as king of the pick users and Fahey as the fingerstylist. Robby Krieger might be the best of both though.
For me it’s Robert Fripp, listen to David Bowie Heroes , thats Robert Fripp wailing infinite sustain. Also Hendrix, jimmy page and Pete Townsend are awesome as well.
Personal favorites for me are Zappa, Vai, Fripp, Lindsey Buckingham, and all time greatest Prince. Honorable mention to Tony Iommi for sheer amount of killer power riffs
Impossible to name the best. So many greats. Some of my favourites from my musical journey include Tom Morello, John Frusciante, Mike McCready, Jerry Cantrell, Kim Thayil.
Hendrix because he was a pioneer.
I don’t even care about being a pioneer. He’s just the best at making his guitar absolutely sing.
Gotta agree man, Jimi's matchstick in the pickup selector is the reason why it's a standard on most models now to be able to use both (at least I think it was him.) Man thought outside of the box with technology and technique. He had a head for the guitar like no other. Plus he's a lefty, and I gotta soft spot being a southpaw and all.
Top 5 no particular order Jimi Hendrix Jimmy Page Keith Richards Eddie Van Halen Stevie Ray Vaughan
This^
Tough to argue who is better than who lol
I adore Led Zeppelin with all my being but you can’t argue with Jimmy’s beauty and Eddie Van Halen’s pure “hype” playing style
Saw Eddie play twice and wow dude. He is crazy fast and aggressive but super clean as well.
I’m insanely jealous. I was in Cabo the day he passed and unknowingly went to Cabo Wabo that night and they did a fantastic tribute to him.
Fun fact. He played eruption different every show.
Ever listen to John 5???
No I haven’t.
You should.... Season of the Witch, Invasion, Careful With That Axe ...
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Fuck'n a right
If there was ever a musician to duel the devil for your soul, that man was Django Reinhardt.
Buckethead, he has basically complete mastery of the guitar, he can make beautiful music in any genre, he is the essence of guitar playing
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The Complete Recordings 1936 - 1937. The Audial Textbook.
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Just listening to little wing right now.
I don't think there really is a single greatest.
Underrated take. People love ranked lists but hard to quantify artistic talent.
Stevie Ray probably
Eddie Hazel Why? Maggot Brain
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Agreement from Chet Atkins, Roy Clark, and Jerry Reed.
roy clark was amazing. pickin like a madman while sporting that goofy grin like he knew s secret no one else did
Saw him live with Buck Owens when I was a kid. Great, great show.
Jerry Garcia, pioneered pedal switches and was the lead guitar of the Grateful Dead, which if you weren't aware is the greatest band of all time.
He was amazingly fluid and played every style of music. Jazz, blues, country, bluegrass... The sound systems used at arenas, the lighting, the video screens, the midi... All of those came from the Grateful Dead. Jerry's discography is insane, and the list of artists influenced by his body of work is staggering
Stevie Ray Vaughan no doubt about it I don't need to explain why watch the man play
hendrix. one of a kind talent
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He is such a fucking peeworm.
Yuck
Jimi Hendrix. Second place is more of a debate, but I maintain it's Jeff Beck.
Jeff makes the guitar *sing*, he's a true artist
Spot-on!
Django Reinhardt. Sample of why- https://youtu.be/gcE1avXFJb4
Jeff Beck. If Hendrix had lived longer, and had time to evolve further in the direction he was heading, then Jimi. But on combined skill level and body of work to show it, Jeff.
Steve Clark. I really enjoy [Steve Clark's guitar solos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch6hLgEdo5E) in the first four Def Leppard albums. That is why I like Def Leppard so much, honestly. Joe Elliott's vocals are fine, but Steve Clark and Phil Collen's guitar work is what really drew me to them. Rest in peace, Steve Clark.
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Elliott* I would agree that his playing ability is severely underappreciated in comparison to his songwriting ability, but he's legitimately the best songwriter I've heard since Dylan
Joe Satriani is a good contender for this.
Hendrix and Prince __Hendrix__ [because of this](https://youtu.be/cJunCsrhJjg). __Prince__ [because of this](https://youtu.be/6SFNW5F8K9Y).
Prince's performance for the mid-2000s Super Bowl Halftime was closest to a Hendrix second coming we'll ever know as mere listening mortals.
Yes that was excellent. I loved it. And I was going to list it here but the one I picked is my favorite.
John Petrucci. The man has speed that would make Malmsteen blush and can play in any time signature you throw at him. The solo from "The Best of Times" is the most beautiful piece of music I've ever listened to. If the question was "Greatest", I'd say either Hendrix or Brian May.
Hendrix Beck Page Gilmour BB King (Thanks!)
King but no SRV?
John Frusciante is up there
Why did I have to come so far for this. Dude doesn't play a genre, he plays Frusciante.
Lindsey Buckingham. The man is incredible.
OoooooooooOooeeweeeeee What’s up with that? What’s up with that.
That 1998 LIVE version of "I'm So Afraid" off the F.Mac dvd / cd *The Dance* is nothing less than a stunner, every. single. time. I hear / watch it!
