1. Jimi Hendrix

2. Chuck Berry

3. Keith Richards

4. Carl Perkins

5. Prince

6. Jimmy Page

7. Eddie Van Halen

8. Dave Mustaine

9. Steve Vai

10. Eric Clapton

blackbob said:

Ill never understand how chuck berry makes this lists.

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just found this while surfing ....time magazine list of the best electric guitar players and...for once...prince is included....

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and reading the comments left...its really amazing how much hate and derision there is for prince and his talent with the guitar.. ....amazing how many small minded people there are out there..

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1. Jimi Hendrix

2. Slash

3. B.B. King

4. Keith Richards

5. Eric Clapton

6. Jimmy Page

7. Chuck Berry

8. Les Paul

9. Yngwie Malmsteen

10. Prince

11. Johnny Ramone

Read more: http://www.fretbase.com/blog/2009/08/time-magazine-picks-the-10-best-electric-guitar-players-including-yngwie/#ixzz1FoqYSuqW

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SagsWay2low said:

How did Keith Richards #1) beat Prince and #2) score so high on the list?

I'm not being facetious here--I really want to know.

Right - in fact, how does Slash beat Prince - and Eric Clapton??

cfluid said:

Chuck Berry? Keith Richards? Please, Prince at number 10? Second 2 last? F this list man.

Chuck was never the best guitar player but he is arguably the most influential "rock" guitarist and he did as much, probably more, as anyone to put the guitar in the forefront of rock music. He deserves his place on the list.

rialb said:

cfluid said:

Chuck Berry? Keith Richards? Please, Prince at number 10? Second 2 last? F this list man.

Chuck was never the best guitar player but he is arguably the most influential "rock" guitarist and he did as much, probably more, as anyone to put the guitar in the forefront of rock music. He deserves his place on the list.

yes, definitely. The lists are often not clear about what they are, though.

Some lists say "greatest." Some say "most influential." This list says "best" and includes several that are not close to the best.

"Best" to me says technique & execution, not style and influence.

blackbob said:



.

.

just found this while surfing ....time magazine list of the best electric guitar players and...for once...prince is included....

.

and reading the comments left...its really amazing how much hate and derision there is for prince and his talent with the guitar.. ....amazing how many small minded people there are out there..

.

.

1. Jimi Hendrix

2. Slash

3. B.B. King

4. Keith Richards

5. Eric Clapton

6. Jimmy Page

7. Chuck Berry

8. Les Paul

9. Yngwie Malmsteen

10. Prince

11. Johnny Ramone

Read more: http://www.fretbase.com/blog/2009/08/time-magazine-picks-the-10-best-electric-guitar-players-including-yngwie/#ixzz1FoqYSuqW

.

.

.

I would've kept most of the this list intact, adding Stevie Ray Vaughn, Santana, and Prince near the top. Stevie Ray Vaughn, especially, was amazing on guitar.

ParanoidAndroid said:

Spinlight said:

I would've said Jimmy Page or Santana. Not sure why Slash is up there or why Keith Richards is up there. I would not consider them top 10..... This is a strange list.

At least there's no Kurt Cobain

I couldn't agree more. Depressed millionaire junkie, blows his own head off, leaving his kids with Courtney Love...? Guy was a complete loser. 'Sorry kids, daddy's too sad. Oh and mommy's a crackhead too, so good luck'. Boo fucking hoo.

XNY said:

ParanoidAndroid said:

Spinlight said: At least there's no Kurt Cobain

I couldn't agree more. Depressed millionaire junkie, blows his own head off, leaving his kids with Courtney Love...? Guy was a complete loser. 'Sorry kids, daddy's too sad. Oh and mommy's a crackhead too, so good luck'. Boo fucking hoo.

I don't agree with anything you said EXCEPT that he does not belong on a list of the greatest guitar players

Any "best" or "greates" guitarist list that does not include Santana or Eddie Hazel lacks credibility to me. Ranking Prince lower than Slash, Keith Richards and most of the others on that list is equally ridiculous. Ernie Isley is miles beyond Keith Richards and he never gets any recognition on these kinds of lists. I also can't believe that Jeff Beck isn't on here.

