digitaldreamdoor.com— Actually the list is 200 long, which obviously starts with Jimi and finishes with James Hetfield at the bottom.
Jul 23, 2006View in Crawl 4
Sorry, George Harrison at 57? Uh, he's gotta be at least in the top 20. These guys need to go pick up All Things Must Pass, and the last 5 Beatles albums. Waaay more influential than, say, Tom Morello. If they are really measured by impact and influence, this list would be way different, and Hendrix wouldn't be first.
Ok, so I know he's not american and he's in a punk band...but Chris Cheney is a bad ass guitar player that is at LEAST better than f**king James Hetfield.Had to get that in there.
Completely agreed. If you were to listen to some of the solos he rips into in "pistachio medley" on the zero single disc, then all of you would be believers. Not to mention his solo on "cherub rock" being one of the best alt rock solos of all time.
@gwjc: If you don't believe Jimi Hendrix belongs at the top of a list ranking impact, influence, creativity, versatility, originality, technical skill and lasting popularity you don't understand the rock genre. Sure, Les Paul was/is incredible, but he was a jazz guitarist.Of course any list of the last 100 years should have Robert Johnson and Django at the top
This is another defending Jimi comment. Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Satriani (and I'm sure others) were born as guitarists when they heard he died. They've got to be two of the best guitarists I've heard, and if you just watch Hendrix play on Google Video or whatever, you'll be blown away.
No Herman, no Laiho, no Amott, What is the world coming to? The metal guitarists are always the best, and they never include them on these lists. Personally I think Laiho (Children of Bodom, Synergy) is one of the greatest ever, as he is amazing at writing and amazing at playing.
This list is worthlessIf each of the living guitarists on this list compiled their own list of the 100 greatest guitarists, and an average was produced, that would be a proper list
i only have 2 big complaints with the list...1) why is george lynch (dokken) as low as he is... i dont think he cracks the to 20 or even 30 maybe but come on he should be higher than where he is2)what about herman li from dragonforce? yeah so he plays metal but he didnt crack the top 80 of the top metal guitarists list... there is something wrong with that one... he should be higher than a lot of people on the top 200 list and he barely makes it for metal guitarists... it just doesnt make sense to me
I think it's always retarded to argue whether some guitarist, or any musician, is better than the other. After all, isn't music an art form rather than a sport? There are simply too many different qualities that make a musician to claim one of them "best".
it's stupid to compare who's better. anybody of them is good for something. but there are exceptions, and they are rare. of 10000 guitarists one or two are good. you mustn't just look the technique. the imagination and feeling are more important (especially in blues which is the the best genre for guitar, except jazz-rock which is maybe the hardest). it's stupid to compare some metal guitarist and blues man, or rocker, cause they're playing a whole different kind of music. let's get back to the list: Hendrix deserves to be 1. (because he was the first who was playing with that style and he invented that kind of music, and sound....), then should be Stevie ray Vaughan [because he had his own style(which is played today by Kenny Wayne shepherd) and and played with such feeling and love i have ever seen; he could eat 5 Clapton's, 10 Steve vai's and 12 satrianis for breakfast; after his death Vai, Satriani and Clapton tried something like he did but never came close]; Rory Gallagher( i don't know why people don't like him, on every list he's not in the first 30, he could play anything that Hendrix or srv could, he's way ahead Clapton, Vai, Satriani, and others) in my opinion he should be 3.; i could go on but there are too many to count, but i can say that Jimmy Page is very overrated, he had great ideas and led zeppelin would have been nothing without him, but he wasn't that good player like he's described!!
Lists are just opinions which as we all know, are like a**holes. Everyone has one and some stink more than others.Jeff Beck & Adrian Belew. Both always reaching,exploring,expanding, and just refusing to conform. And that, my friends, is rock & roll.Ain't it da troof.
Tons of you are taking a shot at Digg for this list. It is a list from Digital Dream Door, not Digg. It is a link to another website for god sakes. Slash dhould be higher and so should Kirk Hammet but James Hetfield did pretty well for a rythm guitarist.
