Your Top 5 Guitarists

Hendrix
Fripp
Richard Bishop
Pete Cosey
Tom Carter

There’s more than one way to be a great guitarist.

Great guitarists that had the good fortune to play on great records:
Jimmy Page
Lyndsey Buckingham
Jimi Hendrix
Robert Fripp
David Gilmour

Great guitarists that redefined the possibilities of the instrument:
Allan Holdsworth
Lenny Breau
John McLaughlin
Julian Lage
Jeff Beck

what on earth is hendrix doing in that first list and not the second

D Boon
Robert Fripp
Sonny Sharrock
Nels Cline
Frank Zappa

Xpost flappybird, of course some people could be on both lists. But you’d rather be on this first wouldn’t you?

might agree with you if not for Band of Gypsys, specifically "Machine Gun."

Daniel Fichelscher
Keith Rowe
Jimi Hendrix
Buck Dharma
Michio Kurihara

Machine Gun redefined the guitar, no question. Mainly trying to get at the idea that there are guitarists that make great records and there are guitarists that are only(?) are great at playing the guitar and ranking them in the same list is jarring to me.

Sterling Morrison
Nels Cline
Dave Rawlings
Matt & Bubba Kadane
Prince

xpost
I thought the idea here was more listing “favorites” than ranking “best/greatest/etc.” (may be wrong tho)

Dave Rawlings
Slash
David Gilmour
Jimi Hendrix
And since “Ball and Biscuit” popped up on shuffle today, Jack White

But do people really think their favorites aren’t the greatest? Why else would they be your favourites?

proustian association with favored memories

Which is a perfectly good definition of great in my book.

Tuca
John McGeoch
Robin Guthrie
Jimi Hendrix
Martyn Bates
Geordie Walker

your memories are yours, my memories are mine. "greatest" seems like the wrong word. xp

Sure, great is subjective, of course it is.

Well, for example, I wouldn’t try argue that someone like Mayo T. is a “great” gtrist in any conventional sense... but I love his playing style so much! Meanwhile, there are many “great” players whose playing style and music don’t connect with me... I guess that’s the distinction.

Sure. There’s more than one way to be great.

Just off the top. . .

Robert Smith
John Martyn
Vini Reilly
Steve Tibbetts
Archy Marshall

First 5 that come to mind:

Bill Harkleroad
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Hubert Sumlin
Leonid Soybelman
Maybelle Carter

Ritchie Blackmore
Jimi Hendrix
John McLaughlin
Eddie Van Halen
Vinnie Vincent

Richard Thompson
Scotty Moore
John Fahey
Robert Quine
Peter Buck

Ricky Wilson
Tom Verlaine
Richard Thompson
Robert Fripp
Richard Pinhas

Kinda surprised no Iommis or Hammetts!

I think Shakey said Iommi in the thread that prompted this thread. and I'd pick Hetfield over Hammett.

David Gilmour
Robert Fripp
Graham Coxon
Nile Rogers
Peter Buck

*Rodgers

Shocked at how often Gilmour is mentioned.

he's great but I'm shocked he's one of the most listed guitarists here, if not the most listed?

Forcing myself to a strict "no dead people" list:

Mary Halvorson
Vernon Reid
Bill Orcutt
Mike Scheidt
Steffen Basho-Junghans

List subject to change on an hourly basis. I met the future of guitar recently, but she's not there yet so will brag at the proper moment.

sam mcgee
riley puckett
maybelle carter
elizabeth cotten
mississippi john hurt

5 not yet mentioned

sabicas
blind blake
blind willie johnson
hans reichel
charlie patton

Damn, Ricky Wilson (B-52s) such a good choice

from the Blues era I think Mississippi Fred McDowell has to be mentioned on this thread.

Honestly this thread bums me out. Even choosing 5 I was well aware I left out Mississippi John hurt, Guthrie, dude from melt banana etc

JIm Duckworth
Kaiji Haino
D.O. Misiani
Mike Wilhelm
Ron Asheton
Jorma Kaukonen
Bert Jansch
John Renbourn
Davy Graham

Christ I dunno, howsabout...

