Who is the Best Guitarist of All Time?

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The discussion revolves around the question of who is the best guitarist of all time, with participants sharing their opinions and favorite guitarists. Jimi Hendrix is frequently mentioned as a top choice due to his innovative techniques and impact on music, though some argue about his technical skills compared to modern players. Eric Clapton, Leo Kottke, and Paco de Lucia are also highlighted for their unique styles and contributions to guitar music. The conversation touches on the distinction between technical proficiency and emotional expression in guitar playing, with many asserting that true greatness involves both. Other notable mentions include Frank Zappa, Joe Satriani, and various metal guitarists like Dave Mustaine and James Hetfield, emphasizing the diversity of styles and personal preferences in defining the "best" guitarist. The debate reflects a blend of admiration for technical skill and the emotional connection that music can evoke.
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  • #122
and for geoff achison fans:

 
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  • #123
Adrian Legg is OK... :bugeye:

 
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  • #125
Tony Rice, flat-picker extraordinaire, Jerry Douglas, dobro giant, and another killer guitarist - Mark O'Connor who happens to be playing fiddle on this tune.

 
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  • #126
The afore-mentioned O'Connor with Steve Wariner, Ricky Scaggs, and Vince Gill - some of the best country electric licks around - hope you like Telecasters.

 
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  • #127
I think some of these guitarists are fabulous and I had never heaRD OF THEM, LIKE ERIK MONGRAIN, and Paco de Lucia, but growing up in Nashville where Chet Atkins was the daily standard, and almost everyone could play guitar acceptably, most of the others here do not impress me as much.

I am leaving aside Segovia, who is hands down the best, but everyone knows that. Indeed we need to almost leave aside all Spanish guitarists as they are so much better than everyone else it is not fair.

I like Cocaine and Crossroads and Yes, you look wonderful tonight, and I like Eric Clapton, but he does not impress as much if you have grown up on BB King. I recall a BB King concert where he thanked the young Clapton and Jeff Beck fans for reviving his career. That is one of the great deeds by Clapton and the other imitators: that they gave credit to those then obscure black artists from whom they had learned, and gave them new careers.

Anyway thanks for these links. The "Emmet Ray" licks of course, for those of you who have not seen the excellent Woody Allen movie Sweet and Lowdown, staring Sean Penn, are played by Django Reinhardt.

As for stringed virtuosity, I like the work of ali akbar khan on sarod; e.g. "pre dawn to sunrise ragas" (which actually do sound best at 4am).

It is interesting that we seem to agree there is a difference between someone who plays amazingly well, and someone who we like to listen to playing one or more particular songs. I probably listen to Clapton more than Segovia, but Segovia is infinitely better.
 
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  • #128
 
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  • #129


VJ_v9HCQ-RE[/youtube] [MEDIA=youtube]A3Iq0Qs0GAI[/MEDIA]
 
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  • #130
thank you so much Fourier jr for those links. until this moment i had forgotten that artist who my brother played for me in the 50's. my brother charlie smith, was one of bill monroe's fiddlers, and a natural musician who played not just violin but trumpet and guitar. in addition to sabicas, we enjoyed "manitas de plata". i'll look for a link to him.
 
  • #132
Great stuff, mathwonk.

Here's Rodrigo y Gabriela -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-qgum7hFXk
 
  • #133
thanks so much! here are two more stars i grew up listening to : les paul and mary ford:

 
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  • #134
feel free to delete this as off topic, but you got me reminiscing about nashville in the 60's and I thought of charlie mccoy:

this is not a saxophone or alto vocalist, but a harmonica:

http://www.charliemccoy.com/audio/cryme.mp3
 
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  • #135
mathwonk said:
in addition to sabicas, we enjoyed "manitas de plata". i'll look for a link to him.

mathwonk said:
here are some:



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000023FQ/?tag=pfamazon01-20

its kind of hard to find the ones i heard 50 years ago but here are some links.


that was a good find! both those guys make it look easy.

lisab said:
Great stuff, mathwonk.

Here's Rodrigo y Gabriela -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-qgum7hFXk

they're pretty good too
 
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  • #137
Shawn Lane is without a doubt the best technical player...

But for me Allan Holdsworth when he played in groups such as Gong, UK, Soft Machine and with Bill Bruford and Jeff Berlin is simply put the best there is.
 
  • #138
 
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  • #139


 
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  • #140
how about kirk hammet? my fave. or dime bag darrel from pantera best harmonics. kk downing. i read in rolling stone that bb king was the best and for some people he is. i guess it depends on your taste in music. check out kirk or darrel though. impressive. also watch the video for "througfire and the flames" by dragon force on youtube.
 
  • #141
Glen Campbell...seriously.

OK, I don't think it's fair to call anyone guitar player "the best". But Glen Campbell is right up there. He was a big part of the Wrecking Crew, back in the 1960's. They were an incredibly talented group of musicians, who literally recorded thousands of records, with everyone from Frank Sinatra, to the Beach Boys. They could play anything. Everyone wanted a Glen Campbell solo on their record. I'm sure there are others who can play faster, but I don't think anyone plays better.

Here he is with Leon Russell (another member of the Wrecking Crew).

http://youtu.be/Vm3NoFsaKQ0Jerry Reed is another raw talent. He is one of four guitar players who Chet Atkins once called a "C.G.P."... A Certified Guitar Player.
Here he is playing Lightning Rod.

http://youtu.be/qOGiW-y-Vhs

And when you put Glen and Jerry together, it was just plain ol' fun.

http://youtu.be/7yYa1NJ7BuA
 
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  • #143
Darken-Sol said:
how about kirk hammet?
I just saw Metallica in Saturday...My respect for Kirk has gone up quite a bit
 
  • #144




 
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  • #145
BEr-lTU5DzU[/youtube] [url]JbC-ObuHU74[/youtube]
 
  • #146
fillipeano said:
I just saw Metallica in Saturday...My respect for Kirk has gone up quite a bit

Kirk has improved a lot in recent times. He got very sloppy and relied on his Wah, but he's definitely got himself back up to scratch.

I'm going to have to go with Joe Satriani. I've seen him live a few times and his control and mastery of the guitar is unreal. It may as well be extra limb on him.
 
  • #147
lisab said:
Great stuff, mathwonk.

Here's Rodrigo y Gabriela -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-qgum7hFXk
This has to be their best piece.


BTW what do you exactly do to embed videos?
 
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  • #148
mishrashubham said:
This has to be their best piece.



BTW what do you exactly do to embed videos?


type this
[noparse][/noparse]
 
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  • #149
fourier jr said:
type this
[noparse][/noparse]


I actually tried that but it did not work. Seems to be happening now. Thanks
 
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  • #150
there may not be anyone on this forum who really has the knowledge to give an opinion.

all these "bests" of such and such have more to do with how one likes the music.

to be any sort of judge of a musician, i think one would need to be a professional musician, or at least have that sort of capability.

i have no way of knowing how good some guitarist is, since not only do i not play at a high level, i play at no level at all.
 

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