All-Time Greatest Guitarist

[stan krajewski]

Hendrix. Still haven't heard anyone as good.

And it goes way
beyond the playing. He wrote the book on "acid rock". He created his
that unique "Jimi Hendrix" sound. Almost 40 years later, I still get
goose bumps. You can't really discuss 60's music without talking about
him.

I grew up in that era and I'm experienced.

[cleandan]

Picking THE all time greatest is basically impossible given all the different styles and tastes but there are a few who stand out in the crowded hall of great guitar players. Sticking to the rules of this game I choose...Chet Atkins. The only thing Chet ever lacked was marketable stage/live style. He was not flashy, ultra good looking, or controversial, he simply played his guitar excellently. Chet played everything well, so well that you often never knew he was the person playing because he was doing a session, backround, or rythem for someone else and needed to make "thier" sound instead of his. His list of accomplishments boggles the mind and he has been marketable for five decades so far. Look at this one simple list that covers such a wide array of styles and tastes, all played by Chet. The list is of albums fronted by Chet, there is an equally large list of songs he played on as part of the band that covers many different styles.

1952 - Chet Atkins' Gallopin' Guitar (10") (RCA Victor)
1953 - Stringin Along (10") (RCA Victor)
1953 - String Dustin' (RCA Victor)
1954 - A Session with Chet Atkins (RCA Victor)
1955 - Stringin' Along with Chet Atkins (RCA Victor)
1955 - Chet Atkins in Three Dimensions (RCA Victor)
1955 - The Amazing Chet Atkins (w/Anita Kerr Singers) (Sesac)
1956 - Finger Style Guitar (RCA Victor)
1957 - Hi Fi in Focus (RCA Victor)
1958 - Chet Atkins at Home (RCA Victor)
1959 - Mister Guitar (RCA Victor)
1959 - Hum & Strum Along with Chet Atkins (RCA Victor)
1959 - Chet Atkins in Hollywood (RCA Victor)
1960 - The Other Chet Atkins (RCA)
1961 - Teensville (RCA)
1960 - After the Riot at Newport (RCA)
1961 - Chet Atkins' Workshop (RCA Victor)
1961 - The Most Popular Guitar (RCA Victor)
1961 - Chet Atkins Plays Great Movie Themes (33 Compact) (RCA Victor)
1961 - Christmas with Chet Atkins (RCA Victor)
1962 - Down Home (RCA)
1962 - Plays Back Home Hymns (RCA)
1962 - Caribbean Guitar (RCA Victor)
1963 - Our Man in Nashville (RCA)
1963 - Teen Scene (RCA)
1963 - Travelin' (RCA)
1963 - The Guitar Genius ( RCA Camden)
1964 - Guitar Country (RCA)
1964 - Progressive Pickin' (RCA)
1964 - Reminiscing (RCA Victor)
1964 - The Best of Chet Atkins (RCA Victor)
1964 - The Early Years of Chet Atkins & His Guitar (RCA Camden)
1965 - My Favorite Guitars (RCA)
1965 - More of That Guitar Country (RCA)
1966 - Chet Atkins Picks on the Beatles (RCA)
1966 - From Nashville with Love (RCA)
1966 - The Pops Goes Country (RCA Victor)
1966 - The Best of Chet Atkins Vol. 2 (RCA)
1966 - Music from Nashville, My Hometown ( RCA Camden)
1967 - It's A Guitar World (RCA Victor)
1967 - Chet Atkins Picks the Best (RCA)
1967 - Class Guitar (RCA)
1967 - Chet ( RCA Camden)
1968 - Solo Flights (RCA)
1968 - Solid Gold 68 (RCA)
1968 - Play Guitar with Chet Atkins (Dolton/Liberty)
1968 - Chet All The Way (Import)
1968 - Hometown Guitar (RCA)
1969 - Relaxin' with Chet (Camden)
1969 - Lovers Guitar (RCA)
1969 - Solid Gold 69 (RCA)
1969 - The Nashville String Band (RCA)
1970 - C.B. Atkins & C.E. Snow by Special Request (RCA)
