Top 100 Guitarists of All Time

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,Pluvio
Date: 24 Jan 07 - 01:54 PM

this list missed a lot of name in the blues, bluegrass, hawaiian, jazz, fingerpicking, slide&steel, flamenco etc. etc.

but there are many great names.
thanks to youtube, only 3 years later, we can listen to thousands of undiscovered talents.

cheers!
pluvio

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 14 Oct 03 - 09:23 AM

Thread creep for fans of Peter Green: he & the Splinter Group are appearing (yes you guessed it!) at JAGZ, Station Hill, Ascot, Berks, UK this Thursday Oct 16th. Band on c9pm. Details 01344 878100.

RtS
(Guess who has tickets #1 &2?)

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,Andrew
Date: 13 Oct 03 - 12:25 PM

Haven't seen a mention of John James.
Now I have !

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,Ian
Date: 12 Oct 03 - 06:23 PM

Thank God the good folks on this board didn't have to come up with there own "Top 100 Guitarists of all Time"...it would have caused more controversy than "Rolling Stones"

These things are all subjective, (and as long as Richard Thompsons included on any list, I'm happy!...and thats an objective view!!!!!)

Ian

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,pdq
Date: 12 Oct 03 - 03:24 PM

Another nod to the women guitar players: Glenda Faye, a flatpicker rooted in the Doc Watson Style. She was a regular in the Grand Ole Opry stage band. Now, it's off to get examples of as many of these people as possible. What a list!

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: early
Date: 11 Oct 03 - 07:22 PM

got to say Issac Guillory was one of the finest acoustic guitarists i ever saw live remember travvelling to york from swindon after a days work there - that night he appeared with john renbourn and together they were brill!!

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,pdq
Date: 11 Oct 03 - 07:13 PM

I don't know if any of these women qualify as Top 100, but in the name of diversity:

Ely's list:
Etta Baker
Memphis Minnie
Bonnie Raitt
Joni Mitchell
Joan Jett

Rolling Stone list:
Joan Jett
Joni Mitchell

ADD:
   Libba Cotton
   Melissa Ethridge
   Cheryl Crowe
   Cyndi Cashdollar (OK, "slide")
   Charo (no joke)

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: John Robinson (aka Cittern)
Date: 11 Oct 03 - 07:10 AM

Re: Women playing guitar. One of the motivations for my partner's route in music was to be told as young girl - "you play well, for a girl". She has spent a great deal of time since proving that she plays well, full stop!

Best regards
John Robinson
http://www.JulieEllison.co.uk

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: Beverley Barton
Date: 08 Oct 03 - 09:05 AM

yo ely
          my daughter has three guitars, a telecaster, a yamaha semi and a rafael morales nylon strung, AND YOU ARE ALL WRONG paco delucia is best guitarist, closely followed by manolo sanlucar and vicente amigo.ps why don't many women play guitar?

Subject: Rolling Stone Top 100 guitar players
From: City Crow
Date: 08 Oct 03 - 12:16 AM

Any thoughts on the Rolling Stone Magazine top 100 guitar players?
I do not know if this was a thread before this or not but is seems to be the list that sparked 1,000 arguements.

--- Transferred from another thread. ---

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,pdq
Date: 28 Sep 03 - 09:04 PM

ELY, what are you talking about. Peter Green???

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: CraigS
Date: 28 Sep 03 - 08:46 PM

Over a hundred posts and I can still mention Arthur Alemann, Steve Tilston, Dave Ellis, Dave Farrar, Fapy Lafertin, Birelli Lagrene, Robert A Johnson, Howard Roberts, John Williams, Philip John Lee, Alvin Lee, Brian May, Sacha Distel, Hans van Theesink, David Qualey, Richard Gilewitz, Johnny Marrs, Big Jim Sullivan ( who has never heard of Bernie Marsden), Geoff Whitehorn, Richie Blackmore, Tony Iommi, Pete Townsend, Snowy White, Stan Webb and Jeff Beck ... I could go on.

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: Ely
Date: 28 Sep 03 - 07:28 PM

What's your beef, GUEST pdq? She was hardly a three-chord plunker and there are few enough women in the genre as it is. I hate having separate categories ("Top 100 *Women* Guitarists"); if you have a daughter, buy her a guitar for Christmas and help us do better.

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 28 Sep 03 - 06:46 PM

Michael Chapman

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,SeaKing
Date: 28 Sep 03 - 06:30 PM

Archie Fisher..

