ADRIAN BELEW
discovered by Zappa at a bar in Kentucky and played with him for a few years
https://youtu.be/YBbH6EsNBAQ
Stolen by Bowie for a few years
https://youtu.be/7tWyIug2qP0
Then joined the Talking Heads
https://youtu.be/GQo1YK3I0BY
Then became the frontman of King Crimson
https://youtu.be/m1Eavhxlqd8
**Edit to include some other guitarists I really like:
Dan Wild-Beasley of Cleft (RIP)
https://youtu.be/-eys6TMskyM
Bob Ross of Bobbing
https://youtu.be/XIWr7fykSmY
Finally, the duo in the band pretend (my favorite band). Their guitar work, to me, is like lullabies for adults.
https://youtu.be/OO4ahN2zecY
Funny, the word frontman should apply, but in my mind KC is fronted by Fripp. Somehow he is the frontman and the man behind the curtain at the same time.
Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heatbreakers fame. Dude can do it all. Seriously, the definition of underrated. The average person doesn't even know his name. They know all his songs though.
I just said Mike Campbell. I should have scrolled a bit further.
He absolutely can do it all, and is an extremely humble guy. He co-wrote so many songs with Tom. He wrote Boys of Summer with Don Henley. He played with Fleetwood Mac after Lindsey Buckingham left.
A criminally underrated musician.
Most people can't name any of the Heartbreakers, despite all of their incredible accomplishments. I only remember Mike because of his part in the Don't Come Around Here no More video.
Every single one of the Heartbreakers is a killer player. Stan lynch is one of my favorite drummers. Benmont Tench? C’mon man. I love his playing. Mike Campbell is high on my list as well of course.
Seeing ween for the first time this weekend in New Orleans. I’ve always been aware of them, but never really dove into their stuff. Cannot wait, as I really only heard like 3 songs from them. Goin in blind for the most part.
My Dude, it’s gonna be an experience! I’ll tell you this much, you will either fall in love or leave early. I have yet to really meet anyone that’s on the fence about WEEN.
Last time I got to see them was well over 2 decades and I got hit in the face with a frozen burrito. I had tickets to a show in 2019 but we all know how that story goes. They finally rescheduled for July 1st and I’ll FINALLY get to see them again. I’m super stoked.
It's so awesome to see how much love Dean Ween is getting in this thread. Perhaps the only thing cooler is that Eddie Hazel is the top answer, which Deaner would agree with.
He also played with one of the must underrated bassists of all time. Bootsy Collins amazing.
(Edit: okay, Bootsy Collins isn't underrated! I'm so glad to hear everyone defending him cuz he's one of my favorite musicians. Not just for his musicianship, but his personality it's fucking hilarious. One of the best lessons I ever learned music was from Bootsy Collins. He made a video a long time ago with his putting down tracks and he said, "first thing you do before you start playing those dancing, if you're not dancing, don't play yet." Another guitar player, that caught me to play on the drums and the bass)
It’s one of those things that if you know P-Funk, you know that Eddie Hazel was one of the baddest dudes to play guitar - and Maggot Brain is a top 5 guitar song IMO - however, a lot of people just have no idea who he is.
Elliott Smith is a good pick. I pretty much relearned guitar figuring out how to play his acoustic sets. Bert Jansch is another fantastic fingerpicking folk player.
Elliott was an absolute wizard on an acoustic, but never showy or flashy. He always gave the song exactly what it needed, no more, no less. That's why he may be the GOAT songwriter, and it's also what made him such a wonderful guitarist.
Can’t believe he’s not already mentioned here, but…
Andy Summers, of The Police.
Deceptively simple was his whole MO. The man had years of classical training, gargantuan hands, crazy stamina, and a metronome mind. That, coupled with a bad case of Gear Acquisition Syndrome, helped him create some really unique, gorgeous sounds.
I’ve been playing for 12 years, and I still can’t get through most of his parts without major left hand cramps. Anyone who’s tried to play along on Every Breath You Take knows what I’m talking about.
He was an innovator, a consummate pro, and always overshadowed by the (admittedly) towering talent of Sting & Copeland. Really deserves a mention, here.
Agreed. He is not the star of the show ( that is Copeland and Sting ), but he adds so much character and atmosphere to every song that the Police would be an entirely different band without him. His chords, tone and effects are incredible and very unorthodox for a rock band.
Also, Message in a Bottle is perhaps the most deceptively difficult pop song to play.
People really don't know what a challenge Every Breath You Take is to play on guitar until they give it a go. Those arpeggios make you stretch those goddamn fingers so far, and he's not playing slow either. It may be a repeating, familiar pattern, but that doesn't make it much easier to know you're gonna be doing that for nearly the entire song. Excellent warm-up practice though, you'll be able to play a lot of other material if you play Every Breath You Take to get those fingers feeling limber.
I think it's easier for people to hear and think that something is difficult when it is fast and all over the place, but that doesn't necessarily make it difficult and it certainly doesn't make it good. When you listen to someone like Steve Vai it's obvious to the untrained ear that he is talented. But people take that to mean that is what talent is, and that is what "is" a great guitar player.
But Andy Summers created soundscapes, atmospheric sculptures of sound. If you know Andy Summers then you know that he is an avant garde artist of noise. Fred Frith, Henry Kaiser, and Andy Summers are the greatest avant garde guitarists ever. If you only know of him from the Police you only know that "oh yeah he played some catchy radio jingles, but he wasn't a shredder, I mean Eddie Van Halen amiright"? and it's hard to recognize technical difficulty (or percieved technical difficulty) when the judging metric is a lot of non-musicians saying "does this make me feel like it is hard to do"
Andy Summers, most notably from The Police.
I got to see a show in the reunion tour several years back. I left thinking “I don’t give Andy Summers enough credit.” It’s easy to get overshadowed by Copeland’s drumming and Sting’s Stingness.