1969 - Chet Atkins Picks on the Pops (RCA Victor)
1970 - Yestergroovin' (RCA)
1970 - Solid Gold 70 (RCA)
1970 - Me & Jerry(w/Jerry Reed) (RCA)
1970 - Down Home (with the Nashville String Band) (RCA)
1970 - Pickin' My Way (RCA)
1970 - This Is Chet Atkins (RCA)
1971 - Mr. Atkins, Guitar Picker (Camden)
1971 - Chet Atkins Guitar Method Volume 1 & 2 (F.A.M.E.)
1971 - For the Good Times (RCA)
1971 - Strung Up (with the Nashville String Band) (RCA)
1971 - Country Pickin' (Pickwick)
1971 - Identified!(Nashville String Band) (RCA)
1971 - Chet Floyd & Boots (Camden)
1972 - Me & Chet(w/Jerry Reed) (RCA)
1972 - World's Greatest Melodies (Nashville String Band) (RCA)
1972 - Now & Then (RCA)
1972 - American Salute (Boston Pops w/Chet Atkins) (RCA Red Seal)
1972 - The Bandit (RCA)
1972 - Nashville Gold (RCA)
1972 - Picks on the Hits (RCA)
1973 - Greatest Hits of the 50's w/Arthur Fiedler (RCA Red Seal)
1972 - Finger Pickin' Good (Camden)
1973 - Discover Japan (import)
1974 - Chet Atkins Picks on Jerry Reed (RCA)
1973 - Superpickers (RCA)
1974 - The Atkins - Travis Traveling Show(w/Merle Travis) (RCA)
1975 - The Night Atlanta Burned (RCA)
1975 - Famous Country Music Makers (RCA)
1975 - In Concert (RCA)
1975 - The Golden Guitar of Chet Atkins (RCA)
1973 - Alone (RCA)
1976 - Chester & Lester(w/Les Paul) (RCA)
1975 - Chet Atkins Goes to the Movies (RCA)
1975 - Teen Scene (reissue) (Pickwick)
1977 - Love Letters (Camden)
1976 - The Best of Chet Atkins and Friends (RCA)
1977 - Me and My Guitar (RCA)
1977 - Chet Floyd & Danny (RCA)
1977 - A Legendary Performer (RCA)
1978 - Guitar Monsters(w/ Les Paul) (RCA)
1979 - And Then Came Chet (France) (RCA)
1979 - First Nashville Guitar Quartet (RCA)
1980 - The Best of Chet on the Road - Live (RCA)
1980 - Reflections (RCA)
1981 - Country After All These Years (RCA)
1981 - Standard Brands (RCA)
1981 - Country Music (Time-Life)
1982 - Solid Gold Guitar (RCA)
1983 - Guitar Pickin' Man (Cambra)
1983 - Great Hits of the Past (RCA)
1983 - Work It out with Chet Atkins C.G.P. (CBS)
1983 - East Tennessee Christmas (CBS)
1984 - Tennessee Guitar Man (Pair)
1984 - A Man & His Guitar (RCA)
1985 - Collectors Series (RCA)
1985 - Guitar for all Seasons (Pair)
1985 - Stay Tuned (Columbia)
1986 - 20 of the Best (RCA)
1986 - Street Dreams (Columbia)
1987 - Sails (CBS)
1988 - Chet Atkins, C.G.P. (CBS)
1988 - Pickin' on Country (Pair)
1989 - Masters of the Guitar: Together (Pair)
1989 - Pickin' the Hits (Pair)
1990 - Neck & Neck (Columbia)
1990 - The Magic of Chet Atkins (Heartland Music)
1990 - Country Gems (Pair)
1991 - The Romantic Guitar (RCA Special Products)
1992 - Sneakin' Around (CBS)
1992 - The RCA Years (RCA)
1993 - The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat (w/Amy Grant) (Madacy)
1993 - Gallopin' Guitar (Bear Family)
1993 - Jazz From The Hills (Bear Family)
1994 - Simpatico (w/Suzy Bogguss) (Liberty)
1994 - Read My Licks (Columbia)
1996 - The Essential Chet Atkins (RCA)
1996 - Almost Alone (Columbia)
1997 - The Day Finger Pickers Took Over the World (Sony)
1998 - Super Hits (BMG/RCA)
1998 - Masters (import) (Eagle)
2000 - Guitar Legend: The RCA Years (Buddha/BMG)
2000 - Guitar Man (Camden/BMG)
2001 - RCA Country Legends (BMG/Buddha)
2001 - The Master and His Music (BMG/Buddha)
2002 - Chet Atkins Picks on the Grammys (Columbia)
2002 - Tribute to Bluegrass (BMG)
2003 - The Best of Chet Atkins (Belgium) (BMG)
2003 - Solo Sessions (2-CD) (CGP Records)

