The Greatest Guitarist Of All Time

[robwebster]

Thank you for voting!
Dave Mustaine  50.14%  (1,820 votes)
John Petrucci  49.86%  (1,810 votes)
Total Votes: 3,630

Aaaaaarg - there's ten votes in it!

[ReaPsTA]

I did what I could.

[Rattlehead]

My initial gut reaction in terms of pure playing ability is definitely Petrucci. He can play faster, cleaner, smoother, and more varied stuff than Mustaine does (not to knock either Dave or his songwriting - I love Megadeth). However.....

"Aside from how good a player is at his or her given style, here are some things to take into consideration:

• Influence: Who inspired more kids to beg their parents for a guitar for Christmas? Who inspired a wave of copycats?
• Chops/Versatility: Is the guitarist in question a one-trick pony or a master of many styles?
• Body of Work: Who had the more consistent career? Who has played on more classic albums?
• Creativity: Who pioneered new techniques? Who sounds the most radically different from what came before them?"

Looking at it this way makes it a much more difficult task. I can't argue that Petrucci is a more influential guitarist than Mustaine is/was. As was mentioned before, Dave was among the pioneers of thrash metal back in the 80s, and without his work in Megadeth (and even his brief time in Metallica) the world of heavy metal guitar would be incredibly different.

Chops/Versatility, Petrucci by miles. No question asked. I love Dave's playing but he's got his own style that he excels at and doesn't really deviate a whole lot from there.

Body of Work: Mustaine's played on some of heavy metal's finest moments (Rust in Peace, Peace Sells, Countdown to Extinction, to name a few), but Megadeth's overall catalog is more inconsistent than Dream Theater's. There are a couple Megadeth albums I don't like very much (Risk, 13, The World Needs a Hero) but Dream Theater's material is more consistently good across their career.

Creativity: Mustaine was one of the forefathers of an entire genre of heavy metal, and not a lot of people were playing like him back in those days. Petrucci on the other hand has a great strength in his overall mastery of guitar, and while he does do some astonishing things with his playing, I think Mustaine's stature and influence in metal guitar dwarfs JP's, regardless of pure talent and ability.

My thoughts exactly, as soon as I saw the criteria to be considered, the decision became much harder to make. Very well put though, I couldn't have said it better myself. If you're really taking the given criteria into consideration, I find it hard to believe that this decision could be easy to make.  Regardless, it's just a meaningless poll really, we all know both DM and JP are incredibly skilled guitarists. 

[lonestar]

OK, I voted JP, but I'm bailing on this stupid bracket. They put Pete Townshend in as a play in, what the fuck?

[BlobVanDam]

Well Dave Mustaine just edged out Petrucci. I expected that, although Petrucci deserved to win this round imo.

[DanLore]

Unless I missed it, no Steve Hackett or Jeff Beck in the original bracket, and Howe, Holdworth, Morse and DiMeola (and now JP) are out already?  Time to stop paying attention to their poll.

DanLore

[AngelBack]

Unless I missed it, no Steve Hackett or Jeff Beck in the original bracket, and Howe, Holdworth, Morse and DiMeola (and now JP) are out already?  Time to stop paying attention to their poll.

DanLore

Agreed.  And I'm a little surprised JP didn't fare better, given the nice showing DT fans made on the Rolling Stone poll.

[Fourth Horseman]

Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix are on the same side so we will never get a realistic bracket. Those two are #1 and #2. Without JP(Page), EVH wouldnt exist, he said it himself.

[Elite]

What if I told you that there is no such thing as a 'best guitarist'?

[Lolzeez]

What if I told you that there is no such thing as a 'best guitarist'?

This.

[Bill Carson]

What if I told you that there is no such thing as a 'best guitarist'?

This.

Agreed 

[KevShmev]

Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix are on the same side so we will never get a realistic bracket. Those two are #1 and #2. Without JP(Page), EVH wouldnt exist, he said it himself.

So?  That is irrelevant.

[Jaq]

Like this poll's going to change my opinion that Stevie Ray Vaughn is the best guitarist ever 

[Elite]

That's because SRV is definitely up there among the best.

[BlobVanDam]

That's because SRV is definitely up there among the best.

What if I told you that there is no such thing as a 'best guitarist'?

I couldn't resist.

[jsem]

This poll is BS.

[AngelBack]

What if I told you that there is no such thing as a 'best guitarist'?

Yes there is, even if it IS ONLY..IN.. YOUR ...MIND....

[Elite]

That's because SRV is definitely up there among the best.

What if I told you that there is no such thing as a 'best guitarist'?

I couldn't resist.

I get it. But I didn't say he is THE best. There's definitely guitarists that are better than others and this poll took a decent list pf contemporary and past great guitarists. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a best guitarist, as I said, but that doesn't mean I don't have my own group of favourites to whom I will refer as 'the best'. You will never catch me saying that a single guitarist is better than all others.

[emblempride]

But Mustaine practically invented a genre of music... his body of work is better if you're considering who wrote more "classic" albums, easily had more influence, he's probably more creative too since Megadeth is more original than DT. I hope all of you are familiar with Mustaine's work and not just voting for Petrucci because he plays guitar for your favorite band. I'm not trying to take anything away from JP because I do feel he's one of the best in the world right now but I feel like this is just going to turn into a "well I love DT and JP is awesome and I don't really like Megadeth so I'll go with JP" kind of thing.

No. Megadeth is my 3rd favorite band (yeah, DT is my 1st), but they could've not happened and Thrash would have still have happened as it did. Most Thrash fans haven't liked Megadeth since RiP. He's a mighty big influence on a lot of bands, but you forget that there were 3 other bands in the Big 4, and even if none of them were as good, Thrash would still be as it is today. I mean, yeah, Mustaine's done some crazy stuff, and his albums since the comeback have been pretty good, but Petrucci's composing abilities, technicality, and his consistency? Think about what he's done in his time as well. Marty Friedman, now that'd be completely different, but Petrucci blows Mustaine away.

[CrimsonSunrise]

It's telling me access to the page denied 

But.... for me it's a no brainer.  Jimmy Page.  Live, not great (when he was loaded)  But as far as a songwriter? Writing guitar riffs?  No One better.

[Brand X]

Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix are on the same side so we will never get a realistic bracket. Those two are #1 and #2. Without JP(Page), EVH wouldnt exist, he said it himself.

EVH never said Hendrix was an influence. It was purely Clapton with a touch of Page / Beck.

I'm a massive JP fan...I've owned three MMan Petrucci's - but despite JP's unbelievable talent, EVH is probably the 1st or 2nd most influential guitarist in history along with JH.

Serioulsy though - why the hell do we dignify these polls.........Steve Morse, EVH, Vai, Moore, Petrucci, Albert Lee, John McLaughlin, Larry Carlton - who realistically can state that one of these guys is better or worse than another?

[Fourth Horseman]

Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix are on the same side so we will never get a realistic bracket. Those two are #1 and #2. Without JP(Page), EVH wouldnt exist, he said it himself.

EVH never said Hendrix was an influence. It was purely Clapton with a touch of Page / Beck.

I'm a massive JP fan...I've owned three MMan Petrucci's - but despite JP's unbelievable talent, EVH is probably the 1st or 2nd most influential guitarist in history along with JH.

Serioulsy though - why the hell do we dignify these polls.........Steve Morse, EVH, Vai, Moore, Petrucci, Albert Lee, John McLaughlin, Larry Carlton - who realistically can state that one of these guys is better or worse than another?

I meant Page, not Hendrix.  EVH got the idea for "tapping" when he saw Jimmy Page play the solo of "Heartbreaker"