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,pdq
Date: 28 Sep 03 - 05:30 PM

If Peter Green was mentioned, it was not adamantly enough.

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: pattyClink
Date: 28 Sep 03 - 03:31 PM

I just heard some Lonnie Mack for the first time this week. These maroons need to revise their list, or at least remove 'of all time' from the title.

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: s&r
Date: 28 Sep 03 - 10:07 AM

Only one mention of Isaac Guillory - shame on you.

And surely Eric Roche is familiar to some 'catters?

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: s&r
Date: 28 Sep 03 - 09:57 AM

Richard Starkey?....AKA Ringo?

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: belfast
Date: 28 Sep 03 - 09:37 AM

Bert Weedon? Or, to be slightly more serious, Arty McGlynn?

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: Benjamin
Date: 28 Sep 03 - 01:01 AM

John Jackson deserves to be on that list. Not only was the man a brilliant musician, but he was also the nicest man I met.

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,Axis of Axes
Date: 27 Sep 03 - 11:59 PM

Partial list of guitar players who outplay Kurt Cobain and Joni Mitchell:

Dale Adkins
   Travis Alltop
   Jeff Autry
   Russ Barenberg
   Richard Bennett
   Dix Bruce
   Dix Bruce & Jim Nunally
   Norman Blake
   Norman & Nancy Blake
   Norman Blake & Tony Rice
   Gary Brewer
   Luke Bulla
   Mo Canada
   Joe Carr
   John Carlini
   John Carlini & Tony Rice
   John Chapman
   Jamie Clifton
   Gary Cook
   Mark Cosgrove
   Ray Craft
   Dan Crary
   Roy Curry
   Brad Davis
   Dan DeLancey
   Dan Edmonds
   Beppe Gambetta
   Adam Granger
   David Grier
   Jimmy Haley
   Slavek Hanzlik
   Bull Harman
   Jim Hurst
   Chris Jones
   Curtis Jones, Jr.
   Steve Kaufman
   Robin Kessinger
   Cody Kilby
   Steve Kilby
   Jack Lawrence
   John Lowell
   Tim May
   Mike Maddux
   John McGann
   Peter McLaughlin
   John Moore
   Jim Nunally
   Scott Nygaard
   Mark O'Connor
   Steve Palazzo
   Rob Pearcy
   Steve Pottier
   Don Reno
   Tony Rice
   Wyatt Rice
   Doug Rorrer
   Phil Rosenthal
   Charles Sawtelle
   Allen Shadd
   Robert Shafer
   James Alan Shelton
   Jon Sholle
   George Shuffler
   George Shuffler & James Alan Shelton
   Kenny Smith
   Larry Sparks
   Tim Stafford
   Orrin Star
   Richard Starkey
   Bryan Sutton
   Eric Thompson
   John Tindel
   Chuck Tinsley
   Dan Tyminski
   Craig Vance
   Sean Watkins
   Doc Watson
   Clarence White
   Jeff White
   Mike Whitehead
   Various Artists
   Flatpicking Samplers
   Dave Hull
   Massoubre & Seguret

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,BUTTERFLY
Date: 09 Sep 03 - 08:19 AM

What, John Fahey only No. 35 (I suppose I should be grateful he was in it at all!).

Of course comparisons are invidiuous; however he is one of the few musicians whose tunes you always get more and more out of no matter how many years you listen to them. He also could take a well-known almost twee song (he virtually never sung himself on record) and set it to instrumental guitar, often with a slightly uptempo rhythm, and give it a new lease of life (eg Camptown Races, Bicycle Built for Two, My Grandfather's Clock, etc; he also fid this with hymn and Christmas tunes). Such a pity he died in February 2 or 3 years back.

BUTTERFLY 9.9.2003 13.20 FROM AN INTERNET CAFE IN BALLYVAUGHAN, CO. CLARE, REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 08 Sep 03 - 07:30 PM

........"There is another guy who plays a Caravelle guitar and comes from England, Alan ? (avante guard fusion)......."

That would be Alan Holdsworth.

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,Frankham
Date: 08 Sep 03 - 07:20 PM

Mundell Lowe, Herb Ellis, Hank Garland, Bucky Pizzarelli, George Barnes, Jimmy Bruno, Taylor (from Scotland), Pierre Bensusan, Alirio Diaz (taught with Segovia in Sienna), Barry Galbraith, Grant Green,
John Pisano, Phil Upchurch, George Benson, Joe Diorio, Pat Donahue,
Guy Van Duser, Laureindo Almeda, Bob Bain (guitarist for the Tonight show), Dennis Budimer, Charlie Byrd, Steve Lukather, Glen Campbell,Wes Montgomery .....all these guys make the "list" look like lightweights. There is another guy who plays a Caravelle guitar and comes from England, Alan ? (avante guard fusion).

