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The Top 100 Guitarists Of All Time

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic (by 21 people)   Your rating: 1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic

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Welcome To The Top 100 Guitarists Of All Time!

 

I was browsing the internet and stumbled across Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 100 Guitarists of All Time. I'll admit I didn't agree with it and I wasn't the only one.

Examples being; Eddie Van Halen was ranked #70. This is a man who defined the electric guitar. Many styles of electric guitar were created by him. He did things with a guitar that other people could only envy. How can he be a worse guitarist than Kurt Cobain (#12)?! Cobain probably wasn't even the best guitarist in Nirvana!

Slash (one of the most notable guitarists of all time for sure!) wasn't even on the list.

This is only my opinion but that's what these lists are. Opinions. A "panel of experts" may not always get it right. So now, you, the public, the people who create these superstars, the people who acknowledge the ability of these players, get the vote.

It took a while to think of 100 Guitarists I thought were worthy. My friend Ryan (a guitarist) and I (vocalist) sat for about 4 hours trying to come up with 100 names who we thought should make the list. We based it on influence, charisma, ability, style, definition and popularity. Now we know we're not the "panel of experts" that selected the top 100 for Rolling Stone Magazine but I think we did a good job... =]

BUT... That's up to you to decide. If you think a different guitarist should be added. Add them and vote for them!

The Best Guitarists Of All Time 

Get Voting!

This appears to have caused quite a stir on a specific forum so I should make this clear; this is a vote. Logged in Squidoo members can vote.

If you haven't got an account, I highly recommend you make one. Click the "make a lens" link at the top of the page, you can make pages (called lenses) about (almost) anything you want.

Happy Voting!