NDRU said:

Good god, another terrible list. I guess it's not surprising coming from Time magazine. Not exactly the authoratative source for music facts.

Keith Richards is a stylish player, but damn sure not better than Eric Clapton, not to mention those following him. Yngwie is really good, but not better than Steve Vai, who is less influential than Eddie Van Halen

I like the inclusion of BB King.

But Chuck Berry, for all his influence, is not the "best" guitar player. Same category as Ramone & Richards. They belong on another list, along with Kurt Cobain & George Harrison, called "stylemakers"

Prince has no place on an all-time list such as this. He is very good, but there are dozens of players better such as Gilmour, Vai, Van Halen, Brian Setzer, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Santana, Charlie Christian, Pat Metheny, Frank Zappa, Robben Ford...

I think prince atleast deserves to be in the top 100

hhhhdmt said:

NDRU said:

Good god, another terrible list. I guess it's not surprising coming from Time magazine. Not exactly the authoratative source for music facts.

Keith Richards is a stylish player, but damn sure not better than Eric Clapton, not to mention those following him. Yngwie is really good, but not better than Steve Vai, who is less influential than Eddie Van Halen

I like the inclusion of BB King.

But Chuck Berry, for all his influence, is not the "best" guitar player. Same category as Ramone & Richards. They belong on another list, along with Kurt Cobain & George Harrison, called "stylemakers"

Prince has no place on an all-time list such as this. He is very good, but there are dozens of players better such as Gilmour, Vai, Van Halen, Brian Setzer, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Santana, Charlie Christian, Pat Metheny, Frank Zappa, Robben Ford...

I think prince atleast deserves to be in the top 100

I think that is pretty reasonable to say, certainly compared to top 10

jason7sh said:

Spinlight said:

It bugs me to see Jimi at the top of this list.

Why does it bug you? Is it because he's Black? Many of the guys on that list stole from Hendrix.

Shut the fuck up.

JoeTyler said:

I cannot believe that so-called music lovers consider music like a sport where there is a number one, a number two etc. This is so fucking stupid.

We're talking about Art. There are musicians more limited technically that express a lot more than fast metal guitarists. Why the fastest should be the greatest? And what about flamenco or bossanova guitarists? What about jazz guitarists? And classical guitar?!

These lists are just plain stupid.

I'm a guitarist myself. One thing I know is Prince has an extremely rare gift. He has the touch, the soul that many pros do not have. You either have it or you don't. You can't learn that. His rhythm guitar play is extremely precise. Moreover I am surprised nobody mentioned Prince is sometimes more adventurous on the guitar than many great bluesmen who play all their career In E mode. He has this instinctive approach of every instrument that is absolutely amazing.

For those who do not recognize his style instantly or think he cannot do any picking on the guitar, please, stop embarrassing yourselves.

Knowing that the guitar is just one side of his numerous skills is quite scary. He is a musical genius. Full stop.

And talking about the other guitarists mentioned, I just feel blessed to live in the same world as the likes of Jeff Beck, Santana, Clapton, Sylvain Luc etc I have decided a long time ago to enjoy their music rather than spending my time trying to subjectively determine who is first and who is last in my book.

ParanoidAndroid said:

JoeTyler said:

1. Jimi Hendrix

2. Chuck Berry

3. Keith Richards

4. Carl Perkins

5. Prince

6. Jimmy Page

7. Eddie Van Halen

8. Dave Mustaine

9. Steve Vai

10. Eric Clapton

This is joke. Prince better than Jimmy Page? Come on. Jimmy Page is one of the most versatile players ever. He can play in any style he wants to.

slighty random order , and Prince is more versatile than Jimmy anyway...

are you kidding me? Prince IS the one who can play ANYTHING. Jimmy sounds like and idiot when he tries (tried) to do some funk...

wasitgood4u said:

Read the original piece and it's clear the writer's into Prince: he cites not only When My Guitar gently Weeps, but also Just My Imagination!!!! (I'm sure he's the only one who got on this list on the strength of a boot!!!!):

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1916544_1921866,00.html

Amazing how much impact this boot has had, it is being mentioned nowadays a lot (also on youtube) ...indeed it is one of the most brilliant solo's ever played... they should have mentioned his work on the video 'the undertaker' as well..that's also incredible stuff...

