Top 5 favorite guitarists

[bruno]

Unsure if this will be contentious, but what the 'eck.
 

Who is the greatest guitarist ever? This is an impossible question, as how do you quantify.

The better question is, imo, who are your favorite and most influential players.

I have been thinking about this for a while, and it will be different for each of us. Here's my top 5, no particular order:

1. David Gilmour - responsible for some of the most memorable solos ever. Impeccable playing and style and Floyd were the first band i really got into.
2. Steve Lukather - Toto guitarist and awesome player, so much to learn from this guy. Great tone, and superb rhythm player. I have and love his signature guitar as well, a total beast of an instrument.
3. Nuno Bettencourt - the Extreme guitarist, he always puts a smile on my face, love the funk. I always wanted to play midnight express - I got close but could never quite nail it :-)
4. Eric Johnson - such a lyrical player with an awesome tone.
5. Alex Lifeson - the less celebrated part of the trio - but his open voicings and different approach is something I still gravitate to.

I always describe myself as a child of Blackmore - however, he didn't quite make the cut. Perhaps next time.
What's yours?

B

[BerryPatch]

Great list Bruno! If I would have to choose my list for my favourites it might go something like this. As you said, in no particular order...

1. David Gilmour - His solos were partially the reason I got into playing guitar. I was blown away when I first heard the soloing in Dogs, I never thought the guitar could be so emotive. Absolutely perfect in what he does, melodic soloing with a blues edge with stellar tone.

2. George Harrison - What else can I say that hasn't already been said? Although he was never a massive improv guy such as Clapton, he was very creative in the parts he played and it always seemed like he really put the time and effort into making every solo spot he had as memorable and musical as he could. If there is one guitarist I "strive to be" it's probably him. Immaculate tone and melodic playing (his slide work of course is off the charts too, definitely my favourite style of that kind of playing).

3. Robert Fripp - He's a guy who always seemed to "under-sell" himself. Many of his guitar parts are incredibly unorthodox, especially for the time frame he played in but he always knew just what to do at the right time. For King Crimson having a reputation of being a "dissonant/clinical" band his solos many times were absolutely beautiful and all his own. His singing tone he got is a wonderful thing and even when he did get "atonal" it always suited the music.

4. Tony Iommi - Talk about a visionary, this dude pretty much birthed half of metal in his run! While perhaps a bit of a one trick pony compared to Page, his ability to create such chilling riffs such as "Snowblind" and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", he takes the cake for me. His tone was immense and his fast bluesy, soloing as so him...

5. John McLaughlin - This dude was just a force of nature, he essentially wrote the book on virtuoso guitar playing in the early 70s. The Inner Mounting Flame album is an amazing, throughly intense listen front to back. His work with Miles Davis is also great. I can't begin to try to play like he played...

[alfstone]

1) John McLaughlin
2) John Renbourn
3) Joe Pass
4) Tommy Emmanuel
5) Frank Zappa

Alfredo

[Mike_S]

1. Rory Gallagher - for his passion and fearlessness on the instrument. Took chances, didn't care if he hit the odd duff note or missed a string etc. But the music lived and breathed and was/is incredible
2. Mark Knopfler - totally original sound, beautiful player
3. Peter Green - I always become kinda hypnotised listening to Peter
4. Jeff Beck - just amazing
5. Johnny Marr - made rhythm guitar come alive in a way others had not done before, hats off

Not sure why I am not putting Jimi Hendrix in here. I think I might have just heard his songs too much at this point. A bit unfair really... sorry Jimi!

And again same as you Bruno feel bad not having Ritchie Blackmore on here... amazing solos, original sound and almost worth it for his playing on Rainbow Rising alone

[StephenM]

This is a fun post Bruno!  Why not?  But it would be hard to pick just 5... and I could say that I might replace Nuno with Eddie VH and that could be my list but I am going to go here...first though it has been fun reading these and the comments so far... and Frank Zappa made one list!  Wow... that is cool...

1.  Neal Schon- played professionally with Santana as a young teen and then helped form the (at that time) the physcadelic/prog rock band Journey and then took them into new horizons as a heavy pop rock band and one of the greatest US bands ever.  He can play most any style very well but his ability to rock your ass off with such melody is amazing.... and he also had another band that rocked call HSAS (Hagar, Schon, Aaronson, and Shreve).

