100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time

[Scott]

I usually think these lists are total BS, but this one about takes the cake.

Slash did not make the BS thing but Jack White did...and was Cobain really that good of a guitar player?  And any list that does not include Mike McCready and has Jimmy Page at #9 is smoking crack.

From Rolling Stone

1 Jimi Hendrix
2 Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band
3 B.B. King
4 Eric Clapton
5 Robert Johnson
6 Chuck Berry
7 Stevie Ray Vaughan
8 Ry Cooder
9 Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
10 Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones
11Kirk Hammett of Metallica
12 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana
13 Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead
14 Jeff Beck
15 Carlos Santana
16 Johnny Ramone of the Ramones
17 Jack White of the White Stripes
18 John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
19 Richard Thompson
20 James Burton
21 George Harrison
22 Mike Bloomfield
23 Warren Haynes
24 The Edge of U2
25 Freddy King
26 Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave
27 Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits
28 Stephen Stills
29 Ron Asheton of the Stooges
30 Buddy Guy
31 Dick Dale
32 John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service
33 & 34 Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth
35 John Fahey
36 Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MG's
37 Bod Diddley
38 Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac
39 Brian May of Qeen
40 John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival
41 Clarence White of the Byrds
42 Robert Fripp of King Crimson
43 Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic
44 Scotty Moore
45 Frank Zappa
46 Les Paul
47 T-Bone Walker
48 Joe Perry of Aerosmith
49 John McLaughlin
50 Pete Townshend
51 Paul Kossoff of Free
52 Lou Reed
53 Mickey Baker
54 Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane
55 Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple
56 Tom Verlaine of Television
57 Roy Buchanan
58 Dickey Betts
59 & 60 Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead
61 Ike Turner
62 Zoot Horn Rollo of the Magic Band
63 Danny Gatton
64 Mick Ronson
65 Hubert Sumlin
66 Vernon Reid of Living Colour
67 Link Wray
68 Jerry Miller of Moby Grape
69 Steve Howe of Yes
70 Eddie Van Halen
71 Lightnin' Hopkins
72 Joni Mitchell
73 Trey Anastasio of Phish
74 Johnny Winter
75 Adam Jones of Tool
76 Ali Farka Toure
77 Henry Vestine of Canned Heat
78 Robbie Robertson of the Band
79 Cliff Gallup of the Blue Caps (1997)
80 Robert Quine of the Voidoids
81 Derek Trucks
82 David Gilmour of Pink Floyd
83 Neil Young
84 Eddie Cochran
85 Randy Rhoads
86 Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath
87 Joan Jett
88 Dave Davies of the Kinks
89 D. Boon of the Minutemen
90 Glen Buxton of Alice Cooper
91 Robby Krieger of the Doors
92 & 93 Fred "Sonic" Smith, Wayne Kramer of the MC5
94 Bert Jansch
95 Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine
96 Angus Young of AC/DC
97 Robert Randolph
98 Leigh Stephens of Blue Cheer
99 Greg Ginn of Black Flag
100 Kim Thayil of Soundgarden

[Nicklab]

I tend to find any kind of musical ranking system to be BS.  Music is pretty much a subjective area, and ranking individual musicians is ludicrous.  And why did they limit it to only a few genres?  I don't see Segovia on there.  Or Wes Montgomery.

Don't put any creedence in this list.  It's just crap to fill page space, because they couldn't come up with a legit article.

[Angry Ewok]

Hendrix is the best. Period.

My favorite, perhaps, may be Page (download his 'White Summer', long guitar solo)...

And of course Slash, Santana (I dont like him, though), Eric Clapton (under-rated), etc.

[MisterPL]

I can rub a guitar against my nutsack and sound just as good as half these punks. Jimi Hendrix at #1? Please.

[Valtar]

That is the biggest crok.... Jimi Hendrix at #1 bah he was good but not near the best, and Chuck Berry...  Im sorry but come on Steve Vai didn't even make the list Berry couldnt touch this guy nor Shash who ever made the list up didn't talk to the fans I dont think.

[Force Guy]

Stevie Ray Vaughan should've been in the top 3.    

[Jango Fettish]

That is the biggest crok.... Jimi Hendrix at #1 bah he was good but not near the best, and Chuck Berry...  Im sorry but come on Steve Vai didn't even make the list Berry couldnt touch this guy nor Shash who ever made the list up didn't talk to the fans I dont think.

Chuck Berry is the ******* father of rock and roll. We wouldn't have alot of todays music if it weren't for him, Led Zeppelin most apparently.

Take a listen to anything by Chuck Berry, prefferably Johnny B. Good or Maybelene  then listen to "Rock N' Roll" by Led Zeppelin. It's an indirect tribute, Led Zeppelin just R n B'ed it up with drums.  

