Time Magazine Picks the 10 Best Electric Guitar Players (including Yngwie)
In connection with the release of the new documentary It Might Get Loud, Time Magazine music critic Josh Tyrangiel has published a list of the 10 best electric guitar players. From our standpoint, the only thing this list stands out for is its lack of originality. Still, we’re darn excited about seeing It Might Get Loud so we’re still going to go ahead and publish the list. Read on for the entire list.
1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Slash
3. B.B. King
5. Eric Clapton
6. Jimmy Page
7. Chuck Berry
8. Les Paul
9. Yngwie Malmsteen (OK, this one is a surprise)
10. Prince
11. Johnny Ramone (for the last 20 years these types of lists always go to 11)
What do you think of this list? Please let us know in the comments.
The 10 Greatest Electric-Guitar Players (Time)
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Tags: b.b. king, Chuck Berry, Eric Clapton, It Might Get Loud, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Johnny Ramone, Keith Richards, Les Paul, Prince, Slash, yngwie malmsteen
This list is an example of a double whammy knee-slapper. It makes me sweat to do a list based on a tighter category as ‘Jazz Electric Guitar Player in the 80s’ and this guy managed to pull one out of his ass in the whole of electric guitar category and put together a slideshow. He must be really good.
Nicely put Emon
Nicely put Brian.
Where is SRV and Buddy? Prince?
prince is 3 spots from Yngwie??? WTF, obviously the creators of this list has never even picked up a guitar, Yngwie is certainly #1, but where’s Van Halen, Steve Vai, Tony Macalpine, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Lindsey Buckingham, Al di Meola, Stevie Ray Vaughn, how soon people forget.
screw you, prince #10 for shame
SLASH? no
BB KING? no
the rest of these are fine with me. Yngwie belongs on top though.
Did any of you ever try to do what Johnny Ramone did? Those constant downstrokes are difficult to maintain. And EDDIE VAN HALEN belongs here too.
Prince????? You’re having a laff aren’t you, and Slash at #2 you kill me . . .
This list is obviously written by a non-guitarist . . .
Malmsteen should be #1. period.
Wheres Van Halen, Gary Moore, Ritchie Blackmore, Paul Gilbert, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Marty Friedman,. . . . I could go on. . . . .
Butch knows his onions, it’s just a shame that Josh Tyrangiel clearly does not. . His article isnt worth the paper its written on, and I’m sure 99% of Guitar afficionados hold it in the contempt it deserves. . If he had simply made it a list of his favourite ten guitarists it would be palatable. . but to say 10 best is a total joke
I agree that these lists should be based more on soul and style than actual technique, but prince? *head-desk* I bet even prince would find this stupid. You know who should be put here? Paul Waggoner. I know, you probably haven’t even heard his name, and his band (Between the Buried and Me) is way too heavy to be considered in a magazine like Time. If you heard him solo however, you would know where I’m coming from. His solos are melodic oasis’s in the sea of chaos that is BTBAM’s music. They have the perfect balance of feeling and technicality, With heavy influences from classical and jazz.
*desert. I get my analogies mixed up sometimes.
Nice to see Yngwie Malmsteen get the reconition he deserves but what about the godfather of Neoclassical, Ritchie Blackmore, a true inovator who was light years ahead of the times.
Whoever did this list doesn’t know what he is saying, damn Slash as # 2? Jimmy Hendrix is in the past of course he is a legend but is all past, Yngwie should be # 1 at least down to # 3 if you put Michael Angelo Batio and Chris Impellitteri them with Malmsteen should be the top 3, other than yea where the hell is Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Petruci, Vai, well there are other that really deserve to be in the top 10 instead of the old guys on the top.
Don’t you think David Gilmour deserves some credit? He should be at LEAST in the #9 spot of this list. I still can’t believe that in the Rolling Stone list, he ranks 82nd, below Joni Mitchell…
B.B. King: 84 anos, live and well | Everyday Blues Blog – September 16th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
[...] posição, ficando atrás apenas de Jimi Hendrix e Duane Allman. A Time Magazine o colocou como o terceiro melhor guitarrista. King foi incluído no Blues Hall Of Fame, em 1980, e no Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, em 1987, e [...]
slash, prince, and johnny have no place on this list. i’m on the fence about malmsteen. would’ve liked to see stevie ray and muddy waters.
Finalle Slash gets some solid recognition!
This list needs some serious reworking. Really? Slash and Prince? What about SRV? He needs to be somewhere on this list, as well as some more of the original blues artists!
Seriously, Page is after Richards?
Certainly eric clapton and prince out do Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Grant Green, SRV, etc. WTF?
Duane Allman, Buddy Guy, John McLaughlin, SRV, Johnny Winter, Pat Methany, Elmore James, Albert King Freddie King, and albert collins are all great guitarist the only people I like on this list are Jimi BB and Eric All the other people are pretty good.
First off the #1 spot is a two way tie between metal guitarist and inventor of the Heavy E Phrygian Yngwie Malmsteen and classical guitarist Al Di Meola spot #2 goes to Kirk Hammet followed closely by Steve Vai who’s followed even more closely by Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson in the #6 spot there’s Buckethead, the greatest effects player of all time (sorry Tom Morello but it’s true), #7 is Jimi Hendrix on his tail Eddie Van Halen, He should always be on the list of great guitarists because he invented the Hammer-on/Hammer-off technique which is now used by almost every modern gutarist, #9 good ol’ Frank Zappa and finally #10 Dave Mustain. This list is of course is my perspective but I’m sure I’d have a few people agree with me out there, the TIME mag. list looks like it based it’s guitarists on record sales and not skill. And of course Neil Pert is still #1 Drummer and Cliff Burton is still #1 Bassist.
Let’s not even mention a flamenco guitarist who can outplay 99% of these kind of lists while blindfolded and handcuffed.
oh! what a mistake! i agree with the others bout their comments but still they didn’t got the best guitarist..maybe they got the number three..but the number goes like this…#1.herman li of dragon force,#2.John petrucci of dream theater,#3.joe satriani,#4.Azagtoth,#5.buckethead,#6.paul gilbert,#7.Sam totman of dragonforce,#8.Steve vai,#9.eric johnson,#10.yngwie malmsteen..etc.
too many to mention….maybe you should check it again….so that you will not be put to shame…my God!sorry to say this but i was shocked when i saw slash at #2… re-arrange it please….and add other best lead guitarist…
Personally, putting any list into a meaningful order is like trying to compare a great brew with a great weed, but I’m happy to name my all-time greats. Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Mike Bloomfield, Frank Zappa, Eddie Van Halen, Pete Townsend, Jimi Page, Ritchie Blackmore, David Gilmour, Alvin Lee, Keith Richards, Lou Reed, Ted Nugent, Jorma Kaukonen, Robin Trower, Doug Pettibone, and Steve Winwood, which leaves out many other deserving names, but you’ve got to stop somewhere. And please don’t anyone do what Playboy did for so many years and name Jerry Garcia. Nice guy, but show some discipline.
Simply put, everyone has an opinion…..everyone does. I was surprised that the original list didn’t have alot different names than it had. I was at Stevie Ray’s last concert down the road in Wisconsin and since then he has been a favorite of mine, as well as Eddie. But I remember when I was 20 or so and the first time I watched Mason Williams perform “Classical Gas” I was astounded. There are, as spoken above, so many guitarists that were better than most “famous” players. I laughed at the re[lies thinking about opinions and then thought about the source of the original list…..Time magazine. They may be great with “news,” but as I first read the column, the first thought that went through my head was,”Well, I won’t ever look to Time to give me any advice on music.”
Wasted my time reading this list, seriously.
alright i gotta say this list kind of sucks. 1st of all why is Prince on here? He is a talented musician but he defiantly isn’t known for his guitar playing. Also where is Jeff Beck? He was influential to Rock N’ Roll. I think Angus Young also deserves a spot on this list. Also Slash is my favorite guitarist but I think Keith Richard’s and Jimmy Page deserve higher spots on the list. And all you dumb ass listing all these shredders to be put on this list are retarded. Their just a bunch of show offs who aren’t good at writing music so they shred for 4 minutes and call it a song. Also I know he would never make this list but Izzy Stradlin is a great guitar player and even better song writer…
Lou Reed and Muddy Waters. That’s all I’m going to say.
