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Best guitar player?

Aunt B. says Clapton is not the best. He’s great but not the best. This topic can go off the rail quickly because, while Clapton is fantastic, I just don’t dig his style of music. I’m more of a Dimebag Darrell kind of guy.

18 Responses to “Best guitar player?”

  1. Jerry Says:

    As a guitar player, and a Clapton fan, I say don’t fall for it. There are too many to pick from. Even Clapton himself will say it ain’t him. There are out of work guitar players, walking the streets of Nashville, that can play circles around most of us. Tons of them.

  2. rightisright Says:

    Dime was a beast. I had the privilege of seeing him live a few times.

  3. Six Says:

    It’s an impossible question to answer but the arguments are so much fun. For me I acknowledge that it’s as much about my personal taste in music as anything. I prefer Joe Bonamassa, Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson (Is there a better song than Cliffs of Dover? Especially done live.). I think Jerry is right. There is no best but there is an awful lot of wonderful out there to enjoy.

  4. Mike Says:

    Kerry king anyone?

  5. jed Says:

    Paul Galbraith? OK, so we’re talking just rock / blues artists? I guess that leaves out Tommy Emmanuel, who is just amazing.

    In all the coverage of Prince, I guess nobody’s paying any attention to Lonnie Mack, who just passed, and is one of the (IMHO) great old blues men. And, if we’re going to include dead guys, Danny Gatton deserves a mention.

    But keeping to more conventional choices … Jimmy Page and Ritchie Blackmore. And Jimi Hendrix.

  6. Dave Says:

    Stevie Ray Vaughan. That is all.

  7. Fred Says:

    Hendrix.
    Vaughan.

    Ok, so he isn’t a great guitarist but I can listen to Billy Gibbons’ early ZZ all day with my toe just a tappin.
    Intro – verse – rif – verse – guitar solo – verse – closing solo – fade.
    If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

  8. nk Says:

    1) Andres Segovia; 2) Chet Atkins; 3) Django Reinhardt; and the rest are all also-rans.

  9. JTC Says:

    Best rock guitarist? Impossible to say, as some were awesome for decades and some flamed out in a spectacular if short flash. When it comes to live concert performance, the band Heart performing Magic Man and Crazy on You at the Hollywood (FL) Sportatorium in ’79 was maybe the best guitar I’ve ever heard or felt, better than the recording. Maybe it was magic (heh) to me because it was my last concert that was just for me.

    Then on to trucking my kids around to their icon bands in the 80’s and 90’s, and nothing came close. A lot of metal in my house in those years including Darrell; good but not in the same league. Geez you must be in my daughters’ age group (now 44 and 41).

  10. Lyle Says:

    The best is the one you like.

    Technical skill is one thing, innovation another, and musicality another. One may possess only one and be very successful. Hendrix for example had tons of innovation and musicality, but wasn’t the most technically accomplished. Satriani? Tons of technical skill, among the best, but not my cup of tea so much. Stuff like that.

    I don’t listen to music much anymore at all, but when I do it’s soul and message that matter. Pink Floyd still impresses me, with overall production, soul, and message.

    What I refer to as “fornicatin’ songs” (songs about relationships; the soap opera shit, whether cryin’ in the beer or the oh baby, oh baby, oh baby baby kind); I have not one second to spare for that nonsense, no matter how artfully done. There is some overlap in, for example, Tom Petty’s Free Fallin’ where he laments having been a “bad boy”, refers to other men as “vampires” and knows the difference between right and wrong. That I can totally handle, but there’s no tremendous amount of technical skill there; just a genuine feel for a good sound and a coherent message. Crazy Train is another example along those lines. There they dress up In Satanic-looking costumes and sing about what are arguably Christian ideals, although they acknowledge that they don’t measure up. There are many others in all different styles, and I’ll listen to any of them (on rare occasions).

    I spent decades of my life immersed in music, at home, in the business and in the craft, and I’m essentially done with it at this point. I get invited to a concert, put on by some awesome mega star, and it’s “Oh no. Do I have to? No, I can always decline, so no thanks.”

  11. Yancy Smith Says:

    Six, I had forgotten about Cliffs of Dover. There are Tubes to be You’d and rabbit holes to be fallen down now……
    Uncle, Thanks for starting my day off with a bangwangchung!

  12. comatus Says:

    After some years of discussion, someone finally asked Clapton. And Clapton said, “Les Paul.”
    Now, I’m not saying Les Paul. But, Clapton did.

  13. John Says:

    Clapton, yeah. Vaughn, maybe. Hendrix, possibly. Way too subjective of a topic. I always thought Nuno Bettancourt from the band Extreme was amazing, though I never really cared form their music. But I’ll add my $.02. It would be worth checking out a guy named Bryan Sutton if you haven’t heard of him. He is a bluegrass flat-picker, so not as well known or main stream as the Rock God guitarists. His technique and speed on an acoustic guitar will blow you away.

  14. Crawler Says:

    “When he’s on, he’s probably the best there is.”

    – Jimmy Page commenting on Jeff Beck back in the 70s

    The two best rock guitarists I’ve seen live: Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple & Jeff Beck.

    Best guitarist? Chester Burton Atkins, has to be there.

  15. jon spencer Says:

    What type of guitar and what style of music?
    That type of question without parameters is pretty open ended.

  16. Bram Says:

    I really like Peter Green’s old stuff. He was a giant Clapton fan who (I believe) eventually surpassed his idol.

  17. mikee Says:

    I gave up wondering which artist was “best” when I caught Earl & Scruggs decades ago, on an ancient rerun of The Beverly Hillbillies, and I was blown away.

  18. mikee Says:

    Damn phone. Earl Scruggs!

Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.

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