Top 10 Favorite Guitarist's

[TimmyM]

Top 10 Favorite Guitarist’s:

OK, so I asked this question a while back on a different forum site called IORR, which is a Rolling Stones based fan site. I got some really enthusiastic feed-back from a whole bunch of people, which was great, but I wanted to re-ask it on this site because IORR is so Stones based that the people who visit it are true Stones fans and often placed Keith, Brian, Mick and Ronnie straight up to the top of their list. This is certainly OK, but I wanted to see some answers across a broader spectrum….see here we go.

(This is how it was originally worded)

I have wanted to do this for a while on one of the guitar forums that I belong to and since I have been here most recently it seems like as good of place as any.

Who are your favorite guitarist and feel free to elaborate, this is not a "who's the best" list like Rolling Stone or Guitar World magazines put out, but a true "your favorite" list, dead, alive, biggest influence, most pleasing to listen to. Remember this is a IORR site but if you wanna include Jazz, Blues, Country ... whatever. Here are mine, I know I said 10 but I need more.

1. Eric Clapton: IMHO, note for note he is the best guitarist, he can do no wrong, IMHO.
2. Neil Giraldo (Pat Benatar): Love his "for the song" playing. I really tried to emulate his onstage presence for quite a while when I was younger.
3. Keith Richards: The coolest of the cool, BIG influence to me. I loved the whole open-G thing when I found out about it and he is the reason I favor Telecasters to this day.
4. Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick): Totally crazy dude, I like his playing a lot and he has such a great guitar collection. I built a triple-neck with a Mandocello in the middle because he had a five-neck.
5. Lindsay Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac): Great tone and technique...extra points for a great voice too.
6: Ace Frehley (Kiss): The reason I wanted to pick up a guitar when I was a kid. Not a great guitarist, but KISS fans understand where I am coming from.
7. Brian Setzer (Stray Cats): Another Cool Cat, because of him I went back and listened to many earlier guitarist from early Rock n Roll and Rock-a-Billy.
8. Pete Townshend: What a guitar player can do without resorting to flashy leads. Tremendous rhythm player and great song writer too.
9. Ronnie Wood: To me, he is an all around guitarist. Great at rhythm, Slide and Lead. He has been in a few great bands and is a sideman extraordinaire. Plus he uses some way cool Zemaitis models.
10. Mike Campbell (Tom Petty): Like my #2 choice, Mike plays exactly what you think he should, although he could solo for days if he wanted, also great at slide.
I know, I know, I said ten…but a couple more
11. George Harrison: I was listening to my brothers Beatles albums when I first realized what a guitar was...at the time I was using a tennis racket! Seriously, George was an exceptional guitarist and constantly experimented with different instruments and sounds.
12. Brian May (Queen): Tone, Tone, Tone!
I know I should stop but I can't! ...For my Harder years
13. Joe Perry (Aerosmith)
14. Michael Schenker (U.F.O.)
and my honorable mention...
15. David Lindley: Local guy who made me pick up a lap steel and a mandolin. This guy could play anything with strings.
16. Robert Cray: I saw him open for Clapton and I got hooked.
17. Albert Lee: The first "chicken picker" that really turned me on.
18. Tom Petty: What a real rhythm guitarist should sound like.
I guess I’ll just continue to 20 because I’m so close.
19. Jeff Beck: I know talent-wise he should be up further on the list but sometimes he is so good that you have to be a guitarist to understand just how complicated some of the things he is doing are to do.
20. Pete Anderson (Dwight Yoakam’s guitarist): I just love this guys sound, a real bluesy country boy.