Roy Buchanan, Duane Allman, SRV, John McLaughlin, Winwood, and Clapton with Roy being #1
No SRV? That’s a joke.
there’s lot of guitarist better than in the list.. yngwie still in no.1
i dont agree with slash being so high up, im still wondering where the hell is BRIAN MAY, its like making a list of best vocalsists and not putting freddie mercury…
what about RORY GALLAGHER
Mmhmm why not just list good guitarists???
What about John Frusciante??
i believe this is a list of some of the most famous guitar players, but certainly not the best.
for example, some of my favorite guitar players such as, jeff loomis, michael romeo and so on still may not be considered the “top” or “best” guitar players in the world or of all time, but they are definitely better than the majority of this list.
Steve Vai, (who is certainly one of the best guitarists in the world today - and remarkably not on the list), has said on more than one occasion that he feels “TONY MACALPINE” is one of the best guitarists IN THE WORLD.
So, How On Earth could MacAlpine NOT be on this list.
MacAlpine is a hundred million miles beyond Yngwie Malmsteen.
Whoever made this list is a Total Complete Moron.
Nuff said.
James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett are better than everyone on that list combined
this list is definitly dumb. Slash at #2 !!?!?!?! wtf….
This is how it should be:
1-Jimi Hendrix
2-BB King
3-Duane Allman
4-Eric Clapton
5-Jimmy Page
6-Chuck Berry
7-Robert johnson
8-Jeff Beck
9-Stevie Ray Vaughn
10-(This spot could go for a lot of great guitarists…)
Anyway… These are the REAl guitar legends.
Peace.
JOKE LIST…..nobody will ever agree on a list, but im sure anyone whos ever touched a guitar can disagree about this one haha… I read someones comment about this list being about record sales? good call. for the love of god, where’s Rhoads, Van Halen, Vai, Satriani, Petrucci,Friedman, Becker,Gilbert,Blackmore, and yeah guys i know i know, im leaving about 20 others out haha, but gimme a break I gotta go to bed sometime!! before i do though….
Slash = great guitarist, top 10? JOKE and a half!!!
prince//johnny ramone.. thats just there to piss me off…
and last but not least, why is Les Paul so dangerously close to JIMMY…(great guitarist obviously, BUT) on that list page is either 1,2, or 3.
Shredders should have their own list, blues their own, rock their own, fusion/jazz their own, bluegrass their own, classical their own. All-around their own. This is not an all-around list though it portends to be. Personal taste leads my ears to SRV first. I like guitarists whose music has corners. But I was listening to Malmsteen for an hour last night. He is awesomely fast and I understand his compositions. But give me firsts, give me mojo hands, just originals… Hendrix, Vaughan, Van Halen, Malmsteen, Vai, Atkins, Gatton, Williams, Johnson, Howe.
No SRV?
Hahahahaha it isn’t April 1st is it?
no dimebag or alex lifeson. what a joke.
has any one here heard of billy gibbons?
Where the hell is Steve Cropper on this list…..?
nah this list suck … they should watch some great guitarrist/composers like, Jeff Loomis, Jason Becker, Marty Friedman, Guthrie Govan, Yngwie malmsteen, Michael Angelo Batio, Michael Romeo, John Petrucci, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Francisco Meza.. the people in this list ok they were like nice guitarrists, but come on today they don’t even reach top 200 And I’m not talking about just technique, I’m talking about music, feeling and genius playing!
where is Buckethead????
It’s too difficult to compile a top 10 guitarist list. There’s just too many that are so good. On top of that, a lot of guitarists are great for different reasons. It’s pretty hard to compare guitarists from two different genres of music.
You are all wrong. Slash was depeneple and BB King was teh best blues guiatarist prince was stupid and idk about that asian name. sorry for the errors hehehe malmeesten
@ Dylan Hendrix deserves numero 1. He treated tah guitar like his bitch and made it play whatever. He was the one who invented the bomb noise on the guitar no hard feelings also but slash like i said was senor dependple never scwering around.
Yngwie? C`mon get real. The guy couldn`t even get a record deal in the states until he put out his own. Fast? Yes. Good? No! It doesn`t take a ton of speed to be good. That`s why Jimi and Eric and SRV are still WAY out selling guys like Malmsteen. Not that they were slow. They just didn`t feel the need to impress with speed. Jimi never had to brag about his playing. All you had to do was listen to be impressed.
Jimmy Page belongs on top.
ok this list really sucks! slash is really great, but i dont think he belongs on this list! what about kirk hammett?!?! he blows slash out of the water… or dave mustaine!
where is dave mustaine, kirk hammet, eddy van halen, joe satrani, dave murray? its a good list though, the hard thing abaut these list is that you will always get people who disagre with you nomatter what opinion you have
where is dave mustaine, kirk hammet, eddy van halen, joe satrani, dave murray? its a good list though, the hard thing abaut these list is that you will always get people who disagre with you nomatter what opinion you have
No TOMMY BOLIN? Nobody’s even namechecked him yet, and he could play everything from fusion to rock to Carribean music. Wise up guitar fans!!
They are comparing guitarists that play completely different stiles of music: Les Paul, BB King, Prince, Yngwie. Music is and art form, and there is really no such thing as a scale to determine better or worse, it’s mostly personal preference. Some defined eras, some technically proficient, some wrote songs that got very popular, and some all of the above, but all these lists by corporate organizations are for the most part meaningless.
Another thing, Nobody mentioned Randy Rhodes, who died at 24, but yet has a style all of his own, and continues to influence guitar players today.
Only two people on here mentioned Jason Becker, who was an amazing guitar player. To accomplish that level technical ability by 20 years old, only to have it involuntarily taken away, is a pretty tough call. Anyone know what happened to him…and where he is now? Go to his website and look.
http://www.jasonbecker.com/
…and at the same time put yourself in that position. What would most people have done? The guy still composes music to this day, although not with a guitar anymore, and if there is anyone that deserves any kind of honorable mention or even award for accomplishment, it should be him…
BR
The ten best….mmmm….I’m not so sure….influential, definitely, the best, definitely not. I have to agree with the sentiment that this list was compiled by a ‘non-guitarist’.
With all due respect to these great and influential guitarists, this list is cliched at best, for the most-part, they have been plucked from the top 40 at one point or another.
Might I suggest, in no particular order, in recognition of technique, feel, and in some cases more than others, originality (pre-requisites IMO for BEST guitarist): SRV, Dimebag, Satch, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Tom Morello (disagree? Name another guitarist as original as he), Zakk Wylde, Randy Rhodes, EVH, John Frusciante…I could go on.
I should also note, that with the exception of Dimebag, I haven’t picked any guitarists from what I would consider to be my favourite bands, or even favourite genre of music, so not much bias here really, and not top 40 predominant either.
Bad List!
Just have to say something for the Metal Heads, Tony Iommi!!! Kirk Hammett, Dimebag, EVH, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani. Even relatively newer guitarists like Matt Heafy, Mark Morton, Brent Hinds are better than half of this list.
And for those people that say the slower guitarists with more soul are better what about James Hetfield, he has thrash riffs, slow heavy riffs, melody and accoutic skills. And was the primary song writer in one of the best bands of all time. \m/
what about SRV, Kirk Hammett, Robin Trower, Tony Iommi, Mark Knopfler, & Angus Young
Sam McCue. Recognize! Milwaukee!
Hahaha what a joke, listen i love Slah and Jimi Hendrix but no one in the history of Electric guitar can do what VAN HALEN can do hell his in the biggest Album ever thriller song “beat it” dont that say much not in the top three my ass even ten hahaha dont make fun of him his the best fastest ever..
John Petrucci is obviously not present on the list cuz he’s… a deity. Not a mere guitarist.