And there are probably so many more that we don't know about. The guitar has gone through an immense transformation...it defies any top 100.

Frank

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 08 Sep 03 - 11:10 AM

Murray,
   What you say about J.P. Cormier is very true. He has to be one of the best.
We have a few others in Nova Scotia/ Cape Breton who ain't bad either.
J.P.Cormier , Dave MacIsaac , and Scott Macmillan will all be on stage together on Oct.16 at the Judique Guitar Summit for the Celtic Colours Festival.

                Sandy

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,Frankham
Date: 07 Sep 03 - 08:23 PM

One word: Ted Greene.

Musicmic: Burl did play his own guitar earlier and it sounded great.
It wasn't Lampell then. Millard couldn't sound that simple.

Frank

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 07 Sep 03 - 05:03 AM

While on the subject of Canadian guitarists, one player who did leave me speechless (several times) is JP Cormier.

Murray

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 07 Sep 03 - 04:44 AM

There's a guy here in Canada
named Don Ross ......
He'll leave you speechless.

I watched Don Ross play for a couple of hours a few months back. He was on stage with Tony McManus, Beppe Gambetta, and Dan Crary.

I have to say that of the four , Don Ross was the one who left me least speechless. Maybe I was expecting too much, having seen him being hyped here on Mudcat so much. Still a decent player, just not as phenomenal as I had been led to expect.

Murray

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,pdq
Date: 06 Sep 03 - 02:01 PM

Don Ross is on Nirada, a label he shares with many of the finest players in World Music. Nirada also has several fine releases by Artie Traum. Have people heard him lately? Artie Traum is brilliant and controlled at the same time. A "thinking man's" musician.

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,Jim
Date: 06 Sep 03 - 11:31 AM

There's a guy here in Canada
named Don Ross ......
He'll leave you speechless.

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,Stooball
Date: 05 Sep 03 - 06:00 PM

Absolutely George Barnes, also Dick McDonough, solo and for duets with Carl Kress, Buster B. Jones, said to be Jerry Reed's spiritual successor, almost impossible to get his recordings, he has one with Thom Bresh, Joe Pass for sure, the Argentine genius Barrios, who was so good that Segovia would not allow his students to speak his name and did his best to block his concert tours, George Van Eps, who invented 7-string guitar, Jimmy Raney, Ed Bickert who plays fabulous jazz on an ancient Telecaster, and on and on and on, each to his own taste.

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,pdq
Date: 05 Sep 03 - 01:35 PM

Some south o'border folks need mention, especially the late Bola Sete, the long gone Oscar Aleman, and the current Enrique Coria. All these guys have their own style and don't just play "classical" or "flamenco".

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: mooman
Date: 05 Sep 03 - 05:56 AM

Hi Ralphie!

Anything in Ypres this year?

Peace

moo

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: Ralphie
Date: 05 Sep 03 - 05:46 AM

So Mr Moo...Lets get to 101 with David Rawlins.. (Gillian Welch co- hort)

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: mooman
Date: 05 Sep 03 - 04:18 AM

Oh...OK then (to make it 100!)

(In no particular order) some of my favourites:

Pat Metheny
Paco Pena
Steve Tibbetts
Taj Mahal (simple but so tasteful
Eric Bibb
Ani DiFranco (highly original and underestimated a master of unusual tunings and dynamics)
Isaac Guillory (one of the best I saw live - brilliant bass runs and lead played together - very sadly R.I.P. not long ago)
Blind Blake

Re: the Keith Richard discussion above, not a showy guitarist but I personally rate him as a melodic genius!

Peace,

moo

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,pdq
Date: 04 Sep 03 - 09:49 PM

Memphis Minnie was one of the great blues singers of all time, but believe it or not, a very young George Barnes played the lead guitar on her best sessions.

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: Midchuck
Date: 04 Sep 03 - 09:27 PM

Jack Lawrence
Chris Newman

P.

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: Ely
Date: 04 Sep 03 - 09:20 PM

Which reminds me:

Cordell Jackson
Jean Shepard

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: Ely
Date: 04 Sep 03 - 09:13 PM

Third vote for Norman Blake . . .