......I think the 100 greatest guitarist should be the best...not the has beens from the past. Yes Everyone thinks Hendrix was the best...yet I feel he's not close to the best...If he was everyone would listen to his music night and day. They don't and most can't stand too. The truth is everyone has thier guitar hero's....I read last week on a Blog somewhere that , everyone lives and dies by thier guitar hero's ...they want them to be the best....even if they are not.So why do people pick guitar hero's.....some people like Chet Atkins....some people like Bob Dylan.......are they the best...NO !.....but people pick thier hero's by who they relate to the best. In other words....folk guitar players who are limited to playing folk guitar....will pick other folk guitar players.....but the truth is Jazz guitarist know lead scales and chords into the ground and playing folk music to a jazz guitarist is about 10 steps backwards. If you think I'm wrong and you play folk music...try Jazz....it will change your life.............Next are Jazz guitarist the best...No....or maybe yes...it depends.I think the worlds best guitarist has to be able to play the best all around.That's means, jazz,rock,blues,classical ect......Electric and acoustic guitar both. Many great electric guitarist are horrible on acoustic.Few guitar players are great on both.The best guitarist must have a touch and a feel on guitar ....a style that makes them the best.....this brings names like Eric Clapton in and George Benson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jordan Rivers , Paco De Lucia, Eric Johnson,John Mclaughlin,Robert Cray, Vince Gill ,Joe Satriani, Brian Setzer.........These guys are the best.Some are very famous and other less famous...but all these men can flat out play any thing at any time.I'm sorry but Hendrix wouldn't make my top 50 , neither would Steve Via, I know you Hendrix fan disagree.....but really.....I don't hear much of Hendrix these days.....and these other guitar players on my list are better in my opinion...far better. Just because Hendrix help invent a new style doesn't mean he's the best. When Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile they said he's the greatest......well high school kids have done that also for over 40 years now and the mile record has fallen over 15 seconds since then...that's a huge gap.....same thing with Hendrix. In other words it's like Tiger Woods being better than Jack Nicklas......but years ago...no one though anyone could be better than Jack..right?......People improve and things get better......Hendrix is the father of what he did....but I think he'd be proud of the advances , guitar players have made since he past away.But theres a new breed now like Eric Johnson, Jordan Rivers, John Mayer Warn Hayes and other's starting to move up the charts.If you don't believe me go on Rhapsody.com.....check out the newer names. Thanks Cindy48DD
I'm going to put up my tactical flame shield here, but when it comes to playing ability, Jimmy Page (<a class="user" href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=89yw7wqoaio)">http://youtube.com/watch?v=89yw7wqoaio)</a> should have gotten top spot, in my humble opinion, followed by Robert Fripp and Stevie Ray Vaughan, then Hendrix. Alex Lifeson gets completely shafted here at 38 (What are you talking about? Rush was awesome!). Angus Young is utterly shafted at his 50... and George Harrison at 57 isn't exactly fair either. And Jerry Garcia definitely deserves more than 70. At least this list is fairer than Rolling Stone's, which put Angus Young at 96, Tony Iommi at 86, Jimmy Page at 9, and had absolutely no reference to Alex Lifeson...Although at least Rolling Stone shafted Van Halen, and rightfully.
I'm glad that all three of Maiden's Guitarists are on the list. But still, Hendrix and Page are the greatest guitarists, period. With that said, Zakk Wylde, Dimebag Darrell, Dave Murray, Frank Zappa, Ted Nugent, Adrian Smith, Randy Rhoads, Janick Gers, Eric Clapton, and Martin (Jethro Tull) are my favorites.
I total agree with you Chris Very well said. I think this list is awesome. Joe Satriani who ended up #7 even quoted this site for his upcoming European Tour witrh Paul Gilbert. You can't really please everybody, but this list was far more better than the Rolling Stones List.