#1

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix Experience8 points

#2

Eddie Van Halen

Van Halen8 points

#3

Jimmy Page

Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin and The Firm8 points

#4

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble8 points

#5

Steve Vai

Whitesnake7 points

#6

Carlos Santana

Santana6 points

#7

Pete Townshend

The Who6 points

#8

Slash

Guns N' Roses, Slash's Snakepit and Velvet Revolve more...5 points

#9

Eric Clapton

Yardbirds, Cream, Derek & The Dominos5 points

#10

Joe Satriani

Soloist4 points

#11

Chuck Berry

Soloist4 points

#12

Brian May

Queen3 points

#13

Kirk Hammett

Metallica3 points

#14

Ritchie Blackmore

Deep Purple, Rainbow and Blackmores Night3 points

#15

Yngwie Malmsteen

Rising Force3 points

#16

Mark Knopfler

Dire Straits3 points

#17

The Edge

U23 points

#18

Keith Richards

The Rolling Stones3 points

#19

Tony Iommi

Black Sabbath3 points

#20

Adrian Smith

Iron Maiden3 points

#21

John Petrucci

Dream Theater and Liquid Tension Experiment3 points

#22

B.B. King

Soloist3 points

#23

Frank Zappa

Soloist3 points

#24

Matthew Bellamy

Muse3 points

#25

C.C.Deville

Poison3 points

#26

David Gilmour

Pink Floyd2 points

#27

Angus Young

ACDC2 points

#28

Dave Davies

The Kinks2 points

#29

George Harrison

The Beatles and Traveling Wilburys2 points

#30

Randy Rhoads

Quiet Riot2 points

#31

Jose Feliciano

Soloist2 points

#32

Jeff Beck

The Yardbirds and Soloist2 points

#33

Phil Keaggy

Soloist2 points

#34

Dave Navarro

Jane's Addiction, Deconstruction, Red Hot Chilli P more...2 points

#35

Jack White

The White Stripes and The Raconteurs2 points

#36

Dimebag Darrell

Pantera, Damageplan and Rebel Meets Rebel2 points

#37

Marc Bolan

T. Rex2 points

#38

Joe Perry

Aerosmith1 point

#39

Noel Gallagher

Oasis1 point

#40

Dave Mustaine

Metallica and Megadeth1 point

#41

Jonny Greenwood

Radiohead1 point

#42

Herman Li

Demoniac and DragonForce1 point

#43

Dave Murray

Iron Maiden1 point

#44

Marty Friedman

Megadeth1 point

#45

Zack Wylde

Black Label Society1 point

#46

Jerry Garcia

Grateful Dead1 point

#47

Richard Thompson

Fairport Convention and Soloist1 point

#48

Jeff Baxter

Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers1 point

#49

Steve Jones

Sex Pistols, The Professionals, Chequered Past, Ne more...1 point

#50

Django Reinhardt

Soloist1 point

#51

Chet Atkins

Soloist and Producer1 point

#52

Rick Nielsen

Cheap Trick1 point

#53

Steve Miller

Steve Miller Band and Soloist1 point

#54

Neal Schon

Journey1 point

#55

Lemmy

Hawkwind and Motorhead1 point

#56

Steve Clarke

Def Leppard1 point

#57

Robert Cray

Robert Cray Band1 point

#58

Mick Thomson

Bodypit and Slipknot1 point

#59

Prince

Soloist1 point

#60

Mick Jones

The Clash1 point

#61

Richie Sambora

Bon Jovi0 points

#62

Eric Johnson

Soloist0 points

#63

Steve Lukather

Toto0 points

#64

Ace Frehley

Kiss0 points

#65

Duane Allman

Allman Brothers Band and Derek & The Dominos0 points

#66

Uli Jon Roth

Scorpions0 points

#67

Michael Schenker

Scorpions, UFO, MSG and Contraband0 points

#68

John Squire

The Stone Roses0 points

#69

John Frusciante

Red Hot Chilli Peppers0 points

#70

Ronnie Wood

Faces and The Rolling Stones0 points

#71

Jeff Hannemann

Slayer0 points

#72

Tom Morello

Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave and The Night more...0 points

#73

Paul Weller

The Jam and The Style Council0 points

#74

Robert Johnson

Soloist0 points

#75

Don Felder

The Eagles0 points

#76

Kelly Jones

Stereophonics0 points

#77

Ed O'Brien

Radiohead0 points

#78

Les Paul

Soloist and Inventor0 points

#79

Buckethead

Soloist and Collaborator0 points

#80

Johnny Ramone

The Ramones0 points

#81

Blues Saraceno

Poison and Transmission OK0 points

#82

Brian Bell

Weezer, Space Twins and The Relationship0 points

#83

Dan Donegan

Vandal and Disturbed0 points

#84

Josh Homme

Kyuss and Queens Of The Stone Age0 points

#85

Mike McCready

Pearl Jam0 points

#86

Michael Angelo Batio

Nitro0 points

#87

Vivian Campbell

Dio, Whitesnake and Def Leppard0 points

#88

Phil Collen

Def Leppard0 points

#89

Hank Marvin

The Shadows0 points

#90

Ry Cooder

Captain Beefheart (Now Primarily Soloist)0 points

#91

Sir Paul McCartney

The Quarrymen & The Silver Beetles, The Beatle more...0 points

#92

Steve Morse

Deep Purple0 points

#93

Glen Tipton

The Flying Hat Band and Judas Priest0 points

#94

Paul Gilbert

Racer X and Mr. Big0 points

#95

Steve Cropper

The Mar-Keys and The Blues Brothers Band0 points

#96

Allan Holdsworth

Level 42 and Soloist0 points

#97

James Burton

Soloist0 points

#98

Merle Travis

Soloist0 points

#99

Don Rich

Soloist0 points

#100

Mick Mars

Motley Crue0 points

#101

Daniel Lanois

0 points

#102

Jan Ackerman

Focus0 points

#103

Dave Matthews

Dave Matthews Band0 points

#104

Oscar Castro-Neves

Soloist0 points

The Greatest Guitar Solo? 

As per request of the people. I bring you a Youtube Plexo. I'm going to put 5 of the greatest guitar solos ever on here and allow you people the vote.