Ok, I can agree with some of those names, but….Prince!!!??? I mean seriously. Angus Young should be on there, or Tony Iommi , or Zakk Wylde, not Prince. And why the heck is Johnny Ramone number 11? I love the Ramones, but he was not even a proficient guitarist.
Slash above Pagey and B.B? The greatest joke of all “TINE”
Maybe the 2nd most famous guitarist of all time but 2nd best? I nearly chocked on my dinner when i read that. Jimmy Page? What? Slash is better than Jimmy Page or Clapton? And about 1000 others?
thats an absolutely terrible list
As someone earlier pointed out, there is no way to meld all different guitar styles and their top guitarists onto one list. And yes, the best guitarists are mostly people you have never heard of, because they play studio, or you don’t listen to jazz and other contemporary forms. But if we are to focus on popular guitarists and throw them all in one basket, why the hell hasn’t anyone even mentioned Chet Atkins? Because he’s a country bumpkin? The man was incredibly proficient technically, innovative to the sound of rock, rockabilly, and country, and could do things on a guitar others still struggle, and often fail, to do to this day.
Well at least there are some names that ring true but where are Tony Ionie, Richie Sambora, Brian May, and a few others!! O@ne or 2 on the list Ive never even heard of and Ive been into music for 50 years+
Prince lol!! just wanna share the laugh with the readers of this list can’t add any name u’ve mentioned all the great players, Peace.
Seems like the list is made up of guitar innovators who inspire others. Van Halen, Steve Vai and many others are all very awesome, and very technically capable; however, they simply don’t cast enough of a shadow to be on the list. Every single guirarist alive copies Hendrix so he definitely belongs in 1st place and you need to put down the pipe if you think different. I think the list is pretty good, couldn’t have been too easy to attempt.
Here’s what I think should be the correct list:
1. Jimi Hendrix (he is probably the greatest)
2. Jimmy Page (Time Magazine obviously hasn’t heard enough of Led Zeppelin)
3. Chuck Berry
4. Eddie Van Halen
5. Keith Richards
6. Stevie Ray Vaughn
7. Joe Santriani
8. Ritchie Blackmore
9. Angus Young (HUGE fan of AC/DC)
10. Carlos Santana
1. Phil Keaggy (Jimi even said so himself)
2. Pat Metheny
3. Mark Knopfler
4. David Gilmour
5. Steve Howe
6. Terry Kath
7. Jerry Garcia
8. Big Head Todd
9. Derek Bailey
10. Roy Buchanan
11. Rik Emmitt
Porque faltam (why not appeared in the list): David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler,Rory Galagher, Ritchie Blackmore e Van Halen?!
Estão a brincar comigo.
Lista subjectiva e sem critérios definidos. Enfim!
Cordialmente,
F. Cunha.
“Time Magazine music critic Josh Tyrangiel…” Can I just say that this guy has never tried to play a guitar. To be fair to every genre you should have a Best Jazz, Best Classic Rock, Best Metal, etc. This list is meant for people who obviously don’t play guitar. And for the little kid that said Herman Li was the greatest guitarist of all time, he really should stop playing guitar hero. But in reality TIME magazine already published this and not even one will agree to one list because every person has a different taste in music.
U can include g. e. smith and steve stevens very fine session guitarists but underrated
Well, where’s Van Halen? He was one of the greatest influences aside from Jimi Hendrix.. This critic sucks.
Where’s Dimebag Darrell? Have you ever seen the way that guy played at the age of 17? He was a wild child, he was genius and to not see him on this list is utterly saddening.. You look up his solo during the 80s, damn he was wild, and it would blow your mind just listening to the rhythm of the way he played that guitar
He played with blood, sweat and tears, loved every single one of his fans, never played for a quick buck, always loved to play for fun and entertain his fans.
And no, not all of it was metal, he did play blues as well as country, damn fine guitarist at it too.
Disgraceful this list I tell you, Slash at #2 is literally stupid. Some Critic this guy was, he needs to read up a little more.
http://www.randyciak.com/guitar/top_shredders_of_all_time.htm
Need I say more…
Most glaring omissions:
1) Eddie Van Halen
What were they thinking? He should not only be on the list, but near the top!
2) Jeff Beck
How could they miss Jeff? He’s a virtuoso “chameleon” who’s survived, improved and adapted from the 60s to the current day.
3) Steve Howe
As the Yes guitarist for 40 years, Steve was the original virtuoso neo-classical interpreter. Sorry Yngwie fans, Steve Howe deserves his spot on the list.
4) Tom Scholz
OK, yes I am from Boston, but don’t think for a second that local favoritism plays any role in this suggestion. As the mastermind behind the band Boston, Tom pretty much wrote, played and produced that debut album on his own. It was almost more of a project to showcase his guitar “inventions” than anything else.Well, not only did it launch the “Rockman” amplifier which revolutionized the sound of rock guitarists from 1976 to the present, it was also the signature sound that made Boston’s debut album such a breakthrough that it remains the #1 selling debut of all time in the US with over 17 million copies sold since 1976!
5) Carlos Santana
He deserves a place for his introduction of the latin-jazz-rock fusion sound which continues to the current day.In addition to his mainstream work, let’s not forget his experimental playing with the likes of John McLaughlin (from the Mahavishnu Orchestra) a guitarist, who, on his own merit should at least be honorably mentioned.
Honorable Mentions:
A top 10 can’t have “everyone” so the five I’d relegate to honorable mention status from Time’s list to make space for the 5 noted above are:
1) Prince (first to go!)
2) Yngwie Malmsteen (Replaced by Steve Howe)
3) Johnny Ramone (love the Ramones, but I don’t agree that this is a deserving accolade for Johnny)
4) Keith Richards (I can’t think of one innovative guitar solo or riff that he didn’t rip-off)
5) Slash (Sorry, just not a phenom in my opinion)
Honorable Mentions:
Guitarists deserving mention but not necessarily a place in the top 10.
1) The five relegated from the Time Top 10 (see above)
Brian May - Ditto with Gilmour, instantly recognizable sound that gave Queen a unique sound. He also deployed metal riffs before there was much metal (check “Brighton Rock).
2) Alex Liefson (Rush)
3) Tony Iommi (inventor of the heavy metal guitar sound)
4) Todd Rundgren, experimentalist and rock god (played all lead guitar on “Bat out of Hell)
5) Andy Latimer - Camel (reclusive guy, but genius player)
6) Pat Metheney - C’Mon, most unique contemporary electric jazz guitarist!
7) David Gilmour - First Space-Rock guiarist. You can tell his sound within 3 notes!
9) Duane Allman - Virtually the inventor of the southern rock electric guitar style
10) Stevie Ray Vaughn - Most influential blues-rock fusion player, gone too soon.
1. Steve Howe
ummm, that’s it.
Well, I think we shouldn’t forget David Gilmour.
WTF!! You all suck!, big time!……The list was made according to how many people listend to the their music and not on their technique. I listen to Joe satriani, jimmy, ven hallen etc, but I think slash wud have made their music sound way better if he played on their tracks, seriously! even some1 like Steve Lukathar would be better….If U think that Joe satriani has *feel* when he plays then ur crazy!!!!! oh and the GUITAR WASN”T MAKE FOR ROCK! But for music!!
nuff said…
NEWSFLASH: metal ain’t the only genre out here. Playing fast is not the same as being the best guitarist. Period. Mastering techniques such as alternate and sweep picking and studying the theory of the circle-of-fifths isn’t that hard and certainly doesn’t make you the greatest guitarist. (And yes, I’m a Malmsteen and Petrucci fan, but I don’t think they deserve to be in the top 10)
Anyway, guys like Doc Watson, Chet Atkins, Paco De Lucia and Segovia can kick/could have kicked any electric guitarist’s ass anytime
The first thing that went through my mind after reading this was “… wait, #2, #2 out of everybady?????” Granted that I like Slash and would be suprised if he showed up in a top ten list, but not even I belive he tops all but one person in playing electric guitars in general. If this is a popularity list, yeah I could see it as plausable, but definatly not the best, and it is impossible for anyone to claim the best spot because everyone claims a different style, and different pepople like different styles. Now if the list was more specific, maybe it would be possible, (i.e. give it a genre’ and an era) then yeah there would be far less ‘no, this guirist and that guitarist, and where the @%$$ is this guitarist’ and far more ‘yeah, okay, i guess this will do, just rearange it a little’.
