[DeadFan]

International rock mag MOJO ran a poll using 500 eminent musos (eg Clapton, McCartney etc)  and music mag scribes to nominate their 100 top guitarists ever in order.
         
                Top 3 were   1 - Jimmi Hendrix
                                  2 - Steve Cropper
                                  3 - Peter Green

For what its worth my favourites are:-  Best all round guitarist     - Jerry Garcia - anything
                                                     Best picker/slide/technique- Ry Cooder - especially first 6 or 7 albums
                                                     Best heavy guitar work     - Neil Young - especially on Weld

Lots of others I love- Leo Kotke, Lowell George, Richard Thompson, Jeff Beck, Peter Green, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Rory Gallagher, Elmore James, Robbie Robertson, Steve Goodman(watch his picking on youtube doing Red Red Robin), Duane Allman, Dickie Betts, Clapton,

Wow I could keep going, love guitar music especially slide.

[jimdgoulding]

I am interested in your recordings of D'Gary and Miguel.  I'd like to know more about Miguel, D'Gary I'm already familair with, and listen to some samples if that is or will become a possibility.  I'm particular about my flamenco.  Guess you'd have to say old school.  Got to have a big dose of "duende".  I would like to know about you, too, if that's cool, and how you happen to be recording these fellows.  Feel free to respond to me if you would in the World Music circle where I have and a little discussion going on.  Thank you.

[ooheadsoo]

I'm using Nuforce ref 9SE V2 amplifiers and SP Technologies Timepiece 2.1 speakers with Hsu 10" subs crossed at about 35Hz and going down clean and flat to 15 Hz. Timepieces have yet to have the Mundorf upgrades, yet an engineer friend who had the best studio in town until recently feels this is easily the best sound he has ever heard, and he is unequivocal about that.

I've never typically been a fan of metallic cones on midrange drivers (ring, fatigue)... but if these things sing like you say, they're a fantastic value.  Those Timepieces do get fantastic reviews.  1000 watts handling!?!   Madness.

These metallic cones only play up to 600hz before being crossed over

[Russell Dawkins]

AdamM, I think the 590 Hz crossover may have something to do with it. R.

[sunshinedawg]

Richard Thompson. He just amazes me. I got to meet him backstage at a show in NY years ago, besides being an unbelievable guitar player, he's a really nice guy. In songs like "Vincent Black Lightning", there is no compare to him. He is picking the lead, rhythm and bass on one guitar, at one time. I couldn't believe this when I first heard it.

[AdamM]

AdamM, I think the 590 Hz crossover may have something to do with it. R.

(thanks for the info ooheadsoo, Russel.  Impressive tweeters.  I'd love to hear a set of those.  Beautiful woodworking on some)

Not wanting to sidetrack this thread anymore, here's some additional pickers of merit:


Julian Bream, classical, love his work (this clip takes a bit to get going)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJETmCQI2fA

Another vote for Tommy Emmanuel !  The guy is a monster!  I love his rendition of Classical Gas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX0eTp7SoNU&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQJ1k2HMoRU

Yngwie Malmsteen 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS_IYe5JTZ4

[pjchappy]

David Gilmour always does it for me.  So much emotion. . .just amazing!!!

Hope you all have checked out his new DVD, "Remember That Night."  One of the best Floyd(y) DVDs out there. . .and Gilmour is truly at his best.  No joke.  Blows my mind.

[satfrat]

Jonas Hellborg



At 56, I don't rock out like I use to in my headbanging days but this guy can still get to me with his flamboyant improvisational virtuosity. He reminds me a lot of Jeff Beck  but more daring and original.


Robin

[slow_down]

Richard Thompson. He just amazes me. I got to meet him backstage at a show in NY years ago, besides being an unbelievable guitar player, he's a really nice guy. In songs like "Vincent Black Lightning", there is no compare to him. He is picking the lead, rhythm and bass on one guitar, at one time. I couldn't believe this when I first heard it.

