Top 25 Favorite Guitarists countdown thread! (Top 2 featured!!)

[HOF]

My main interest in Clapton is for his later period pop stuff (Tears in Heaven, Change The World, Unplugged, etc.).

[hefdaddy42]

My main interest in Clapton is for his later period pop stuff (Tears in Heaven, Change The World, Unplugged, etc.).

That's too bad, because that's fairly pedestrian stuff.  Not bad songs, that's not what I mean, but not demonstrably his, only capable of being played by him.

His stuff that really set him apart from other people and made graffitti appear saying things like CLAPTON IS GOD was his stuff from the 60s with John Mayall and Cream.

But he hasn't been like that since then, which is why Clapton didn't make my list.

[HOF]

I mean, I’ve heard some Cream stuff and lots of his earlier solo stuff, I just don’t particularly care for that style of music.

[Stadler]

Clapton wouldn't have made my top 100 (which has nada to do with recent revelations about his political leanings and whatnot).  Outside of Cream and then a handful of post-Cream songs, I have never cared much for Clapton.  I mean, he was okay, but he was never someone I went out of my to hear, outside of some Cream songs, Layla and a couple solo songs.

This is me.  I saw him live, twice, he was great, but there are more songs I turn off from the radio as I would turn on (I can't STAND "I Shot The Sheriff", the acoustic "Layla", or "Tears In Heaven").

[hunnus2000]

Clapton wouldn't have made my top 100 (which has nada to do with recent revelations about his political leanings and whatnot).  Outside of Cream and then a handful of post-Cream songs, I have never cared much for Clapton.  I mean, he was okay, but he was never someone I went out of my to hear, outside of some Cream songs, Layla and a couple solo songs.

This is me.  I saw him live, twice, he was great, but there are more songs I turn off from the radio as I would turn on (I can't STAND "I Shot The Sheriff", the acoustic "Layla", or "Tears In Heaven").

Yeah - I always thought he was overrated. Same with Hendrix.

[Elite]

Hendrix is/was awesome and deserves all the praise.

[El Barto]

Hendrix was great and overrated. Clapton is just overrated.

[TAC]

Hendrix was great and overrated. Clapton is just overrated.

I can get on board with this.

[The Realm]

25 Stevie Ray Vaughan
Appeared on 7 of 34 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (hefdaddy42)
2 Top 10 Finishes

24 Chris DeGarmo
Appeared on 8 of 34 lists
Highest Finish: 6 (DragonAttack, pg1067)
3 Top 10 Finishes

OK, great start. No matter which way this countdown goes I think we can all be pretty sure that this list is going to throw up some curveballs for all of us at times. Today isn't one of those days for me as I am pretty happy to see these two names.

Stevie Ray Vaughn - was very seriously considered for my top 25 but just missed out. I just don't listen to him enough or at all these days and like Kev said, probably would have easily make my list if this was done years ago.

Chris DeGarmo - my number 7. Chris is just a major influence on me and my musical journey. I pretty much worshipped the guy in the late 80s, early 90s. This is a list of favourites and with Chris it is much more than just guitar solos. I am stoked to see him make the overall top 25 so big kudos to those who ranked him as you have made my day (especially DragonAttack & pg for the other top 10 finishes).

[wolfking]

Hendrix was great and overrated. Clapton is just overrated.

This.

[Dream Team]

Hendrix was great and overrated. Clapton is just overrated.

I can get on board with this.

I’m in this club too.

Reminds of a conversation I overheard at work around 1990, guys were arguing over Richards vs Townsend. It was 1990, not 1966. Not sure if they were aware other guys had picked up the guitar since those boys did.

[wolfking]

Never cared for SRV, but can appreciate the influence.

Chris obviously gets a mention here for his influence and song writing in Queensryche as opposed to his guitar playing, which is fine but didn't expect to see him here honestly.

He's certainly no slouch in the guitar department though.  He's no shredder but a few solos that pop to mind instantly are;

Take Hold of the Flame - well crafted and builds nicely into a wonderful climax

Jet City Woman - Always loved how Chris bring it with the double stop bend at the start after the quiet bit.  The end of the solo has some cool stuff going on in it also as he builds to the end.

The Killing Words - Simple in nature but he portrays the feel in this one perfectly.  His bends especially portray the sadness and angst of someone going through a breakup IMO, especially that one with the artificial harmonic.  I love the start, great lick then that little part at 2:17 is very cool.