Lesson for Time; Stay away from making lists that are way to broad.
P.S. I am NOT a guitar player, (play instrements, not the guitar though) and I have to disagree with this list.
This list is comical. Ever hear of Randy Rhoads? Steve Vai? SRV? Michael Schencker? Jeff Beck? Satch? Stupid stupid list!
I agree with all the above. Interesting - Boston Spin had the only post that included Alex Liefson from Rush. That’s because most of these posts re from non guitarists. For that matter Rush rarely makes the top ten of anything - except the top ten list of most musicians.
The above list may be the most popular guitarists. The list has some great guitarists (King, Clapton, Beck).I think others are are the list because of their contributions to music, and not because of their raw musical talent (Slash, Ramone and maybe even Richards).
If you polled actual guitarists the list would be far different. 9 of 10 guitarists would include Van Halen, Liefson, and Allman in the top ten. What say all you real guitarists out there?
What about Steve Morse? What about John Sykes, or Rik Emmett, or Roy Buchanan, or Vinnie Moore? Slash, but not Jeff Beck, or Eddie Van Halen, or Richie Blackmore, or Gary Moore. I could go on for days.Prince, a great guitarist? You’ve got to be kidding! I don’t think Time’s music critic knows anything about what makes a great guitarist,but he can spot the sub-mediocre players a mile away.
Where the heck is Mark Knopfler? He’s got everything, from technique, soul and a unique sound and style up to songwriting skills. And then there’s PRINCE in the list? You’ve got to be kidding.
Such a dumb list!! Heres how it should be:
1- Jimi Hendrix
2- Eric Clapton
3- BB King
4- SRV
5- Jimmy Page
6- Jeff Beck
7- Robert Johnson
8- Chuck Berry
And as for Slash, or Yngwie, or Prince??!?!?
Hahahahah!!
Whats with all the Slash haters? Guns N’ Roses (the Axl, Izzy, Slash, Duff and Adler line up) was one of the most influential rock bands of its time in large part thanks to Slash. You could read that list to some Joe Bloggs on the street and i guarantee he’d be lucky to recognize 7 names MAX out of that line up. Time is a magazine for the people. Is Slash the 2nd greatest electric guitar player of all time? Maybe not but he was fucking sick and doesnt deserve the hate.
Where the hell is James Hetfield!?
I’m agree with Time Magazine, They have chosen these guitar players from “ordinary people’s eyes”, not the musicians’ eyes.
1. Jimi Hendrix (famous guitar player are influence by jimi)
2. Slash (his guitar solos like, november rain, sweet child o mine, don’t cry etc. are the 1 of the best guitar solos.)
3. B.B. King (One of the best blues players)
4. Keith Richards (Rolling stones)
5. Eric Clapton (great player and famous)
6. Jimmy Page (led zeppelin, voted for best guitar solo)
7. Chuck Berry (Johnny B.Goode)
8. Les Paul (innovative guitar player)
9. Yngwie Malmsteen (OK, this one is a surprise)
10. Prince (purple rain?)
11. Johnny Ramone
NO PAUL GILBERT???? SUCKS UGGGGHH
No Dimebag? No Dave Mustaine? No Kerry King? No Satriani? No EVH? And what about Tony Iommi, or even Randy Rhoads?
where the fuck is dimebag ???\
prince wtf
and sambora ????
ace frehley ???
wheres sambora and frehley…
prince wtf????
time magazine wtf???
I think SRV, Frank Zappa, Eddie Van Halen, Jeff Beck, Brain May & Steve Vai should be on here. I’m glad to see Prince is on this list even though there are many people who I guess “deserve it” more because he is NEVER on any top guitar player lists. I am a big Prince fan & he is an amazing guitar player, Slash himself said he admires his playing. Search “Greatest Guitar Solo Ever” on youtube & see for yourself! Many people pass Prince off as this camp high-heel wearing guy with a crazy high voice but he is one hell of a guitarist! Not to mention singer/songwriter/bass/piano/drums/producer… you get the point
Not to mention Prince plays guitar in various genres; rock, rockabilly, blues, pop, metal, new wave, pshechedelia, jazz, even latin-tinged guitar. (i think you call it flamenco). Everyone else on that list plays in 3 genras at the very most.
Impossible for everyone to agree on a list, but how supposed music ‘experts’ continually miss the likes of Alex Lifeson, Michael Schenker, David Gilmour and Angus Young is beyond me.
Arggg……not a complete/accurate list to be sure.
There is no number one guitarist. They ALL bring something to the stage/table. Real muscians do not judge each other in a negative light. They know the blood, sewat and tears that goes into their passion and respect anyone who gives it a try. They learn from each other. They support each other, no matter what the level of expertise.
They are NOT in competition with each other. The only person you try to out-do is yourself.
My list:
- Jimmy Page
- Hendrix
- George Lynch
- Steve Howe
- EVH
- Steve Vai
- Richie Blackmoor
- Tony Iommi
- Ace Freley
- Alex Lifeson
- Zappa
- BUCKETHEAD
- Dimebag
There are so many many more….(bow) Julian Bream..check him out
Hendrix is far and above all others. Its the only call I agree with on this list. Beck and Derringer should have been included. Page played well considering how loaded he always was, but he doesn’t belong on a top 10 of all time list. The three King’s and Ledbetter (oops acoustic 12 string, sorry) made significant contributions to music and their techniques are used to this day by others. No one even mentions Jose Feleciano (oops another acoustic), who can run circles around many–BLIND! Van Halen added to the body of technique. I think this guy pulled Prince and Johnny Ramone, Keith Richards (Keith Richards writes great songs, but, shit, I play guitar better) and Saul Hudson out of his ass. Good players, but not part of the 10 best of all time. Les Paul deserves a spot here for his contributions to music as a guitar player (he also invented sound-on-sound recording techniques, which were the predecessor to multi-track techniques of today) Clapton should be on the list. Howe, Walsh and many of the others listed here, like SRV and Satriani, should be nominated for the remaining spots and have a playoff…lol for the positions. Prince? WTF?? Has the guy that made this list ever picked up an axe?
Pete Townshend and Eddie Van Halen. ’nuff said.
First of all Prince is a pop star where as Jerry Garcia is an artist..
Malmsteen’s specialty is embarrassing young men for having respected Yngwie when they were teenage boys. Trust me.
Looking at the list I noticed some people think heavy metal is music.
No Django? Someone who with two fingers can outplay most guitarists with four?
have you ever heard of a band called AC/DC and their lead guitarist?
Jake Cinninger
What a strange list. At least it’s not as bad as the abysmal failure that is the Rolling Stone…
Let’s see though…
You left out the majestic tones of David Gilmour…
You left out the thunder of Ritchie Blackmore…
You left out the fury of Eddie Van Halen…
You left out the eastern esoteric beauty of John McLaughln…
You left out the inventor of heavy metal, Tony Iommi….
And what’s more, you put in two obscure players … Slash and Prince (who are good), but… why? Without Jimmy Page, Slash’s playing would be no-where. Prince is good, but has not made the impact that the top contenders of this list have.
Obviously NONE of you have even heard Prince live before. Along with Mike McCready(Pearl jam) he is one of the most unrated guitarist alive!!!! I suggest you look for some of his live performances up online.
I agree that John, Eddie, Richie, Muddy, Buddy and a whole list of others should have been added. Slash should NOT have been #2, but in the top 10. As for Yngwie; he shouldnt have been in the top 10.
I’m tired of scale runners always getting awards and big interviews for memorizing various scales and modes only to turn around and play music behind them!!!