Yeah, by all accounts he is incredibly gracious with fans.  And his guitar skills are pretty mindblowing, although I think to some extent you almost have to be a guitar player yourself (and I'm not) to fully appreciate how hard what he's doing is.

I know he got mentioned already, but another plug for J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.  He's such a strange dude too.  I find it interesting that the guy essentially mumbles his way through songs, like the guitar is his true voice.  Unlike Richard Thompson though, by all accounts J Mascis is a total dickhead.

[JoshK]

Wow I could keep going, love guitar music especially slide.

Who is good for slide guitar?  I need some good slide guitar tunes.

[Lyndon]

Josh,
Doesn't it depend on the genre, in the sense of does the slide guitar have to be traditional blues, or something else?
Don't want to sound like a broken record, but David Lindley shines on slide.  He uses custom Hawaiian style
lap guitars on stage and in recording.
Also, there is a great dvd called, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, with some wonderful performances by Joan Osborne, the Funk Brothers, and my favorite:
'John the Revelator' from Chris Thomas King, done in a hip-hop style with scratchin'.  When I play that, I have...to...turn...it...UP!
Someone mentioned Lowell George, and though she is not in the same class of previously mentioned players, I like Bonnie Raitt's approach on many of her early albums.
Did someone mention Chris Smither's debut album, "Don't It Drag On"?

[JoshK]

IMO technical brilliiance is impressive, but without soul (or good tunes) its on a similar level to syncronised swimming.

That is a fantastic quote!  Amen.

I have a hard time with picking what I think are the best guitarists, because I think part of being a brilliant guitarist is to make it sound like its nothing at all, just the soul.  But there are some obvious picks I would agree with like Gilmour, Knopfler,Clapton, Hendrix, Lofgren, SRV.  Did anyone mention Plant?

Jeff Beck, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani all are very talented but fall into the boring camp to me.  Just really don't grab me in any way.

I am not sure even what constitutes "picking"...you mean as in note for note, instead of chords?

For me you cant go past J Mascis, he's got the whole enchilada, technical abillity, soul and can write a damn fine tune also

I dig J Mascis too. 

I throw out some very unconventional guitarists (meaning they wouldn't make many top guitarists lists) that I really enjoy:
Adam Jones (Tool)
Doug Martsch (Built to Spill)
Tom Morello (Rage against the Machine)

[JoshK]

I take that back...apparently both Jones and Morello are in the Top 100 Guitarist of All Time list by Rolling Stone, and I learned that they were in the same HS garage band together on wikipedia.  Didn't know that.

[woodsyi]

Andres Segovia, John Williams, Julian Bream, Christopher Parkening, Narciso Yepes, Alirio Diaz, The Romero Quartet, Charlie Byrd, Paco De Lucia, John Scofield and Dorado Schmitt -- my favorites.

[linkweewee]

Wow 8 pages and no mention of Phil Keaggy?

[lazydays]

Wow I could keep going, love guitar music especially slide.

Who is good for slide guitar?  I need some good slide guitar tunes.

saw a thing on TV a couple nights ago, and several musicians flatly stated that nobody could come close to playing the slide guitar as well as Dwayne Allman. I might also add that the same folks said that the duo of Dicky Betts and Allman was the best one two combo out there. Having seen them at the Fillmore I can attest to this as well.
gary

[Russ-R]

 Josh,check out Australian slide player Dave Hole his earlier work Norwest Blues and Three Days Out off album The Plumber very good.Live this guy has awesome tone and it has never made it onto his recordings.Also no mention of Roy Buchanan till now what about Robin Trower,the last 2 not know sliders but both play with feeling.Cheers Russ

[jackman]

Hey guys (caution, some name dropping below...),

First of all, I'm going to apologize for any spelling errors because it's not my forte.  In my younger years, I could have answered this question a lot easler because my definition of what constituted a "Great" guitarist was very clearly defined.  I was a big fan of Eddie, Yngwie, Satrini, Vai, Paul Gilbert and the rest of the metal guitar wankers.  I must be getting old because I can't stand listening to most of the stuff from this group these days...with the exception of Van Halen 1 and live clips of Randy Rhodes who was an amazing player.  For me, the guitar-wanker group, and their modern counterparts like Buckethead, are too willing to trade melody and emotion for sheer speed or degree of difficulty.  