No Kawabata Makoto means this list is a failure.Also missing Agata, Paul "Cripple" Bakija, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Stefan Kerry, Otomo Yoshihide and Tsuyama Atsushi.And the numbers are all wrong. Frank Zappa at 39 (below Kirk Hammet)?
okay there is no way what so ever that santana is anything over 25... and wheres herman li from dragonforce, thats one of the fastest guitaring ive heard since Yngwie Malmsteen.. altho the first 3 were good i completely agree except jimmy page should b 2 .. i think hes beter than eric clapton,a nd eddie van halen is also where he should b, altho above jeff beck i think... have you heard eruption i mean seriously
What about the guitarist for Jefferson Starship? In my humble opinion he scores higher in most of the criteria than half of those on the list. I'm refering to Craig Chaquico.
Brian Setzer at 169?!?! Anybody that doesn't put Setzer in the Top 5 is either unfamiliar with the man's work or doesn't know f**kall about playing guitar. Ask any guitarist that's been playing for years and years (and has seen Setzer play) and they'll tell you that he is the greatest living guitarist.This list is a joke.
I agree with (for the most part) the top 100 greatest, but I don’t agree with the order in witch their in, for example Pete Townsend as much as I love him is not as technically talented as Vai or Malmsteen or even farther down the list Alex lifeson and why would you not put Ted Nugent in the top 100? Makes you wonder what the criteria is for making it into the top.
tomremixedJul 23, 2006
I'm glad to see Tom Morello (Audioslave, RAtM) and Alex Lieffson (Rush) on there. However besides Rush I was never an 80's rock fan so no digg.
thomascjohnsonJul 23, 2006
Sorry, George Harrison at 57? Uh, he's gotta be at least in the top 20. These guys need to go pick up All Things Must Pass, and the last 5 Beatles albums. Waaay more influential than, say, Tom Morello. If they are really measured by impact and influence, this list would be way different, and Hendrix wouldn't be first.
misanthropeJul 23, 2006
Ok, so I know he's not american and he's in a punk band...but Chris Cheney is a bad ass guitar player that is at LEAST better than f**king James Hetfield.Had to get that in there.
superflksJul 24, 2006
Completely agreed. If you were to listen to some of the solos he rips into in "pistachio medley" on the zero single disc, then all of you would be believers. Not to mention his solo on "cherub rock" being one of the best alt rock solos of all time.
motionblurJul 24, 2006
@gwjc: If you don't believe Jimi Hendrix belongs at the top of a list ranking impact, influence, creativity, versatility, originality, technical skill and lasting popularity you don't understand the rock genre. Sure, Les Paul was/is incredible, but he was a jazz guitarist.Of course any list of the last 100 years should have Robert Johnson and Django at the top
nogoodnamesleftJul 25, 2006
Hank Marvin... not really *rock* guitar.
shadowblitzJul 30, 2006
This is another defending Jimi comment. Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Satriani (and I'm sure others) were born as guitarists when they heard he died. They've got to be two of the best guitarists I've heard, and if you just watch Hendrix play on Google Video or whatever, you'll be blown away.
kuranimoJul 30, 2006
No Herman, no Laiho, no Amott, What is the world coming to? The metal guitarists are always the best, and they never include them on these lists. Personally I think Laiho (Children of Bodom, Synergy) is one of the greatest ever, as he is amazing at writing and amazing at playing.
ak47839213Aug 1, 2006
david gilmour influenced randy rhoads u f**king moron, and david gilmour played some of the best solos ive evcer heard
Closed AccountAug 3, 2006
Right.I'd like to see you play Dragonforce with your eyes closed.Send me some videos. I'm waiting in anticipation.
townerAug 5, 2006
This list is worthlessIf each of the living guitarists on this list compiled their own list of the 100 greatest guitarists, and an average was produced, that would be a proper list
oficermantimberAug 9, 2006
No East Bay Ray or Greg Ginn=no digg.
hituwitaguitarAug 15, 2006
i only have 2 big complaints with the list...1) why is george lynch (dokken) as low as he is... i dont think he cracks the to 20 or even 30 maybe but come on he should be higher than where he is2)what about herman li from dragonforce? yeah so he plays metal but he didnt crack the top 80 of the top metal guitarists list... there is something wrong with that one... he should be higher than a lot of people on the top 200 list and he barely makes it for metal guitarists... it just doesnt make sense to me
moregrooveSep 14, 2006
I think it's always retarded to argue whether some guitarist, or any musician, is better than the other. After all, isn't music an art form rather than a sport? There are simply too many different qualities that make a musician to claim one of them "best".
