according to digital dream door. http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_newguitar.html -- 1. Jimi Hendrix* - Jimi Hendrix Experience 2. Eric Clapton - Yardbirds, Cream, Derek & The Dominos, Solo 3. Jimmy Page - Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, The Firm 4. Jeff Beck - Yardbirds, Jeff Beck Group, Solo 5. Eddie Van Halen - Van Halen 6. Stevie Ray Vaughan* - Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble 7. Joe Satriani - Solo, Rainbow 8. Ritchie Blackmore - Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blackmores Night 9. Steve Vai - David Lee Roth, Whitesnake, Solo 10. David Gilmour - Pink Floyd, Solo 11. John Petrucci - Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment 12. Randy Rhoads* - Quiet Riot, Ozzy 13. Allan Holdsworth - Solo 14. Paul Gilbert - Mr. Big, Racer X, Solo 15. Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force, Solo 16. Phil Keaggy - Glass Harp, Solo 17. Jason Becker - Cacophony, David Lee Roth Band, Solo 18. John Mclaughlin- Mahavishnu Orchestra 19. Duane Allman* - Allman Brothers Band, Derek & the Dominos 20. Chuck Berry - Solo 21. Eric Johnson - Solo 22. Steve Howe - Yes, Solo 23. Neal Schon - Santana, Journey, Solo 24. Brian May - Queen 25. Gary Moore - Thin Lizzy, Colosseum II, Skid Row, Solo 26. Bo Diddley - Solo 27. Steve Morse - Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse Band, Solo 28. Carlos Santana - Santana 29. Tony Iommi - Black Sabbath 30. Buckethead - Solo, Praxis, Thanatopsis, The Deli Creeps, Cornbugs, GNR, 31. Mark Knopfler - Dire Straits, Solo 32. Marty Friedman - Cacophony, Megadeth, Solo 33. Nuno Bettencourt - Extreme, Mourning Widows 34. Shawn Lane* - Black Oak Arkansas, Willy, Solo 35. Kirk Hammett - Metallica 36. Uli Jon Roth - Scorpions, Solo 37. Terry Kath* - Chicago Transit Authority 38. Alex Lifeson - Rush 39. Frank Zappa* - Mothers of Invention, Solo 40. Rory Gallagher* - Solo 41. Dimebag Darrell* - Pantera 42. Peter Green - Fleetwood Mac, Solo 43. Robin Trower - Procal Harum, Solo 44. Slash - Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver 45. Mick Taylor - John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Rolling Stones 46. Robert Fripp - King Crimson 47. Tom Morello - Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave 48. Michael Schenker - Scorpions, UFO, MSG, Contraband 49. Ry Cooder - Solo 50. Angus Young - AC/DC 51. Keith Richards - Rolling Stones, Solo 52. Michael Angelo Batio - Nitro, Solo 53. John Squire - Stone Roses 54. Pete Townshend - The Who 55. Steve Hackett - Genisis 56. Zakk Wylde - Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society 57. George Harrison* - Beatles, Traveling Wilberys, Solo 58. Alvin Lee - Ten Years After 59. Dave Davies - Kinks 60. Jerry Cantrell - Alice In Chains, Solo 61. Steve Stevens - Billy Idol 62. Johnny Winter - Solo 63. Dickie Betts - Allman Brothers Band, Dickey Betts & Great Southern 64. John Cipollina* - Quicksilver Messenger Service 65. Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band 66. Steve Cropper - Booker T. & MG's/Stax sessions 67. Adrian Belew - King Crimson 68. Joe Bonamassa - Solo 69. Steve Lukather - Toto, Solo 70. Jerry Garcia* - Grateful Dead 71. Joe Perry - Aerosmith 72. Prince - Prince & The Revolution 73. Kim Mitchell - Max Webster, Solo 74. Adrian Smith - Iron Maiden 75. Dave Murray - Iron Maiden 76. Neil Young - Buffalo Springfield, CSNY, Solo 77. Billy Gibbons - ZZ Top 78. Tony MacAlpine - Solo 79. Mike McCready - Pearl Jam 80. Adam Jones - Tool 81. Gary Hoey - Solo 82. Leslie West - Mountain, Solo 83. Peter Frampton - Humble Pie, Frampton's Camel, Solo 84. Dick Dale - Del-Tones 85. Vito Bratta - White Lion 86. Mickey "Guitar" Baker - 50's sessions/ Mickey & Sylvia 87. John Frusciante - Red Hot Chili Peppers 88. Ronnie Montrose - Montrose, Edgar Winter Group 89. Mick Ronson* - David Bowie, Solo 90. Roy Buchanan* - Solo 91. Warren Haynes - Allman Brothers Band, Gov't Mule 92. Vinnie Moore - Alice Cooper, Solo 93. Robbie Krieger - Doors, Solo 94. Chris DeGarmo - Queensryche 95. Jake E. Lee - Cutting Crew, Ozzy, Badlands, Solo 96. Glen Tipton - Judas Priest 97. Joe Walsh - James Gang, Eagles, Solo 98. K.K. Downing - Judas Priest 99. Eddie Hazel* - Funkadelic 100. Alex Skolnick - Testament
andy mccoy? hello where are you? they need to switch out steve stevens @61 w/ Johnny Thunders ron wood (faces/stones) ???