Ali Farka Toure
Steffen Basho Junghans
Curt Kirkwood
Rick Bishop
Michio Kurihara

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c7/c4/2f/c7c42f7cb66cbebdb5dff0a80452b27e.jpg

oh my god RICKY WILSON mea culpa

I enjoy

Ernest Ranglin
Larry Coryell
Marc Ribot
Jeff Parker
Franco
Dr Nico
Phil Upchurch

Some more: Richard Thompson, Tom Verlaine, Phil Manzanera, Martin Carthy, Daniel Fichelscher...

... Keith Rowe, Syd Barrett, Eddie Hazel...

Bernard Sumner
Tony Iommi
Matt Pike
Kurt Cobain
Sir Richard Bishop

Josh Homme
Kim Thayil
Greg Ginn
Randy Rhoads
Joe Perry

David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Gilmour

mostly ppl i try to emulate playing guitar

jorge ben
nile rodgers
john fahey
kevin shields
joao gilberto

my man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb9dg1R1oPA

Johnny Marr
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Kevin Shields
Anna Calvi
Dave Longstreth

Feel it's pertinent to say that I do play guitar myself.

I'm glad there's already a little bit of Ricky Wilson love in this thread.

Ricky Wilson
Ty Tabor
EVH
Ernie Isley
The Edge (1979-89 primarily)

if only he'd had the decency to die in 1970 this thread could have looked very different

Jimi Hendrix
Pete Townshend
Phil Manzanera
Marc Bolan
Keith Richards

Clapton was always pretty unremarkable, though. He was only good when he was in the company of good musicians.

i want to add Syd Barrett to my list. truly one of a kind as a songwriter and as a lead/rhythm guitarist. "Interstellar Overdrive" is a voyage and i have always deeply loved the spy surf lead in "Lucifer Sam" as well.

his solo albums really highlight his unique guitar. "Long Gone" has a really nice descending waltz thing going on (with a Floydian "I stood very still by the window sill" line not far from DSOTM).

recently discovering the early PF track "Walk With Me Sydney" was a lot of fun. it's this silly rock n roll pop song about a character who is like a teenage idol but there is something wrong w him. the rhythm guitar alternate between a Merseybeat/60s pop swing and Syd's unique bizarrely twangy solos that seem to twist into existence like a stretched spring. despite being mad or otherwise mentally impaired he has incredible mastery over his instrument, bending notes with precision, slinking up and down the fretboard like a snake or possibly a strange fod.

fog

love walk with me sydney!

syd was an incredibly original guitarist whether acoustic or electric. if only there were more recordings of him taking off live.

Boring and off the top of my head:

D Boon
Robbie Basho
Sonny Sharrock
Daniel Fichelscher
Neil Young

post-punk division since someone else did it and it's interesting:

d boon
curt kirkwood
craig scanlon
andy from the ex and dog faced hermans
richard bishop

Craig Scanlon! <3

James Honeyman-Scott. One of the saddest rock casualties, died at 25 after making two (incredible) records with the Pretenders. that first LP is just fucking perfect, and his guitar work is a big part of it.

syd was an incredibly original guitarist whether acoustic or electric.

Wolfpack ftw

Still waiting on imago to come back with some guy who plays a microtonal 33 string electric lute.

Mick Taylor was damn good on his Stones run, especially on “knockin” obviously and “time waits”

and with Mayall. Blues from Laurel Canyon is all-time.

Wata
Carrie Brownstein
PJ Harvey
Cat Power*
Michael and/or John Gibbons**

* I guess more for a songwriting standpoint -- her songs aren't complex but man they sound so good.
** I don't know which one does what on Bardo records.

Not a top 5 but I'd add:

Mike Bloomfield
Terje Rypdal
Ralph Towner
Julian Bream
John Abercrombie