JoeTyler said:

ParanoidAndroid said:

JoeTyler said:

slighty random order , and Prince is more versatile than Jimmy anyway...

are you kidding me? Prince IS the one who can play ANYTHING. Jimmy sounds like and idiot when he tries (tried) to do some funk...

Oh come on. Jimmy is the one. And by the way, Pagey is not just a brilliant musician and guitar player, he was even one of the GREATEST and most innovative producers. Prince is not. [Edited 3/8/11 4:51am]

Yes Jimmy is a considerably better guitarist than Prince. Prince is a better musician overall though

To have Prince on any top ten list is a joke. He is nowhere close to number 10.

Some of you are so dumb it scares the shit out of me.

hhhhdmt said:

ParanoidAndroid said:

JoeTyler said:

1. Jimi Hendrix

2. Chuck Berry

3. Keith Richards

4. Carl Perkins

5. Prince

6. Jimmy Page

7. Eddie Van Halen

8. Dave Mustaine

9. Steve Vai

10. Eric Clapton

This is joke. Prince better than Jimmy Page? Come on. Jimmy Page is one of the most versatile players ever. He can play in any style he wants to.

Yeah. I love Jimmy Page's funk guitar.

skywalker said:

i'd like to see an acoustic top 10 list. I havent seen too many acoustic players but from what i have seen of jimmy page, his acoustic playing impressed me more than his electric guitar playing, which is saying something.

hhhhdmt said:

JoeTyler said:

1. Jimi Hendrix

2. Chuck Berry

3. Keith Richards

4. Carl Perkins

5. Prince

6. Jimmy Page

7. Eddie Van Halen

8. Dave Mustaine

9. Steve Vai

10. Eric Clapton

That's a list I can better understand. Maybe a slightly different for me though. I could not believe Eddie Van Halen was not on Time's list. Shows how much they know about music.

Jimmy Page is great because of his vision and ideas. As a live player he's sloppy. Probably because of booze and drugs but he is sloppy.

Honestly any list like this is really nonsense. Are we talking best all-around player, speed, genre-based, creativity, or popularity? That's the problem.

SmiggyG said:

Spinlight said:

jason7sh said:

Why does it bug you? Is it because he's Black? Many of the guys on that list stole from Hendrix.

Shut the fuck up.

This is not even all that funny, but it made me laugh out loud for at least a minute.

joyinrepetition said:

This list is based on popularity and NOT skill. Prince is better than a number of people on that list without a doubt.

Yup, nail on the head, right there.

ohYeeeeeah said:

I cannot believe that so-called music lovers consider music like a sport where there is a number one, a number two etc. This is so fucking stupid.

We're talking about Art. There are musicians more limited technically that express a lot more than fast metal guitarists. Why the fastest should be the greatest? And what about flamenco or bossanova guitarists? What about jazz guitarists? And classical guitar?!

These lists are just plain stupid.

I'm a guitarist myself. One thing I know is Prince has an extremely rare gift. He has the touch, the soul that many pros do not have. You either have it or you don't. You can't learn that. His rhythm guitar play is extremely precise. Moreover I am surprised nobody mentioned Prince is sometimes more adventurous on the guitar than many great bluesmen who play all their career In E mode. He has this instinctive approach of every instrument that is absolutely amazing.

For those who do not recognize his style instantly or think he cannot do any picking on the guitar, please, stop embarrassing yourselves.

Knowing that the guitar is just one side of his numerous skills is quite scary. He is a musical genius. Full stop.

And talking about the other guitarists mentioned, I just feel blessed to live in the same world as the likes of Jeff Beck, Santana, Clapton, Sylvain Luc etc I have decided a long time ago to enjoy their music rather than spending my time trying to subjectively determine who is first and who is last in my book.

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up!