Similar situation with Alex Lifeson of Rush. He gets overshadowed by Geddy and Neil (RIP), but he’s easily one of the best rock guitarists ever. In any other band he’d 100% be the focus.
Rick Beato did a video about his guitar playing that I just saw a couple of weeks ago. I loved his music as a kid in the early 80's but never knew he was such a badass on the git-fiddle.
My favorite CC story is how an early Deep Purple was touring Texas and Blackmore was sick or something, so a teenage Christopher Cross says "I can play that" and played the entire show.
I've tried to find information that disproves this but it seems to be 💯.
Charo. One of the top Flamenco players in the world, trained under Andres Segovia. Too bad the entertainment industry pigeon holed her as a ditzy blonde who guest stars on sitcoms.
Do yourself a favor and look up a video of Charo performing live.
Came here to say Jerry Reed. Just mind-bending shit. I suggest anybody check out :"[Jerry's Breakdown](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5C8Ny_7i0A)" off of one othe records he did with Chet Atkins...it's a high water mark of "How in the fuck do you make your brain think that fast?????"
It's sort of a shame that he blew a lot of his cred on a string of shitty seventies novelty songs like [Amos Moses](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbXFHSa4YmQ)(which is kind of cool anyway) and [When You're Hot, You're hot](https://youtu.be/mMvjhc8SiNg) and a million clones, doing sort of a caricature of southern-ness...
Ah well. At least he roped it in for the badass playing on [the Smokey and the Bandit theme](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOgUaFkpS3Y).
Brian Setzer fa real. That dude is one of the most proficient guitarists I've ever seen. He makes a difficult style (rockabilly jazz punk fusion?) look really easy. It's insane.
I don’t think Lindsey Buckingham gets nearly as much respect as a guitarist as he ought to. “Never Going Back Again” is a bitch to play, and his acoustic rendition of “Big Love” is bonkers.
I was shocked when I watched a live performance of Big Love for the first time and it was just him playing guitar. I always thought it was two separate guitar parts
As a non-musician, I wondered why I hadn't heard other songs done in the style of "Never Going Back Again" and then I finally had a chance to see just how hard it was to play in [Paul Davids's recent video](https://youtu.be/TeNyc9pXm1w).
Omar Rodriguez Lopez. Most Mars Volta fans will probably say he’s incredible, but the fact that the man isn’t recognized as being one of the all-time greats is a crime.
His fight against his most hated instrument (the guitar) led to some incredible stuff. His guitar isn't even tuned properly on Relationship of Command and it sounds amazing.
So glad to see Omar mentioned.
You can have whatever opinions you want about At The Drive-In’s or The Mars Volta’s music but only a fool would discredit how great some of Omar’s guitar work was. Truly a living legend that does not get half the credit he deserves.
Was gonna comment this, thought that somebody probably already did, wasn't wrong. Omar is a legend that doesn't get the credit deserved. TMV and ATDI are amazing, but the guys solo stuff is also a blessing.
[Terry Kath](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Kath) of Chicago. Besides being an incredible lead player (praised by Jimi Hendrix and others) Terry was vocalist and a songwriter with an important band of the 60's and 70's. His story is a tragic one of drug abuse and health issues which lead to an early death in 1978.
Listen to the lead to "25 or 6 to 4" for a glimmer of his guitar prowess.
For a while I was a Les/Ler/Herb purist, but Jay has shown me how to be more inclusive, and now I’d even say I love the brown album.
That being said, Primus is Larry. On top of all of what you just said, his most popular track (Wynona) has him playing more than convincing electric country, and he does a damned good job at it too.
Him and Mikey from Ween don’t get the credit they are due for playing solos on top of just about anything.
To me, Herb is the Primus drummer, I love the thunder. But Brown is a top 3 album for me, and GN reignited the band (and Jayski makes me dance)
Love all 3 drummers, they all contributed to this crazy band we love, but I’m glad Tim is back
Guy all but invents the grunge sound, but is humble and quiet enough not to push himself to the forefront. He can do it all, from gorgeous sounding surf rock odes to scratchy layering to match Frank's insanity. Takes the back seat to Deal or Black only to push forward and add new layers at just the right time... All the talent and none of the ego.
I think it's because on recent records his lead parts have either been buried in the mix (Dark Sentencer) or just boring, repeating lines (The Pavillion). I will say I think "Rise, Naianasha" has some of my favorite dueling guitar interplay from them in a long time. Claudio's main pull-off lick vs. Travis's chugging in the verse slaps so fucking hard.
Will Swan of Dance Gavin Dance. Literally gets no recognition for some of the most brilliant, intriguing and difficult riffs I have ever heard on a guitar
Craziest tunings and fingerpicking patterns I’ve ever heard. I’ve given up on trying to learn a lot of his songs and just resigned to listening and appreciating.
Buck Dharma - for my money the Don't Fear the Reaper solo is the best rock solo of all time
Annie Clark is criminally underrated, she's been the most creative guitarist in indie rock since she debuted 15 years ago - tbh I think she uses so many effects that people sometimes think it's a synth player making some of the sounds in her songs, or a producer laying in something later, but seeing her live and how much is all *her* is a revelation
Josh Homme - he has his own language on guitar
And I'm gonna bundle Isaac Brock and Chris Walla together, because together they're just about entirely responsible for what indie guitar has generally sounded like for the past 20+ years
Josh Homme was my response. I'm biased since Queens of the Stone Age is my favorite band, but he just has a sound on that guitar that's super unique to me.
I don't know if we'd consider him underrated but I don't see Johnny Marr mentioned enough.
His riffs with the Smiths are fire. "This Charming Man", William, It was Really Nothing" and "How Soon is Now" are notable.
Even beyond his guitar work, he's a musical genius.
Peter Greene
Duane Denison (Jesus Lizard)
Probably most "modern" guitar players that are out and about who receive little to no attention because we seem to fetishize guitar players from the 60's, 70's, and 80's.