Cliffs of Dover 3 points

Eruption Guitar Solo--Eddie Van Halen 3 points

Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven - Live in O2 Arena 2007 2 points

Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower Live! Isle Of Wight 1 point

Comfortably Numb 0 points

John Petrucci - Glasgow Kiss - G3 2005 0 points

100 Top Guitarists Links 

100 Top Rock Guitarists
This list has been compiled using ratings of impact, influence, creativity, versatility, originality, technical skill and lasting
popularity.
Rolling Stone Magazine's 100 Top Guitarists
The one that kicked off this lens!

The Jimi Hendrix Duel! 

He ranked #1 in the Rolling Stone Magazine Top 100 but...

Is Jimi Hendrix Over-rated?

Loading Fetching blurbs now... please stand by

Yes

kirtok says:

Hendrix is a great player, but my vote goes to Yngwie Malmsteen.

miragana says:

It is cool dude like your lens. Very informative.

LaraineRose says:

He may be a very good guitar player but just not my style. I like Stevie Ray Vaughn.

theshinydude says:

It is hard to fit him in any sort of conventional rating system. I think that alone is reason enough not to be considered "over-rated".

GeminiSky says:

I think he was a good guitarist but he was a more interesting and innovative as a performer than a totally amazing guitarist.

I just learned recently that he was Bi-polar. That explains the self-medicating with drugs.

CrypticFragments says:

I'm not personally a Hendrix fan. Yes, he was innovative, but to me it's a lot of discordant and very unpleasant sounds...

to each their own!

EelKat says:

I would say he must be simply cause I keep hearing everyone talk about him, but I have no idea who he is! He's before my time, I guess.

Bruce_Beerdrinker says:

He's very talented, but I don't think he's the best.

Rock_The_Ice says:

I think Hendrix is over-rated. He was a brilliant guitarist, he astounded millions and two shows were never even similiar, never mind the same! But the best? No.

No

El_Comando says:

Of course not. He might not have been the cleanest but he was fantastic. Machine Gun, Stone Free, Hear My Train a Comin', Little Wing, please folks. You can say that he is not your favorite, but I'm sure that if you ask your favorite guitarist he'll be the first one to tell you that Hendrix is NOT over rated.

swimswithfishes says:

In his day, Hendrix was king! Saw him 5 times and the first 3 times he was unreal! Last two times he was not so great as he had a bad drug problem then & was smacked out and kept forgetting the song etc. First time was in "The Music Hall" in Houston, Texas right after "Are You Experienced". The best show ever for Hendrix in my opinion! Cheers! Swims

RepairMyGuitar says:

Doesn't matter how good he was, he influenced great people to play.

gurneywagon says:

Having been an observer of the Jimi Hendrix' "Experience" in then, real time, I have to disagree.

Hendrix was brilliant, and, IMHO the only other that comes close is Stevie Ray!

 
 
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Gibson Flying V 

The Gibson Flying V is the guitar used in my introductory picture.

The first prototypes of the guitar were manufactured in 1957. The were made of korina wood and were designed to take the company in a different direction and demonstrate a more futuristic approach.

This futuristic approach wasn't very well recieved by the public as it was deemed too radical and after the launch in 1958, production ceased in 1959.

Lonnie Mack and Albert King (both soloists) immediately embraced the Flying V and in the mid-60's their faith in the guitar was proven justified after both Dave Davies (The Kinks) and Jimi Hendrix (Jimi Hendrix Experience) adopted the guitar. This generated a lot of extra interest and Gibson re-issued the guitar in 1967.

Since then, the Gibson Flying V (a.k.a. V Factor) has become a cult icon. With the backing of the media, rock legends and the admiration of the public, this is the guitar to have.

Eric Clapton CBE 

Featured Guitarist - 20th April 2008

Eric Patrick Clapton was born 30th March 1945 in Ripley, Surrey, UK. An incredibly successful musician, he has been inducted into the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" on 3 occasions! (With The Yardbirds, Cream and as a soloist).

He has been ranked #4 on Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 100 Guitarists of All Time and #53 on their Immortals list (The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time).

Clapton grew up thinking that his grandparents were his parents, after finding out the truth when he was 9 years old, he became distant and described himself as "a nasty kid".

Clapton cites Robert Johnson as his main influence and this is shown on his tribute album; Me And Mr Johnson.