Etta Baker
Paul Geramia
Memphis Minnie
Brownie McGhee
Bonnie Raitt (well, if you put Joni Mitchell and Joan Jett on there, you have to have her)

and I just saw Wayne Hancock in concert and the two electric guitarists he has in his band kick butt (Wayne himself is mostly limited to flailing away on the rhythm).

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,pdq
Date: 04 Sep 03 - 08:46 PM

We have to keep this going to atleast 100 posts! No mention of jazz player Jim Hall, not to be confused with rocker John Hall, another fine player in his own right. Fingerpickers are in short supply. I nominate Dave Laibman for his outrageous tone, and his cousin Ricky Schoenberg or all-around mastery of the ragtime revival of the 1970's. Acoustic Disc just released a live concert ('65?) of George Barnes, whom I know only from a very old and very worn-out LP. Barnes should make top 10 on the list of anyone who hears his work.

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Sep 03 - 06:59 PM

What about Ian Carr and Ed Boyd (Flook)????

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,Mario
Date: 04 Sep 03 - 04:48 AM

simon pierre, I know what you mean!

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: simon-pierre
Date: 03 Sep 03 - 01:10 PM

And me? They forgot me??

(I'm just an average guitarist, but I'm far better than Kurt Cobain you know.)

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,Dano
Date: 03 Sep 03 - 10:38 AM

Why is Lowell George not there???

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,James
Date: 03 Sep 03 - 09:10 AM

Paco de Lucia, Martin Carthy, Dave MacIsaac, Martin Simpson, Leo Kottke,Carlos Montoya, Julian Breem, Doc Watson, Ellen MacIllwaine,Eric Clapton, Stephen Stills, Jimi Hendrix, Mississippi Fred Macdowell, Bukka White..tons more..but these are my favourites, in no particular order.

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: GUEST,Mario
Date: 03 Sep 03 - 04:41 AM

Shame on Rolling Stone! They forgot (among many others) Tony Rice!
I like so much Scott Nygaard (who played with Tim O'Brien's O'Boys).
Do anybody know that guitar player?

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: BO in KY
Date: 03 Sep 03 - 01:17 AM

A few more to add to the mix:
I second the motion on the inclusion of Glen Campbell and Ledbelly - awesome 12-string stylists.

Mark Knopfler should be further up the list

Spider John Koerner and Mississippi John Hurt, who define acoustice blues.

Joe Satriani, in a class by himself in realizing the melodic potential of the electric guitar;

And finally, where is Phil Keagy? Saw him in concert about 15 years ago, blew me away with his virtuosity; he had more sounds coming out of that electric guitar than I thought possible. Of course, his religious stance may not have "fit" with whoever judges these things at Rolling Stone...

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: Mark Clark
Date: 03 Sep 03 - 12:13 AM

Since starting this thread I've been out of town. I assumed many Catters would have contrary opinions and I'm not disappointed. Many truly great guitarists have been proposed and it's hard to argue with people's suggestions.

I get the impression that when people are moved by a particular band, they automatically assume the musicians must be world class. My own opinion is that the most popular bands can have some of the poorest quality musicians if you're talking about any music outside of their particular niche. Kurt Cobain comes to mind. I'm not a fan of grunge—although my daughters were—so I just took the trouble to listen to some Nirvana clips. The guitar playing sounded sophomoric to me, both the electric and the unplugged. Even though I can enjoy music in which the guitar plays only a few throbing chords, I don't think of the technique as being a skillful use of the instrument.

In addition to the names everyone has contributed (and many of my favorites have been listed), I think we should add

• Herb Ellis
  
• Paul Galbraith
  
• Steve Lynch
  

at a minimum. People on the Rolling Stone list who I think should be removed will just naturally fall off when we add all of our additions and improve the ordering.

The first guitarist to create and master an important style should have recognition but the myriad average players who couldn't possibly have invented it but can learn to immitate it don't get any special consideration from me. I may enjoy their music a great deal but they don't rank among the “greatest of all time.” They're just good competent journeymen making a living. Now if they add something important to the canon… that's different.

      - Mark

Subject: RE: Top 100 Guitarists of All Time
From: wlisk
Date: 02 Sep 03 - 11:55 PM

Three of my favorites: David Bromberg, Pat Flynn (who will be at Winfield this year), and Maybell Carter who was and still is one of the most influential guitarists of all time.
Bill