[hekawi]

1 Mark Knopfler-great sound, wonderful technique, brilliant.
2 Pete Townshend-adventurous and bold. the greatest rock rhythm player ever
3 John Lennon-underated. the second best rock rhythm player ever
4 John Fogerty-simple but effective. scores of memorable licks.
5 Tony Rice-bluegrass, newgrass and jazz player extrordinaire
6 Norman Blake-bluegrass and old-timey legend (he's not as talented as Doc Watson, but his style appeals to me more)
7 Steve Howe-prog rocker from Yes and Asia. virtuoso
8 George Harrison-timeless stuff with the Beatles & solo
9 James Taylor-love his acoustic sound. instantly recognizable
10 Stuart Adamson-front man for Big Country, pushed the envelope a bit with his bagpipe like sound

[TinyGomery]

1. Django Reinhardt
2. Scotty Moore (early Elvis)
3. Bill Frisell
4. Marc Ribot (especially his work with Tom Waits)
5. Merle Travis
6. Link Wray
7. Hank Marvin (The Shadows)
8. Neil Young
9. Chet Atkins
10. Rick Miller (Southern Culture on the Skids)

Runners up: Lightnin' Hopkins, Charlie Christian, Bo Diddley, Clarence White, Gurf Morlix, Mississippi John Hurt, Mark Orton (Tin Hat Trio), Doc Watson, Leadbelly, Dan Auerbach, Billy Strange.

You can probably tell that I don't go just for chops or sophistication. A great voice and presence on the guitar is most important to me.

[picknfool]

Eric Clapton
Jerry Garcia
Mark Knopfler
Richard Thompson
Albert Lee
Wes Montgomery
James Taylor
Robben Ford
Larry Carlton
David Grissom

[chezdeluxe]

In no particular order

George Barnes
Grady Martin
Django
Hank Marvin
Albert King
Chuck Berry
Laurindo Almeida
Mississippi John Hurt
Robert Johnson
Earl Hooker

[joaopazguitar]

in no particular order...!

Pat Martino
Bill Frisell
Wes Montgomery
Grant Green
Steve Vai
David Gilmour
Jimmy Hendrix
Johnny Smith
Jack White
Lenny Breau

[bossking7]

Trey Anastasio
Buddy Guy
SRV
Dan Auerbach
George Harrison
Mick Jones
Carlos Santana
Neil Young
David Gilmour
Gary Clark Jr.

[bobsway]

Wes Montgomery
Billy Gibbons
Rory Gallagher
J.J. Cale
David Gilmour
George Barnes
Jimmy Page
Johnny Marr
Chuck Berry
The OP said 10, then proceeded to list 20 so honorable mention goes to...
Barney Kessel
Leo Kottke
Emily Remler
Willie Nelson
B.B. King
Elvis Costello
Johnny Ramone
Davey Graham
Dexter Romweber
Les Paul
Could I do like 20 more? Still wouldn't be enough!

[tedro]

pat martino
john abercrombie
pat metheny
john scofield
mike stern
robben ford
duane allman
eric clapton
jimi hendrix
john mclaughlin
larry coryell
nando lauria

opps...that's 12!

george benson
gabor szabo.

danny gatton, jim hall.

[tedro]

heh, i use that Picasso on my facebook id.

[iim7v7im7]

Jimmy Bruno
Chris Cain
Larry Carlton
Ronnie Earle
Robben Ford
Joe Pass
Django Reinhardt
Duke Robillard
Johnny Smith
Martin Taylor

[chabby]

Not in any order
Duane Allman
Derek Trucks
David Gilmour
Jimmy Page
Ed King
Jeff Baxter
Denny Dias
John Fogarty

[mal paso]

Man, this is hard to do. It doesn't help that I'm always changing my mind either.

These are definites-

Keith Richards
Jimmy Page
John Fogerty
Neil Young
Kevin Shields

[twangjeff]

In no particular order...

Redd Volkaert
Danny Gatton
Ray Benson (Way underrated as a guitarist!)
Albert Lee
Robben Ford
George Benson
Eric Johnson
Ted Greene
Freddie King

[Bulldog87]

BB King
Eric Clapton
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Billy Gibbons
Jimmy Page
Derek Trucks
Duane Allman

[mpearce]

I wouldn't say that these are necessarily my favorite guitar players, but maybe they are. These are the guitar players, other than personal friends I'd played with, who had the biggest influence on my playing.

Roy Buchanan
Hubert Sumlin
Carlos Santana
Elmore James
Son House
Hound Dog Taylor
J.B Hutto
John Prine (Yes, John Prine)
Kenny Holladay
One String Sam

Kenny Holladay was a friend, but we never played together.