jackal5Oct 29, 2006
it's stupid to compare who's better. anybody of them is good for something. but there are exceptions, and they are rare. of 10000 guitarists one or two are good. you mustn't just look the technique. the imagination and feeling are more important (especially in blues which is the the best genre for guitar, except jazz-rock which is maybe the hardest). it's stupid to compare some metal guitarist and blues man, or rocker, cause they're playing a whole different kind of music. let's get back to the list: Hendrix deserves to be 1. (because he was the first who was playing with that style and he invented that kind of music, and sound....), then should be Stevie ray Vaughan [because he had his own style(which is played today by Kenny Wayne shepherd) and and played with such feeling and love i have ever seen; he could eat 5 Clapton's, 10 Steve vai's and 12 satrianis for breakfast; after his death Vai, Satriani and Clapton tried something like he did but never came close]; Rory Gallagher( i don't know why people don't like him, on every list he's not in the first 30, he could play anything that Hendrix or srv could, he's way ahead Clapton, Vai, Satriani, and others) in my opinion he should be 3.; i could go on but there are too many to count, but i can say that Jimmy Page is very overrated, he had great ideas and led zeppelin would have been nothing without him, but he wasn't that good player like he's described!!
hiroidApr 7, 2007
Lists are just opinions which as we all know, are like a**holes. Everyone has one and some stink more than others.Jeff Beck & Adrian Belew. Both always reaching,exploring,expanding, and just refusing to conform. And that, my friends, is rock & roll.Ain't it da troof.
rghms21May 6, 2007
Eddie Van Halen at #70!!! that shows how much of a joke this list is...
rghms21May 12, 2007
ummm I have a question...where is Synester Gates from Avenged Sevenfold??????
stuzzMay 15, 2007
Tons of you are taking a shot at Digg for this list. It is a list from Digital Dream Door, not Digg. It is a link to another website for god sakes. Slash dhould be higher and so should Kirk Hammet but James Hetfield did pretty well for a rythm guitarist.
cindy48ddJul 1, 2007
......I think the 100 greatest guitarist should be the best...not the has beens from the past. Yes Everyone thinks Hendrix was the best...yet I feel he's not close to the best...If he was everyone would listen to his music night and day. They don't and most can't stand too. The truth is everyone has thier guitar hero's....I read last week on a Blog somewhere that , everyone lives and dies by thier guitar hero's ...they want them to be the best....even if they are not.So why do people pick guitar hero's.....some people like Chet Atkins....some people like Bob Dylan.......are they the best...NO !.....but people pick thier hero's by who they relate to the best. In other words....folk guitar players who are limited to playing folk guitar....will pick other folk guitar players.....but the truth is Jazz guitarist know lead scales and chords into the ground and playing folk music to a jazz guitarist is about 10 steps backwards. If you think I'm wrong and you play folk music...try Jazz....it will change your life.............Next are Jazz guitarist the best...No....or maybe yes...it depends.I think the worlds best guitarist has to be able to play the best all around.That's means, jazz,rock,blues,classical ect......Electric and acoustic guitar both. Many great electric guitarist are horrible on acoustic.Few guitar players are great on both.The best guitarist must have a touch and a feel on guitar ....a style that makes them the best.....this brings names like Eric Clapton in and George Benson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jordan Rivers , Paco De Lucia, Eric Johnson,John Mclaughlin,Robert Cray, Vince Gill ,Joe Satriani, Brian Setzer.........These guys are the best.Some are very famous and other less famous...but all these men can flat out play any thing at any time.I'm sorry but Hendrix wouldn't make my top 50 , neither would Steve Via, I know you Hendrix fan disagree.....but really.....I don't hear much of Hendrix these days.....and these other guitar players on my list are better in my opinion...far better. Just