Who in your opinion is the greatest guitarist ever?

I think that without a doubt it is Jimi Hendrix, with Jimmy Page a close 2nd. My personal favorite though is Angus Young.

I've seen classical guitarists do amazing things, but if we're talking rock and roll guitarists, I agree with Jimmy Page as being one of the best. Hendrix was influential but I was never really impressed with him. Angus Young is loud but not really too talanted in my opinion.

AC/DC has some cool riffs, but the guitar playing is too messy.

My personal favorite is Eric Clapton. The early Clapton was on a similar level as early Led Zeppelin, but since then, Clapton's continued playing and Page has left the scene completely, which is why I give Clapton the edge. He was amazing in concert. Also, Clapton can do many genres. He can do rock, jazz, blues, old r&b...almost anything.

Prince is also fairly good. As are the two guys from Radiohead (listen to The Bends cd).

Prince is good, I agree, and he can also do many styles. (Listen to the Gold album, for instance -- there's even a song that sounds like the Allman Brothers)...

I like Rick Witkowski but no one has ever heard of him. He played for Crack the Sky and has done lots of studio work for other artists. In fact, a lot of great guitar leads I can recall from various songs were done by studio musicians...

I like guitar leads that are melodic and memorable. Loud screeching with the guitarist showing how fast he can play does not impress me.

I'm sure there are more great ones but I just can't think of them right now.

Which is why I'm suprised you don't like Clapton (or at least mentioned him). I'd call the Sunshine of Your Life and Layla riffs memorable and ones that aren't showy in terms of how fast he can play (which is what Hendrix does a lot). The Eric Clapton concert I went to was the highlight of last year for me, seriously.

Yeah, I've never heard Rick Witkowski.

Page left the scene when his creature of rock had died off. I give him props for that. Clapton (though good) still continues on making new stuff that fails in comparison to his older stuff (though tears in heaven is an amazing song). Jimmy Page is certainly #1 in my books. Jimi Hendrix is #2 because he didn't really create anything new but he was a genius at what was already done. I put Page over Hendrix because Page literally created Zeppelin's sound and created a whole new genre in rock & roll.

Angus Young isn't at all that great as a guitarists. Like you said they got some good riffs but Angus is too sloppy. Malcolm is a great rhythm guitarists though. I'll also put Ritchie Blackmore on my list. I've been listening to a lot of Deep Purple lately and he's quite a great guitarists. Listening to the song Child in Time proves his might.

Hendrix
Page
Clapton

And how could I forget the amazing Eddie Van Halen! Though sometimes overrated by the hardcore Van Halen fans, there is no denying he is an amazing guitarists. Easily a top 10 in rock guitarists.

Never meant to imply I didn't like Clapton. I agree he is talented. He made "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" into a gem! I was just trying to come up with other names, and wanted to agree with you on Prince...

I definitely strongly disagree with the sentiment about Angus Young. He's an excellent guitarist.

Clapton is God.

Jimi Hendrix was incredible

Lindsey Buckingham can do things that neither of them could touch, just like they could do things he couldn't. He's the best accoustic player I've ever heard.

torrino, I love Jimmy Page, but one of the biggest criticisms about him is the one you labeled Young with, that he's sloppy. I personally disagree with that. I'd rather listen to him play than some technical wizard with absolutely no style. Style is by far the most important thing a guitarist needs to have.

Sorry, Rusty, but I got to disagree with you on this one, Eddie is way overrated, and NOT in the top 10 ever, maybe top 20, but not top 10.

The greatest ever is Jimi Hendrix, with Stevie Ray Vaughn a close 2nd.

No love for Eddie? That's rough. Never really heard much of Stevie ray vaughn so I can't judge him but I'm still sticking with Jimmy Page as the greatest guitarist ever.

Slash, he's not as talented as Jimmy Page or Jimi hendrix, but i think his solos and riffs were the best. Moreover, he's still making music, and i think he did a pretty good job on Velvet Revolver's debut album.
I also think that if Jack White makes another 3 or 4 albums as good as Elephant or White Blood Cells, he will definitely make my top 5. His riffs are so simple, yet so effective.

Page is defiantly a god, top 5 without a question, but I gotta stick with Hendrix as the greatest. As for Eddie, I'm glad you only put him in the top 10, I'm always hearing top 5 or even the greatest ever! It just makes me so mad, so I normally go off on a rant about it.

billy corgan?

Is that the smashing pumpkins guy?

