Rolling Stone top 100 guitarists

[Huggy]

First comments:

1) Way way way way way way way too many old bluesmen. Most of them never played a note of anything which could be remotely described as "rock" music.

2) Willie Nelson? A top 100 Rock Guitarist?

3) Joni Mitchell? Paul Simon? Ditto.


4) Harrison was a distant second to the best guitarist in the Beatles.

LOL.....the best guitarist in the band was also the best drummer in the band - but he didn't regularly play either instrument.

Yep.

This should probably really be in the Beatles thread, but few people realize that almost all the Beatles' screaming hard-rock guitar solos (Ticket to Ride, And Your Bird Can Sing, Taxman, Sgt. Pepper Reprise, Back in the USSR, Helter Skelter) were played by Paul McCartney. "Savoy Truffle" was probably Harrison's best rock solo in the B's.


Harrison was a good player (really good in the slide/wah-wah style of his later career), a top-50 player in his own right, and I could see putting Lennon in the 90s (about even with Springsteen, who resembles him somewhat as a player) but McCartney by a million miles was the best rock guitarist in the Beatles.

From what I read online, Harrison did play what is probably my fave solo in a Beatles song: "Can't Buy Me Love".

 

[Gehrig]

A friend of mine texted me about that list. She said she was surprised to see Prince so high (she and I are both big fans), I told her to go listen to Purple Rain and get back to me.

Ten minutes later she texted me and said he should be higher based on that song.

I may be reading this all wrong, but how can she be a fan and never heard of Purple Rain?

 

[Huggy]

I'll admit I only really got familiar with him through bootlegs I have of Clapton's various Crossroads Guitar Festivals, but Vince Gill is one heck of a guitar player.

And would Dimebag Darrell - ahead of Kirk Hammett - be on this list if he hadn't been killed?

 

[Dick Whitman]

This is just my opinion - do with it what you wish - but I'd like to see Brad Paisley show up on some of these lists. It's just my opinion, and I usually don't listen to mainstream Nashville country - although I totally respect it if you do - but I have been impressed with his playing from what I've heard. Just my opinion.

 

[NickMordo]

I suspect Keith Richards rolled his eyes when he saw himself listed before Chuck Berry.

And cried when he found out he was behind Jimmy Page =)

 

[misterbc]

Agree wholeheartedly with Vince Gill, and Marty Stuart ain't too shabby either.
Hendrix was a huge Terry Kath (Chicago) fan and I'd throw out Larry Carlton (Steely Dan) and Rick Derringer as worthy inclusions.
As much as I love Neil Young, he's rated too high. Great songwriter but not an elite player.

 

[Bodie_Broadus]

A friend of mine texted me about that list. She said she was surprised to see Prince so high (she and I are both big fans), I told her to go listen to Purple Rain and get back to me.

Ten minutes later she texted me and said he should be higher based on that song.

I may be reading this all wrong, but how can she be a fan and never heard of Purple Rain?

Her: I am surprised Prince is that high.
Me: How long has it been so you listened to Purple Rain?
Her: A long time.
Me: Listen to that and get back to me.
(time passes)
Her: Yeah, he should be higher.

 

[Huggy]

Yeah, I don't know about Neil Young. He didn't seem to get any recognition for his guitar playing until he hooked up with Pearl Jam and began playing at 11. Still good to see a little Canuckistani content on that list.

Two other bad-ass guitar slingers I would have liked to have seen on that list: Robert Cray and Jimmie Vaughan.....

 

[spurtswriter]

Agree wholeheartedly with Vince Gill, and Marty Stuart ain't too shabby either.
Hendrix was a huge Terry Kath (Chicago) fan and I'd throw out Larry Carlton (Steely Dan) and Rick Derringer as worthy inclusions.
As much as I love Neil Young, he's rated too high. Great songwriter but not an elite player.

Kath and Carlton. Great names. If Kath ever found out the schlock Chicago came up with after his death, he'd seek woodchippper justice on the rest of the band. Great, great guitar player.

 

[NoOneLikesUs]

Was surprised to see Steve Jones on that list. Big Pistols fan, but his recorded output consists of pretty much one album.

Ever see the documentary on the making of Never Mind The Bollocks? It lays out the case pretty well for Steve's brilliance.

Jump to 5:15 or so.

To me, the best guitarist to come out of that initial English punk rock wave was probably Captain Sensible from The Damned. They never had much success on these shores, but his 30-year plus career output is pretty 'damned' impressive.

 

[Dick Whitman]

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.)

 

[misterbc]

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.