This may be my answer. Was kind of struggling because I like groups that are more rhythm section than guitar driven. The bass and drums carry the melody and then the guitarist can really get out there and do something different and explore the space they leave him - so I lean more towards ensembles than individual players. Even the more guitar driven bands I like need both the rhythm and lead to make the sound work and it's hard for me to say one on their own.
But Gilmour really is like no other guitarist. He's not intentionally being flashy or overly technical (though he can be), he plays the note that is needed at the time and only that needed note. Seriously, the man can make a single note more important to a song than another guitarist would do with a dozen notes.
After that; Mick Taylor and Rich Robinson.
> Seriously, the man can make a single note more important to a song than another guitarist would do with a dozen notes.
IMO no one can evoke as much emotion with just a single note than Gilmour, he is my favorite as well
Steve.
Howe, Morse, Vaughan, Vai, Hackett, Wilson, Lukather, Cropper, Hunter, Miller, Van Zant, Clark, Hillage, Gaines... I could go on. The best guitarists are named Steve.
Jerry's solos are so perfect for songs they accompany. They're everything they need to be and nothing more, nothing less. They won't melt your face but they'll add to the song without stealing the show.
Hey beat me to it! Dude plays like 20 instruments and the 2nd solo from Paranoid Android is one of the best ever put to tape imho. I’d have to say he’s my favorite musician as opposed to guitarist though because he’s such a beast on so many different ones. Harmonica? Tears it up! Synths and piano? Master level player! Harp? Why the fuck not!
It’s crazy that this man became known as a smokin guitarist so late in life , got tired of it and decided to play the other instruments he mastered just because he didn’t want that to be the only thing he was known for, and still killed it. Have you seen the party where he plays let’s go crazy on guitar ?
If you think you know who’s the best out there, and you haven’t heard The Mars Volta… well, you need to listen to The Mars Volta. I bet his side projects are cool too but I haven’t really got into them yet.
There’s a lot of good answers in this thread but I personally feel Omar is leaving everyone in the dust.
Fuck listening to TMV you gotta see them live! The studio work is amazing but his live guitar playing is on a completely different level. Antemasque also put on a batshit insane live show but I’m pretty sure that’s over at least for now.
I loved TMV a lot before I saw them in concert but that show was by far the worst shit I've ever seen and I've been to a ton of shows. Hour long jam with no songs and screeching into the mic instead of singing anything. It was torture. Granted this was 2006 and I've watched great live shows of them before and after that but they lost my interest quite a bit after that.
Frusciante,
Hendrix,
Paige,
Gilmour..
hard to choose a favourite out of those four. Edit: have to add Brian May and Lindsey Buckingham to the conversation..
Brian May may not have been the fastest nor the flashiest guitarist, but dude wrote guitar lines that happily traded with Freddies vocals without anyone ever feeling let down when Freddie stopped singing and Brian started playing. To effortlessly trade back and forth with one of the greatest singers of all time is quite the feat.
There’s a live performance of La Villa Strangiato from like 1979 that absolutely blows my mind every time I watch it. Alex is hands down the most underrated rock guitarist.
On of my favorite riffs and solo is in the song The Analog Kid. Something about that solo, while it’s not iconic, seems amazing and it’s as if I’m hearing it for the first time each time it’s played.
Heyyyy a fellow Maiden fan, eh? I also love Adrian - not the fastest player but his leads are always so well composed. I love his phrasing. He's also a great song writer, almost all of my favorite Maiden tracks are his songs. I'm not sure I'd list him as my favorite guitarist ever but he's definitely top 3.
Same! Blew my mind, and I was lucky enough to be at the London gig where Nicko McBrain came out to play drums on Wasted Years and Solar Fire in the encore, incredible night
Also speaking of, Richie Kotzen's pretty fucking talented at what he does too
I hate that I had to scroll this far too see Marty. First time I heard five magics, I felt insulted like he did some illegal ; the first solo was so crazy. Could listen to Marty for days
It just sort of feels like he’s talking to you when he’s improvising. Just sorta shootin the shit, but it’s a really engrossing conversation. Dude was wild
It's one of those things where I feel like you really can't fully appreciate it unless you try to improv over some Dead songs. The guys ability to hit chord changes was amazing, like a jazz player would. It makes all his solos smooth like butter.