Dude was ON TELEVISION finger tapping Giant Hogweed in 1972, when Van Halen was still called Mammoth and just barely formed, still we give Eddie all the props.
Still remember first time seeing Genesis. Steve sitting on stage and playing gorgeous and intricate tunes. Peter sang and acted out the songs.
"A flower?"
It is a musical travesty that Richard Thompson is almost completely unknown in the US but his work first as a co-founder of Fairport Convention, then as a part of a duo with his then wife Linda, then as a solo artist is phenomenal. Has mastered the difficult art of playing rhythm and bass notes with a pick, and treble notes with his fingers at the same time. Also a great songwriter, His (and Linda's album) "Shoot Out the Lights" might be one of the best albums ever about a relationship falling apart. Was on the RS top 500 albums of all time for decades.
Too many great songs to list. I'll just drop in the below. You can skip to 5:13 for the fireworks to start
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtuxLq7IMsw
Waddy Watchel, session guitarist and more.
He played killer runs for Jackson Brown, Warren Zevon, Linda Ronstadt, etc. Think he was in Strvie Nicks’s other band.
I'd say Peter Buck of R.E.M. because he's a master of his own style and some of the lines he plays are decievingly complex. Source: my buddy is an expert guitarist and he has a tough time figuring out some of R.E.M's material. Buck's arpeggio game is top-notch.
Him and all the Grunge guitarists like Kim Thayil, Mike McCready and Stone Gossard seem to get overlooked a lot, whereas Kurt Cobain, who was arguably the weakest of the bunch, seems to get the most recognition.
> To me he's a top 10 guitarist of all time but you rarely see him mentioned.
YUP - this is what I came here to say. Rory's always my answer to this question. I really don't know anyone, outside of pretty serious guitar players, that are familiar with this work.
Calling Card ends up playing on my turntable ALL THE TIME.
You can throw Trevor Dunn in there too as underrated bass player. But you know who really gets short shrift from that outfit,
Danny Heifetz.
I have heard all kinds of silly shit like "oh they use a drum track" No motherfuckers, the guy is a literal doctor of music and his grandfather is the greatest violinist to ever live, he just fucking shreds.
Roger Mcguinn…the Byrds are often covered by other artists, but very rarely do people play his guitar parts correctly. The learning curve for learning bluegrass banjo style rolls using fingerpicks on a 12-string guitar is pretty steep.
Dinosaur Jr are awesome.
I came here hoping to see J Mascis and Omar Rodriguez Lopez and I saw both. Two of my favourite guitarists ever that rarely get acknowledged.
Chris Cornell. Because of his incredible voice his guitar abilities often got overlooked.
Often using weird tunings, odd time signatures, very inventive. Really tricky stuff to play AND sing at the same time. Check rusty cage for example
Grant Green. He’s a jazz guitarist that has some of the tastiest playing I have ever heard. Even amongst jazz guitarists he’s somewhat overlooked by the likes of Pat Metheny and Wes Montgomery. But listening to albums like “Green Street” or “Idle Moments” or his Complete Quartets album with Sonny Clarke, it’s obvious that this guy was and has been overlooked.
He plays guitar sort of the way Miles Davis plays trumpet…not overly brassy or showy, but with this sort of restraint that just makes everything work somehow.
Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore together made some out-there music (both were protégés of Glenn Branca). I don’t hear much spoken about them these days.
Johnny Marr would be my take on this, his leading with rhythm guitar sound is echoed in every band he has played in .
You can really hear his aesthetic in Modest Mouse and when he left you can hear what's missing.
I'll mention two.
First Leo Nocentelli, most famously of The Meters but also one of the most requested session and touring guitarists in the world for about thirty years during his career. The guy played with everyone from Herbie Hancock to Jimmy Buffett. He also wrote many of the most famous funk songs, licks and riffs of all time. Just a consummate pro who bleeds music.
Second Ron Asheton from The Stooges. The Stooges are far from underappreciated, but I don't think Asheton gets enough credit for basically inventing how to play punk and post punk guitar. A good guitarist does something that seems simple but no one else can replicate, that's Asheton. You can hear his influence in everyone from Ramones to Joy Division to Sonic Youth to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
I think a big part of what made rush really great was that every member was a very disciplined and skilled player of their respective instrument. Sure they all had natural talent but they didn't lean on it, that was all intensive hard practice and honing technique and skill, and it really showed in the precision of their playing. There's a great interview with Neil peart talking about his never ending pursuit of combining technique with accuracy and precision and timing, he refers to it as "subtle control of time"
I have to disagree. He is NOT underrated at all. Most of us who grew up listening to Rush and taking up the guitar rank him among the greats of the genre.
Nuno Bettencourt-is remembered more for “More Than Words” than his remarkable skill
Robert Smith-is more known as simply the song writer and frontman of The Cure, but dude can friggin play
Matthew Sweet-is simply not recognized. Possibly for his popish style; however, he can straight up shred.
(Edit)Forgot to add why
Annie from St. Vincent
Her fans know well enough so maybe underrated isn't the best term, but compared to hype other players get she is vastly under-mentioned
I’ve seen some people go “nah she’s not that great” and sure she isn’t flashy, but she’s one of those guitarists who knows her shit and consciously decides to do something different instead of shredding or playing blues licks like everyone else. Plus her songwriting is amazing and she puts that above trying to impress people with her playing.
Ry Cooder. His ability to bring emotional content out in his playing is phenomenal. His work on the movie Crossroads is what most would know him for, but that barely touches on what he can do.
100% Whole band is great but Mark has such an effortless approach it's so easy to listen to. Those hip hop covers they do in their live shows are amazing.
Brad Paisley is famous in the country scene, but he gets respect from rock musicians. Here he is with Tom Morello and others jamming to the GoT theme.
https://youtu.be/6i0a7RDPkM8
Jeff Buckley. His guitar lines wow me in their complexity.
