Rolling Stone top 250 guitarists, Mmmmm…

[wolfracesonic]

Rolling Stone top 250 guitarists, not sure if they’ve gone out of their way to be provocative, it’s all about the clicks, right? But Steve Vai no. 127 and no Guthrie Govan at all? Not a massive fan of either but really? Nice to see a diverse and inclusive top 10 though, what do you think?

[FourWheelDrift]

Without looking, let me guess. Almost all US guitarists?

[Yahonza]

Ritchie Blackmore at #75
Joni Mitchell at #9

I mean Ms Mitchell is a great songwriter but c'mon now be serious.
Why are they pairing guitarists?

Poison Ivy above Joe Satriani.......

Edited by Yahonza on Saturday 21st October 17:26

Edited by Yahonza on Saturday 21st October 17:29

[Yahonza]

Good to see John McGeoch in there though.

[slopes]

I just looked and you have both Bonnie Rait and St Vincent above Rory Gallagher and i might be considered a heretic for this one but i just don't get the absolte worship of Jimi Hendrix being the best guitarist to ever exist.
Every poll of guitarists i've ever seen, he is always number 1 and i just don't get it

[colin_p]

Call me old fashion, because I am, but is there anywhere to read the list?

[abzmike]

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/bes...

A very ‘worthy’ list… the sort of thing RS specialises in. More a good way to generate clicks than a sensible list.

[Lotobear]

What a complete and utter joke of a list.

I started at position 1 expecting it to be Allan Holdsworth and gave up at 50.

EVH, a big fan of Allan, was mentioned at Nr 4 but that was a far as it went.

Loads of other notables missing but WTF, it's Rolling Stone magazine!

The 'Edge' FAFS, in the top flipping 50, .....give me strength

[cherryowen]

Yahonza said:

Ritchie Blackmore at #75
Joni Mitchell at #9

I read ^ that and decided not to click the link in the OP. As others have mentioned, I suspect Hendrix is listed at #1 but to have Blackmore at #75 is an insult.

[Mastodon2]

The fact it's in Rolling Stone tells you it's written by people who know nothing about guitar. I bet Shawn Lane isn't even on the list, let alone taking the top spot, which really says it all.

[Master Of Puppets]

Any 'Greatest Guitarist' list that doesn't have Joe Satriani at number 1, and Marty Friedman at 2, just isn't worth talking about.

[slopes]

cherryowen said:

Yahonza said:

Ritchie Blackmore at #75
Joni Mitchell at #9

I read ^ that and decided not to click the link in the OP. As others have mentioned, I suspect Hendrix is listed at #1 but to have Blackmore at #75 is an insult.

It's horses for courses and everyone has different tastes and opinions but some of the list was just bizarre. Rory Gallagher at 100 odd and Bonnie Raitt and Joni Mitchell both way above him. But then again, Joni Mitchell was also rated above Jonny Marr too which is just strange and i think she was rated above the likes of Robert Cray too.

But it is funny how Hendrix is always rated as the best.

[cherryowen]

Master Of Puppets said:

Any 'Greatest Guitarist' list that doesn't have Joe Satriani at number 1, and Marty Friedman at 2, just isn't worth talking about.

I respectfully disagree with your nominations for #1 and #2, but you're in the right ball park

ETA : I've started watching the vid in the OP. Vai is in at #127! fk off. His work on Passion and Warfare in 1990 was as ground-breaking as Eddie's in 1978. The list is, indeed, garbage.

Edited by cherryowen on Monday 23 October 22:43

[dandarez]

slopes said:

cherryowen said:

Yahonza said:

Ritchie Blackmore at #75
Joni Mitchell at #9

I read ^ that and decided not to click the link in the OP. As others have mentioned, I suspect Hendrix is listed at #1 but to have Blackmore at #75 is an insult.

It's horses for courses and everyone has different tastes and opinions but some of the list was just bizarre. Rory Gallagher at 100 odd and Bonnie Raitt and Joni Mitchell both way above him. But then again, Joni Mitchell was also rated above Jonny Marr too which is just strange and i think she was rated above the likes of Robert Cray too.

But it is funny how Hendrix is always rated as the best.

Talking of the 60s here's a guy who will never be mentioned in that list, Bryn Haworth, lead guitarist of the Fleur de Lys, backing group behind one Sharon Tandy, and probably not mentioned by anyone on here, but on this recording he was just 18 yrs old, and he could play the ass off Hendrix.
Turn it up loud and listen to the his lead throughout.

