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Regarding Albert Lee:

I'm not familiar with him either. He seems very good, technically speaking, but I don't like to listen to him play. It's not that I don't like country music (which I don't, really) but more that what he plays sort of goes in one ear and right out the other. It's sort of like banjo playing, or guitar shredding. Lot's of notes in a short amount of time and none of it very memorable. I think technical proficiency only gets you so far. What you do with it matters more.

JR

"Best" guitar player depends on a LOT of factors.

I tend to judge by either technical skill or by the the "flow" of the music. So, as of this writing, I think of (2) "best":

Leo Kottke - for flat out skill & technique. The compilation album "The Best" from 1976 still astounds me.

David Gilmour - for the right notes at the right time. Just listen to the instrumental part at the end of "Comfortably Numb".

But what about John McLaughlin and the great Carlos Santana... and Al Di Meola... damn it's hard to narrow it down.

OK, time for a little twist on a theme: who's the best guitar playing grandma?
Let's see who appreciates a paul reed smith.

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Richard Hugh Blackmore is pretty good

Bill Clinton's brother, George

Here’s Phil Keagy:
Phil Keaggy - Salvation Army Band - YouTube
Phil Keaggy AMAZING guitar solo! - YouTube

Ben Lacey:
Ben Lacy - Cashmere - LIVE in Nashville - YouTube
Ben Lacy/Jay Roberts-Blue Rondo - YouTube

Greg Koch:
Greg Koch - The Best Spank It Ever - YouTube
Greg Koch - YouTube

Tonus Diabolicus!
Greg Koch Trio- Frontline Live, NAMM '08 Jam 4 - YouTube

Frank at his best….
Frank Zappa - Muffin Man 1977 - YouTube

Jaco at his best…
Jaco Pastorius-Weather Report- Birdland-live 1978- Germany - YouTube
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Django Reinhardt?
Les Paul?
E.C.?
Mark Knopfler?
Tony Rice?
Bryan Sutton?

Man, it just depends on so many things.

How about Randy Rhoads (not to think how he would be still living)

Joe Satriani is very versatile

Very unsure if anyone has mentioned Willy Porter but if you've ever seen him alive you know he would have to be included in a Top 10 list:

We all know the "Best of "Ack Ack Ack" threads are silly. It is all relative.

Not getting to far off of the OP.... I met Albert Lee at a free guitar clinic in San Luis
Obispo, California at the Ernie Ball factory.
He did a Q&A for us and explained and showed us his style/set up for the song
"Lay Down Sally" among other tunes when he worked with Eric.
The guy was amazing.
I've met other great guitarists but I still have great images of him playing and explaining tricks of the trade.
I stood next to him and had the opportunity to ask him anything. I passed.
What a great person and musician.

I wont go as far to say the "greatest" is.. but my favorite player will always be EVH. He's the reason I picked up a guitar and started listening to music in general. There's just SO much stuff in his playing that most people dont pick up on. The stuff he does in-between the leads is what makes him interesting.

If I had to come up with a list of my favs..

Eddie Van Halen
Django
Wes Montgomery
Jimmy Page
Al DiMeola (Return to Forever is amazing stuff)
Robert Fripp
Steve Howe
Nels Cline (really nice guy to boot)
SRV
Albert Lee
George Harrison

Ditto. I am (re)learning just about all of Women and Children First at the moment and the little stuff on that album just makes the hair on my arm stand up. Eddie is best known for his solos, but his rhythm playing and licks are what makes him truly unique.

Reviving this thread from the dead.

Page after page of great guitar players but no mention of George Lynch? :( Mr. Scary is one of the best solos ever. Wicked Sensation includes one of the best opening licks ever. IMHO he is just as talented as EVH and should be on the list of top guitarists of all time.

By the way, RIP Jeff Healey. His awesome talent in the face of his disability was inspiring. Listen to his music first if you never have heard of him before looking him up.

I think George Lynch is the most overrated "shredder" of the 80's and 90's. I can't think of one song of his that moved me. He's often the guest guitarist on That Metal Show and every time he leaves me scratching my head as to why he's on tv. I saw Dokken around 1988 and remember being so excited when George came out on the stage. Then I sort of wondered why I had thought he was great. I just don't get it. His solos do nothing for me and don't sound that impressive. Seems like a nice enough guy and definitely looks the part. Otherwise, huge overrate.

Ian Crichton

Decades ago, Eric Clapton & Pete Townsend intimated that it was Jimi Hendrix.

Rick, have you listened to his first 3 solo albums (2 as Lynch Mob and solo GL Sacred Groove)? His work in Dokken was muzzled or rather dictated in part by Don's song writing style and structure. He flies free on his solo albums. Check out Tierra Del Fuego... Also his instructional video is pretty cool on showcasing his prowess.