1. Edward Van Halen
2.Jimmy Page
3.Jimmy Hendrix
4.Eric Clapton
5.Jeff Beck
6.George Harrison
7.B.B. King
8.Keith Richards
9.Les Paul
10.Eric Johnson
hey guys im 50 years old ive seen em all… van halen tops my list notice i left off satriania and steve vai….. they can play no doubt but are not the inovators that page hendrix and van halen were. not even close. some respect to clapton as always and lets not forget the guy from liverpool - the greatest band of all time the beatles george harrison needs to be in there as well as keith richards. Sure slash and other guys can “shred” but talking about “all time” take a look what about the Mccartneys and the Pete townsends of the world. anyhow the list is my list and i stand by it on any day of the year.
hey i’m old school. did i forget to mention that dosent mean i dont like or respect the other guys ….. I was going for the best of all time and like Keith Richards said about vertuosity I can’t do what they do and they cant do what I do
love SRV
and Y Malsteen
Joe Perry
steve vai
joe satriani
slash
John Lennon
Paul McCartney (wrote a lot of the beatles lead guitar stuff)
Buddy Holly
roy clark
chet Atkins
carlos Santana
Angus Young …..
did i leave your favorite out? sorry this is my list!
YOU’RE ALL ON CRACK!
Stevie Ray Vaughan should be #1 without a doubt, but he’s not even on the list? WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
And where’s Van Halen and Santana?!
Another list made by people who don’t know a shit about guitar, putting the fanbase before what really matters: historical impact and mastery of the guitar.
Here would be a nice one to me, and contrary to most teenies putting their list here I play guitar and its history.
1/ Django Reinhardt - Father of modern guitar playing, first virtuoso.
2/ Jimi Hendrix - Do I need to say more?
3/ B.B King - King of the blues, influenced almost every guitarist, including Hendrix.
4/ Wes Montgomery - Marked the point when jazz guitar reached its maturity.
5/ John McLaughlin - Any serious guitarist would understand. All of those shredders came from this jazz-fusion guy, which arguably remains the most technical (don’t read fastest, though he has had this title until Al Dimeola arrived) player ever. Its influence spans over jazz as well as technical rock (Dream Theater and such).
5/ Eric Clapton - Birth of post-Hendrix poppy blues-rock.
7/ Van Halen - Even though I consider him a sloppy guitar player, he was clearly the first to bring some serious guitar playing after Iommi.
6/ Yngwie Malmteen - Father of neo-classical metal, defined guitar for a whole generation.
7/ David Gilmoure - That Pink Floyd dude.
8/ Stevie Ray Vaughan - Another well known dude.
9/ Allan Holdsworth - Ever wondered who was EVH’s idol? Him. Another reference for any serious guitar player.
10/ Paco de Lucia - Godfather of flamenco guitar ;P.
You can’t make a list of the all-time greatest. It just isn’t possible. You can do a list of some good guitarists, but you can’t number it. Every guitarist is different.
My Favorites:
Hendrix
Clapton
Page
Slash
SRV
Van Halen
Angus Young (my favorite)
Malcolm Young (it ain’t all about the solos)
Frusciante
Tom Scholz (smartest man on list & one who probably gets least credit)
Joe Perry
Keith Urban (metalheads you can shut up)
Steve Morse
Iommi
Lifeson
Blackmore
Hammett
Gilmour
Andres Segovia
Rhoads
Jack White
etc.
For those who question Malcolm, think of a world without that first riff of Back in Black. Then tell me he’s no good.
Steve Lukather is the best rock guitarist I ever heard. His studio work is emotional and to the point; his live playing is unparalleled…almost without limits. I’ve never seen anyone else turn it up from a controlled fire (studo) to such an explosion as with Steve plays live. It’s like a Vette when you floor the engine and all 500 Horsepower explode.
This guy can play as fast as the fastest shredder or can swich off and play with as much emotion, tone and phrasing as I’ve ever heard. “Hero with 1000 eyes” has brilliant studio solo, the live version just takes it to the next level. There truly is none better. Steve Morse is the best acoustic player I’ve ever heard and one helluva rock guitarist.
SO many honorable mentions (in no particular order):
Satriani
Freidman
Vai
Schon
Eliot Easton
Brian May
Jimmy Page
Alex Lifeson
Rik Emmett
The Late Randy Rhoads, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jeff Healey
Where is SRV ? Where is SRV ?
The metal heads are upset because they want to see a list of shredders. People who simply enjoy music don’t care about solos as much as guitar enthusiasts or people who love metal and limit themselves to it. You could add Chet Atkins or Andres Segovia to the list of technical players as well, but many people do not know or like the songs that these players may be featured on as much as they like and are familiar with hugely popular guitarists like Edward Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix who not only revolutionized guitar but wrote and interpreted great songs and were emulated by millions of others. People love to mention Malmsteen, but he has no hit songs and though his technical proficiency is good. Greg Howe and Paul Gilbert have taken Malmsteen’s style and improved upon it 100 fold with much more fluidity speed and variation. Howe especially has transcended the genre and is more technically proficient than any of the others, but he is not influencial in the way that Hendrix and Van Halen are. Yngwie influenced all of the neo-classical shredders of the 80’s. He was hated as a blow hard and he disrespected Van Halen in interviews. Overall, Hendrix is the king. He had the looks, the songs, the tech, and a style that no one could touch at the time. No one in his era could touch him. He put the distortion in when others were taking it out and his feedback manipulation and use of the tremelo were precursors to modern day effects.
1. Jimi Hendrix
2. B.B. King (Copied like hell)
3. Eddie Van Halen (most popular guitarist of the 80’s, the MJ of guitar. Eddie Van Halen + Zappa = Steve Vai)
4. Yngwie Malmsteen (Everyone copied this guy but won’t acknowledge that they did because he’s a Swede and an asshole)
5. Catfish Collins (Where Prince likely got is funk style from. Played with James Brown).
6. Chuck Berry (Influenced an entire wave of pop music!)
7. Jimmy Page (The last great Brit guitarist of the 70’s)
8. Randy Rhodes (Crazy Train)
9. Kurt Cobain (Popularized and brought to prominence an entire genre for over 10 years)
10. Andres Segovia (A true classical guitarist, not just some air metal head’s shredder. The most popular and well known classical guitarist of all time. Responsible for the guitar being accepted as a classical instrument.)
The endless list of metal shredders:
1. Greg Howe
2. Michael Angelo
3. Paul Gilbert
4. Marty Friedman
5. Chris Impelliteri
6. Yngwie Malmsteen
7. Tony MacAlpine
8. Joe Satriani
9. Jason Becker
10. Petrucci
With the exception of Paul Gilbert who scored a few hair metal radio hits, people don’t know or don’t care about these guitarist and they will be forgotten in history and will NOT be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. You have to be a hell of a song writer to do that. Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix smash this list. Speed isn’t all it takes. These guys simply love guitar. Prince would anihilate these guys with his keyboard. Most metal heads focus on speed only. Many of these can’t chord. Angelo studied Jazz, so he can. Paul can also. The jazz guys ruin these dudes. They are more evolved. Howe tops the list in music knowledge speed and theory. Vai didn’t make it because he’s not as fast. Petrucci copies Satriani and Lefson with a bit of McLaughin and Holdsworth.
The fathers:
1. Wes Montgomery
2. Robert Johnson
3. John McLaughlin (Miles Davis)
4. Allan Holdsworth
5. Larry Coryell
6. George Benson
7. Al Di Meola
8. Roy Clark
9. Chet Atkins
10. Les Paul
I dare you to play these guys! Theuy eat shredders for lunch with the exception of Howe, MacAlpine and Angelo who have studied jazz themselves. These guys combine speed and phrasing with a since of rhythem that is not recognized in the animalistic dungeon sounding music of most repititious and boring neo classical metal.
Slash #2? ate u nuts? who the fuck is malmsteen?
Perfect list.
