[MUSIC] Rolling Stone's Best Guitarist of all Time

#1 is actually this guy. This is what happens when Koreans play guitar instead of starcraft

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I believe it was Pete Townshend who said the first time he every saw Hendrix play, he thought that was pretty much the end of his own career. It was just on a completely different level to anything anyone else was doing at the time.

I think the fact that you can listen to Hendrix today, all these decades on, and nothing has surpassed it, that says a lot.

 

I am an unabashed blues guitar freak and have been since you parents were in diapers, I love Clapton but I can list 20 Blues guys that can shred every but as well. (maybe I will below) When I watched the Chicago Crossroads Festival DVD the guy that blew me away was John Mayer. I don't like his pop, I don't like his old man with a cigar singing style but the dude could play like crazy and shines best on the TRIO CD with Pino Palladino and Steve Jordan.

Blues Guitarist that KIL

SRV
Jimmy Vaughn (most feeling, fewest notes)
Michael Burks
Anson Funderburgh
Smokin' Joe Kubek
Chris Duarte'
Dan Auerbach
Gary Moore
Buddy Guy
Gary Clark Jr.
Johnny Winter
Freddie King
Joe Bonamassa
Sonny Landreth
Eric Johnson
Bonnie Raitt
Joe Louis Walker
Jonny Lang
Walter Trout
Robin Trower
Ronnie Baker Brooks
Tab Benoit
Tinsley Ellis
Tommy Castro


How many is that?....Shredders deluxe one and all.

 

My opinion is Alex Lifeson is a top 50 player. He has a natural gift for playing guitar that is primarily instinctual and driven by emotion. The way this guy can just pick up a guitar and play for hours stuff that makes total musical sense basically jamming and improvising his way through it is just incredible. I think there are many of those players above him who couldn't match up with Alex on talent and ability if they squared off. I don't get how he is barely making the list at #98.

 

Well, I would say he is overshadowed by his band mates and that leads to him not getting his due. His early playing is a mix of Page, Clapton, Beck and Hendrix. From 2112 on his style developed into it's own and started to influence others like Kirk Hammett.

 

ill take chickenfoot over van hagar, but never, ever, ever, ever over this version of van halen.

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It was Eric Clapton that said it but he was with somebody else, maybe Townshend. I remember watching a video on it in an american popular music class.

 

internets is serious stuff.:grin:

you know if you did kill me that would mean that every time i cried it would literally be tears in heaven...that would be sweet!

and whats up w/ wanting to pee on me there r. kelly? you realize you would be arrested not only for assault, but for public urination? do you really want that on your record?

 

This kid is awesome!
Reminds me of this....

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i love the edge - i wouldnt up him up there w/ the best, but as a guitar player he is definitely one of my top 3-4 influences and the dude whose tone i try to emulate over anyone else...in other words, my delay pedal is usually on when im playing.

 

Well, if Surfguy is going to chime in with Alex, of course I have to chime in with Andy.

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its a date! babyicedog is serving up knuckle sandwiches w/ a side order of piss! lets go get some!

 

He can jam the ukulele better than 99% of modern guitarists.

 

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Pontless lists are pointless.... and out of line comments are out of line, but chalk me up thinking Zappa, Lifeson, and Buckethead should get more props. Also, I second the Kottke vote.

And since Roy made it in here, I figure Jerry Reed could get a little love too. dude wrote some incredible songs for Guitar, just ask Chet Atkins.

 

I'm kind of surprised by the love that Alex Lifeson is getting - I mean, I don't think he's terrible but I've never thought he deserved to be in the discussion for all-time greats (numbered or otherwise). He seems more workmanlike, like a good craftsman who has strong technique but lacks the creativity that defines a great musician. And he's always seemed a bit like a mirror, reflecting the current trends in guitar while never really owning or redefining them. Plus, I've never liked any of his solos - they never seemed to gel to my ears.

That being said, I don't know whether all this is due to his own limitations or the unceasing hyperactivity of Geddy and Neil (plus the fact that they share songwriting credits makes it hard to discern who is the real creative force of the band). It could be that he's just a team player type who's content to do what's needed and nothing more.

 

While I wouldn't put him top ten either, I think his creativity is his strong point, personally, and particularly his soloing. While all your words make sense, it sounds like they're coming from someone that really doesn't know his work that well. Maybe I'm wrong, I reserve that right, and people disagree on things, especially things like this. The last thing I would say about him is that he is content to only do what is needed, but again, maybe it's just that we differ, and not that you have absolutely no clue what you're talking about.

 

Chris Broderick from Megadeth (and Dave Mustaine too) is pretty damn amazing.

 

I was heavy into Rush as a teenager, but probably haven't listened to them that frequently since. Still, I would say that I'm pretty familiar with all the albums through Roll the Bones (the 70s albums more so than the 80s though), and I've read dozens of interviews with all of them (so I at least know where they're coming from). Yet nothing Lifeson has played has ever really stood out and made me say "cool." Again, he seems more of a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none type, and lacks a uniqueness that defines the best players. That's a matter of opinion, granted, but I haven't seen that many opinions differing from mine either. So I think there's something to my observation.

In a way, however, his lack of uniqueness probably has helped the band's longevity. If he still played with the same style that he did back in the 70s, the band would probably have ended long ago. But as I said before, his playing has always been somewhat of a mirror of the times - his 70s sound is very much hard rock, while his 80s sound is clearly strongly influenced by new wave, and so on. You can't necessarily say the same about the other two (especially Neil - Geddy did get a sharper 80s bass sound for awhile there).