Eddie Van Halen is not overrated. He can do much more with his guitar than your run of the mill speed players, and when he turns off his distortion, he's still fantastic. You would be surprised how many guitarists rely on sustain, distortion, and a whole foot pedal worth of effects, but if you turn it all off, or hand them an accoustic guitar, their shortcomings come to the surface very quickly. Eddie can play any guitar handed to him, under any conditions, and play it incredibly well. He's come up with some of the most memorable rock 'n' roll riffs ever.

That just needed to be said. :wink:

Yeah

I didn't say he wasn't good, in fact I said he deserved to be in the top 20, but he still is defiantely overrated. Go ahead and put him in the top 20 or top 10, but anybody that thinks he is top 5 or higher is overrating him , and they are also crazy. I didn't mean to imply he wasn't good, but when I hear people ranking him higher than Hendrix, Vaughn, B.B. King, or Clapton, I just get extremely pissed. But once again, I didn't mean to say he wasn't good, but he is still overrated.

Well, since I've been playing guitar for over 25 years, and actually make a living with music, I'll just trust my opinion over yours, and not consider myself "crazy" for doing it. :wink:

And I probably rate him between 5-10, but I understand if others rate him higher.

First thing, being a musician does not make you an expert, it helps, but doesn't officially make you one. Don't get me wrong, you probably know more than me, but don't brag yourself up. I don't understand how others would rate him higher than 5: Hendrix. Vaughn, King, Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, I could go on with a few more that are better than him.

Oh, and I didn't mean to call you crazy :wink:

Well, being a musician , or more importantly in this case, a guitarist, helps me to understand what they are doing, and the difficulty involved in doing it. It comes down to nothing more than opinion, when you are talking about guitarists with those levels of followings. Some people believe Eddie is the best. I can understand why, even if I don't agree, but my knowledge of music, and the fact that I am a recording engineer and studio musican for a living, definitely does mean I could be qualified as an expert. That's not bragging myself up, it's letting you know my credentials , so you understand when you start telling people that they are crazy for having an opinion that is different from your own , somebody with an educated opinion on the subject , such as myself, will probably pull you back with a little reality check. :wink:

Stevie Ray Vaughn, great as he is, isn't terribly difficult to play, as long as you don't try to play it on .013 gauge strings like he does. Those are thicker strings, which is what gives him his tone and sound. The way strings are gauged, is by the 6th string (the little E string), and most guitarists have to play with .009 , .010 . or maybe even .011. The reason for this, is because you can bend the strings. It's virtually impossible to do that with what Vaughn plays, so you can imagine how strong his fingers were. Most people use .013 gauge when setting up guitars for slide playing, because you don't have to really worry about doing anything wild on the fretboard, and you don't press all the way down while using the slide bar. If strings are too thin, it will rattle or sound "tinny" while playing slide.

B. B. King is another, that great as he is, isn't incredibly difficult to play. I used to own a Gibson ES 335 like Lucille, except mine was red, not black. It's his style that people like. Jeff Beck has never really had any breakthrough success, and he was known for being the guy in the Yardbirds who wasn't quite as good as Clapton, who he replaced, and was then over shadowed by Page, who was the bass who later rose to prominence and quickly displaced Beck. There is not a guitarist on your list, and Clapton and Hendrix are the best IMO, that can do what Lindsay Buckingham can do, and they can do things he can't do as well. None of them can do what Chet Atkins can do. It's all a matter of opinion on who's the best, and that comes down to who's style does it for you, because they are all better than the other guy at what they do best. :wink:

I didn't mean to say that people that disagree with me are crazy, maybe I worded that alittle wrong. What I really mean is that as good as Eddie is, there is no way somebody that isn't biased would be able to rank him number 1. I can understand when the people that grew up to Van Halen rank him number 1, but that isn't a valid reason to call him #1.

If you look up at my last post, I did say you knew more than me. I also didn't say you weren't an expert, only that playing guitar doesn't make you an expert. I don't claim to be an expert, but I do have a basic knowledge of music. I just always disagree with people who call him the greatest, because, if you notice, most people that call him #1 aren't experts or even that big of a music fan. Most of them don't have a Hendrix, Vaughn, or King album, maybe a Zeppelin Cd,but none of the others. I think the ones that list him #1, just list him that because of their lack of hearing other great guitarists.

I would call myself an "expert" in this field because I had 3 or 4 friends that listed him #1 ( 6 or 7 that listed him in top 5), but when I gave them some Hendrix,etc... they all moved him back ( including the ones that only listed him top 5).

Then no.