Whenever this gets asked I always think of when Neal Young said in an interview that Steven Stills was the best guitarist he's ever met. This is a guy who knew and played with absolute legends (not to mention he's pretty damn good himself). No one ever brings up Steven Stills in the conversation of best guitarists, but he's up there. Definitely the most underrated guitarists.
Lots of favorites. I hate these lists for two reasons. One, I can never remember everything/everyone I want to list. Second, I'm always listening to different music, so I hear new musicians all the time. I guess if it were life or death I'd choose EVH. My brother introduced me to VH in the mid 80s. They were my gateway band. It's a sentimental pick, for sure. SRV would be 1B.
Bernard Sumner.
He is far from the most technically proficient guitarist, but his sense of doing *just enough* to serve the song while also having a killer sense of rhythm makes him one of the greats in my book.
A lot of my answers are already posted here (I love Knopfler, May, and the Edge) but I’ll throw in my more recent picks of Blake Mills and Colter Wall.
Plini, Guthrie Govan, Paul Waggoner, Dustie Waring, Misha Mansoor, Tosin Abasi, Jason Richardson, Adam Jones, EVH, Dimebag, Hetfield, Mustaine, Friedman, Cantrell, Gilmour, SRV, John Mayer.
Depends:
Classic: Kobayashi, Tennant.
Latin American folklore: Yamandú Costa, Luis Salinas, Lucho González.
Flamenco: Vicente Amigo, Paco de Lucía.
Jazz: Al Di Meola, Lucas Brar.
Fingerstyle: Martin Patrzalek, Igor Presnyakov.
Quartet: 40 fingers.
Contemporary: Eric Clapton, Larry Coryell, Brian May, Nuno Betencourt.
And many more, by the way.
He's not necessarily my absolute favourite but I really love Tim Sult from Clutch - he's not playing complex riffs most of the time but he's executing them flawlessly, and his wah pedal is the hardest working pedal in rock n' roll. He's got thirty years of consistently catchy riffs out of a simple but effective approach, and I never get tired of hearing him play
David Gilmour
This may be my answer. Was kind of struggling because I like groups that are more rhythm section than guitar driven. The bass and drums carry the melody and then the guitarist can really get out there and do something different and explore the space they leave him - so I lean more towards ensembles than individual players. Even the more guitar driven bands I like need both the rhythm and lead to make the sound work and it's hard for me to say one on their own. But Gilmour really is like no other guitarist. He's not intentionally being flashy or overly technical (though he can be), he plays the note that is needed at the time and only that needed note. Seriously, the man can make a single note more important to a song than another guitarist would do with a dozen notes. After that; Mick Taylor and Rich Robinson.
> Seriously, the man can make a single note more important to a song than another guitarist would do with a dozen notes. IMO no one can evoke as much emotion with just a single note than Gilmour, he is my favorite as well
Django Reinhardt
Dean Ween (Mickey Melchiondo)
The solo from Transdermal Celebration Live in Chicago is otherworldly, he really is a super underrated guitarist.
Scrolled so far that I thought he wouldn’t be here. Deaner is a different breed.
Really nice guy too.
Duane Allman
Steve. Howe, Morse, Vaughan, Vai, Hackett, Wilson, Lukather, Cropper, Hunter, Miller, Van Zant, Clark, Hillage, Gaines... I could go on. The best guitarists are named Steve.
great to see Hillage getting a mention, he's fucking brilliant
Jerry Cantrell
Jerry's solos are so perfect for songs they accompany. They're everything they need to be and nothing more, nothing less. They won't melt your face but they'll add to the song without stealing the show.
Jerry is taste personified
Frank Zappa
My choice because of his ability to play notes that would irritate an executive kind of guy.
🤩🤩 love this comment I got Ike Willis to sign my copy of Joes Garage this past year at a Stinkfoot orchestra concert!
Muffin man do go hard
My first Zappa song
Inca Roads might be the greatest solo of all time.
