Who's the best guitar player of all time to you and why?

There isn't a best guitarist. But IMHO the most important of the last 20th century has to be Les Paul. The man invented the electric guitar, multi-track recording and was a great player, we wouldn't be having this discussion without him. Like most people here there are loads of players I really admire but Lifeson is a particular favourite of mine.
 
Here's the real top 10 ... eh!

Rik Emett
Alex Lifeson
Neil Young
Pat Travers
Frank Marino
Jeff Healey
Kim Mitchell
Colin James
Lenny Breau
Mark Day
 
sprint said:
Here's the real top 10 ... eh!

Rik Emett
Alex Lifeson
Neil Young
Pat Travers
Frank Marino
Jeff Healey
Kim Mitchell
Colin James
Lenny Breau
Mark Day
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Like those choices!!
If Metheny was Canadian, we would almost be in total agreement.

Now most important, would have to be Les Paul..
 
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Did anyone say Vinnie Moore? Phenomenal. He was once a Malmsteen type but has since done a lot of work that's more like Satch, Vai or Govan. I'm listening to 2009 'To the Core' album right now. Wall to wall guitar awesomeness and good songs too.
 
EVH of course

Nobody mentioned Demartini? He clearly stood out from the hair metal pack.

Not many can shred the pentatonic like Zakk Wylde.

Satch's album "The Extremeist" changed my life.

Gary freakin Moore. Not many could do 80's shred AND blues equally well. Search youtube for his version of Red House, its the definition of playing with raw emotion.

Eric Johnson, finesse.

Trevor Rabin.

Don Felder's work on Hotel California is one of the reasons I play guitar.

Rory Gallagher.

There are so many...
 
+1 for Gary Moore, Jimmy Page, John Petrucci, Frank Zappa, Carl Verheyen, Frank Gambale, David Gilmour, Joe Satriani, Jason Becker, Chris Broderick, Brian May, Buckethead, Ron Jarzombek, Andy Timmons... the list will grow immense if you start thinking about it. I agree with everything here said but Carlos Santana (I think he is overrated [fire extinguisher ready]).
 
I'll bite.

Two usuals: David Gilmour and Jimmy Page -- these are the guys that made me want to learn how to play the guitar WELL (haven't gotten there yet, but...).

One I don't think we've heard: Johnny Greenwood--this is the guy that makes me still want to write guitar music and makes me think there's still the possibility of using the guitar in a fresh and vital way.

I mean, at some point, songwriting has to be an important part to being a great guitarist, and not just being able to shred the best of whatever, right?
 
OK I'm dating myself now, but to me all of my favorite guitarists are/were English (with the exception of Hendrix, SRV, Joe Walsh and Billy Gibbons). FWIW here are the guitarists that I still enjoy hearing the most: David Gilmour, Steve Howe, Steve Hackett (Genesis), Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Gary Green (Gentle Giant), Allan Holdsworth, Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Greg Lake. In the acoustic realm I'm a big fan of James Taylor and Paul Simon. I really respect many of the other players mentioned but these are the guys I sit up and take notice of all the time.

Great thread question, thanks for posting it!
 
Rex said:
Gotta give credit where credit is due. That tune is Mason Williams all the way, not Eric Clapton. I've never seen or heard a recording of Clapton covering that tune, though many still believe he wrote it. The recordings I've heard that claim to be made by Mr. Clapton are usually copies of Mason Williams' 1968 version, or occassionally a live cover by Tommy Emmanuel.

I have fond memories of Classical Gas. I was captivated by it when it was released, and it was the first "serious" tune I learned how to play, way back in '69.
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I love posts like this. I'm like, "what are these guys raving about? Let me google it."

OHHHH!! Bad ass! . . .

(Not Mason, but GAAAADAAAAAAMN!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQJ1k2HMoRU

Mason's:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeHgNqbdBKs
 
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+1000. Mason made it a masterpiece. Tommy used it to show you don't need an amp to shred.
 
mark_melling said:
Then he deserves some free KickTags?? and so do i for reminding you!! :mrgreen
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Haha! Do you know what Mark - if he was a fractal user and had an MFC-101 I would personally take a set over to him in SF (and probably get hoofed in the pods by his security and sent back to the UK with a box of KickTags and a broken testicle).

And yes, of course, free KickTags for all.

:)
 
Like many others, picking one is so difficult, so I tried to narrow it down and give a reason why...in order, for the most part:

Jeff Beck - amazing ability to reach in and grab the most inventive ideas time after time
George Harrison - played lead on some of the best songs ever written - and he always came through (the bathroom window) ;)
EVH - hands down the best rhythm player in rock - not a bad lead player either ;)
Robben Ford - shows you don't have to be a speed player to be a great player
Neil Giraldo - those early Benatar records have a vibe and tone that really influenced me...wildly underrated player
Andy Summers - another big influence...Sting was lucky to get in a band with this genius
George Benson - no explanation really needed
Brett Mason - his technique and sense of rhythm are stunning
Alex Lifeson - couldn't stand Rush in high school, but I love their stuff now... the unsung hero of this trio
Blues Saraceno - another amazingly inventive player with incredibly clean articulation
Don Felder - solo from "One Of These Nights" is one I never tire of hearing
Trevor Rabin - monster player and scored some great movies
Peter Frampton - redefined lead playing for me in my formative years
Yngwie Malmsteen - for sheer technical precision, I'm not sure there is anybody better (if he just wouldn't talk...)

Man that was tough...
 
my personal guitar journey influences:

Stuart Adamson - Big Country: emphatic live performances
Francis Rossi & Rick Parfitt - Status Quo : good fun for a learner to play along with
Gary Moore : - sheer firepower
first mention ?? ! George Lynch : serious technique and tone
Alex Lifeson : all round Class Act
Billy Gibbons : Coolness personified
 
Wow, what issues some folks have...this is a fun question, and shows where people come from. It's obvious many people didn't think about what the OP really asked ....as shown by the one word answers that don't explain why that guitarist is the best to you....and the ones who say "there is no best, this question is stupid".....well every individual could make a "best" guitarist claim which is 100% accurate because it's personal. If you have a reason you feel they are best, that is a valid reason, no matter who the guitarist is...get over yourselves.

To me the greatest guitarist of all time is Jimmy Page. Despite my feelings about his sometimes sloppy playing on some songs, his great acoustic playing, combined with his great electric playing and innovation is to me the best guitarist. I mean, instrumental acoustic songs in screwed up tunings to straight up hard rock, and everything in between sums up best to me, and was commercially popular on top of that.

My influences run much further than Jimmy Page, from Clapton, Gilmour, Hammet, Hendrix, Petrucci, Slash, EVH, Santana, Dave Matthews, Christopher Parkening,etc, but picking just a single one, takes time and a lot of thought. I thought of it like the Desert Island approach. You can only pick one Guitarists discography, who would it be....for me, Jimmy Page's wide range of styles, while still making songs i can listen to despite the sometimes wide range, and pushing me to become a more well rounded guitarist, sets him aside.
 
The "best" might remain unknown..

My personal "best" is Danny Gatton.
Also Rorry Gallagher, Jimi Hendrix etc..
 
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