Mike Keneally, anyone? Zappa’s last “stunt guitarist”, a position formerly held by Vai; superb technically but deeply original musically. Chronically underrated. Also a wicked keyboard player — can solo on keyboard with his right and play the guitar with his left.
Jimi ok. Slash, top ten? No. BB King but no Muddy waters? maybe. Keith Richards before Clapton before ‘Old Slow Hand’ ? Really? Uh… no. Clapton should be 3 or 4 depending on whether your a Stevie Ray fan. Jimmy page should be 5. Al DiMeola should be 6 Joe Satriani and Ingve Malmsteen should slug it out for 7-8 David Gilmour at 9 Les Paul and Chuck Berry while great innovators were surpassed even during there own heyday so only one shuold get on there at 10. Prince doesn’t belong on this list at all… period. Joey Ramone… uh love the Ramones but uh NO! AND… Omitting Eddie Van Halen is just… just… mind boggeling. Technically Satch and Ingve are better… but over all he just has that something that makes him a geniune guitar God. and he can pen a really good ol’ rock and roll song. which makes him numba 2. Satch is my favorite though. he is unreal. Nobody that anyone has mentioned can really touch him. His music though is just unaccessible for the mainstream.
Alright guys. Stop your bitching. Personally, I think this list is alright. I would definitely make some changes though. Mine would probably play out like this:
Hendrix
Slash
Van Halen
Page
Santana
Clapton
Nugent (man deserves some credit!)
Perry
Satriani
Young
I’m not a huge Malmsteem fan, so I probably wouldn’t put him on here. He seems to ruin every song he remakes. Prince was a horrible choice. I think Ramone is up there. Tom Morello would make an interesting little surprise. Ace Frehley is a good choice. Jerry Cantrell is one of the best grunge guitarists of all time. For newer bands, Mark Tremonti can SHRED. I like Vai. Les Paul could grab a spot just on how legendary he is. Robin Trower deserves to be mentioned. Brian May isn’t my favorite, but he can definitely play. I’d say SRV is definitely top 20. One person everybody forgets about is RONNIE MONTROSE! He knew his way around an axe. I may only be 15, but not many people can argue with this list.
Depending on what genre you personally like the lists are going to be different. Punk - Johnny Ramone is great but what about Steve Jones who has done other stuff besides punk. Zakk Wylde and Steve Vai are at the top of my metal list. Classical metal guitarists: Tony MacAlpine is superior to Yngwie. Progressive guitarists: Alex Lifeson deserves more credit than he gets, John Petrucci, and there are just so many great progressive metal guitarists. Iron Maiden and Judas Priest have great guitarists as well. So if you don’t listen to it, don’t judge it, it might be great.
Most of the comments are worse than the list
Andres Segovia doesnt really fall under “eletric”. nor does John Williams
made a GREAT post.
Wes Montgomery, Allan Holdsworth, John McLaughlin were so influential they have to be here. This list isn’t a shred contest, and probably not an ability contest. Guys like Angus Young, Page, Joe Perry etc. wrote classic riffs and shape rock into what it is today. Its obvious the writer is a fan of Slash and Ramone. Prince is a VERY good guitarist. He’s on many peoples Top10s.
You cant really have a Top 10. Its just too difficult to separate so many great guitarists.
Some opinions on here are awful. Zakk Wylde?? not even best Ozzy guitarist. Kirk Hammett? If you’re gonna put Metallica in the mix, try Hetfield.
Nugent, Ace Frehley and Richie Sambora….jeez, LMAO!
You are *SO* right Chuck Stuart, John Lennon,Paul McCartney and George Harrison were all very good guitar players! In an online 1977 Eric Clapton interview,Eric Clapton In His Own Words he says that there was always this guitar game between John and George and he said partly because John was a pretty good guitar player himself. And Eric was a member of John’s 1969 Plastic Ono Band and played live in concerts with him.
John made his debut as a lead guitarist on his great early 1964 rocker,You Can’t Do That. And as this guy who runs Keno’s Classic Rock n Roll Site and he also runs a Rolling Stones and a John Lennon fan site says in his review of The Beatles Let It Be album,John showec on Paul’s get Back why he should have played lead guitar more often because he said he did such a good job.He also said he played a really good slide guitar on George’s For Your Blue and he also said he played 1 of the first and best acid guitar parts on his great 1968 rocker,Revolution.
And not only has Stanley Clarke,Sting,Billy Sheehan,Will Lee,George Martin,John Lennon and Wilco’s John Stirratt called Paul McCartney one of the greatest,melodic and influential bass players of all time,he has always been a great multi-instrumentalist,he’s a great acoustic and electric guitar player,and a pretty good drummer and pianp player too.He played lead guitar on his own 1965 song Another girl,he plays the great bass and guitar solos on Jon’s Ticket To Ride and George’s Taxman,and he played every instrument at age 27 on his first and good solo album,McCartney,and then he did this again 10 years later on MCartney 2(although I’m not too fond of his song compositions on this record)he also played most of the instruments on his 1997 Flaming Pie album,and his recent albums Chaos And Creation In The Backyard and Memory Almost Full.
The Beatles are the Most Creative Band of All Time By Musician And Song Writer Peter Cross
BACKGROUND HISTORY: The first musical bands originated in New Orleans among black musicians who have traditionally been the innovators. The first jazz record ever recorded was by The Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917, and of course they were white because racism always rears its ugly head to hold black people back. But during the Roaring 20’s, young white people couldn’t resist the dance beat laid down by the black jazz bands. Fletcher Henderson, a black man, became the first band leader to achieve national fame possibly because he featured Louis Armstrong on trumpet. Duke Ellington, a classically trained musician, brought a level of style and sophistication to jazz that hadn’t been seen before. But it wasn’t until 1935 that jazz bands with a “swing beat” achieved national attention due to Benny Goodman who I think was the best clarinet player ever to blow air into that instrument. Benny also had the good sense and taste to bring the first great drummer, Gene Krupa, into his band.
When rock and roll exploded into human consciousness during the early 1950’s, black musicians like Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Smokey Robinson pioneered the way, but a white DJ named Alan Freed is believed to have coined the term “rock and roll”. The first real rock and roll record was “Shake, Rattle and Roll”, written by Jesse Stone who was black and recorded by Big Joe Turner who was also black but it wasn’t a hit. The first big hit rock and roll record was “Rock Around the Clock” written by James Meyers and Max Freeman of obvious ancestry, and that one catapulted Bill Haley and his Caucasian Comets to stardom. During the 1950’s and early 60’s, there were countless “do wop” groups, rock groups, singers and songwriters but until The Beatles hit the charts, there had been very few bands which contained talented songwriters. The vast majority of jazz and rock bands recorded songs written by songwriters who were not performers, with occasional exceptions like Duke Ellington and Buddy Holly. As time goes on, it’s increasingly clear that Lennon/McCartney songs are brilliant classics which will never be forgotten. Now here’s why The Beatles are the most creative band of all time:
1. BEST EXAMPLE OF FORM = CONTENT
As I sit here writing this at the keyboard of my computer facing the unique and colorful Beatles poster in my bedroom, I’m aware that I have been directly and indirectly inspired by John Lennon’s music as well as by the way he lived his life offstage. Squarely in front of me is a full color poster of all four Beatles standing in a heavenly-like flower garden at about the time of the Abbey Road album. Paul is angelic in his pink suit with a white laced shirt. John is enigmatic peering out from the background. George is charismatic staring directly into the camera from the lower right. Ringo is on the left with a stylish blue suit and his pink ruffled shirt. I always wished I could dress like those guys but obviously there’s a bit of a problem with a money differential there. Surrounding this gorgeous poster which I have never seen elsewhere are my 45 speed original Beatles hit records, including I Want to Hold Your Hand, She Loves You, Please Please Me, Twist and Shout, Can’t Buy Me Love, She’s A Woman, Yesterday, and of course, Hey Jude. And surrounding all that is a chain of 1-1/2″ long orange flicker flame lights which are the most beautiful and unique Christmas lights I’ve ever seen. I chose to decorate the wall directly in front of my work station this way because, as I’ve written elsewhere on this site several times, The Beatles were my major musical influence and having them on the wall in front of me inspires me to write web pages like this one. I was also among the millions of people who were inspired by how The Beatles were actually living their off stage lives. The Beatles’ music creatively stimulated millions of people to change the way they were living, and The Beatles behavior encouraged people to have fun by trying new life style experiences. That’s what I call a perfect example of FORM = CONTENT. In this case it means that the creatively and masterfully varied music The Beatles were producing (form) embodied the real life styles which each of the four Beatles were living (content), together as a band as well as separately as unique individuals.
