The Top Ten Greatest Guitarists of All Time

When asked to come up with a list of the greatest guitar players of all time then the chances are that for the most part everyone will name at least one different name and therefore no list should ever be precisely the same. The most obvious choice for inclusion here would be Jimi Hendrix, a man viewed by many as THE greatest guitar player of all time. It is true that he was an excellent guitar player and does indeed make my list, but I do not view anyone as the greatest guitar player of all time; there are so many different types of guitarists all creating different sounds and it can therefore be extremely difficult to draw comparisons and directly suggest that one guitarist is better than another if they are each producing a different style.

The first person on my list personally would be the late, great Dimebag Darrell. I said before that I shan't be ordering these names, he is merely the first that springs to mind when I think of guitar playing greats. Dimebag Darrell (Darrell Lance Abbott) was born on August 20th, 1966 and shot dead in December 2004 whilst performing a concert with his band Damageplan. During his career he was also a guitarist for both Pantera and Rebel Meets Rebel, both of which heavy metal bands as were Damageplan also. Dimebag Darrell was an exceptionally talented heavy metal guitarist and was one respected the world over. Darrell inspired many to pick up and play the guitar and therefore when he died in 2004 there was mass mourning around the world in true remembrance of a rock legend.

Dragonforce is a band I can't go without mentioning here. Their guitar sounds are so hard and fast that not to mention the bands two guitarists of Herman Li and Sam Totman here would just be absolutely criminal. If you're familiar with the works of Dragonforce then you will no doubt see where I am coming from here as the speed at which the guitar is played in their music and the skill with which the riffs are performed is simply magnificent. The reason I name both of their guitarists is because they alternate between tracks as to who will play lead and which will play rhythm, both of them are exceptional guitarists and regardless of which of them is performing what role; their guitar playing is never anything short of sensational.

Slash, the former Guns N' Roses man and current lead guitarist of Velvet Revolver is another that makes the cut for me. I am not at all a fan of the bands that he has been in, however there is no denying the power and precision with which he can play his guitar. One of the people he drew his inspiration from was the guitar great that is Eric Clapton, he also cites Jim Hendrix and Jeff Beck as major influences; choices I cannot complain with whatsoever. Slash (Saul Hudson) is a greatly talented guitarist and is one that I can easily listen to the music of for hours without ever tiring of hearing him shred it up with his well crafted and always intelligently composed guitar work.

I shall now come back to the man that many perceive to be the greatest guitarist of all time; Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix was born in 1942, and died in the September of 1970 as a result of circumstances that have never been fully explained. Hendrix was a fantastic musician and an excellent guitarist. It's clear why so many people perceive him to be the greatest guitar player of all time, yet with so many exceptionally talented guitarists having emerged throughout the ages I still feel that it would be grossly unfair to name him as the greatest guitar player of all time. To do so would be a great injustice to all the other guitar playing greats that there have been throughout the years, not to name one definitive but to praise many individually talented people is the far greater option as others thus have something to aim for; to strive to become noted as one of the best guitar players ever to have existed.

There are so many people that have mastered the art of the guitar, an instrument of which the capabilities are forever being stretched, yet still the instrument has remained to be much of the same for many years now. There are good guitars and there are great guitars, and the same can be said of guitarists. All guitars are of different craft and standards, and the same can again be said to be true of the guitarists themselves. Whilst there are many excellent guitars on the market to choose from, the final say in what one is best to choose comes down to personal preference and which style is best suited to you; something which is also true of guitarists as there are many great guitarists, yet they are all excellent in different ways and are all producing different sounds. What sounds great to some may just sound like noise to others, and therefore there can never realistically be a 'Greatest Guitar Player of All Time' acclaimed, but to produce a personal opinion of the 'Greatest Guitar Players of All Time' is perfectly acceptable and entirely viable. Everyone has their own personal opinions and ultimately no one can ever be perceived as being right or wrong, but instead the opinion of all is equally vital when assessing and evaluating who exactly are the greatest guitar players of all time.

Okay, so I originally brought it down to a list of five talented guitarists that I personally perceive to be amongst the best of all time; I've since decided however that I should probably broaden this article out a little though and have thus decided to bring to your attention a further five guitarists that I believe to be worthy of consideration under the tag of 'the best of all time'. There are so many guitarists all around the world, there are plenty that are excellent; some are a little overrated and others hugely underrated. Many guitarists do not gain the recognition that they so richly deserve, I'm sure that there are many talented guitarists around the world that I have never had the pleasure of hearing and this I feel is a huge shame.