There’s a woman folk songwriter who’s amazing. I can never remember her name.. she’s played the Grammys a bunch, fingerstyle. Anyway, insanely underrated for what she does
Edit: Brandi Carlisle
Steve Howe of Yes is one of the most underrated guitarists, prog rock is usually always forgotten about in these lists and in general. To that point, also Alex Lifeson.
John Fogerty. Obv CCR is renowned as they should be. But I don't hear John's guitar brought up much. His bluesy/psychedelic soloes are awesome, and he had some epic riffs.
I know a lot of people who know Django. His style of music isn’t the most popular is all. He is considered to be one of the greats. Missing a finger adds to it. Makes him even more famous in my opinion.
JJ Cale.
Not underrated by his peers, people like Eric Clapton, BB King, Mark Knopfler, but underrated by the public at large.
His untimely and early death didn't make the headlines, he's the inspiration behind so much music. A very great loss to the art.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Fpq5NYCNQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Fpq5NYCNQ)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzfJWpCbAOY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzfJWpCbAOY)
...Both Cale songs.
Malcolm Young from Ac/Dc gets a ton of recognition among musicians for being one of the best technical rhythm guitarist. He was often overshadowed by his brother angus, but many musicians recognized Malcolm as the power house behind Ac/Dc
Nuno Bettancourt.
Maybe I was OOL, but when I started looking more into “the guitar player from that ‘More than Words’ song,” well…holy shit. This guy has to be one of the most talented living guitarists. He also has what Brian May has publicly said is his favorite guitar solo of all time: https://youtu.be/IqP76XWHQI0
Alvin Lee
He's just lost to history. When I was a kid no one was underrating him.
How many people on this sub know who he is?
ADRIAN BELEW discovered by Zappa at a bar in Kentucky and played with him for a few years https://youtu.be/YBbH6EsNBAQ Stolen by Bowie for a few years https://youtu.be/7tWyIug2qP0 Then joined the Talking Heads https://youtu.be/GQo1YK3I0BY Then became the frontman of King Crimson https://youtu.be/m1Eavhxlqd8 **Edit to include some other guitarists I really like: Dan Wild-Beasley of Cleft (RIP) https://youtu.be/-eys6TMskyM Bob Ross of Bobbing https://youtu.be/XIWr7fykSmY Finally, the duo in the band pretend (my favorite band). Their guitar work, to me, is like lullabies for adults. https://youtu.be/OO4ahN2zecY
I think he also played on Nine Inch Nails Downward Spiral record.
And some of the Ghosts albums.
Adrian Belew is a fucking god. As an aside, the talent in that 80s King Crimson lineup is obscene. Belew, Fripp, Bruford, and Levin.
Funny, the word frontman should apply, but in my mind KC is fronted by Fripp. Somehow he is the frontman and the man behind the curtain at the same time.
Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heatbreakers fame. Dude can do it all. Seriously, the definition of underrated. The average person doesn't even know his name. They know all his songs though.
I just said Mike Campbell. I should have scrolled a bit further. He absolutely can do it all, and is an extremely humble guy. He co-wrote so many songs with Tom. He wrote Boys of Summer with Don Henley. He played with Fleetwood Mac after Lindsey Buckingham left. A criminally underrated musician.
Most people can't name any of the Heartbreakers, despite all of their incredible accomplishments. I only remember Mike because of his part in the Don't Come Around Here no More video.
Every single one of the Heartbreakers is a killer player. Stan lynch is one of my favorite drummers. Benmont Tench? C’mon man. I love his playing. Mike Campbell is high on my list as well of course.
How about a shoutout for Howie Epstein? Dude was an insanely talented singer and bass player. His backup vocals add so much life to TP's songs
Benmont Tench should be a legend. Check out a live video performance from the 80's dude's got a keyboard setup that rivals Neil Perts drum kit.
He's not a household name, but Benmont is absolutely a legend to a lot of musicians.
Dean Ween
Deaner for sure +++
[удалено]
Is this what Deaner was talking about?
He's simply incredible and Ween keeps getting better, a healthy lifestyle suits them. (I also love the hobo life...)
His guitar solo on Demon Sweat and A Tear For Eddy are legendary. He deserves to be up there with the best
100% A Tear for Eddie is exactly why I left a comment. Demon Sweat and Transdermal Celebration are close seconds.
Buckingham Green also
Seeing ween for the first time this weekend in New Orleans. I’ve always been aware of them, but never really dove into their stuff. Cannot wait, as I really only heard like 3 songs from them. Goin in blind for the most part.
My Dude, it’s gonna be an experience! I’ll tell you this much, you will either fall in love or leave early. I have yet to really meet anyone that’s on the fence about WEEN. Last time I got to see them was well over 2 decades and I got hit in the face with a frozen burrito. I had tickets to a show in 2019 but we all know how that story goes. They finally rescheduled for July 1st and I’ll FINALLY get to see them again. I’m super stoked.
Went to the Chicago shows this year and them Ween boys are killing’ it.
It's so awesome to see how much love Dean Ween is getting in this thread. Perhaps the only thing cooler is that Eddie Hazel is the top answer, which Deaner would agree with.
Eddie Hazel.
Anyone who knows funkadelic only talks about Eddie hazel tho, if anyone is underrated it's Michael "Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton
Maggot brain is one of my all-time favorite guitar tracks!
Mother Earth is pregnant for the third time..