(And yes, I saw Hendrix live twice, once in Newbury Plaza and also at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival). And Sharon herself had one hell of a voice.

[ATG]

Popular music journalism is a bullstters' paradise. Obviously any sort of artistic ranking is highly subjective and rock guitar unusually so becoz half the "greats" are self taught and play their own material which actively seeks to be original and differentiated from that of other guitarists. It isn't like classical music where you can at least compare many musicians playing the same piece of music, all taught a very similar technical approach and trying for a type of technical perfectionism that isn't really even an objective in rock. There are loads of great rock guitarists seeking to do their own thing and doing it brilliantly. How on earth do you objectively compare them? Why would you even try? They're just different.

[Ronstein]

ATG said:

Popular music journalism is a bullstters' paradise. Obviously any sort of artistic ranking is highly subjective and rock guitar unusually so becoz half the "greats" are self taught and play their own material which actively seeks to be original and differentiated from that of other guitarists. It isn't like classical music where you can at least compare many musicians playing the same piece of music, all taught a very similar technical approach and trying for a type of technical perfectionism that isn't really even an objective in rock. There are loads of great rock guitarists seeking to do their own thing and doing it brilliantly. How on earth do you objectively compare them? Why would you even try? They're just different.

Exactly. Steve Vai is technically exceptional, but not necessarily musically accessible. David Gilmour isn't anything special technically, but few are better at wringing emotion out of melodies. Many metal guitarists can play runs at lightning speed, but does it make them great? Interestingly, a significant number of guitar 'greats' (Zappa and Eddie Van Halen for two'} cite Allan Holdsworth as the best they've ever heard, and most people have no idea who he was!

[Lotobear]

Ronstein said:

ATG said:

Popular music journalism is a bullstters' paradise. Obviously any sort of artistic ranking is highly subjective and rock guitar unusually so becoz half the "greats" are self taught and play their own material which actively seeks to be original and differentiated from that of other guitarists. It isn't like classical music where you can at least compare many musicians playing the same piece of music, all taught a very similar technical approach and trying for a type of technical perfectionism that isn't really even an objective in rock. There are loads of great rock guitarists seeking to do their own thing and doing it brilliantly. How on earth do you objectively compare them? Why would you even try? They're just different.

Exactly. Steve Vai is technically exceptional, but not necessarily musically accessible. David Gilmour isn't anything special technically, but few are better at wringing emotion out of melodies. Many metal guitarists can play runs at lightning speed, but does it make them great? Interestingly, a significant number of guitar 'greats' (Zappa and Eddie Van Halen for two'} cite Allan Holdsworth as the best they've ever heard, and most people have no idea who he was!

...you can add Vai as well to the Allan fan club. I don't think it's going to far to assert that AH is probably the best electric guitarist that ever lived

[franki68]

slopes said:

I just looked and you have both Bonnie Rait and St Vincent above Rory Gallagher and i might be considered a heretic for this one but i just don't get the absolte worship of Jimi Hendrix being the best guitarist to ever exist.
Every poll of guitarists i've ever seen, he is always number 1 and i just don't get it

Have a look at guitarist magazine from either last month or the month before ,not Hendrix at number 1

[lockhart flawse]

I actually dont have any complaints about the top 3. I am not a great fan of Jimmy Page but I can see why you might put him that high. The top 2 both showed us a different way to play the electric guitar as did Jimmy Page and EVH although neither innovated to the same extent. EVH didnt invent double tapping but he did popularise it.

But there are so many anomalies. David Gilmour at 28 and Brian May at whatever; one phrase and you know who is playing unlike the numerous soundalike American guitarists included. I looked to see who they had decided was number 250. Didnt expect it to be Andy Summers and I would be pretty pissed off if I were him. Steve Jones of the Pistols is way over-rated and I love the band. Listen to one of his solo albums - barely a decent riff anywhere.

Couldnt be arsed to look through the whole thing but is Wilco on there or Andy Gill?

[Castrol for a knave]

The right guitarists, not necessarily in the right order

sort of.

Good to see Sister Rosetta, Elizabeth Cohen and Django Reinhardt in the top 50.

No Isaac Guillory, Vini Reilly or Bill Frisell.