2.  Steve Lukather- you have to be good to be asked to play on Michael Jackson's Thriller album.  Toto was largely a result of his efforts and he can flat out rock with anyone... what a guitarist... If you never heard the songs "White Sister" or "All Us Boys" you are missing out.

3.  Steve Howe- Asia is a top 5 band for me largely because I loved John Wetton as a singer/songwriter/bassist.  However when you played in bands like Yes and Asia and GTR you gotta be great and he is.  I doubt I need to write anything else...the guy could play anything I think

4.  Mick Jones- I think the man was very underrated as a guitarist.  I don't like him that much as a person from what I know of him but I loved how he took Foreigner to the top.  He is an exceptional rhythm player and the stuff he came up with was amazing.

5.  Billy Gibbons-  I love this guy way too much... hell, he got tone, he could make a few notes so grand... and man could he boogie.

others I love: 

Steve Miller- You never really know how good he is until you see him live and still doing it in his 70's.  A real master of style and performance.

Alex Lifeson- Very creative and very different.  could easily have been in top 5.  I love Rush... all 3 of them were just superb.

Kerry Livgren and Rich Williams of Kansas.  Kerry was a multi instrumentalist but he was way underrated as a guitarist and he was a prolific songwriter.  Rich is a damn guitar pirate... amazing tone and some amazing playing in his own way.

Pretty much all Skynards guitarists.

Rik Emmitt of Triumph- how can you play like that and sing at the same time and do both at the very highest levels...

There are many others but hey... I am sure I will go, man I forgot someone... and yes I did... many of them....lol

[kenny mac]

1. Mick ronson, my kind of players
Play a melody within a song ,not a million notes together but a melodic tonal aproach. Ronson was a genius.
2. Jeff lynne, very underrated guitar player.
3. Neil schon, again a melodic aproach to guitar leads.
4. The edge,quite simply no one sounds like him and his innovative  aproach to guitar is amazing.
5.Tom scholtz
Innovative, melodic and clever.

[StephenM]

1. Mick ronson, my kind of players
Play a melody within a song ,not a million notes together but a melodic tonal aproach. Ronson was a genius.
2. Jeff lynne, very underrated guitar player.
3. Neil schon, again a melodic aproach to guitar leads.
4. The edge,quite simply no one sounds like him and his innovative  aproach to guitar is amazing.
5.Tom scholtz
Innovative, melodic and clever.

this is a great list... The Edge was innovative as heck, he gets slammed but that is not right...
Tom Sholz also a genius ...

[chapperz66]

Ritchie Blackmore
Michael Schenker
Joe Satriani
Tommy Emmanuel
Gary Moore


I'm pretty certain that I could come up with 5 different lists of 5.  How could I leave out John Petrucci, Brian May, Steve Vai, Joe Bonamassa, Nuno, Ronnie Montrose, Al DiMeola and many others?

Just went with my first thoughts.

[Greeny]

An interesting question - I've been mulling it over a few days. I've gone MOSTLY for the guitarists who've influenced me the most, as opposed to players like Hendrix, Mick Ronson, Peter Green, Jimmy Page, and Mark Knopfler, all of whom I love and admire for purely musical reasons.

1. John McGeoch - mainly for his work in Siouxsie and the Banshees and on the first Visage Album, both of which are an incredible influence. His playing and tone on Siouxsie's 'Spellbound' is what I wanted to sound like even before I played guitar.

2. Johnny Marr - perfect tones, layering and composition. I'll never tire of his work with The Smiths.

3. George Harrison - always serves the song with sensitivity and imagination.

4. The Edge - just amazing that his huge sound carries the band on it's own - no need for another guitarist. And even more spectacular live. His work on the live album 'Under a Blood Red Sky' is a huge influence.

5. Dave Gilmour - nothing needs to be said on that. Just sublime.

And a special mention for Jeff "Skunk" Baxter who did my all-time favourite guitar solo on 'Rikki Don't Lose that Number'.

[Blooby]

Today:
John McLaughlin
Phil Keaggy
Jack Pearson
Joe Pass
Jeff Beck

Tomrrow:
Steve Howe
Michael Hedges
Derek Trucks
Chet Atkins
Michael Lee Firkins

Next week:
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