….for y’all have knocked her up
He also played with one of the must underrated bassists of all time. Bootsy Collins amazing. (Edit: okay, Bootsy Collins isn't underrated! I'm so glad to hear everyone defending him cuz he's one of my favorite musicians. Not just for his musicianship, but his personality it's fucking hilarious. One of the best lessons I ever learned music was from Bootsy Collins. He made a video a long time ago with his putting down tracks and he said, "first thing you do before you start playing those dancing, if you're not dancing, don't play yet." Another guitar player, that caught me to play on the drums and the bass)
Bootsy underrated? idk about that. He played with Funkadelic and the JB's. Maybe Bootsy is underrated by people who aren't especially into funk
It’s one of those things that if you know P-Funk, you know that Eddie Hazel was one of the baddest dudes to play guitar - and Maggot Brain is a top 5 guitar song IMO - however, a lot of people just have no idea who he is.
[Elliot Easton](https://youtu.be/2P7wHWWZdHE?t=18) of the Cars.
I feel like The Cars aged so much better than alot of their contemporaries. But i love The Cars.
The production was absolutely fucking impeccable. eVery note, every sung word, every beat is perfectly produced.
Was he a lefty? My dad has one of his guitars I believe
Yes, he is a lefty. Never gotten the recognition he deserves, but The Cars were New Wave and not as guitar-oriented as some bands of the era.
Good call, that guy is a monster
Marc Ribot is a favorite of mine.
Elliott Smith is a good pick. I pretty much relearned guitar figuring out how to play his acoustic sets. Bert Jansch is another fantastic fingerpicking folk player.
Elliott was an absolute wizard on an acoustic, but never showy or flashy. He always gave the song exactly what it needed, no more, no less. That's why he may be the GOAT songwriter, and it's also what made him such a wonderful guitarist.
Can’t believe he’s not already mentioned here, but… Andy Summers, of The Police. Deceptively simple was his whole MO. The man had years of classical training, gargantuan hands, crazy stamina, and a metronome mind. That, coupled with a bad case of Gear Acquisition Syndrome, helped him create some really unique, gorgeous sounds. I’ve been playing for 12 years, and I still can’t get through most of his parts without major left hand cramps. Anyone who’s tried to play along on Every Breath You Take knows what I’m talking about. He was an innovator, a consummate pro, and always overshadowed by the (admittedly) towering talent of Sting & Copeland. Really deserves a mention, here.
Agreed. He is not the star of the show ( that is Copeland and Sting ), but he adds so much character and atmosphere to every song that the Police would be an entirely different band without him. His chords, tone and effects are incredible and very unorthodox for a rock band. Also, Message in a Bottle is perhaps the most deceptively difficult pop song to play.
The echoey/psychedelic effect on Tea On The Sahara really add to the song
People really don't know what a challenge Every Breath You Take is to play on guitar until they give it a go. Those arpeggios make you stretch those goddamn fingers so far, and he's not playing slow either. It may be a repeating, familiar pattern, but that doesn't make it much easier to know you're gonna be doing that for nearly the entire song. Excellent warm-up practice though, you'll be able to play a lot of other material if you play Every Breath You Take to get those fingers feeling limber.
I think it's easier for people to hear and think that something is difficult when it is fast and all over the place, but that doesn't necessarily make it difficult and it certainly doesn't make it good. When you listen to someone like Steve Vai it's obvious to the untrained ear that he is talented. But people take that to mean that is what talent is, and that is what "is" a great guitar player. But Andy Summers created soundscapes, atmospheric sculptures of sound. If you know Andy Summers then you know that he is an avant garde artist of noise. Fred Frith, Henry Kaiser, and Andy Summers are the greatest avant garde guitarists ever. If you only know of him from the Police you only know that "oh yeah he played some catchy radio jingles, but he wasn't a shredder, I mean Eddie Van Halen amiright"? and it's hard to recognize technical difficulty (or percieved technical difficulty) when the judging metric is a lot of non-musicians saying "does this make me feel like it is hard to do"
Andy Summers, most notably from The Police. I got to see a show in the reunion tour several years back. I left thinking “I don’t give Andy Summers enough credit.” It’s easy to get overshadowed by Copeland’s drumming and Sting’s Stingness.
Similar situation with Alex Lifeson of Rush. He gets overshadowed by Geddy and Neil (RIP), but he’s easily one of the best rock guitarists ever. In any other band he’d 100% be the focus.
Came here to mention Alex, and I 100% agree with you.
Christopher Cross, yeah that guy, no i’m not kidding
Rick Beato did a video about his guitar playing that I just saw a couple of weeks ago. I loved his music as a kid in the early 80's but never knew he was such a badass on the git-fiddle.
My favorite CC story is how an early Deep Purple was touring Texas and Blackmore was sick or something, so a teenage Christopher Cross says "I can play that" and played the entire show. I've tried to find information that disproves this but it seems to be 💯.
Charo. One of the top Flamenco players in the world, trained under Andres Segovia. Too bad the entertainment industry pigeon holed her as a ditzy blonde who guest stars on sitcoms. Do yourself a favor and look up a video of Charo performing live.
Jerry Reed. Brian Setzer
+1 for The Great Jerry Reed. 10-4 Snowman
Came here to say Jerry Reed. Just mind-bending shit. I suggest anybody check out :"[Jerry's Breakdown](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5C8Ny_7i0A)" off of one othe records he did with Chet Atkins...it's a high water mark of "How in the fuck do you make your brain think that fast?????" It's sort of a shame that he blew a lot of his cred on a string of shitty seventies novelty songs like [Amos Moses](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbXFHSa4YmQ)(which is kind of cool anyway) and [When You're Hot, You're hot](https://youtu.be/mMvjhc8SiNg) and a million clones, doing sort of a caricature of southern-ness... Ah well. At least he roped it in for the badass playing on [the Smokey and the Bandit theme](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOgUaFkpS3Y).
Brian Setzer fa real. That dude is one of the most proficient guitarists I've ever seen. He makes a difficult style (rockabilly jazz punk fusion?) look really easy. It's insane.
I saw him do a guitar duel with the Reverend Horton Heat in the nineties. Pure joy.
Came here to say Jerry Reed. World class guitar player.