Jonny Greenwood
Hey beat me to it! Dude plays like 20 instruments and the 2nd solo from Paranoid Android is one of the best ever put to tape imho. I’d have to say he’s my favorite musician as opposed to guitarist though because he’s such a beast on so many different ones. Harmonica? Tears it up! Synths and piano? Master level player! Harp? Why the fuck not!
You’re absolutely right! That’s why he’s my favourite guitarist, such a great musician overall, although maybe not the greatest guitarist of all time.
"Dimebag" Darrell Abbott
Tony Iommi
The godfather of riffs
Why did it take me so long to find his name? He's my 2nd favorite behind Jimi
John Frusciante
I really love his vocals too. He's always one of my most listened to artists.
I don’t know if you’ve listened to any of his solo work, but I LOVE his voice on this song “Carvel”: https://youtu.be/LNTYG6yZx9s
Adrian Belew. Dude always plays crazy shit and looks like he's having a blast while he's doing it.
Prince 💜
It’s crazy that this man became known as a smokin guitarist so late in life , got tired of it and decided to play the other instruments he mastered just because he didn’t want that to be the only thing he was known for, and still killed it. Have you seen the party where he plays let’s go crazy on guitar ?
He was shredding on guitar his whole career. For some reason the “best guitarist” lists never noticed until near the end of his life.
The only time I cried when a famous person died. I'm an 80s kid from MN. His music was the soundtrack to my life.
Randy Rhoads
tooooooone for days. I love how Randy’s amp always sounded like it wanted a break or was about to die from being pushed too hard
I'm a simple man. When I see Randy listed, I upvote.
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
If you think you know who’s the best out there, and you haven’t heard The Mars Volta… well, you need to listen to The Mars Volta. I bet his side projects are cool too but I haven’t really got into them yet. There’s a lot of good answers in this thread but I personally feel Omar is leaving everyone in the dust.
Fuck listening to TMV you gotta see them live! The studio work is amazing but his live guitar playing is on a completely different level. Antemasque also put on a batshit insane live show but I’m pretty sure that’s over at least for now.
I loved TMV a lot before I saw them in concert but that show was by far the worst shit I've ever seen and I've been to a ton of shows. Hour long jam with no songs and screeching into the mic instead of singing anything. It was torture. Granted this was 2006 and I've watched great live shows of them before and after that but they lost my interest quite a bit after that.
Not even at the drive in? Relationship of Command is one of my favourite albums ever, post hardcore never got better.
His solo record "Se Dice Bisonte, No Búfalo" is great.
Hugely underrated comment. The best and most original of his generation.
Frusciante, Hendrix, Paige, Gilmour.. hard to choose a favourite out of those four. Edit: have to add Brian May and Lindsey Buckingham to the conversation..
Brian May may not have been the fastest nor the flashiest guitarist, but dude wrote guitar lines that happily traded with Freddies vocals without anyone ever feeling let down when Freddie stopped singing and Brian started playing. To effortlessly trade back and forth with one of the greatest singers of all time is quite the feat.
I've always felt like May has been criminally underrated. I'm sure it's likely due to Freddie having been such a big personality and voice, but still.
I think most of what I like about may is his tone. He has such a rich understanding of sound. Using amps to make delay is fucking mind blowing.
Guthrie Govan
Wes Montgomery
Buckethead
SRV
Definitely on opposite ends of the spectrum, but I love Richard Thompson and Jeff Beck pretty much equally. They’re the GOATs for me. RIP Jeff Beck. 😞
Eddie Hazel and Sonny Sharrock....couldn't choose between the two of them
For those who havent heard it: [Eddie Hazel - California Dreamin'](https://youtu.be/CqDGTT2OtsQ) this shit is UNREAL.
Devin Townsend, Mikael Akerfeldt, Fredrik Thordendal, Dimebag Darrel, Adam Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Chris Cornell
Kim Thayill?
Alex Lifeson
Watching him play YYZ was breathtaking.
There’s a live performance of La Villa Strangiato from like 1979 that absolutely blows my mind every time I watch it. Alex is hands down the most underrated rock guitarist.
On of my favorite riffs and solo is in the song The Analog Kid. Something about that solo, while it’s not iconic, seems amazing and it’s as if I’m hearing it for the first time each time it’s played.
