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Greatest guitar players of all time


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Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave

 

Page Hamilton of Helmet

You name these guys but not Ian McKaye or Guy Picciotto from Fugazi, whose style both of 'em ape?

 

 

Larry Lalonde of Primus

 

Fun fact - "Ler" started out in a thrash metal band called Possessed (not much of a surprise, since the first band I heard Les Claypool in was a Bay Area third-tier thrash band called Blind Illusion; Les even auditioned for Metallica following Cliff Burton's untimely death)...anyway, they ended up good, but their main appeal was their youth - all the members were 17-18. Actually, their main appeal was that one mag had an utterly comical review of their first album, describing the vocals as "sounding like Lemmy with bronchitis" and that "the music peeled the paint off my walls and backed up my toilet." :wacko: To this day, I'm unsure whether the reviewer was being complimentary or slamming them.

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I was going to stay out of this because everyone has their own view of who is best. And it is all based on what kind of music they like more than who actually could be called the best. And there really is no "best" overall I think. It all boils down to what type of music one wants to listen to or play.

 

If you are into some excellent classical.... John Williams would be my choice. If you want real honest Rock 'n Roll... Eddie Cochran comes to mind...as does Duane Eddy. The surfin' era brings to mind Link Wray and Dick Dale. Actual Rock.... probably Hendrix and Page. For pure beauty in guitar playing I personally think Carlos is the best hands down. Knopfler comes to mind when it comes to all venues and he has a very pure sound because he does not use a pick...and Carlos loves the guy.

 

The "overall best" for whatever you want to hear, IMHO, has to be Ry Cooder. But then again... it's all a matter of taste.

 

So it all boils down to what he plans to play. And being in Texas... LOL... he probably would want to go with Roy Clark. Who is no slouch for sure when it comes to pretty much any stringed instrument.

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You name these guys but not Ian McKaye or Guy Picciotto from Fugazi, whose style both of 'em ape?

 

I've been guilted into liking Fugazi many times over many years. I've listened to Repeater maybe 100 times from start to finish. I'm sorry, I can't put my finger on it. . .I just can't get into them. It's my secret shame. :D

 

Fun fact - "Ler" started out in a thrash metal band. . .

 

I first heard Frizzle Fry when I was 19 and got to love the album but kinda disregarded all the guitar solos. They were too strange and non-linear and I thought the guy was just noodling around in the studio. The first time I went to see them live, it wasn't Les that blew me away. I knew he was going to be jaw-dropping. It was the fact that Ler played every guitar solo from the album NOTE FOR NOTE. :wacko:

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I've been guilted into liking Fugazi many times over many years. I've listened to Repeater maybe 100 times from start to finish. I'm sorry, I can't put my finger on it. . .I just can't get into them. It's my secret shame. :wacko:

I'm not trying to shame you into liking Fugazi, I'm just saying they set the template for the other guys.

 

(as for :D , I JUST picked up 13 Songs this past year)

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Spit James

 

 

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

Best English blues album ever -- in my opinion, anyway :wacko:, August 17, 2004

By R. Lindeboom "theboomer"

The Keef Hartley Band's ''Halfbreed'' is arguably the best English blues album ever recorded. Having just been fired from the drum kit in John Mayall's Bluebreakers -- Keef Hartley took with him seemingly the entire horn section of the Bluebreakers who had just recorded the great ''Crusade'' album. Joining them was Gary Thain on bass (who would later show up on Uriah Heep's best efforts like ''Demons & Wizards'' and ''Look At Yourself.''), along with Spit James and Miller Anderson on guitars. Two incredably talented guitarists whose work on cuts like ''Born To Die'' is as good as any work by better known guitarists, such as Clapton, Beck, Peter Green, etc. These guys were incredible. Miller Anderson also had a voice that was born to sing the blues -- it is an incredibly expressive voice that carries so much strength, emotion and tenderness (when needed) that few singers are his equal. To fill it all out, Peter Dines was on piano and the Hammond B3 organ to give that fat sound that only a B3 can bring to the blues. Gorgeous stuff. Brash stuff. Blistering stuff. It's all here. Their version of ''Leavin' Trunk'' will peel the paint off the walls and the aforementioned ''Born To Die'' would easily make any Best 10 Cuts of English Blues albums that were really worth their salt. This album was, for me, in 1969 when it was released, the high-water mark of English Blues. These guys were incredible. Today, my son listens to it and tells me that it's one of the best albums he's ever heard -- it is. If you can find a copy, don't pass it up.