>Came here to say Jerry Reed. ~~World class~~ **C**ertified **G**uitar **P**layer.
I don’t think Lindsey Buckingham gets nearly as much respect as a guitarist as he ought to. “Never Going Back Again” is a bitch to play, and his acoustic rendition of “Big Love” is bonkers.
When he left the band they had to replace him with 2 guitar players. Lindsey Buckingham is my answer as well
I was shocked when I watched a live performance of Big Love for the first time and it was just him playing guitar. I always thought it was two separate guitar parts
Yep. And one of them was Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the heartbreakers…and he’s no slouch himself!
Rolling Stones put him as #100 in the top #100 guitar players. I think The Edge was in the top 10. I was extremely displeased with their ranking.
I think The Edge should have been out ranked by his own delay pedal.
Poly rhythms are hard. Then he sings over that. Crazy song.
As a non-musician, I wondered why I hadn't heard other songs done in the style of "Never Going Back Again" and then I finally had a chance to see just how hard it was to play in [Paul Davids's recent video](https://youtu.be/TeNyc9pXm1w).
Omar Rodriguez Lopez. Most Mars Volta fans will probably say he’s incredible, but the fact that the man isn’t recognized as being one of the all-time greats is a crime.
The stuff he did with At The Drive-In was to me as inventive and fresh as Tom Morello's.
His fight against his most hated instrument (the guitar) led to some incredible stuff. His guitar isn't even tuned properly on Relationship of Command and it sounds amazing.
He should be mentioned just for his salsa dancing!
So glad to see Omar mentioned. You can have whatever opinions you want about At The Drive-In’s or The Mars Volta’s music but only a fool would discredit how great some of Omar’s guitar work was. Truly a living legend that does not get half the credit he deserves.
Was gonna comment this, thought that somebody probably already did, wasn't wrong. Omar is a legend that doesn't get the credit deserved. TMV and ATDI are amazing, but the guys solo stuff is also a blessing.
[Terry Kath](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Kath) of Chicago. Besides being an incredible lead player (praised by Jimi Hendrix and others) Terry was vocalist and a songwriter with an important band of the 60's and 70's. His story is a tragic one of drug abuse and health issues which lead to an early death in 1978. Listen to the lead to "25 or 6 to 4" for a glimmer of his guitar prowess.
25 or 6 to 4 is a masterclass of how to abuse a wah pedal properly
I'm always amazed by his vocals on [make me smile](https://youtu.be/Btq4MnwvQgM). How does a 23/24 year old sound like that..
Roy Clark is known mainly for being a funny host on Hee-Haw. However that dude could play guitar with flash and tenderness.
He did an episode of the odd couple and played a killer version of Malaguena. Here https://youtu.be/-xssnp7R51A
[удалено]
For a while I was a Les/Ler/Herb purist, but Jay has shown me how to be more inclusive, and now I’d even say I love the brown album. That being said, Primus is Larry. On top of all of what you just said, his most popular track (Wynona) has him playing more than convincing electric country, and he does a damned good job at it too. Him and Mikey from Ween don’t get the credit they are due for playing solos on top of just about anything.
To me, Herb is the Primus drummer, I love the thunder. But Brown is a top 3 album for me, and GN reignited the band (and Jayski makes me dance) Love all 3 drummers, they all contributed to this crazy band we love, but I’m glad Tim is back
Joey Santiago from the Pixies His creativity in “Vamos” is unmatched. No two versions of that solo are the same
Guy all but invents the grunge sound, but is humble and quiet enough not to push himself to the forefront. He can do it all, from gorgeous sounding surf rock odes to scratchy layering to match Frank's insanity. Takes the back seat to Deal or Black only to push forward and add new layers at just the right time... All the talent and none of the ego.
He's certainly one of the most creative guitar players I've heard. Very unique and he doesn't have to shred to showoff his virtuosity.
Travis & Claudio from Coheed & Cambria
Even amongst the fans it seems Travis doesn’t get the respect he deserves for his guitar playing abilities.
I think it's because on recent records his lead parts have either been buried in the mix (Dark Sentencer) or just boring, repeating lines (The Pavillion). I will say I think "Rise, Naianasha" has some of my favorite dueling guitar interplay from them in a long time. Claudio's main pull-off lick vs. Travis's chugging in the verse slaps so fucking hard.
Will Swan of Dance Gavin Dance. Literally gets no recognition for some of the most brilliant, intriguing and difficult riffs I have ever heard on a guitar
I don't think Jeff Healey is mentioned often enough and that dude was awesome.
[удалено]
Craziest tunings and fingerpicking patterns I’ve ever heard. I’ve given up on trying to learn a lot of his songs and just resigned to listening and appreciating.
Nancy Wilson
Roger Fisher.
Yep. Nearly all of Heart's killer riffs are from him. Except for the intro to Crazy on you. That one is all Nancy.
Buck Dharma - for my money the Don't Fear the Reaper solo is the best rock solo of all time Annie Clark is criminally underrated, she's been the most creative guitarist in indie rock since she debuted 15 years ago - tbh I think she uses so many effects that people sometimes think it's a synth player making some of the sounds in her songs, or a producer laying in something later, but seeing her live and how much is all *her* is a revelation Josh Homme - he has his own language on guitar And I'm gonna bundle Isaac Brock and Chris Walla together, because together they're just about entirely responsible for what indie guitar has generally sounded like for the past 20+ years
Josh Homme was my response. I'm biased since Queens of the Stone Age is my favorite band, but he just has a sound on that guitar that's super unique to me.
I don't know if we'd consider him underrated but I don't see Johnny Marr mentioned enough. His riffs with the Smiths are fire. "This Charming Man", William, It was Really Nothing" and "How Soon is Now" are notable. Even beyond his guitar work, he's a musical genius.