Not uncommon for EVH guys not to be GL guys? Possible? Probably.

Personally as a player I find them both to have been instrumental in my picking up the guitar in the first place after Page, Clapton, Blackmore et al. :cool:

No, have never listened to his solo stuff. I wasn't even into Dokken, but they were on the bill for the Monsters of Rock with VH in '88. I was a serious guitar player then, so I was excited to see if he measured up to all the hype. I watch Metal Mania every weekend now and not one of his Dokken solos grabs me. And on That Metal Show I'd expect him to really shine like others do. Just bores me. In fact, some of it sounds downright sloppy and juvenile. My favorit 80's/90's shredder is Vito Bratta. Every one of his solos takes me into the zone, they're melodic, challenging to play, they hold up over time and I love his tone (EMG's and ADA's). Maybe I'm missing it with Lynch, but his work has never spoken to me in the least. I see him at NAMM and he has kids lined up around the block for his autograph. Meh.

Marty McFly
 

He invented the riff and preserved the world as we know it.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1357760081.jpg

Chet Atkins deserves consideration

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^^^He definitely makes the list - imho


Edit: Chet Atkins I mean

Reinforces everything I already thought of him. Boring, underwhelming.

That's a good example of why most metal does nothing for me. Hard to find any sort of catchy tune in that. It's busy, but it never really goes anywhere. Not exactly soulful, either. It ain't about speed for me, it's about evoking a feeling, an emotion, something...

JR

Check out Greg Howe. I knew Greg when I was a kid and have recently been in touch with his mgr. I'm hoping to reconnect with him at NAMM in a few weeks. He started out as a VH clone, played with Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, those kinds of acts to make money and plays this kind of stuff below for his own thing. Amazing player.

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I looked thru all 16 pages of this post and all that have been mentioned are tops. Hendrix is amazing. I just listened to "Machine Gun" awesome. There are creative guys and there are pure technicians, Hendrix probably both. Musicians, like artists have a sense of style and that is what makes them great. we wouldn't have a debate if they all sounded the same.

so............ let me throw out (2) more.

Steve Cropper - Booker T and the MG's Green Onions - Steve Cropper & Donald 'Duck' Dunn - YouTube. Donald Dunn not a bad base player either.

Joe Bonamassa - blue guitarist - he is or will be great.

Joe Bonamassa - Blues Deluxe (2007) - YouTube

Maybe not the best, but deserves mention....

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He also had that time travel thing going for him which allowed him to play a '58 Gibson in 1955.;)

Great music. George Lynch can play guitar, I've always liked his tone, rythym and intonation. He's not "the best", but I like it.

What I have enjoyed about reading this thread from start to finish is seeing some familiar faces that I like, listening to some great guitarists that I didn't know play at their peak, and seeing how others perceive "your" favorite guitarist.:)

While I wouldn't call these guys the best overall, I feel they were the best in their genre and used to and still listen to them alot:
Warren DeMartini (RATT)
Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains)
Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme)(III sides to Every Story is a great album)
And the list could go on.

I was stranded in Alaska for a year and "Hot Tuna", Jorma and Jack lifted my spirits. That was a million years ago but stuck with me.
You have to recognize Carlos Santana as a person that can talk through his
fretboard more so than anyone I can immediately think of.

Check out this version, in mutch better mood, especially at the second half and end:

George Lynch - Mr Scary || Detroit 1991 HQ - YouTube

I don't think there's a best guitar player. I definitely have quite a few faves though.
Here are some in no particular order:
Earl Hooker
Freddie King
Danny Gatton
Roy Buchanan
Duane Allman
Redd Volkaert
Robben Ford
Kenny Greenberg
Eric Clapton
Michael Bloomfield
Matt "Guitar" Murphy
Johnny Winter
Rory Gallagher

These are just some

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Music is art and there is no "best".

Who inspires me:
Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, BB King, Eddie Van Halen, Joe Pass, Charlie Christian, James Burton, Segovia, Satch, Les Paul, Jeff Beck, Slash, Guthrie Govan, SRV, Eric Clapton, Robbie Kreiger, Jimmy Page, Larry Carlton, Carlos Santana, Peter Green and many others.

I am certain these two gentlemen have been mentioned previously - George Benson & Earl Klugh - Cajundaddy has quite a few of my favourites covered - gotta add Mark Knopfler

One of the best of the new generation is Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys.

If, rather than "Who's the best?", the question was 'who do you enjoy listening to?', then I like just about everyone listed in this thread - mood-dependent, of course.
I also like the style of John Fahey, Mississippi John Hurt, & Leo Kottke.
.
Oh, and Derek Trucks.
.
I like to listen to guitarists where I can imagine playing what they're playing.

Do you play guitar, kaisen?