One question worth asking to all the internet armchair experts coming out with comments along the lines of "Kirk Hammett is sloppy" and "Hendrix was average" and so on, is, "What do you do for a living?"

For sure, you can pass an opinion on who's playing you happen to enjoy more, but please, those sort of comments are unwise, to say the least.

Those who can do, those who can't criticise.....
[Edited 12/19/09 12:24pm]

My picks are:


1.Jimi Hendrix
2.Nels Cline
3.Santana
4.Prince
5.Eddie Hazel
6.Jonny Greenwood
7.George Harrison
8.Joni Mitchell
9.David Byrne
10.Omar Lopez-Rodriguez

I don't know about best, but my favorite guitarists are:

1. B. B. King
2. Buddy Guy
3. Jimi Hendrix
4. Prince
5. Santana
6. Eddie Hazel
7. Ernie Isley
8. Muddy Waters
9. Eric Clapton
10. Vernon Reid

Honorable Mention: Jeff Beck and the old man who plays Sunday morning at my church even though he still smells of the cigarettes from the Saturday night café.

Its nice to see the last couple of people mention Buddy Guy and Omar Lopez-Rodriquez. They are a couple of my favorites, along with Jack White.
[Edited 12/19/09 22:42pm]

IDontBelieveYouHeardMe said:

The Hendrix one is, yes. Watch ANY video of Kirk Hammett not edited for their live dvds and you'll see he is a criminally sloppy player.

And I play guitar, drums and sing. What's your point?

Gohi said:

Putting it very bluntly, my point is that Kirk Hammett is a world-renowned guitarist (such that he regularly appears in these sort of "Top 10" lists), whereas you probably are not.

In any case, regardless of whether, technically, he sometimes falls below a perfect standard is neither here nor there. What matters is that he can play with feel, invention and inspiration which complements perfectly the input from Hetfield, Ulrich and Burton/Newsted/Trujillo. It is one thing to copy someone else's playing note for note, but it is quite another to be able to conjour up those riffs, solos and licks out of nowhere.

Also, your position is fairly inconsistent, as you accept that the Hendrix comments are unwise, but criticise Hammett's apparent sloppiness. If we are taking a reality check for a moment, many of the live recordings of Hendrix reveal playing that was, frequently, out of tune and out of time. This it probably because he was often either stoned, tripping, drunk or taken over by the spirit (or all four). However, there would also be moments when, well, if you've listened to enough of Jimi's live stuff then you'll already know what I'm talking about.

The short point is that while technicality is all very well (fast, clean, accurate guitar players are ten a penny), but real feel and inspiration is a gift given to many fewer players.

I used to be a full-time musician (playing, writing, recording, producing, engineering), so I have a fair idea of what I am talking about.

listen to the full hendrix woodstock show .. awesome
watch and painfully listen to metallica back up lou reed, dave davies at rock n roll hall of fame ... embarassingly bad .. there are plenty of musicians on this board well qualified beyond armchair critic to place metallica where they belong ... limited and often mediocre ... they had there moment and hit repeat ... created something interesting and promptly sold out ... skills is what is in question .. and yes there is a lot lacking with metallica and at times it is very very obvious .. its top 10 of all time not slightly better than a highschool garage band .. its too bad they hit big with something so stupid as enter sandman ... master and kill had some cool moments always liked motorbreath but never ever dug kirks solos ... usually they were just fluff ... couple of good hotel california like moments but no not top 10 level by far

not seeing a lot of love for Jesse Johnson in here.

thats a shame.

i think Robby Krieger also deserves a mention when talking about top guitarists

How about from an entertainment perspective? sure, it doesn't contribute to the sound but i personally love seeing Prince spinning around with a guitar, sticking the neck between his legs, 'dancing' while playing etc.

Much more fun than a lot of these crusty, stiff old fellas.

Isn't that part of what makes him great? that and he's technically brilliant too.

In no special order...

1. Roger Troutman(the BEST rhythm guitarist that ever lived).
2. Charlie Christian
3. T-Bone Walker
4. Jimi Hendrix
5. Ernie Isley
6. Jesse Johnson
7. Santana
8. Eddie Hazel
9. George Benson
10. Jeff Beck

And can you believe that Rolling Stone had P off there list of Top 100 guitarists!

love andy summers

jdcxc said:

There was so much wrong with that list, they had to do it over again!!!

My list in no particular order would be:

Jimi Hendrix
Jimmy Page
Prince
Eric Clapton
Buddy Guy
Jeff Beck
Santana
David Gilmour
B.B. King
Stevie Ray Vaughan

Marrk said:

TrevorAyer said:

Kirk Hammett wasn't in my top 10 (I only gave him a special mention)

I've seen Prince live 12 times.
I've seen Jack White live 6 times.
As a live guitarist Jack White beats Prince every single time.

jack white don't know how to play guitar,

Gohi said:

Gotta say I agree KH is highly overrated... and it's shameful that the players on the Org underrate Prince 2 this degree. Prince is a Monster, period.

...and while I'm talking about who is overrated, I'll just say the respect 4 Slash baffles me. Folks talk about him as if he were a pioneer on guitar.

...and underestimating or disregarding P's skills on guitar, is as foolish and blind and deaf as disregarding Stevie's skills on keys, or Dinah Washington's singing.

Just 1 more thing... Jeff Beck deserves 2 be on any list of guitarists. Food 4 thought: Emotive players respect and love other emotive players. Marinate in that 4 a minute.

Yeah, I submitted this months ago when it was new. But it wasn't posted.

Good to see get some mainstream recognition for his considerable guitar skills.

Been meaning to ask, and this seems the ideal thread for it: Is "Come On" the only Prince song to feature slide guitar on it?

threadbare Prince is playing slide guitar solo on one song on Rebels Project

thebanishedone said:

Oh yeah, he does.

no Jack White don't have a clue about guitar playing,he is so overrated here is the proof:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...aiBb1rEWY4