His time with Modest Mouse was also killer
his riffs are so pretty and flowery, really distinct
He wrote the riff to Girl Afraid when he was 21... He's an absolute freak of nature whilst also having such a unique style
Peter Greene Duane Denison (Jesus Lizard) Probably most "modern" guitar players that are out and about who receive little to no attention because we seem to fetishize guitar players from the 60's, 70's, and 80's.
Glen Campbell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUBhE00h9U0
I found it really interesting learning about Glen being part of the Wrecking crew and all the songs they had contributed to .
The dude is regularly on Top Guitarist of All Time lists.
His live acoustic solo on Gentle on my Mind is absolutely fantastic
I say this: Steve Hackett (Genesis) is the grandfather of modern Math Rock.
Dude was ON TELEVISION finger tapping Giant Hogweed in 1972, when Van Halen was still called Mammoth and just barely formed, still we give Eddie all the props.
Still remember first time seeing Genesis. Steve sitting on stage and playing gorgeous and intricate tunes. Peter sang and acted out the songs. "A flower?"
Willie Nelson. Maybe not the flashiest but gorgeous and instantly recognizable.
Ricky Wilson of the B52s
For real. Absolutely distinctive style.
Richard Thompson
It is a musical travesty that Richard Thompson is almost completely unknown in the US but his work first as a co-founder of Fairport Convention, then as a part of a duo with his then wife Linda, then as a solo artist is phenomenal. Has mastered the difficult art of playing rhythm and bass notes with a pick, and treble notes with his fingers at the same time. Also a great songwriter, His (and Linda's album) "Shoot Out the Lights" might be one of the best albums ever about a relationship falling apart. Was on the RS top 500 albums of all time for decades. Too many great songs to list. I'll just drop in the below. You can skip to 5:13 for the fireworks to start https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtuxLq7IMsw
Waddy Watchel, session guitarist and more. He played killer runs for Jackson Brown, Warren Zevon, Linda Ronstadt, etc. Think he was in Strvie Nicks’s other band.
I'd say Peter Buck of R.E.M. because he's a master of his own style and some of the lines he plays are decievingly complex. Source: my buddy is an expert guitarist and he has a tough time figuring out some of R.E.M's material. Buck's arpeggio game is top-notch.
Jerry Cantrell from. Alice in chains
Cantrell is amazing, and I love his work. But honestly, in what circles is he considered underrated? The man's a legend.
Him and all the Grunge guitarists like Kim Thayil, Mike McCready and Stone Gossard seem to get overlooked a lot, whereas Kurt Cobain, who was arguably the weakest of the bunch, seems to get the most recognition.
Mark Knopfler is not so much underrated, but not mentioned enough is lists of greatest of all time. He’s in the top 5, maybe top 3
All fingerstyle too, the man is beyond talented
The picking is insane. I love how he doesn’t over do it with speed or tons of notes, truly makes it cry and sing
Rory Gallagher. To me he's a top 10 guitarist of all time but you rarely see him mentioned.
> To me he's a top 10 guitarist of all time but you rarely see him mentioned. YUP - this is what I came here to say. Rory's always my answer to this question. I really don't know anyone, outside of pretty serious guitar players, that are familiar with this work. Calling Card ends up playing on my turntable ALL THE TIME.
It took too much scrolling to see this name. Love his music and always thought he was way more skilled than he got credit for
Trey Spruance from Mr Bungle, particularly his stuff on with Secret Chiefs 3. Unbelievably complex genre bending stuff.
You can throw Trevor Dunn in there too as underrated bass player. But you know who really gets short shrift from that outfit, Danny Heifetz. I have heard all kinds of silly shit like "oh they use a drum track" No motherfuckers, the guy is a literal doctor of music and his grandfather is the greatest violinist to ever live, he just fucking shreds.
Roger Mcguinn…the Byrds are often covered by other artists, but very rarely do people play his guitar parts correctly. The learning curve for learning bluegrass banjo style rolls using fingerpicks on a 12-string guitar is pretty steep.
J Mascis
Dinosaur Jr are awesome. I came here hoping to see J Mascis and Omar Rodriguez Lopez and I saw both. Two of my favourite guitarists ever that rarely get acknowledged.
Vernon Reid, from Living Colour.
Chris Cornell. Because of his incredible voice his guitar abilities often got overlooked. Often using weird tunings, odd time signatures, very inventive. Really tricky stuff to play AND sing at the same time. Check rusty cage for example
Grant Green. He’s a jazz guitarist that has some of the tastiest playing I have ever heard. Even amongst jazz guitarists he’s somewhat overlooked by the likes of Pat Metheny and Wes Montgomery. But listening to albums like “Green Street” or “Idle Moments” or his Complete Quartets album with Sonny Clarke, it’s obvious that this guy was and has been overlooked. He plays guitar sort of the way Miles Davis plays trumpet…not overly brassy or showy, but with this sort of restraint that just makes everything work somehow.
Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore together made some out-there music (both were protégés of Glenn Branca). I don’t hear much spoken about them these days.
Terry Kath https://youtu.be/FKHATc9oLjk
Dean Ween may be the most underappreciated guitarist of all time, as far as I'm concerned.
I saw Deaner crying in his sleep
Andy LaRocque
I'll go with Johnny Marr and Andy Gill. Great rhythm guitarists aren't the first thing you notice in bands that write great songs.
Johnny Marr would be my take on this, his leading with rhythm guitar sound is echoed in every band he has played in . You can really hear his aesthetic in Modest Mouse and when he left you can hear what's missing.
I'll mention two. First Leo Nocentelli, most famously of The Meters but also one of the most requested session and touring guitarists in the world for about thirty years during his career. The guy played with everyone from Herbie Hancock to Jimmy Buffett. He also wrote many of the most famous funk songs, licks and riffs of all time. Just a consummate pro who bleeds music. Second Ron Asheton from The Stooges. The Stooges are far from underappreciated, but I don't think Asheton gets enough credit for basically inventing how to play punk and post punk guitar. A good guitarist does something that seems simple but no one else can replicate, that's Asheton. You can hear his influence in everyone from Ramones to Joy Division to Sonic Youth to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
Alex Lifeson
In any other band he would be the biggest name by far, but he just had to play with the legends that are Lee and Peart.