[Virex]

Off-topic:

Zeppelin owed their success more to their ape-ing of old blues guys like Willie Dixon than they ever did to Chuck Berry.

On-topic:

The list sucks.  These lists exist primarily to generate discussion and sell magazines.  As Nicklab said, these types of things are totally subjective, and ultimately, don't mean jack-****.

Rolling Stone, just weeks ago, had the Olsen twins on the cover, and earlier this year, featured Britney, Shakira, and either Eve or Lil' Kim on the cover of their annual "Women Who Rock" issue.  They're a far cry from what they were originally conceived to be, in the late sixties.

For a kid to read this magazine, and come away thinking that Kurt Cobain is the 12th-greatest guitarist of all time, is truly a sad thing. . .  

[Sems Fir]

Cory H wrote:

"Take a listen to anything by Chuck Berry, prefferably Johnny B. Good or Maybelene  then listen to "Rock N' Roll" by Led Zeppelin. It's an indirect tribute, Led Zeppelin just R n B'ed it up with drums. "

The song "Rock and Roll" was created out of a combination of Little Richard songs and not a Chuck Berry song.  The band was working on "Four Sticks" when Bonzo played  the intro to Little Richards ""Keep On Knocking" (Keep A Knockin').  Throw in some "Good Golly Miss Molly" and the song "Rock and Roll" was created. The song is mainly a remake of "Keep A Knockin' and not so much of "Good Golly Miss Molly."  If you would like to hear Chuck Berry's infuence on Zeppelin check out the July 6, 1973 rehearsals for such gems as "School Days", and "Nadine", and "Reelin' and Rockin'".  Even earlier tracks such as "Roll Over Beethoven" can be heard in several 1969 jams inside "How Many More Times".  Chuck Berry was an influence but for the song "Rock and Roll" Little Richard's "Keep A Knockin'" is the influence.

Personally, I don't believe an accurate list can ever be created as each individuals tastes in music vary.  There's a broad spectrum of players listed there which might have been what they were going for by hitting different time periods in music history and different genres.  For me other things need to be taken into account such as influence in music and the state of affairs in music, such as Les Paul and the Electric Guitar, Jimmy Page and his producing skills, etc.. Everyone has a favorites list and every list created will be debated on.

Virex wrote:

"These lists exist primarily to generate discussion and sell magazines."

For me this sentence is 100% correct in every way.

Robert
NOOMIVARR SECTOR
BLACK S.U.N.  

[Ben]

Rolling Stone-Really Expensive Toilet Paper.

I had a subscription given to me one year, and within a few months, I didn't even read them before throwing them in the recycle bin. I used to read Spin, too, but I eventually caught on to the fact that they thought they were funnier and smarter than the people reading the magazine. They weren't.

[Darth Paul]

Eddie Van Halen at #70?  Come on....
And thinking Steve Vai is better than Chuck Berry...playing fast is not the same as playing good.

[Valtar]

Chuck Berry is the ******* father of rock and roll. We wouldn't have alot of todays music if it weren't for him, Led Zeppelin most apparently.

Take a listen to anything by Chuck Berry, prefferably Johnny B. Good or Maybelene  then listen to "Rock N' Roll" by Led Zeppelin. It's an indirect tribute, Led Zeppelin just R n B'ed it up with drums.  

Ahh Please, for his time he may have been a great guitar Player but for that matter for his time, so was Tony Iommi but he only hit spot 86. And in my taste they are just mediocre, not saying that they are bad but saying that if they would have a guitar contest one on one with Steve Vai or Joe Satriani I think either of them would probley put him to shame.  But that will never happen seeing CB is dead now.  All I can say is to each his own but there are many more people whom are deserving than some that are listed.

Johnny B good is a good song I like it... If you didn't know my Real name is Johnny,    but 2 or 3 songs hardly puts him in the 6th spot  there are many more people whom deserve to be on the list that was not listed,  And many on the list I dont feel even deserve a honorable mention.

[Valtar]

Eddie Van Halen at #70?  Come on....
And thinking Steve Vai is better than Chuck Berry...playing fast is not the same as playing good.

Steve Vai could play fast grant you, but he doesn't just play fast stuff... all Im saying is he or many other Artist that deserve to be on the list didnt make the cut.  As in my last post whom do you think taught Kirk Hammett of Metallica  how to Play, Yea, thats Rite Joe Satriani.  He didn't even make the list.  All that list is a Popularity contest,  because it doesn't really reflect talent to me.... but that just my opinion and other may have theirs that is just mine.  

[Angry Ewok]

Sometimes I think you guys don't like Jimi @ #1 just because you just don't want to agree with everyone else.

[MisterPL]

That's okay, Brad, sometimes we think you're just sheep going wherever the mass media tells you to. Kinda funny, isn't it?