-Mike

[e-merlin]

Guitarist's what?

Or did you mean, "guitarists?"

[Doug 54]

In no order.

Jeff Beck
Jimmy Reed
Jerry Donahue
Django
Mark Knopfler
Hendrix
Great Guitarists within the Texas Swing mold- Red Volkaert is one
Reggie Young
Various Wrecking Crew folks
Various Motown Folks/ Funk Brothers

[Tidepoolbay]

Originally Posted by TimmyM

Top 10 Favorite Guitarist’s:

OK, so I asked this question a while back on a different forum site called IORR, which is a Rolling Stones based fan site. I got some really enthusiastic feed-back from a whole bunch of people, which was great, but I wanted to re-ask it on this site because IORR is so Stones based that the people who visit it are true Stones fans and often placed Keith, Brian, Mick and Ronnie straight up to the top of their list. This is certainly OK, but I wanted to see some answers across a broader spectrum….see here we go.

(This is how it was originally worded)

I have wanted to do this for a while on one of the guitar forums that I belong to and since I have been here most recently it seems like as good of place as any.

Who are your favorite guitarist and feel free to elaborate, this is not a "who's the best" list like Rolling Stone or Guitar World magazines put out, but a true "your favorite" list, dead, alive, biggest influence, most pleasing to listen to. Remember this is a IORR site but if you wanna include Jazz, Blues, Country ... whatever. Here are mine, I know I said 10 but I need more.

1. Eric Clapton: IMHO, note for note he is the best guitarist, he can do no wrong, IMHO.
2. Neil Giraldo (Pat Benatar): Love his "for the song" playing. I really tried to emulate his onstage presence for quite a while when I was younger.
3. Keith Richards: The coolest of the cool, BIG influence to me. I loved the whole open-G thing when I found out about it and he is the reason I favor Telecasters to this day.
4. Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick): Totally crazy dude, I like his playing a lot and he has such a great guitar collection. I built a triple-neck with a Mandocello in the middle because he had a five-neck.
5. Lindsay Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac): Great tone and technique...extra points for a great voice too.
6: Ace Frehley (Kiss): The reason I wanted to pick up a guitar when I was a kid. Not a great guitarist, but KISS fans understand where I am coming from.
7. Brian Setzer (Stray Cats): Another Cool Cat, because of him I went back and listened to many earlier guitarist from early Rock n Roll and Rock-a-Billy.
8. Pete Townshend: What a guitar player can do without resorting to flashy leads. Tremendous rhythm player and great song writer too.
9. Ronnie Wood: To me, he is an all around guitarist. Great at rhythm, Slide and Lead. He has been in a few great bands and is a sideman extraordinaire. Plus he uses some way cool Zemaitis models.
10. Mike Campbell (Tom Petty): Like my #2 choice, Mike plays exactly what you think he should, although he could solo for days if he wanted, also great at slide.
I know, I know, I said ten…but a couple more
11. George Harrison: I was listening to my brothers Beatles albums when I first realized what a guitar was...at the time I was using a tennis racket! Seriously, George was an exceptional guitarist and constantly experimented with different instruments and sounds.
12. Brian May (Queen): Tone, Tone, Tone!
I know I should stop but I can't! ...For my Harder years
13. Joe Perry (Aerosmith)
14. Michael Schenker (U.F.O.)
and my honorable mention...
15. David Lindley: Local guy who made me pick up a lap steel and a mandolin. This guy could play anything with strings.
16. Robert Cray: I saw him open for Clapton and I got hooked.
17. Albert Lee: The first "chicken picker" that really turned me on.
18. Tom Petty: What a real rhythm guitarist should sound like.
I guess I’ll just continue to 20 because I’m so close.
19. Jeff Beck: I know talent-wise he should be up further on the list but sometimes he is so good that you have to be a guitarist to understand just how complicated some of the things he is doing are to do.
20. Pete Anderson (Dwight Yoakam’s guitarist): I just love this guys sound, a real bluesy country boy.

Living, dead or all of the above?

To make it interesting list only five.

[telewacked]

Two not mentioned yet that are in my "top" list are Elliot Easton and Mike Campbell