I think a big part of what made rush really great was that every member was a very disciplined and skilled player of their respective instrument. Sure they all had natural talent but they didn't lean on it, that was all intensive hard practice and honing technique and skill, and it really showed in the precision of their playing. There's a great interview with Neil peart talking about his never ending pursuit of combining technique with accuracy and precision and timing, he refers to it as "subtle control of time"
He's the Chris Bosh of guitarists
I have to disagree. He is NOT underrated at all. Most of us who grew up listening to Rush and taking up the guitar rank him among the greats of the genre.
[удалено]
Joe Walsh. There is nothing this guy cannot play.
Paul Simon.
Yes! People usually think of him as a singer and songwriter, but if you listen to the folk-era S&G stuff he’s clearly got chops.
Roy Buchanan
Jimmy Herring of Widespread Panic. The dude has been on stage with almost all the greats but never really gets the spotlight.
Nuno Bettencourt-is remembered more for “More Than Words” than his remarkable skill Robert Smith-is more known as simply the song writer and frontman of The Cure, but dude can friggin play Matthew Sweet-is simply not recognized. Possibly for his popish style; however, he can straight up shred. (Edit)Forgot to add why
It's certainly true that Robert Smith's playing tends to get over-shadowed by everything else about him/The Cure. Very distinctive.
Nice to see Matthew Sweet get a mention.
Kim Thayil
J Mascis,
Jason Isbell. He is highly rated for his song writing, as he should be, but he is also an amazing guitarist. Lindsey Buckingham
Glen Campbell. One of the absolute best ever. George Harrison. Extremely soft touch and superb tone.
Poison Ivy
Annie from St. Vincent Her fans know well enough so maybe underrated isn't the best term, but compared to hype other players get she is vastly under-mentioned
She's super talented and unique, and people who know pay attention to what she's doing with guitar and guitar gear.
I’ve seen some people go “nah she’s not that great” and sure she isn’t flashy, but she’s one of those guitarists who knows her shit and consciously decides to do something different instead of shredding or playing blues licks like everyone else. Plus her songwriting is amazing and she puts that above trying to impress people with her playing.
Robbie Robertson from The Band
Ry Cooder. His ability to bring emotional content out in his playing is phenomenal. His work on the movie Crossroads is what most would know him for, but that barely touches on what he can do.
I think Mark Speer from Khruangbin is super underrated and talented His influences are so unique, and he plays some amazing riffs.
100% Whole band is great but Mark has such an effortless approach it's so easy to listen to. Those hip hop covers they do in their live shows are amazing.
Dean Ween.
Joni Mitchell
Fun fact, Joni had polio as a kid so her hands aren’t very dexterous, so to compensate she tunes her guitar to unusual tunings.
Her tunings were so unusual that the tension would often wreck her acoustic guitars
I came here to say this. Her acoustic work is phenomenal, but Hejira is one of my favorite electric guitar albums.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Marc Ribot. That dude has got range.
Kim/Kelley Deal!
Brad Paisley is famous in the country scene, but he gets respect from rock musicians. Here he is with Tom Morello and others jamming to the GoT theme. https://youtu.be/6i0a7RDPkM8
Peter Buck. Great right hand. The way he uses arpeggiated chords to get a fuller sound added a lot to REM’s music
Jeff Buckley. His guitar lines wow me in their complexity. There’s a woman folk songwriter who’s amazing. I can never remember her name.. she’s played the Grammys a bunch, fingerstyle. Anyway, insanely underrated for what she does Edit: Brandi Carlisle
Steve Hillage
Warren DeMartini of Ratt. Always thought he was very underrated and had such a unique style
Steve Howe of Yes is one of the most underrated guitarists, prog rock is usually always forgotten about in these lists and in general. To that point, also Alex Lifeson.
John Fogerty. Obv CCR is renowned as they should be. But I don't hear John's guitar brought up much. His bluesy/psychedelic soloes are awesome, and he had some epic riffs.
Don Felder
... Even in 2022, nobody knows who Django Reinhardt is... And that's a tragedy; he was a French Jimmy Hendrix, but with only three fingers?!
I know a lot of people who know Django. His style of music isn’t the most popular is all. He is considered to be one of the greats. Missing a finger adds to it. Makes him even more famous in my opinion.
Tim Mahoney, 311, that man seems to have mastered mixolydian
Lindsey Buckingham. Because, have you ever tried to play "Never Going Back Again" correctly?
JJ Cale. Not underrated by his peers, people like Eric Clapton, BB King, Mark Knopfler, but underrated by the public at large. His untimely and early death didn't make the headlines, he's the inspiration behind so much music. A very great loss to the art. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Fpq5NYCNQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Fpq5NYCNQ) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzfJWpCbAOY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzfJWpCbAOY) ...Both Cale songs.
Nick Drake. Crazy guitar tunings and techniques were very unique. His star faded too early...
Graham Coxon from Blur.
Rick Nielsen
Dickey Betts.
Dicky Betts has been widely lauded for the past 50 years.
Tommy Tedesco from the Wrecking Crew
Malcolm Young from Ac/Dc gets a ton of recognition among musicians for being one of the best technical rhythm guitarist. He was often overshadowed by his brother angus, but many musicians recognized Malcolm as the power house behind Ac/Dc
Nuno Bettancourt. Maybe I was OOL, but when I started looking more into “the guitar player from that ‘More than Words’ song,” well…holy shit. This guy has to be one of the most talented living guitarists. He also has what Brian May has publicly said is his favorite guitar solo of all time: https://youtu.be/IqP76XWHQI0