Over the years I have seen some amazing guitarists live, some of whom are famous and some...not so much.  So many stand out that it's difficult to name a top ten, let alone top one.  I have seen Parkening at Orchestra Hall in Chicago (incredible talent, and I can still remember being humbled by his rendition of Bach), I also was at the show in which Al DeMiola, Paco De Lucia and John McLaughlin played acoustic guitar in the mid 80's.  Steve Morse, a guitarist I have never heard of at the time was the opening act!  He was no slouch.  I've also seen SRV (RIP) in his early years (this kid's got potential!) and have seen several blues legends (Buddy Guy, etc.) around Chicago.  I've also seen Knopfler (Dire Straits), very solid player, maybe not in the same class as Clapton or Gilmour but very entertaining.  

To me, the true measure of a "Great" guitarist is how they make you feel.  The great ones make you want to BE them, not just listen to them.  I guess if I had to pick a single guitarist whose skills I would want, it would be Hendrix.  He does things that are impossible for me to describe but (mainly on live recordings) no other guitarist can compare...even though there are several guitarists who are technically superior.  He wasn't around for very long, and didn't have a massive body of work, but he did things that no one will ever repeat, although several have tried to copy.

Lastly, don't laugh, but recently I have become obsessed with the guitar playing of an anynomous guy on youtube.  He goes by the name Fretkillr and is one of the best acoustic players I have ever heard.  His versions of every cover he plays are better (with the exception of a Doc Watson song!) than the originals.  This includes two James Taylor (another very underrated guitarist) songs and a Jim Croce song.  Check out this blues clip and if you like it, just click his name and check out the other 80 songs he has posted.  He is, hands down, the best acoustic player (not counting classical guitarists) I have ever heard.  He's also one of my favorite singers and harmonica (harp) players.  Take a listen and tell me if I'm completely nuts!  Can you listen to this guy and NOT want to pick up a guitar?

Here is a scorching flatpick number: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Zy6GAEZZES8
Here is an amazing cover: http://youtube.com/watch?v=pvbBaj4hb8w

One of my favorites: http://youtube.com/watch?v=3pIoSkKOuvo

Here is a listing of all of his songs: http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=Fretkillr&p=r

[jackman]

Hey, because the title of this thread is the best PICKER ever, I would like to add the following pickers:

3.  Jerry Reed:  First off, I hate country music but Jerry's style isn't the stuff you hear on country radio these days.  he was old school and a MONSTER picker.  He held his own with the likes of guitar monster Chet Atkins.  This may not be your cup of tea but these guys could pick with the best.

2.  Chet Atkins:  Les Paul is probably better known (because of the guitar name) but he's got nothing on Chet.  Both are wonderful musicians who I have enjoyed immensely. I have always been in awe of Chet's finger picking...er, pickin'.  Les was better with a flatpick.

1.  Best Picker of All Time:  Merle Travis!  Heck, he invented Travis picking and was a true originator.  His son Thom Bresh is no slouch either!  Check out this old video of Merle.  He's one of the original Country Shredders!  Although I find his work more impressive and more entertaining than anything Eddie or Yngwie have ever turned out.  Travis is strange because he only seems to pick with his thumb and forefinger...totally opposite of of Jerry Reed who rarely uses index finger. 

Here is a sample (electric):  http://youtube.com/watch?v=FSk4loi6zTc&mode=related&search=

Here is an acoustic sample: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Go8x_1fD5vM&mode=related&search=Merle%20Travis


Also, check out the headstock on Travis' guitar.  It predates Fender...wonder where Leo got the idea for his headstock design? 

[ooheadsoo]

Wow 8 pages and no mention of Phil Keaggy?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=sTsHn9a9u1c