I show my own bias, but any guitarist list with Zappa not in the top 10, much less top 5, is suspect at best. Especially if they have Carlos Santana rated above him. Listen to Frank's song, "Variations on the Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression" for further discussion.
An utterly worthless list from an utterly stupid source. Digital Dream Door isn't dreaming here....they are hallucinating.
As long as they leave Hendrix #1 the rest can be debated. But what about the guy who does that slide work for Lynard Skynard - you know that Free Bird solo stuff?
Please don't flame me, but..... Does anyone else thing Jimmy Page is a little overrated as a guitarist?
Somewhat. I think, for the most part, he wrote guitar parts better than he played them, with a few exceptions. I can tell you this....of all of the old-time rock greats that are still alive (Clapton, Keith Richards, Carlos Santana, etc.) I feel Jimmy Page's skills have eroded the most. I watched a VH1 special with him and Robert Plant two years ago, and I felt embarassed for Jimmy Page.
What about Tom Morello and The Edge? Two of the most original and innovative guitar players of our time. Morello at 45 and The edge not even there. I guess you could put the Edge in a different category but harrison berry and richards are here. The rankings are definetely horrendous.
Frank Zappa is not in the top 10????? also, Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers) is better than at least 20% of those guys.
Yeah,Hendrix is the vituoso...in a league by himself. I'm with you on Alex.I understand why they put him lower,but it doesn't sit well with me either.Rush has been a 3 man model of consistency for 3 decades.(although I must confess I listen to the earlier stuff) What praytell is Pete Townshend doing way down at 54?Keith Richards is 51?Billy Gibbons at 77?Krieger at 94?
post '73 Page starts getting pretty sloppy, although the writing is still top notch. Page '73 and before is pure greatness though, and more than makes up for his sloppy playing afterwards..... you can pretty much blame the excessive amounts of heroin for his decline. how bout the Yardbirds having 3 of the top 5! and duane allman and dickie betts should be higher up.
Overall, my top 10 stays much the same (I've never been a Blackmore fan), just a different order: 1. Jeff Beck 2. Steve Vai 3. Eddie Van Halen 4. Eric Clapton 5. David Gilmour 6. Stevie Ray Vaughan 7. Jimi Hendrix 8. Joe Satriani 9. Randy Rhoads 10. Jimmy Page I totally agree, ima_drummer2k, but I stll admit he's top-10 worthy. Actually, the biggest crime on this list is: He's HIGHLY underrated as a guitarist. If you hear him rip live, you'd agree he's top-20 or even top-15 material.
I've seen that list many times before and I don't have a problem with the top 10 although at one time I felt that Clapton was too high (but I don't feel that way anymore). For spots 11-100, that list is highly debateable and subjective in my eyes. One of my all-time favorite quotes was what Jimmy Page said about Jeff Beck: "When he's on, he's the best we got."
Oh, hell yeah. Prince could play circles around most people on this list. That guy is sick to watch. When he solos, it doesn't even look like he's playing. He makes it look so easy that it looks like he's playing air-guitar. And his solos are always SMOKING.
Fixed. A lot of the guys on the big list are technically proficient, but few developed a "sound" or provided true innovations. As for my list, if Hendrix is the Babe Ruth of rock guitarists, Chuck is the Abner Doubleday. Knopfler's amazing. Harrison is here not so much for skill, but what he brought to the music, including a bunch of new influences like the sitar which were not around before he showed up. Santana also brought a new flavor to rock, Zappa is out there. I think Frampton still has the largest selling album of any guitar soloist and some of the stuff sounded amazing when it came out, even if it is now a bit trite after years of repitition and he killed his career by doing a movie with the Bee Gees.., and some of his stuff for Pie is great. Eddie, Billy, Alex, and Johnny I want to group together because they are all amazing technically and I think they are on the cusp of being innovators, but don't quite make it... unlike May who merged classical and rock as well as anyone, Betts with rock and country and Jazz, or even Pete who's songwriting and playing style maove him up in my mind.
