Rolling Stone top 100 guitarists

[I Should Coco]

How much does writing songs on the guitar weigh compared to technical brilliance?

I would rate "songwriting" as its own animal. But Rolling Stone probably used some blend of songwriting and technical ability to compile its list.

Otherwise, there's no way -- for example -- Neil Young would rate ahead of Stephen Stills. As musicians, yeah, but Young himself has said Stills is a much better guitar player.

(And I'm a huge NY fan)

 

[YankeeFan]

Composing skill being part of the equation would be the only reason Frank Zappa is ranked so high. I love, love, love Zappa, but he's not the 22nd best guitarist ever.

His kid, Dweezil, is a heck of a guitarist, and Frank was pretty damn good too.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

How much does writing songs on the guitar weigh compared to technical brilliance?

It is arguable that Dylan was a great guitarist, for example. Not because he was technically good. He strummed chords. But because he used it as a vehicle through which to write brilliant songs. (Same with Springsteen, for example, although he is technically stronger. And probably a huge reason Richards is so high on these lists - although he is technically outstanding, as well.)

Also, I think differing styles makes it very, very hard to "rate" guitarists in this way.

Johnny Marr is very high on my list of favorites (and 51 in the RS list), and what he does is very different from someone like Clapton. Same with The Edge. They're both key in creating the distinct sound of their bands, but it's not something like "Layla" that jumps out in a very traditional way.

 

[YankeeFan]

The list is also heavy with guys who have played in very big bands, and/or had very successful solo careers.

This makes sense since it's picked by fellow musicians. They're going to pick guys they looked up to, and were influenced by.

But there are so many guys who should be considered.

Charlie Sexton, who had a hit on his own back in 1985, has been Dylan's lead guitarist for much of the last 10 years. The guy is a heck of guitarist, and Dylan is so much better when he's got Sexton pushing him.

Steve Stevens, who's probably best know for playing with Billy Idol is an incredible guitarist.

But, neither of them will really get much consideration since their not super famous.

 

[Huggy]

YF, great call on Charlie Sexton and Steve Stevens, two forgotten guys who were pretty hot players back in the 80s. Sexton's "Beats So Lonely" is one of the great singles of the 80s.

Another guy I really like is Brian Setzer who is amazingly versatile. He is known for his work in the Stray Cats and he also put out some good, straight-on rock albums after the Cats broke up. The stuff he does in a big band setting with the Brian Setzer Orchestra is great and he released an album last year of reworked classical numbers in big band arrangements which was pretty cool.

As for Zappa, I don't play, but know many guitarists who worship the guy. He was one of those guys whose records got little airplay but who could fill arenas with guitar junkies. I like some of his stuff like Joe's Garage and Sheik Yerbouti, but a lot of Zappa's stuff wasn't the most accessible music you could listen to.

 

[Magic In The Night]

First of all, Starman, respectively disagree about Bruce. He's not top 10 or maybe even 20 but I've seen him play with Morello and it's clear who is the better guitarist and it ain't Tom. Second, Huggy, I disagree that people don't go to see Bruce shred. Have you ever seen him play the solo on "Incident."? Or "Prove It." Or even "Human Touch." On the last tour, saw him take the solo twice on "Because the Night" and he played it probably better or at least as well as Nils or Steve could. There's plenty to like about Springsteen concerts and just watching the man play guitar is a big part of it. Still, and always.

 

[YGBFKM]

Zappa's Joe's Garage stuff was great, musically and lyrically. That was the soundtrack to my junior year. Loved it.

 

[Double J]

Some of the now-deceased country geniuses deserve some love - Chet Atkins, Grady Martin, Hank Garland, Jerry Reed and especially Merle Travis.

 

[YGBFKM]

Zappa's Joe's Garage stuff was great, musically and lyrically. That was the soundtrack to my junior year. Loved it.

Probably my favorite album of all time.

Gotta love the Central Scrutinizer.

 

[Starman]

How much does writing songs on the guitar weigh compared to technical brilliance?

It is arguable that Dylan was a great guitarist, for example. Not because he was technically good. He strummed chords. But because he used it as a vehicle through which to write brilliant songs. (Same with Springsteen, for example, although he is technically stronger. And probably a huge reason Richards is so high on these lists - although he is technically outstanding, as well.)

You are right, composing must be part of the criteria for inclusion on the RS list otherwise some of these rankings are crazy.

I'm familiar with basically all of the 'classic rock' players listed here and a surprising amount of their output, in some cases, is written on the piano and fleshed out on the guitar, Lennon and McCartney being the most obvious examples.

My take on Harrison is that he was a master at all those delicious little 'fills' he played on so many classic Beatles tracks and that he was criminally under rated as a player especially and composer. He's no McCartney as a writer but a better player, for sure.

Another glaring ommission from the Rolling Stone list is Martin Barre (Jethro Tull), who has chops rivaling most in the top 30.

Paul McCartney was a better guitarist than George Harrison.

heck, Harrison HIMSELF asked McCartney to play the solos on "Taxman," probably his hardest-rocking Beatles song, because he couldn't do it.

In a way, that's a great credit to George -- he knew the exact sound he wanted for the song, knew Paul was better at playing that kind of solo than he was, and he wasn't so wrapped up in the "lead guitarist" ego trip to insist on doing it himself.

(Unless it was George Martin calling the shots, but you'd think by 1966 George would have had enough leverage on his own songs to retain some veto power over how they were produced. Not to mention Paul -- as well at John at times -- was well-noted for not always exactly pouring a 10,000-percent effort into George's songs. So if Paul wasn't convinced it was a good idea for him to play the "Taxman" solos, he probably just wouldn't have done it.)

 

[YankeeFan]

Couple other guys I've seen live and really liked, Johnny Lang, and Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi All Stars.

 

[YGBFKM]

Have seen both of those guys live and they're great. Actually, Luther's brother Cody, the drummer for the NMAS, is also a heck of a guitar player and shreds on the electric washboard (I'm not kidding). Damnedest thing I've ever seen at a concert.