Best Guitarist of all times

It s impossibile to say.. It s like to say about the best f1 driver in history.. Too many variables..
 
Impossible, just like best movie of all times (which is The Good, the Bad & the Ugly), if only because almost none of us stills sees the really old movies. The silent ones, or the black & white ones. They just look primitive to our CGI spoiled eyes. Jerky moves because of the way cameras worked back then, and overacting because they had no sound. Not to mention that the values of back then are now considered 'problematic' by some. Or that people had more patience back then for movies to get going, whereas today if it doesn't start with a CGI explosion most of us already reach for the TV remote. Same with music. Pink Floyd's Echoes is one of my favorite songs, but it takes more then 3 minutes before the dudes get to the point and start singing. 3 minutes! Today if your song doesn't start with the chorus or hook after the briefest of intros most people already hit next on their Spotify/iTunes playlist. So ask the average person today for the best song or movie ever, chances are they will skip most of the old stuff. And same with guitar players. How many votes would a Les Paul or a Scotty Moore still get vs, an EVH?

Tl;dr The further you go back in history, the less people will remember, the less it will also appeal to modern tastes. Any results will therefore by skewed to the present. Best guitarist per decade is the most objective you could get, and even then your favorite style might blind you to guitarists of styles you have no affinity too. Jazz guitarists for instance are for all intents of purposes invisible to me.
 
Probably the wrong way to post the question as it is as someone has already pointed out is very subjective and personal might I add.

Maybe ask Which guitar player do you think has been the most influential to guitar playing? To which case maybe a handful come to mind.
 
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I couldn't even pick my favorite guitarist or intelligently compare say, Julian Bream with Eric Johnson. This isn't merely a question of subjectivity, but closer to comparing apples to tigers. I could list those guitarists that have most influenced my own playing, and that's where subjectivity rules the day.
 
Depends on what you’re looking for. I love Steve Howe, but I wouldn’t want him on an AC/DC song as his playing wouldn’t fit that style at all.
 
In terms of pure technical ability, Guthrie Govan consistently blows my mind. My personal favorites are McLaughlin and Fripp, though.
 
OP didn't even answer his own question... "who is THE best?" >> "Slash is ONE OF the best" -- just sayin' ;-)

It's impossible to answer beyond saying who's your favorite. Guitar is not the 100 meter dash or the Super Bowl.

grandinq said:
Depends on what you’re looking for. I love Steve Howe, but I wouldn’t want him on an AC/DC song as his playing wouldn’t fit that style at all.
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Lol. Steve Howe is possibly my favorite guitarist of all, but I'd say the same thing about Owner of a Lonely Heart ;-(
 
As said above, it's the wrong question to be asking. Don't go down the road of finding "the best" because you'll miss out on everyone else that is actually "better" (whatever that means). Music is an art and there are infinite ways to engage in it. Listen to it all and enjoy many.
 
Most talented? Writes the best riffs? Way too many variables. The first thing that always pops into my head is Guthrie Govan, because, shit, he is so amazingly smooth and precise. Can seemingly play any style. God-like playing ability....but I really don't listen to his music; just not my thing.

Gilmour? Some of the greatest solos ever. Rothery, who practically gives the guitar a voice. Criss Oliva, who's playing is embedded on a huge chunk of my life. I could go on, as there are many. I'm not sure how to define best.
 
Best Guitarist? I want to say Andres Segovia, but I then think maybe Steve Howe, but then I was thinking John Williams but wait I really meant to say Jimmy Hendrix, but oh, wait it’s got to be Jimmy Page, now that I think about it unless you count Frank Zappa as a guitarist... Hmm was Zappa really a guitarist? Well of course I could pick Steve Vai since he was Frank's protégée... But hold the presses, Wes Montgomery for sure, or should it be Jeff Beck, Al Dimeola? I’m confused, what was the question again? Oh yeah what I real meant to say was for sure its Keith Richards, Ton Iommi, Robert Frip, Ritchie Blackmore, Andy Summers, Peter Frampton, Robin Tower, Eddie Van Halen, Brad Whitford, Joe Perry, Alex Lifeson, Zakk Wylde, hold on I know now its defiantly Randy Rhoads, Allan Holdsworth, Brad Gillis, Jeff Watson, Jef Beck, Pat Metheny, Tommy Skeoch…. OK Ok OK For Real its Joe Satriani no on smokes old Joe right? Right? Wrong? Bet your thinking Yngwie Malmsteen when you think of smoking…. But I digress, I like Slash too and sorry I didn’t mention Saul Hudson….
 
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