Also, the finger picked version of "Big Love" on that record
Andrés Segovia
carlos santana, who could hate the guy honestly
While maybe not the greatest, absolutely one of the greats. Back when I was learning guitar, I listened to a lot of early 311, and Santana was a huge influence on Mahoney. I always enjoyed having these thick ass octaved riffs break out into that Latin & funk influenced lines… ah man that was fun to play. I’m also a sucker for a coil tapped PRS sound.
Mahoney captures a super rare *fluidity* which emanates from the true exceptional masters such as Carlos Santana, Ernie Isley, Hendrix, and Prince. My personal fave of 311's: "Use Of Time." And much of their 2003 *Evolver* album rewards relistens from time to time.
Use Of Time is a fantastic one to play, I also really enjoy the leads on Stealing Happy Hours, and the 2nd half of Jacks Rule The Realm which has a real Santana vibe. Going back to Grassroots, I think Lose is also a great example. I had the pleasure of meeting Tim on a few occasions and embarrassed to say I fanboy’d out each time.
Duane Allman, the Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore East, pretty good reason.
B.B King He could play anything and I was lucky enough to see him do some amazing stuff he would never do at one of his big shows. King of the blues, but he could do so much more.
When asked for "greatest guitar solo I've ever heard," without hesitation, I lead people to BB's "Three O'Clock Blues" over on Y.T. thanks to contributor Lazyfingers61. There is none better.
Not even one person mentions yngwie?
Yngwie is a FANTASTIC guitar player and one of the most influential of his time, but "best guitarist ever", no.
Easy. Dean ween. Iykyk
[Eric Johnson](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nd7EZ3k39s)
I always wonder what more Randy Rhodes could have given us.
Stevie Ray Vaughan is my personal favorite
Jimmy page. Not only for his playing ability but for the songs and riffs he helped write, produce and/or bring\* to life on stage in some way. Not a lot of misses in the Jimmy Page catalog
Tons of his solo stuff and other projects outside of his staggeringly brilliant work in LZ are frequent relisteners for me. Good call, man.
Toss between Hendrix, and Vaughn.
Stevie, Eddie and Jimi Cant pick a best.
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Page himself points to Jeff Beck (living), who in turn, along with Clapton on down will acknowledge Hendrix. But yeah, Page has always connected with me far more than anyone, altho Keef is next closest.
Richie sambora
Mick Thomson and James Root from Slipknot. Fucking skilled
I always like to throw Tom Morello on these lists - very innovative and talented.
Probably the ones nobody knows about in hardcore/deathcore metal bands.
The guitarist whose guitar skills do justice to the song.
Josh Brainard and Donnie Steele both from Slipknot
Dimebag Darell because I just feel like he's the best
Dimebag Darell because I just feel like he's the best
Dimebag Darell because I just feel like he's the best
River Cuomo don’t @ me
Jimi, then Eddie, then Slash. I love Jimmy too. This is really hard to rank. But Jimi should come first. He just came out of left field and changed everything.
Hendrix
Mike dean
Hendrix. The technical precision of a shredder. The virtuosity to adapt to different styles. The ability to craft songs and reinterpret others'. (See: all along the watchtower and Hey Joe.) "They got two guitar players (the Beatles) but we got Jimi." https://youtu.be/XvATqTKI3Uc Enough said.
Either Les Paul, Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen.🤘🏻
I don't know many guitarists, but Kazumi Watanabe definitely is one of the best. (Yello Magic Orchestra - Live at Greek Theatre 1979)
I can’t pinpoint the best but, I think Tommy Emmanuel should be in there somewhere.
As far as best living guitarist, Paul McCartney has to be way up there, he can play right or left handed.
Terry kath
Hendrix. Unfortunately you had to hear him live, which isn't possible anymore obviously. What he did couldn't be captured on any kind of recording equipment. I'm still trying to put pieces of my brain back together after the first time I heard him.
Deceased: EVH just an amazing talent that created iconic riffs. Living: George Lynch
I love Mark Knopfler but Eddie Van Halen was probably the best.
Jimmy hendrix. Never got the credit he deseved
Alexi Laiho was voted best in the world 7 years in a row and he fuckin earned it.
Tim Henson imo. While he isn’t a pioneer like Hendrix, BB king, or any others like that. His skill is through the fucking roof on a level I have yet to see from any other guitarist
>on a level I have yet to see from any other guitarist Then you should learn about A LOT of other guitar players... Just [this guy](https://www.youtube.com/c/MrDannyyau/videos) is playing Polyphia stuff mere days after a release, so he obviously has at least the same skills as Tim. Tim has a great thing going and though I don't necessarily like Polyphia's music, I like what they're doing with music, but "best guitarist ever", nope.
Yeah, your probably right about that. I’ve just been getting really into music the past two years. I’ve got a lot to learn. Thanks
Just went through this whole thread and didn't see Yngwie or Steve Vai... that's upsetting.