Bridge - Underrated cut with a nice melodic B minor solo (Reminds me of a mix of Killing Words and Take Hold.  Short simple but great feel.  That lick going into 1:40 is fantastic.

One More Time - Another underrated cut and the highlight from PL for me.  He loves starting his solos with those double stop bends but it works everytime.  That first section has slight Killing Words feels also as he slides down into that little almost harmonic minor sounding thing going on there.

[King Postwhore]

I saw SRV IN 1990. 8th row. A mind blowing experience.   Seeing him play "Life Without You" with a white spotlight and another on a disco ball. I got goosebumps.

Chris DeGarmo adds so much to Queensryche that's missed to this day his songwriting, his sublime playing, his harmonies.   Both excellent choices.

[ReaperKK]

Hendrix was great and overrated. Clapton is just overrated.

It's always hard for me to make statements like that because it's tough to go back in time and try to listen to them through a perspective of that moment. What I will say is that Jimi was pretty fresh for the time being but I don't think guitar playing would be largely different if he didn't exist. I do think he is overrated.

I've listened to Cream a few times and I just don't see anything mind blowing for claptop honestly. He is a great player, no doubt about it, but from that era I feel like guitar players had the chops and the swagger which I think Clapton lacked.

[wolfking]

Yes, I've simply never understood by Clapton is so highly regarded as a guitar player.  Blows my mind truthfully.

[ReaperKK]

Also on the subject of Cream, the trio was great but Jack and Ginger were more irreplicable than Clapton.

[TAC]

I never considered SRV. I only know what was on the radio, but that never got me interested to follow up. I think his music would be cool background or live music, but it's not in my wheelhouse to listen to.

I thought of CDG, but dismissed him pretty quickly. Warning and O:M are landmark albums, and I have 2 guitarists that died young after only making 2 and 3 albums, but the guitars never really stood out to me in QR. If CDG was the lone guitarist in QR, then maybe, but I'm not sure where CDG stops and Wilton starts. To me, what appealed to me about QR was Tate and Rockenfield.

I'll be surprised if I have more than 6 names on this list.

[Stadler]

Hendrix was great and overrated. Clapton is just overrated.

It's always hard for me to make statements like that because it's tough to go back in time and try to listen to them through a perspective of that moment. What I will say is that Jimi was pretty fresh for the time being but I don't think guitar playing would be largely different if he didn't exist. I do think he is overrated.

I've listened to Cream a few times and I just don't see anything mind blowing for claptop honestly. He is a great player, no doubt about it, but from that era I feel like guitar players had the chops and the swagger which I think Clapton lacked.

I go back and forth on that.  He doesn't move me much - he's not on my list, no spoiler there - but I remember getting into him rather late, like ten years ago or so.  And I remember getting his first three records in a package and listening to them sort of all at once.   It seemed like every song was "oh, that's Uli Roth" and "oh, I heard Steve Vai play that" or " Huh, that's Last Rose of Summer".  Even "Catch The Rainbow" by my favorite is reminiscent of "Little Wing", and he's got a LOT of other stuff - studio and live - that owes a LOT to Hendrix (not least their old cover of Hey Joe). 

Hendrix was also one of the very few of the guitar gods that the Beatles ever acknowledged (the other was Clapton, though, so there's that). 

[The Realm]

Kind of feels a bit strange that today's reveals are SRV and DeGarmo but there is lots of chat around Clapton and Hendrix? Who may or may not even appear in this countdown. If they do, I'll comment then.

[KevShmev]

BTW, I realized I forgot to list the names of those whose lists were submitted and used.

coz   
Glasser
Elite   
Evermind   
LithoJazzoSphere   
Kwyjibo   
BRGM   
wolfking   
nobloodyname   
Vmadera00   
Dublagent66   
ReaperKK   
The Realm   
Dave_Manchester   
twosuitsluke   
Awaken   
Animal   
HOF   
Stadler   
Skeever   
Mladen   
pg1067   
Metropolaris   
Adami   
devieira73
Podaar   
hefdaddy42   
TAC   
lonestar   
Dream Team   
Fonzie   
DragonAttack   
DTwwbwMP
KevShmev      

[Lethean]

I didn't get around to doing this list.  (But I definitely would have had Petrucci at the top and angered Stadler...)

But I'll be reading the results.

Chris DeGarmo probably would have made my list.