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I'm very shocked that Randy Rhodes is so left out of this discussion. When I was young (80's) and music was everything, the argument was always Jimi or Randy? How has Randy faded that far into the background in discussions like this? I grew up on the rockers of the 70's and 80's and just can't see any of them better than Jimi or Randy? Everyone I knew when I was young had this view. Was it just my high school?

 

Someone explain the lack of respect for Randy please. I'm really baffled by it. Rolling Stone had him at 85? C'mon? Have you listened to Blizzard of Oz or Diary of a Madman? Crazy Train?

 

In 1979, ex-Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne was forming a new band. Future Slaughter bassist Dana Strum recommended Rhoads to Osbourne. Rhoads got the call for the audition just before his final show with Quiet Riot. He walked in with his Les Paul guitar and a practice amp and started warming up; Osbourne immediately gave him the job. Rhoads recalled later, "I just tuned up and did some riffs, and he said, 'You've got the gig.' I had the weirdest feeling, because I thought, 'You didn't even hear me yet.'" Osbourne described Rhoads' playing as "God entering my life."

 

Despite his youth and relatively limited recorded work, Rhoads has influenced many notable guitar players including: Zakk Wylde[5], Alex Skolnick, George Lynch [6] Alexi Laiho[7], Warren DeMartini, Dimebag Darrell, Dweezil Zappa, Paul Gilbert[8], Marty Friedman, Buckethead, [9] Chris Impellitteri, Dan Spitz, John Petrucci, Criss Oliva, Tony MacAlpine, Jake E. Lee, Michael Angelo Batio, Carlos Cavazo, Vinnie Vincent, and Vinnie Moore.
Could this be the reason so little recognition is given? Died too soon.

 

Personally, my favorite was Rik Emmett of Triumph. Wouldn't say he was the best though.

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I'm very shocked that Randy Rhodes is so left out of this discussion. When I was young (80's) and music was everything, the argument was always Jimi or Randy? How has Randy faded that far into the background in discussions like this? I grew up on the rockers of the 70's and 80's and just can't see any of them better than Jimi or Randy? Everyone I knew when I was young had this view. Was it just my high school?

 

Not just your HS. Randy's stature has fallen in the past decade or so. I think his entire legacy is really just in the 2 Ozzy albums. Before "Come On Feel The Noise", none of Quiet Riot's work is known to the majority of music fans.

 

Randy was at the beginning of a long line of "shredders" like Nuno, Yngwie, etc. He did encorporate more soul into his playing than those that came after him, but I think he's lumped in with them, probably unjustly.

 

Hendrix, on the other hand, had a much broader palette and created a style of playing that can't be as easily copied. I think that's the reason Jimi's style has influenced players over so many different genres of music, and why he's always at the top of the list.

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Hendrix, on the other hand, had a much broader palette and created a style of playing that can't be as easily copied. I think that's the reason Jimi's style has influenced players over so many different genres of music, and why he's always at the top of the list.

This is true but I would add, perhaps unnecessarily, that Hendrix remains completely incomparable in terms of originality and ability. I don't think it's his influence per se (I would bet that Page has more influence) that keeps him at the top of the list but the almost inescapable conclusion that Hendrix will likely remain unmatched.

 

His early death ensured that his legacy remains untarnished forever.

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Some other greats not mentioned so far:

 

David Gilmore

Randy Rhodes

Gary Moore

Neal Schon (HIGHLY underrated)

"Dimebag" Darrell Abbott

Rick Nielsen

Rick Emmitt

Randy Jackson (Zebra)

 

 

I'm very shocked that Randy Rhodes is so left out of this discussion.

 

 

 

Randy was actually mentioned on page 2 but I see your point. He was actually a very good classical guitar player as well. His small body of work probably hurts him because of his untimely death. Mr Crowley guitar solo is tremendous and The Tribute album is awesome

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  • 5 months later...
  • 3 years later...
A quick search of this topic shows me that Mark Knopfler has been mentioned before but on the way home tonight I was listening to the long live version of Sultans Of Swing and I'm going to mention him again so there.

 

 

Did I mention that he's been accused of ripping off Richard Thompson? (that said, anyone who can rip off RT is probably pretty damn good; Richard Thompson is phenomenal and if you aren't familiar with his work, check it out)

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Did I mention that he's been accused of ripping off Richard Thompson? (that said, anyone who can rip off RT is probably pretty damn good; Richard Thompson is phenomenal and if you aren't familiar with his work, check it out)

I have the 1,000 Years of Popular Music DVD. Tremendous stuff. That said, if you can play like Knopfler, you're pretty damn good in your own right. Not everyone is or can be a complete original.

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