Clapton has received many awards during a long and very successful career. These are the main ones;


  • In 1983, he recieved the Silver Clef Award.

  • In 1994, he was awarded an OBE for services to music.

  • In 2004, he was awarded a CBE.

Stevie Ray Vaughan 

Featured Guitarist - 27th April 2008

Stevie Ray Vaughan was born 3rd October 1954 in Dallas, Texas, USA. A magnificently talented musician, he became one of the world's most influential electric blues guitarists.

He has been ranked #7 on Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 100 Guitarists of All Time and #3 on Classic Rock's 100 Wildest Guitar Heroes.

Vaughan's first instrumental love, ironically, was the drums and he wasn't too enamoured when given a guitar at the age of 7. He soon learned to play, though he never learned to read sheet music and played entirely by ear.

Vaughan cites his main influences as his brother, Jimmie Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix; whom he covered many of his songs.

Vaughan received many Grammy awards during his short career;


  • In 1985, best traditional blues album for Blues Explosion.

  • In 1990, best contemporary blues album for In Step

  • In 1991, best contemporary blues album for Family Style and best rock instrumental performance for D/FW.

  • In 1993, best contemporary blues album for The Sky Is Crying and best rock instrumental performance for Little Wing.



Stevie Ray Vaughan was tragically killed on the 27th August 1990. As he left a concert he flew in a helicopter with Eric Clapton's crew. The helicopter crashed 0.6 of a mile away from it's takeoff point and pilot error was blamed. All 5 people on board died.

Jimmy Page OBE 

Featured Guitarist - 11th May 2008

James Patrick Page was born 9th January 1944 in Heston, Middlesex, UK. Following his friend and Yardbirds predecessor Eric Clapton he has been inducted into the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" on 2 occasions! (First with The Yardbirds at the same time as Clapton in 1992 and secondly, with Led Zeppelin in 1995).

He has been ranked #9 on Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 100 Guitarists of All Time. He was also named "Guitarist of the Year" 5 years running by Creem Magazine.

Many tributes have poured out for Jimmy Page; along them he was credited as inspiring both Johnny Ramone's downstroke guitar strumming and Eddie Van Halen's two hand tapping technique.

Page has received a fair few awards during a long and very successful career. These are the main ones;


  • On 23rd August 2004, he was the first person to be immortalised on the British Walk of Fame.

  • In 2003, he was named 9th "Greatest Guitarist of All Time" by Rolling Stone Magazine.

  • In December 2005, he was awarded a OBE. Ironically, not for his music but for his work with children in Brazil!

Top 100 Guitarists Feedback 

Got something to say? Here's the place!

kirtok

Best Guitar Player of all time: Yngwie Malmsteen

Posted May 17, 2008

EelKat

you hit the top 100!!!! OMG! yay! I knew this would be the lens to do it... what with the mini riot it almost started a while back! LOL!

Posted May 13, 2008

enslavedbyfaeries

Woohoo, Congratulations on making the top 100. Great topic and a very fun lens to visit. 5*'s!

Posted May 13, 2008

poddys

Congratulations on getting into the Top 100 lenses.

Posted May 13, 2008

KimGiancaterino

I've always liked this lens and am back to bestow a Squid Angel Blessing. I'm also featuring this on my Squid Angel Diary.

Posted May 12, 2008

miragana

Your lens is very informative and I like the contents.

Posted May 12, 2008

LaraineRose

Brings back memories of our family band. Which one was better the piano player, quitar player, fiddle player, banjo player or drums player?? We all were fantastic. *grin* 5 stars, favorite and lensrolled to my Staycation where I have a great Jukebox. Great guitar playing there.

Posted May 08, 2008

chefkeem

This lens is swinging. Big time. 5*s

Posted May 07, 2008

theshinydude

As a guitarist myself I always like seeing where others rank the greats.

Posted May 06, 2008

RepairMyGuitar

Great List!

Posted May 05, 2008

GeminiSky

Great list! These are most of the classic guitarists.

What about Ozzy Osbournes guitarist in Black Sabbath? I should know his name but it has slipped my mind.