because Hendrix help invent a new style doesn't mean he's the best. When Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile they said he's the greatest......well high school kids have done that also for over 40 years now and the mile record has fallen over 15 seconds since then...that's a huge gap.....same thing with Hendrix. In other words it's like Tiger Woods being better than Jack Nicklas......but years ago...no one though anyone could be better than Jack..right?......People improve and things get better......Hendrix is the father of what he did....but I think he'd be proud of the advances , guitar players have made since he past away.But theres a new breed now like Eric Johnson, Jordan Rivers, John Mayer Warn Hayes and other's starting to move up the charts.If you don't believe me go on Rhapsody.com.....check out the newer names. Thanks Cindy48DD
arctic338Aug 27, 2007
I'm going to put up my tactical flame shield here, but when it comes to playing ability, Jimmy Page (<a class="user" href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=89yw7wqoaio)">http://youtube.com/watch?v=89yw7wqoaio)</a> should have gotten top spot, in my humble opinion, followed by Robert Fripp and Stevie Ray Vaughan, then Hendrix. Alex Lifeson gets completely shafted here at 38 (What are you talking about? Rush was awesome!). Angus Young is utterly shafted at his 50... and George Harrison at 57 isn't exactly fair either. And Jerry Garcia definitely deserves more than 70. At least this list is fairer than Rolling Stone's, which put Angus Young at 96, Tony Iommi at 86, Jimmy Page at 9, and had absolutely no reference to Alex Lifeson...Although at least Rolling Stone shafted Van Halen, and rightfully.
guitardojoOct 1, 2007
george lynch is the best. the fstest and by far the most talented i've ever seen, check him out on you tube play
simpsoniteNov 12, 2007
I'm glad that all three of Maiden's Guitarists are on the list. But still, Hendrix and Page are the greatest guitarists, period. With that said, Zakk Wylde, Dimebag Darrell, Dave Murray, Frank Zappa, Ted Nugent, Adrian Smith, Randy Rhoads, Janick Gers, Eric Clapton, and Martin (Jethro Tull) are my favorites.
24fretterJan 9, 2008
I total agree with you Chris Very well said. I think this list is awesome. Joe Satriani who ended up #7 even quoted this site for his upcoming European Tour witrh Paul Gilbert. You can't really please everybody, but this list was far more better than the Rolling Stones List.
darkjesusFeb 20, 2008
No Kawabata Makoto means this list is a failure.Also missing Agata, Paul "Cripple" Bakija, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Stefan Kerry, Otomo Yoshihide and Tsuyama Atsushi.And the numbers are all wrong. Frank Zappa at 39 (below Kirk Hammet)?
xxdant3xxMar 23, 2008
okay there is no way what so ever that santana is anything over 25... and wheres herman li from dragonforce, thats one of the fastest guitaring ive heard since Yngwie Malmsteen.. altho the first 3 were good i completely agree except jimmy page should b 2 .. i think hes beter than eric clapton,a nd eddie van halen is also where he should b, altho above jeff beck i think... have you heard eruption i mean seriously
rb60Jul 29, 2008
What about the guitarist for Jefferson Starship? In my humble opinion he scores higher in most of the criteria than half of those on the list. I'm refering to Craig Chaquico.
donnybahamaNov 27, 2008
Brian Setzer at 169?!?! Anybody that doesn't put Setzer in the Top 5 is either unfamiliar with the man's work or doesn't know f**kall about playing guitar. Ask any guitarist that's been playing for years and years (and has seen Setzer play) and they'll tell you that he is the greatest living guitarist.This list is a joke.
ueichenAug 19, 2009
Yeah but kirk hammett is 35, assh**e.
gareDec 17, 2010
suckers for clicking on links and enriching douchebags?
underground999May 14, 2011
I agree with (for the most part) the top 100 greatest, but I don’t agree with the order in witch their in, for example Pete Townsend as much as I love him is not as technically talented as Vai or Malmsteen or even farther down the list Alex lifeson and why would you not put Ted Nugent in the top 100? Makes you wonder what the criteria is for making it into the top.