Guitar Greats

I have this friend, and we have gotten into a few discussions about guitarists - specifically, who is the best guitarist ever. Now he is a moron because he thinks Eddie Van Halen is the best guitarist ever – which is INSANE! I tell him that he is so limited in his understanding of music. But he stands firm.

The problem with this discussion is the same problem with trying to pick the best song or group ever. Besides being extremely subjective, one also has to deal with different genres. Even with guitarists, they play different styles and in different ways. How do you compare great Metal guitarists with Blues players? How do you compare Classic Rock with Hair Band Rock? It seems an impossible task. So, determining who is the “best” ends up comparing apples to oranges rather than comparing Fugis to Granny Smiths. But, it must be done or else we have little to talk about. I propose using criteria such as technique and difficulty of skills in addition to producing music that is pleasing to the ear. Again, it remains subjective, but at least puts us at the same table.

To such ends, Rolling Stone put out their top 100 list of guitarists of which I have reproduced the top ten below:

1) Jimi Hendrix
2) Duane Allman
3) B.B. King
4) Eric Clapton
5) Robert Johnson
6) Chuck Berry
7) Stevie Ray Vaughan
8) Ry Cooder
9) Jimmy Page
10) Keith Richards

All these guys are great. No doubt about it. But some are before my time and some are WAY before my time. So, my top 3 would be the following (in no particular order) – Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton. The reason they are not in order is because they play different styles, but do so exceptionally well. Whenever their songs come on the radio or Pandora, I will listen. Other guitarist’s stuff is hit or miss for me depending what mood I am in. And as for Eddie Van Halen, well, would be lucky to make my top 50.


So, who is in your top 3 or 5 guitarists?
Do you agree with the Rolling Stone list or feel they have overlooked a monumental influence?