2. BEST SONGWRITERS
This should be self-evident, but just because Paul McCartney has the title of the most popular songwriter in history doesn’t necessarily make him the best songwriter in history. The qualities which do make both Paul and John the best songwriters in history go beyond writing the greatest number of catchy classic songs. “Catchy” means that their melodies and lyrics are instantly memorable. “Classic” means that they stand the test of time. But both Paul and John wrote very sophisticated melodies that moved beyond the simple groups of 2, 4 and 8 patterned phrases used by almost all other songwriters. John and Paul’s melodies soared, floated, cascaded, dived and peaked with true dynamics, naturally following the syllabic lyric patterns - but not always. Sometimes the melodic and lyric patterns were independent of each other, almost counterpoint in nature, and as a songwriter, they never ceased to astonish me with their brilliance and originality. In the beginning, their lyrics were simple and their songs were simple love songs. But they soon began exploring new territory by writing about subjects that hadn’t been covered before. Inspired by Bob Dylan, they wrote true poetry with feeling and depth, using evocative and unusual words. Rubber Soul marked the beginning of their evolution as mature songwriters, Revolver was a break-out album, and Sergeant Pepper was an historic landmark album in terms of new and innovative songwriting as well as production. Every song they wrote was significantly different from the last one even though each song had their unmistakable sound.
Most songwriters are only average players on their instruments, but John and Paul are both sophisticated guitarists who were able to integrate their playing into their songs and even into their song structure so that the “licks” they played became as catchy a part of their songs as the choruses and verses. Blackbird and Dear Prudence are only two examples of songs which couldn’t possibly be written by any other songwriter because of the guitar playing which forms an integral part of the song structure. In similar fashion, Lady Madonna is the best example of a great song which derives from the unique and beautiful bass part which only Paul could possibly have created.
Average songwriters achieve the catchy quality by repeating a phrase endlessly or by beating a chorus to death. John and Paul found countless ways to be memorable without ever overly repeating something. The only time they repeated something over and over again for a long time was in Hey Jude, and what they chose to repeat is so gorgeous that one can only wish they had never ended the song. The Beatles were my biggest musical influence and I used to think, “If I could write just one song that’s as good as John and Paul’s worst song, I’d be happy.” People tell me I accomplished that goal and they say one good example is John is Alive, which is my sincere tribute to Sir Lennon.
3. BEST SINGERS
Even Ringo could sing when he got a little help from his friends who lived in the yellow submarine. But to say that Paul and John are two of the best singers in rock and roll is to state the obvious. Combining John, Paul and George created the best harmony vocals the world has ever experienced. Even their two part harmonies were unusual, catching us all by surprise on their first hit record with the fast harmony melisma in the chorus of I Want to Hold Your Hand. John had a knack of placing a unique low harmony line underneath Paul’s high melody line so as to form a second melody which created unusual harmony effects. He did that right from the beginning in the verses of She Loves You. Both Paul and John could blast out screaming rock and roll (i.e. Long Tall Sally and Twist and Shout), and both could break our hearts with touching, deep feeling ballads (i.e. Yesterday and Julia). There seems to be no end to their emotional vocal range, and John even explored the heights of vocal psychedelia in songs like She Said (Revolver) and Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.
4. MOST CREATIVE PLAYERS
Paul brought a new style of melodic playing to the bass guitar, reaching a new high of creativity on Sergeant Pepper with a level of sophistication never heard before. Many other musicians besides me recognize Paul as being one of the best bass guitar players ever. George is underrated as a lead guitarist by people with average or below average musical knowledge or ability, but most guitarists (including Eric Clapton) know better. George’s strength is in melody, pure and simple. It would be difficult to find a George Harrison lead which is not melodic, and each of his leads has a strong beginning, a stronger middle and a well defined ending. In fact, that’s Eric’s definition of what makes a good guitar lead. George continually developed new guitar sounds for each Beatles song. John and Paul are also excellent guitarists and both recorded great leads as well as innovative rhythm tracks. All three of the Beatles guitarists may lack showy technical fireworks but they make that definition of guitar mastery irrelevant by overwhelming the senses with creativity, style, and pure melody. The exact same thing can be said about John and Paul’s keyboard playing. Ringo may be underrated as a drummer by the public but he is not underrated by other professional drummers. Ringo mastered the art of drum sounds. No drummer has ever recorded so many different sounds on so many different sounding records. Ringo invented a new style of slow drum playing, epitomized on A Day in the Life and Strawberry Fields Forever. John said many times, “Ringo has the best back beat in the business” and the successful studio drummers understand why John was correct.
5. TOTAL CHARISMA
A good definition of charisma needs to include “an unusual ability to influence people and arouse devotion” and “a personal attractiveness which enables a person to influence others”. No musical group prior to or after The Beatles features true charisma emanating strongly from the entire group as well as separately from each member. The Beatles stunned the world with their photogenic quality, their charm, their bubbling and lovable personalities, their cuteness and their unique style. Even before The Beatles achieved fame, people in Liverpool were imitating their haircuts, the way they dressed, the way they behaved, and the way they lived. Such a simple subliminal message about smoking marijuana got communicated to all the hippies who were waiting to happen without actual words ever being spoken. The Beatles had a lot to lose by being explicit on that subject, but they successfully avoided trouble by keeping it very subtle while at the same time clear enough so that we all got it. The Fab Four kept changing their styles rapidly, almost with each album cover, and soon the message became one of explicit spiritualism. After visiting India, The Beatles introduced eastern mysticism and meditation to the Western world for the first time through the mass media. John’s long saga with internal angst, drugs, spiritualism, politics, personal battles, and ultimately his marriage to Yoko played out like a movie the whole world got to watch in fascination. Paul’s happy life with Linda, George’s great focus on meditation, and Ringo’s equanimity throughout were all perfect examples of the power, the truth, and the effectiveness of true charisma.
6. SEXUAL AURA
Need I say it? Ask the millions of girls who were screaming and fainting at the very sight of them. “The Boys” didn’t move like Elvis or dance like Mick, they just stood there shaking their “mop top” heads around, smiling, laughing, and looking gorgeous as they performed great music and that was it. On their first visit to America, some enterprising weirdo from New York City managed to cut up the hotel bed sheets The Beatles had slept on into 1″ square pieces, and these things were actually sold to girls over the public airwaves by adult DJ’s on the AM radio stations who should have known better. The Beatles phenomenon went way beyond the rock and roll sex star status that had been seen before. Teenage girls in uncountable numbers fell in love, their hearts to be trapped, their heart strings to be continually plucked, and ultimately, their hearts to be broken by the unobtainable object of their love. Worshiping a star from afar? Infatuation? Obsession? Not real love? For many of them, it was their first experience feeling love for a man/boy. Whatever it was, it was very real to all of them, and we all soon understood that The Beatles were The Real Thing.
That’s why I call The Beatles the Most Creative Band of All Time. They were The Real Thing. The Creative Zenith. The high point on the bell curve of musical history.
Web page design copyright 1996 © , text copyright 2005 © Peter Cross
I just noticed that I made a few typing mistakes in my first post.
The Beatles wrote, played and recorded so many great critically acclaimed, popular songs and albums of all different styles of music and wrote about 50 or more years worth of mostly great music in just an 8 year recording career.