[lonestar]

Hmmm...looking at who submitted lists, I think I'll even get less of my choices onto the final list. I'd say 10 should be guaranteed, but I've been wrong before. Many times actually.

[wolfking]

I never considered SRV. I only know what was on the radio, but that never got me interested to follow up. I think his music would be cool background or live music, but it's not in my wheelhouse to listen to.

I thought of CDG, but dismissed him pretty quickly. Warning and O:M are landmark albums, and I have 2 guitarists that died young after only making 2 and 3 albums, but the guitars never really stood out to me in QR. If CDG was the lone guitarist in QR, then maybe, but I'm not sure where CDG stops and Wilton starts. To me, what appealed to me about QR was Tate and Rockenfield.

I'll be surprised if I have more than 6 names on this list.

Pretty much agree here.  They just don't have the thrill in the solos that I get from other bands of their time.  Even though I listed those few solos above and he's a wonderful guitarist, QR were never a band that I listened to for the guitar solos.

Also, to your other point, they are probably one of THE hardest guitar duos to work out who is playing what.  I've never really bothered to sit down and work them all out and I've gotten better over time, but it's tricky, especially in those early albums.

[HOF]

So out of curiosity, what would be a good starting place for Stevie Ray Vaughn?

[Animal]

The lack of memorable QR guitar solos has been mentioned a couple of times. Although I listed DeGarmo, I'd be inclined to agree. QR solos really don't stand out. But I love what they do with their guitars outside of solos. Especially their clean guitar parts.

[Kwyjibo]

What I will say is that Jimi was pretty fresh for the time being but I don't think guitar playing would be largely different if he didn't exist. I do think he is overrated.

This is highly hypothetical, because we don't really know how great Jimi's influence was. And it's not just that he's created a lot of clones, his influence goes deeper imo.

For example Satriani has said, he picked up the guitar because of Hendrix. Now imagine there was no Hendrix then Satriani would probably/maybe not have played the guitar. Satriani was a teacher to Steve Vai, Alex Skolnik and Kirk Hammett. Would they have made it with their resprective bands without Satriani? Would Metallica be the same without Hammett? Would they have kept Mustaine and then blown apart because of substance abuse and fighting? And with no Metallica, would metal sound like it sounds today? 

This is problably all complete bullshit, but we shouldn't underestimate the influence musicians that stood out in their time have on other musicians, even if we can't hear it.

That said, I didn't include Hendrix on my list. And yeah, rock music wouldn't probably sound totally different without Hendrix, but who knows?

[Elite]

Hendrix showed an entire generation of guitar players what was possible with the guitar in a rock context and pioneered the use of certain effects. His playing is undoubtedly unique, nobody else sounds just like him, and his legacy is only amplified because he died at such a young age.

[wolfking]

I think it was the Live in San Fran DVD from Satch where he was giving a rundown of his rig.  He said on that Hendrix was his biggest influence and pretty sure he said playing live he thinks about Hendrix.  I remember that cause it kinda surprised me.

[hefdaddy42]

So out of curiosity, what would be a good starting place for Stevie Ray Vaughn?

First studio album.  Texas Flood.

[Kwyjibo]

So out of curiosity, what would be a good starting place for Stevie Ray Vaughn?

First studio album.  Texas Flood.

Yes, still his best imo.

And then look for his rendition of Little Wing on The Sky Is Crying.

[KevShmev]

On the list of most influential guitarists on a broad scale in the rock era, I don't know who's number 3, but Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen have to be 1 and 2.  I am shocked that some would question Hendrix's influence, as it's so obvious and widespread. And I say that as someone who has never actively listened to him (I enjoy some of his songs when they come on, but I never go out of my way to hear him).

[KevShmev]

The next two...


23 Michael Schenker
Appeared on 6 of 34 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (TAC)
5 Top 10 Finishes

This is one I had to look up who he was and who he had played with.  I recognized the name, as I had seen it over the years, but I don't listen to anything of his, so I think I had simply forgotten about him.  Unranked.


22 Dave Mustaine
Appeared on 10 of 34 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (twosuitsluke)
3 Top 10 Finishes

Outside of a handful of songs, I am not a Megadeth fan, so Mustaine wasn't on my radar when it came to thinking about what guitarists I'd rank. 

[Adami]

0/2.

[Elite]

Two more I didn’t have

Can’t say Ihave consciously listened to Michael Schenker and I’m not a fan of Dave Mustaine, although some Megadeth stuff is pretty cool for sure.

[lonestar]

0/4