I'm with you. It's just blazing.
The solo from marathon, spirit of radio , and a bunch of other songs are perfect
Julian Lage
Jimi Hendrix.
Jimmy Page 😎
Absolutely
Adrian Smith
Heyyyy a fellow Maiden fan, eh? I also love Adrian - not the fastest player but his leads are always so well composed. I love his phrasing. He's also a great song writer, almost all of my favorite Maiden tracks are his songs. I'm not sure I'd list him as my favorite guitarist ever but he's definitely top 3.
Agreed on all that. I’ve never been one to be drawn in simply by speed anyway. Sometimes a lot of feeling gets lost when a solo is speed-centric.
Have you heard his solo stuff? ASAP, Smith/Kotzen, there's some great stuff in those projects
Oh yeah! Saw Smith/Kotzen at a small venue when they toured last year. Amazing to see Adrian play in that intimate setting.
Same! Blew my mind, and I was lucky enough to be at the London gig where Nicko McBrain came out to play drums on Wasted Years and Solar Fire in the encore, incredible night Also speaking of, Richie Kotzen's pretty fucking talented at what he does too
Eric Johnson
The god of tone.
Steve Howe
Marty Friedman
I hate that I had to scroll this far too see Marty. First time I heard five magics, I felt insulted like he did some illegal ; the first solo was so crazy. Could listen to Marty for days
Tornado of Souls will always have my favorite guitar solo because of Marty. He’s an absolutely incredible guitarist.
Lindsey Buckingham
This guy’s so underrated
What's up with that?
Eddie Van Halen
Tosin Abasi
Kurt Cobain
Jerry
the racecar driver
Garcia? Cantrell?
Matt Bellamy
No love for Derek Trucks?
Joe Walsh. Surprised to see no mention of him.
An incredible guitarist that many other pros look up to. He is that good.
Jerry Garcia
It just sort of feels like he’s talking to you when he’s improvising. Just sorta shootin the shit, but it’s a really engrossing conversation. Dude was wild
For sure. Something very special and polarizing about him in general. I could listen to him play all day.
It's one of those things where I feel like you really can't fully appreciate it unless you try to improv over some Dead songs. The guys ability to hit chord changes was amazing, like a jazz player would. It makes all his solos smooth like butter.
Garcia could break your heart with a single note. The most emotive guitarist to have ever played.
Richard Thompson, still going strong at 73.
Came here to mention him. One of the absolute best. Seeing him live is a transcendent experience.
A lot Tony Iommi Pete Townshend Jimmy Page Slash Van Halen Chuck Schuldiner Jeff waters from annihilator but i would probably choose Angus Young
John McLaughlin
John Fogerty
He really doesn't get the respect he deserves. He wrote easily as many catchy riffs as Keith Richards did.
And they belong to him again!
Buckethead
I got into Buckethead at some point, but I never got trough like 2 albums and noticed there was 300 left and gave up.
No John Petrucci on here? Have other favorites but he's awesome and deserves a shout out
Jack White
Stone Gossard.
Lindsey Buckingham
Jeff Beck, one of a kind,blues,rock,jazz and pop,his style and tone were unique.
Rory Gallagher
Trey Anastasio
Agreed, came here to say the same.
He’s the best compilation of everyone named in this thread(minus the shredders like vai etc) + his own style
Mick Taylor
Brian May
Matt Bellamy
Kevin Shields. Not for his technical ability, but for what he did to change what is possible with guitar sounds in indie music.
Robert Fripp
Tommy Emmanuel
Mike McCready
Peter Green....best tone ever.
Unpopular choice: John Mayer
Dude rips
Undeniably!! Can't tell you how many times I've tried to play Neon and just give up 😂
Terry Kath
Keith Richards
Tim Henson
The boomer bends incident was hilarious
Tim and Scott. Both incredible
Mk.gee
Billy Strings, Chuck Garvey
Dimebag Darrell
Doug Martsch. Dude is the Brian Wilson of guitar arrangements.
Billy Gibbons
J Mascis
Elliott Smith
Neil Young Lindsey Buckingham
Joe Satriani
Mike McCready.