Mr. Paige, Mr. Hendrix, Mr. Van Halen, Mr. Malmstein, Mr. Clapton, Mr. Knopfler, and so many others are very, very, very good and equally loved by fans, but I do not think they have covered the wide array of styles, nor have they made continuous music for as long a time, nor have they seamlessly blended into whatever they were doing as well as Chet Atkins. Remember, my opinion really only works for me.

[mr2a]

I guess that I've been fortunate to see a few Guitar Greats....saw Stevie Ray Vaughn in one of his very last concerts....I saw Jeff Beck in Concert, B.B. King was amazing and so was the The Edge of U2 and here's a surprising one....Dave Davies of the Kinks.

[oldbuckster]

I guess that I've been fortunate to see a few Guitar Greats....saw Stevie Ray Vaughn in one of his very last concerts....I saw Jeff Beck in Concert, B.B. King was amazing and so was the The Edge of U2 and here's a surprising one....Dave Davies of the Kinks.

EDGE has his own sound.........Dave Davies is a great guitarist, very under-rated, no surprise to Kinks fans......

[germerikan]

I think you would have to make a type of "Oscar" for this thread. Best rock, Best blues, best classic each type of music has their own "best"

Some of my favorites in random order:

Les Paul, Al Die Meola, Henndrix, Beck, SRV, Leo Kottke.............and the list would probably not stop........

Not to forget the old masters of Flamenco......

Randy

[TheEAR]

Jimmy Hendrix ...Stevie Ray Vaughan ...Eric Clapton ...Mark Knopfler ...Carlos Santana ...John Petrucci ...Joe Satriani ... Steve Vai ... B.B King ... Eric Johnson my favorite electric guitar masters

Just a few greats...

Best electric guitar players...where are the acoustic guitar masters? The Rolling Stone list should mention Best ELECTRIC GUITAR Players...

Acoustic guitar masters...

Andres Segovia ...Jose Feliciano ... and Tommy Emmanuel a grand grand acoustic guitar master,to hear him play is to hear greatness.Anyone forgetting these is deaf and needs to clean several pounds of ear wax out of his ears. Again there are a good few others...

[colterphoto1]

Tommy Bolin.

Thanks for the memories Steamer. Tommy was always one of my faves.

Deep Purple. Billy Cobham. James Gang. Solo. The Kid could do it all and never read a note of music. Talk about heart!

I had the good fortune to photograph the Tommy Bolin Archives tribute concerts for a few years in Denver Colorado. Got to spend some quality time with the guys from Energy, Jeff Cook, Glenn Hughes and brother Johnny Bolin (currently on tour with Black Oak Arkansas).

The most memorable thing I remember is sitting with Stanley Sheldon, who played bass with Peter Frampton during the 'Frampton Comes Alive' era (the largest selling live album of all time). Stanley was also recording with Tommy at the time. He said 'I might have been on tour with Frampton, but I was most proud to be in Tommy's band.'

Rest in Peace my Brother.

Michael

[colterphoto1]

[oldbuckster]

ESTABON.................Now there is a Guitarist...Acoustic at that.....................

[theryugobuddy]

Pat Metheny-- so many styles and such an unmistakable tone--

[emperor ming]

God so many names, I suppose if we all decided which one is the best, all would disagree. In my own world, and because i grew up listening to Pink floyd, from birth, Dave Gilmour. Still going strong, part of a musically artisitic band that was popular, through many years, till now. I have got led Zep, jimmi hendrix, and i kinda feel, I cant say that it really stands out for me. I think Led Zep became icons of a way of life that far surpassed their talent. And so, they did what was expected of them, although i love the Stones they do that too. Dave gilmour plays from the heart, Jimmy paige ended up playing from his balls, to please rock addicts. Eric Clapton made terrible solo music. I better stop before i get killed,lolol ahh well, heres some others, who i do rate very highly.