When The Beatles were playing live in 63,64, 65& 66 they had very limited primitive sound systems at the time,only 100 watt amplifiers,(and George Harrison says in the excellent video series,The Beatles Anthology that special 100 watt amplifiers were made for their August 1965 Shea Stadium concetts,and he said they went up from the only 30 watts before!) no feedback monitors so they couldn’t even hear themselves play and sing(yet they amazingly managed to sing and play in sync and in tune with each other anyway!) plus all of the screaming from the crowds.
In their January 1969 live rooftop concert they sounded great, the sound systems had improved some by then ,although still pretty primitive compared to today’s, and there were no screaming crowds anymore.
When I was a teenager I met 3 people who saw The Beatles in concert, 2 saw them in 1966 and 1 saw them in 1964, they all told me they could see and hear them and that they were great.
On the site Artist Facts in The Rolling Stones section a guy from Canada said he saw The Beatles in concert in 1966 and The Rolling Stones in 1996(and the sound systems by then were a million tines better!) and he said they both were great but he said The Beatles were The *GREATEST* Band ever!
And former Kiss guitarist Bob Kulick who produced the heavy metal tribute Beatles album,Butchering The Beatles, said he saw The Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1966 and he said he only heard them in bits and pieces but he could hear parts of Baby’s In Black and Paperback Writer and he said they sounded amazing. He also calls them the *GREATEST* band ever.
yeah this list is right 100%
HORRIBLE LIST.
SOME OF IS OK,
BUT WHERE THE FUCK IS ANGUS YOUNG?
FOR THE RECORD ERIC JOHNSON BLOWS
Roy Buchanan at Number 1 . . . no doubt about it.
Taught Jeff Beck and Robbie Robertson how to play. Clapton stole his stuff, but even Clapton (and Beck) acknowledged Roy as “the master.” Turned down the Rolling Stones twice to be their lead guitarist, as well as Clapton’s Yardbirds. Bested Jimmi Hendrix and Beck while all 3 on stage. Hendrix demurred from a pick off with Roy (wisely). Check him out on YouTube from Austin. He leaves people like Vai and Satriani in the dust.
Roy Buchanan? Absolutely. the guy was freaking amazing. Best I’ve ever seen. I’d have to second that.
As much as I like the Stones, no way Keith Richards belongs on here. Even Mick Taylor blew him away as a Stone from 1969-1974, part of why Taylor chose to leave the Stones.
By the way, that wicked, sick guitar solo on “Sympathy for the Devil” is not Keith Richards. It’s unmistakably Roy Buchanan (uncredited). Listen to them both and decide for yourself.
Wow, Roy Buchanan. Yes. Glad he got his due here. In a league by himself.
And what’s all this stuff about the Beatles as the greatest band ever. Puhleeeeease, the Rolling Stones were better than them even before the Beatles broke up. But 5 decades of the Stones. They are the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band . . . still. All alone at the top.
Slash should be the #1 he’s amazing much better than Jimi
OK Hendrix is great…….Where are the gods Blackmore, Steve Vai, Petrucci, Satriani, Eric Johnson …..
These lists are horrible. I agree with the guy who said there should be separate lists for different styles of guitar player.
People might be caught up in Eddie Van Halen’s addictions and person problems but before 1978, the sort of guitar playing he made popular barely existed at all; certainly not in the mainstream. Ed is to modern rock what Hendrix was in changing blues guitar into metal/hard rock.
Putting Prince on this list is an abomination. He has guitar chops, but he’s NOT known for it and he is certainly not influential in the guitar sense. I think Keith Richards is influential but a suck guitar player… putting HIM ahead of Clapton? What a joke.
First why is Richards so fucking high. And why are their so many people here that don’t belong. Also why isn’t Clapton 2! I’m mainly into blues and rock that relates to it, so i may be slightly opinionated, but where is Jeff Beck! Also, shouldn’t Allman also be on here? And why is Slash two? This isn’t the most popular guitarist list, but the greatest guitarist list. SVR is a tough one cause so many people think he rocks or is a cheap Albert King imitator. I like Jimmy page there. Zep I and II were incredible playing wise. Also, are we leaving out Rory, Green, Buchanan, (although is don’t like his music he is great) Van Halen, maybe even Pete Townshend? I don’t know many other guitarists metal wise cause I don’t get that genre, but surely some are better than these? Lets just shoot John Mayer to the top Times that wouldn’t change much to this obviously failed attempt at making a list that some random smuck can read your magazine and suddenly believe he has a knowledge of this topic, kinda like how you believed that.
Sorry for the grammar issues and punctuation
Im going to bitch more so here is my list example: May be genre biased
First two ore greatest and second greatest, the rest are kinda unordered.
-Hendrix-of course
-Clapton-clapton is god, bluesbreakers + cream = amazing
-Jeff(suprised? some of Jeff’s stuff really had been great over the years, Jeff vs Jimmy may simply be preference.)
-Jimmy(Can leave out Zep 1. Also more versatile than Beck, but I don’t know who beats who in blues.
-Roy Buchanan-listen to Sweat Dreams
-Peter Green
-Duanne Allman
-B.B.
-Albert King-not gonna put Stevie Ray on the list due the fact that Albert influenced everything he did.
-George Harrison-I’m not a beatles guy, but Harrison does rock his solo on Alvin Lee’s the bluest blues is mind blowing.
Just read the list and I have to agree with the majority of people here. This is a bad list of best electric guitar players.
If they named it most influential guitarists of all time I might agree but even then they’d still be missing some guitarists.
All I have to say is where’s Angus Young?
Comparing guitarists in this manner is like comparing brushstrokes in paintings. You have to agree to who is the greatest painter and the greatest painting and the subject and the era and the style, and on and on.
All of this is too suggestive for a list to make any sense.
1 - John Petrucci
2 - Yngwie Malmsteen
3 - Jimi Hendrix
4 - Steve Vai
5 - Tony Iommi
6 - André Olbrich
7 - Dave Murray
8 - Ritchie Blackmore
9 - Adrian Smith
10 - Janick Gers
11 - Jimmy Page
Top 10 Most Influential Electric Guitarists in Rock History:
1. Jimi Hendrix (needs no justification)
2. Jimmy Page (the sheer number of innovative, legendary riffs makes him a living legend)
3. Chuck Berry (he was rockin before anybody knew what it was)
4. Tony Iommi (Was there REAL hard rock before Sabbath?)
5. Eddie Van Halen (I remember hearing Eruption for the 1st time)
6. Kirk Hammett/James Hetfield (There’s no denying Metallica’s innovations that were at the forefront of modern metal)
7. Eric Clapton (A bit overrated but was huge in blues-rock)
8. Stevie Ray Vaughn (He was too bluesy for my taste, but watching him play was to be in awe- power & energy, even if it was coke-fueled)
9. Yngwie Malmsteen (makes the list based on skill & technique)
10. Keith Richards (I’m not a big Stones fan, but their longevity & number of hits gets him on the list)
Who doesn’t deserve to make the list:
-Jeff Beck (What did this guy ever do? Certainly not top 10.)
-Ritchie Blackmore (I’m a fan but Deep Purple doesn’t compare to Zeppelin)
-Steve Vai & Joe Satriani (Nothing against their skill but Eddie Van Halen gets more credit for doing it first)
-Steve Howe (I’m a fan but Yes wasn’t influential enough)
-Alex Lifeson (Good but not an innovator. Plus he’s in a nerdy band)
-Angus Young (AC/DC rocks but wasn’t/isn’t particularly special)
-Randy Rhodes (Died too young. No way.)
-David Gilmour (I’m a fan but not quite influential enough)
-Ted Nugent (People quit going to his shows because he lacked depth. Besides, he’s a raving right-wing lunatic. Fuck him.)
-Slash (Seriously, now. This is not a “best guitarists of the 90’s list”)
-Prince (Props but not known for his guitar influence)
-The Edge (Close but no cigar. Maybe top 30 because U2’s sound is so well-loved. Plus I’m biased, being a big fan.)
Did I mention phuck Ted Nugent? Oh yes I did. Carry on.