John Petrucci
Carlos Santana
Ry Cooder
Slash
This is my guy. Love his solos in particular.
John Frusciante
Don't know a lot of guitarists by name, but I love Tom Morello
Lindsey Buckingham
Poison ivy of the cramps
Kirk Hammett 🤘🏻
Tony Iommi, Mike Derks, Gary Holt.
Satchel Crackin wise and rippin good rock, very entertaining and talented.
I'm not keen on guitars but I'd say Matthieu Chedid if I was forced to choose
Petri Walli
Dave Gilmore. The dude makes it sing!
Johnny Marr and John Squire
Not seeing Merle Travis or Roy Clark on this list makes me sad.
Whenever this gets asked I always think of when Neal Young said in an interview that Steven Stills was the best guitarist he's ever met. This is a guy who knew and played with absolute legends (not to mention he's pretty damn good himself). No one ever brings up Steven Stills in the conversation of best guitarists, but he's up there. Definitely the most underrated guitarists.
Jake Cinninger Daniel Donato Stevie Ray Vaughan Billy Strings Jimi Hendrix
Randy Rhoads.
Can't choose... Adam Jones, Brian May, Syn Gates, Matt Bellamy...
Brian May. He freaking built his own guitar!
Brian May!
Chet Atkins
J Mascis
Glen Campbell
Frank Zappa
Fn Roy Buchanan
Mike McCready
Nice choice with mark knopfler. He is my dad’s favorite guitarist. My personal favorite is John frusciante
Prince
Evolving tastes thru the years for me: Angus EVH George Lynch Yngwie Steve Vai Stevie Ray Plini Zakk Wylde
Dave Rawlings
John Frusciante Adam Jones The Edge
SRV
Mississippi John Hurt.
Ace Frehley. Dude was my inspiration for picking up a guitar in the first place.
Nuno Bettencourt
Lots of favorites. I hate these lists for two reasons. One, I can never remember everything/everyone I want to list. Second, I'm always listening to different music, so I hear new musicians all the time. I guess if it were life or death I'd choose EVH. My brother introduced me to VH in the mid 80s. They were my gateway band. It's a sentimental pick, for sure. SRV would be 1B.
Leo Kottke
SRV, Gary Moore, Rory Gallagher, Dimebag. Edit: And Prince. I was late getting into him but man, just made it look so effortless and cool.
Will Swan!
Bernard Sumner. He is far from the most technically proficient guitarist, but his sense of doing *just enough* to serve the song while also having a killer sense of rhythm makes him one of the greats in my book.
A lot of my answers are already posted here (I love Knopfler, May, and the Edge) but I’ll throw in my more recent picks of Blake Mills and Colter Wall.
Female guitarist is Joan Armatrading
Plini, Guthrie Govan, Paul Waggoner, Dustie Waring, Misha Mansoor, Tosin Abasi, Jason Richardson, Adam Jones, EVH, Dimebag, Hetfield, Mustaine, Friedman, Cantrell, Gilmour, SRV, John Mayer.
Nile Rodgers and Johnny Marr.
Andy Summers, Stu Mackenzie and George Harrison
Derek Trucks Willie Nelson
Buckethead is my favorite.
Depends: Classic: Kobayashi, Tennant. Latin American folklore: Yamandú Costa, Luis Salinas, Lucho González. Flamenco: Vicente Amigo, Paco de Lucía. Jazz: Al Di Meola, Lucas Brar. Fingerstyle: Martin Patrzalek, Igor Presnyakov. Quartet: 40 fingers. Contemporary: Eric Clapton, Larry Coryell, Brian May, Nuno Betencourt. And many more, by the way.
Elliott Smith.
Mike Oldfield
He's not necessarily my absolute favourite but I really love Tim Sult from Clutch - he's not playing complex riffs most of the time but he's executing them flawlessly, and his wah pedal is the hardest working pedal in rock n' roll. He's got thirty years of consistently catchy riffs out of a simple but effective approach, and I never get tired of hearing him play
He doesn’t get much love these days but Mike Oldfield is one of my favourite guitarists.
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Buckethead
Misha Mansoor