Jeff Beck ......original, and a pioneer

Joe Satriani...... until i listened to the album of his name, i thought he couldnt do emotove, but boy he has everything

eric johnson.......technically excellent, and able to change styles, and uses non bluesy scales, original

Steve Vai (Actually no, too much showmanship and with the exception, *for the love of god*, its a "look at me playing fast as a cheetah on speed")

BB King....blues master

Pat Metheny..... exceptionally talented not only in ability, but able to compose also

Narcisso Yepes......brilliant spanish callssical guitarist,

Eric Clapton, (guided by roger Waters)

Ed Wynne .............Ozrics frontman, excellent guitarist and as good a keyboard player

Bill frisell....................... unusual jazz oddity

Steve Hackett........................better than Jean michel Jarre

Jean michel Jarre...............not in the same league as Steve hackett

The Edge........................a tone all of his own, and underrated

Kim Thayil.............those riffs

Peter Green............. had he kept of the drugs, he would have made better songs then clapton did in the 70's 80's

Andy Latimer.........excellent english sounding guitarist, hardly any blues scales

Kirk hammit..................powerhouse core of one of the great rock bands, that were honest and pure, unlike Guns and bloody roses, although Slash was brill

Stevie Ray vaughn.................paved the way for so many others

Jimmy Paige............he was ok, i suppose,

[JuneBug]

After going through 12 pages of this thread, I am actually quite stunned at how insular the responses have been. Aside from a couple of plugs for Andrés Segovia and Charlie Christian, practically every response has been limited to vintage electric rock from the late 60's to the late 70's. And almost overwhelmingly American and British guitarists, at that.

I am therefore forced to try to expand the field by adding the most gifted guitarist I have ever heard, in any musical form: Paco de Lucía.

[oldtimer]

No need to be stunned. The thread starter is about all-time classic rock guitar, not about zen master guitarists of jazz, baroque, classical, flamenco, or anything else.

[SCOOTERDOG]

wow very hard indeed.

Guitarist that produces the most emotion and really can make love to his guitar...David Gilmour

and the rest are

Pete Townsend

Stevei Ray

That guy from Ten years after...you know who he is Alvin Lee

Steve Wilson

Under 3 cords Tony Iommo (is that how he spells it)

Steve Hacket Old now but awesome

Yes Jimmy Page

Hendrix of course

Crap I could go on all day and still be adding more but because each one of these exceptional guitarist have brought much joy to my life I have named them for now

scooter

[emperor ming]

After going through 12 pages of this thread, I am actually quite stunned at how insular the responses have been. Aside from a couple of plugs for Andrés Segovia and Charlie Christian, practically every response has been limited to vintage electric rock from the late 60's to the late 70's. And almost overwhelmingly American and British guitarists, at that.

I am therefore forced to try to expand the field by adding the most gifted guitarist I have ever heard, in any musical form: Paco de Lucía.

AHem, if i care to mention as i like a lot of world influences....Ravi Shankar, he plays the Sitar, amazingly...well it looks like a guitar[]

[Groomlakearea51]

Steve Miller, Joe Walsh, Justin Hayward, Jim Burton, BB King, Pete Townshend, Link Wray, Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, John McLaughlin, while maybe, maybe not... my favorite "top gun" is Duane Allman. It's that smooth, dreamy quality that simply underscored their vocals. But.. I allways liked Steve Miller. Check out "Book of Dreams". Listen to Hank Marvin of the Shadows for that "core British sound". Brian May of Queen, particularly on News of the World can do the soul good. Little Ry Cooder can help the psyche on occasion... Acoustical? Try Leo Kottke!

[TheEAR]

Yes Leo Kottke is another great guitarist. Agreed

And Jose Feliciano is the most underrated player of them all.He can play acoustic,electric ...any guitar better than most of the Rolling Stone list. Some music experts need to buy better hearing and taste.No wonder popular music of today is mostly a disgrace and pure garbage.

[pauln]

http://www.tomprincipato.com/

Never heard of him 'till I attended his CD release concert in DC last year. As a guitarist myself I was spellbound - he's a true gifted artist.

[Mighty Favog]

To me Joe Walsh just keeps getting better and better, even after all the alcohol.

Frank Zappa would actualy write down each note of all those super fast riffs he did.

[coda]

Jimi's improvisation skills were among the best . .

maybe rephrasing the question would help a bit, which guitarist would you most like to see perform live?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3981364972665945187