Without further ado I shall now name (and acclaim) five additional guitarists that I believe should be considered amongst the greatest of all time. As ever I'm sure that there will be plenty that disagree with me over this, it's my personal opinion that these people should be considered however and I personally believe that these people are/were massively talented and more than worthy of a special mention here.

Daniel Johns is the vocalist and guitarist for the Australian rock band Silverchair. I've been following this bands progress for a good few years now and it must be said that I believe that this man has a lot of talent as a guitarist. Not only does he have the most amazing voice but the way that he can play guitar truly is exceptional also. When Silverchair recorded their début album 'Frogstomp' the bands members were only 16, even then his talent could be heard however and over the years he has progressed and matured as a musician and his ability has got greater and greater.

To date Silverchair has released five albums as a band, with each album he has improved and his guitar ability has over the years become increasingly more apparent. I highly look forward to the release of every new Silverchair album; I love the band and this is in no small part down to the massive musical ability of Daniel Johns. As well as being a key member of Silverchair, between the years of 1997 and 2005 Daniel Johns worked with dance music producer Paul Mac on The Dissociatives project. The Dissociatives released only one studio album, a live DVD, and an EP also; I'm not familiar with the work of this band but always I have been a huge fan of Daniel Johns and his guitar work with Silverchair is most definitely well worth seeking out.

Born in 1945, Eric Clapton is another that I consider to be amongst the greatest guitar players of all time. He is an exceptionally talented guitarist; the man has had a long and fruitful career in music and this I feel is a resultant force of his huge musical talent. Starting off in The Yardbirds, Eric Clapton also was a member of bands such as Blind Faith, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, and of course Cream also. Eric Clapton achieved great success with Cream, since the 1970s he has become best known as a solo artist however and over the years has released many a great album.

Eric Clapton truly is a fantastic guitarist, when considering the idea of potential greatest guitarists of all time then this is one man that I feel would most definitely be thought of by most. He's a great musician, a fine songwriter and a man that I happily include here in my personal list of the greatest guitarists of all time.

How could I have missed out the lead guitarist of Queen in my original list? How absurd of I! I'm really not at all a fan of Queen, I do however greatly appreciate the talent of Brian May and feel that he is richly deserving of a mention here. Queen formed in 1970 and is a band still going strong today albeit without Freddie Mercury. Admittedly Queen without Freddie Mercury isn't quite the same, Brian May is still a guitar playing guru however and sure knows how to rock the crowd.

There are some people that never seem to hit a wrong note when they play guitar, it's not in their nature and personally I perceive Brian May to be one of those people. When I pick up a guitar the sound that is created is horrendous, when Brian May plays guitar on the other hand the most amazing music is produced and he I feel is a huge talent. I'll never like Queen, I'll always consider Brian May to be a greatly talented guitarist however and advise all to listen to a guitar solo of his or two.

There was a time when I hated the music of Coheed and Cambria, the voice of Claudio Sanchez I found to be far too whiny and the bands music I just didn't see the appeal of. Those days are now long gone, I greatly appreciate the music of Coheed and Cambria and also consider Claudio Sanchez to be an excellent guitarist. Seeing the band live is what changed my opinion of both the man and the band, he really impressed me with his guitar work and powerful stage presence; Claudio Sanchez is a masterful front man and talented guitarist to boot.

Had I never seen Coheed and Cambria live then Claudio Sanchez would not have been included in this list of mine today, I've listened to all the bands albums many times however and always the guitar presence is consistently strong throughout the bands releases. Travis Stever plays guitar alongside Claudio Sanchez within the band; witnessing the band live it was Claudio Sanchez that impressed however and hence he is the man that I have here chosen to include and speak of.

In the 1970s Carlos Santana was best known for his work with Santana and his Gibson endorsements also. The Gibson SG was one of his trademark guitars and currently the man endorses PRS guitars. He's an exquisitely fine guitarist, a massively talented musician and a man that I personally feel deserves all the success that he has received throughout his life. He is known for his Latin rock musical style and the music that the man makes is I feel absolutely excellent, refreshing to listen to and always packed full of passion.

For a while the appeal of Carlos Santana dwindled away to near enough nothing, the 'Supernatural' album of 1999 sure changed that however and is in fact now certified Diamond in America having sold over a million copies there alone (it's actually gone 15x Platinum so has in fact sold in excess of 1.5 million copies to date). I'm glad that Carlos Santana returned to the fray and once more gained a huge amount of success with this album, he truly is an excellent guitarist and it's only right that his music must always be heard by many. It's only right that his talent is always heard, millions around the world can play the guitar and many are of great ability; it takes a special quality to be considered amongst the best and Carlos Santana is a man that I do believe is one of the worlds greatest ever guitarists.