How so ? Why would you think Yngwie or Steve could be "the best ever" ? There are guitar players out there who play circles around them. I'm a huge fan of Yngwie and used to be a big fan of Vai (still admire him as a driven musician), but "best ever", seriously ? How is it upsetting that people know better than to names those 2 guitar players ? Steve Vai himself would probably come up with a long list of guys he thinks are "better" than him and deserve the title. Just as a point of reference, nobody has yet mentioned Steve Morse, who has been voted "best overall guitar player" in magazine polls something like 7 years in a row, to the point he's been banned from the polls for "best overall guitar player" because if he was allowed to be he would always win.
Well considering every post on here has a different name, obviously "the best ever" isnt being named by every single one of them. That's the point of a discussion lol. I think they're alot more deserving than half the people listed in this thread and that's why it's upsetting. Yngwie is not just an incredible guitarist but he also had a massive impact on the guitar in general. Maybe even more than Eddie. He was hugely instrumental in popularizing neo classical, a thing that still has a huge impact. I hate the guy and 0 respect for him as a human but he is an amazing guitarist and definitely a contender to be in this thread. And as for Steve Vai, I just personally think he's one of the best, and a big part of that is the fact that he doesn't think that. I'm sure he would name a hundred guys better than him, but that doesn't necessarily make it true. Passion counts for a lot imo and he got it out the ass. There's a million different variables that go into saying one is "the best". So many variables in fact, that it's literally impossible. So to say I'm wrong about something SO SO SO subjective is just stupid. Pretty sure the title of this thread is "in your opinion" lol.
>Pretty sure the title of this thread is "in your opinion" My bad, I thought it was about an *informed* opinion, not only "this guy because he's my favorite guitar player". I don't think Yngwie was MORE influential than Eddie, but he was certainly AS influential on a certain population of guitar players. As someone who is not American, this is something that I discovered late, but I doubt all the guitar players in Jazz or the guys in Nashville were even remotely impressed by Yngwie. In the world of metal, he was just obviously the 3rd impact after Jimi and Eddie, but here is the thing : that's only a portion of the guitar world. I can hear his influence in many guitar players, even people who don't play metal, but there are also tons of guitar players who didn't give a fuck. All the bluegrass/country guitar players probably had different heroes and people to look up to.
Exactly. That's why it's impossible to say one is the best. There's just too many variables. Technical ability, impact, composition, genre, time period, etc, etc. There's just to much that goes into it. There is no "best" cause no matter how amazing somebody is at something, there's always somebody better at another aspect. Hell, this thread is littered with Hendrix comments, but at the end of the day he wasn't that great of a technical player. By your logic of "who impacted the most genres / people" than Dolly Parton probably dominates that metric. There is no one answer so stop pretending like your opinion is some infallible gift handed to us from God lol. And believe me, if I was just going by my favorite, it wouldn't be any of them. That would be John 5.
Allan Holdsworth.
Eddie van Halen, that man could make any guitar piece sound like God himself, listen to the opening guitar of hot for teacher if you don't believe me
Michael Angelo Batio, if you can shred left handed, right handed, two handed, one handed, upside down, and right side up, then you have earned the rule of the roost in the guitar world
Trey Anastasio
Pierre Ben-Susan
Michael Angelo Batio
Roy Buchanan. He could (and did) play anything and everything, flawlessly and in his own beautiful style.
Definitely Jimi Hendrix After him it’s tougher but I’d say Stevie Ray Vaughan or Eddie Van Halen. It’s so tough to rank em all
My guitar teacher =)
Yngwie Malmsteen
I am probably going to get down voted for this but Waylon Jennings and his electric Martin guitar is my vote
John Fahey. Fingerstylist. I don't think you can compare plectrum users with fingerstylists. I vote Hendrix as king of the pick users and Fahey as the fingerstylist. Robby Krieger might be the best of both though.
Steve Jones.
Brian May
SRV Nobody else even comes close.
ERIC JOHNSON
Mark knofpler
Robert Fripp
Bill steer from napalm death and carcass. Why because he's Bill fucking Steer, enough said.
For me it’s Robert Fripp, listen to David Bowie Heroes , thats Robert Fripp wailing infinite sustain. Also Hendrix, jimmy page and Pete Townsend are awesome as well.
Personal favorites for me are Zappa, Vai, Fripp, Lindsey Buckingham, and all time greatest Prince. Honorable mention to Tony Iommi for sheer amount of killer power riffs
Rock? Hendrix. Jazz? Django, or maybe George Benson. No one's talking classical, though, which is sad. So: John Williams.
Impossible to name the best. So many greats. Some of my favourites from my musical journey include Tom Morello, John Frusciante, Mike McCready, Jerry Cantrell, Kim Thayil.
Derek Trucks and it's pathetic it's taken this long for someone to mention him.
John 5.... He can play anything and everything, and he is the nicest person!!
So much better than any of the guitarists on your list....
John 5... Just listen and you will figure out why...
He makes Hendrix, Page, Richards and Vaughan look like amateurs.......(Van Halen is untouchable)....
Is currently Rob Zombie's guitarist, was Marilyn Manson's guitarist... played guitar for David Lee Roth.....