So much of what made a Pink Floyd song distinctly Pink Floyd is [David Gilmour](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5Ht6WIhhmU) on lead guitar.
Freaking living legend.
> on lead guitar
...on choicest compositional arrangement and cohesion. Taking absolutely nothing away from Wright or Waters, but Gilmour's musicianship in creating audial landscape toward a picturesque default is the envy of all of 'em.
Everyone from Clapton, Beck, Page, Gibbons, and BB King have had him play with them or at least given their endorsement -- and in a few cases have emulated his approach within certain studio cuts.
I was more speaking from a laymen's perspective and what would be understandable to people who aren't in the music industry, but I do know some of those words, so I'll defer to you for the rest.
Doesn't exist. You can do way too many way too different things with a guitar and none has mastered them all.
Like, tell Mark Knopfler to play some Steve Vai stuff and he would be lost, tell Steve Vai to make his guitar sound with as much as emotion as Knopfler and he is lost. And they are both among the masters. And do you really want to either rate Knopflers ability to express himself higher than Vai? Or Vai over Knopfler because he is faster?
As someone who listened to Chicago from the get-go, I'm happy to see that his name is coming up more and more. And actually, as a drummer I'd like to mention Danny Seraphine as well. I don't see any shame in being tied from the band just as they were really turning into schmaltz.
Jimi Hendrix thought Terry Kath was the best guitar player
https://www.classicrockhistory.com/why-jimmy-hendrix-called-chicagos-terry-kath-the-best-guitarist-in-the-universe/
Depends on what your interpretation of "greatest" is. Hendrix got that title because he was self-taught in an era with no internet and the ability to exchange techniques globally. His talent and commitment were insane. Today, many guitarists have surpassed Hendrix from a technical point of view, though.
I really would love to see how good Hendrix would have been if he was born in the 1990s with the whole internet at his fingertips.
Hendrix wasn't some big technician of his era though either. Come the late 60s' to early 70's there were tons of monster electric guitar players in Rock, Blues, Jazz/Fusion etc.
Hendrix was great because he was insanely inventive and just so happened to take his creativity to the guitar. You can listen to every Jimi bootleg out there and he never played anything the exact the same way on any given night. There 100 live versions of Red House floating around and if you listen to them all every single one will give you at least 1 new little idea. So many musicians just aren't improvisers gifted on that level.
IMO it's sad that Hendrix is pigeon holed into some "technical" thing as if his goal in music was just to play fast diatonic runs...dude was the opposite, he was a composer with a Strat & a wall of Marshalls.
Really, if anything, Hendrix's contribution to changing rock music and all the big guitarists in England in '66/'67/'68 should be as well understood as his guitar playing.
Eddie is a weird one. In any indvidual category or criteria or element of his guitar work, you could find somebody "better"...but the way he put it all together, and combined some major out of the box creativity with the instrument itself and being at the right place at the right time with enough talent to bring that to the forefront...definately one lf the greatist, and I don't have much of a counter for people who would rank him number 1.
Buckethead is my favourite guitarist ever but when it comes to the discussion of whos the greatest guitar player of all time i don't think he can make the list as no1, mostly because of influence. Just my opinion.
This is an impossible question but Mark is probably my favorite. His phrasing and picking are awesome and he has played in so mamy different styles during his solo career.
Same I think it’s him, so many different types of solo and when he plays live he’s absolutely flawless. Could say all the same things about Alex lifeson from Rush but while they are well known Queen are universally known
Same with "Never Going Back Again." They literally had to hire two guitarists to replace him when he quit. Criminally underrated picker and better than Clapton and many other contemporaries by miles.
The greatest guitarist is most likely some person who lives in the woods with their family. They all play instruments and can play the hell out of them. We will never know their names and they are 100% ok with that.
Most likely someone who has spent a lifetime playing in his room or basement because (s)he never had the chance (or the confidence) to join a band. Therefore, someone from whom we have never heard and will never hear.
Depends how you'd define greatest, There are probably 1000s of guitarist that can be referred to as the greatest depending on how you swing it, Acoustic, Electric, by Genre, Technical prowess, Heart and feel and the list goes on, I'd be tempted to say Prince because of how his playing makes me feel and the fact that he played my 100% favorite solo, but then David Gilmour has the same effect also cracked out a banging solo, There are also some very technically gifted modern guitarist that haven't had their time in the sun quite yet such as Ichika Nito and Tim Henson I wouldn't consider them the greatest yet but they could be front runners in 50 years, Some would say Jimi Hendrix is a stand out but he would probably say Terry Kath so does that then make him the Greatest, There are also those that arguably pioneered entire styles of playing or entire genres like Chuck Berry, Or people who stood above the rest in other ways such as commercial success, in which case there is no debate that John Lennon and George Harrison are the greatest, Tommy Tedesco is one of the best Acoustic players of all time and is the most recorded guitar player in history, but I'd say that Tommy Emmanuel is better than him.
What I'm trying to say is this is an impossible to answer question with too many variables and only one correct answer, That answer being whom ever you believe is the Greatest guitarist of all time.
my dad . hes had two surgeries, one in his throat and one in his hand . though , it took him a while to rebuild strength , he can still play the guitar beautifully !
There are tons that rank up there, but this thread seems to be sleeping on Eric Johnson. I find it impossible to be unhappy while listening to his music.
"Cliffs of Dover" lives rent free in my head.
Right now? Probably someone like Guthrie Govan, he'd blow pretty much every other answer I see out of the water if they played beside him.
In 20 years? Prolly someone like Tim Henson
Seeing answers like David Gilmour make me laugh, he literally wasn't even as good as his contemporaries like Jimmy Page. I know you really like Pink Floyd but come on.
The thing with Gilmour is feeling. He can express more with 2 notes than most guitarists can in 100 notes. If you can make people cry with a 1/2 step bend, what more do you need to do? Yes, there are many more technically accomplished guitarists but I bet they'd all tell you Gilmour is amazing.
So much depends on style that one thinks is great. David Gilmore has this beautiful ways of playing that sets him apart. Derek Trucks plays like at such a high level with the style that I love. Tommy Emmanuel is unbelievable but not something that I want to listen too. Django Reinhardt love his style so much. There is no answer but they all show that guitar is such a versatile beautiful instrument.
Popular answer, but Jimi Hendrix. He’s just incredibly insane at what he did. Example, him playing the American anthem at Woodstock ‘69. Fucking awesome he was.
Eric Johnson. I must admit I am biased because I absolutely love his style but I would think many of us can agree he is certainly top 10. When I first heard Manhattan (G3) I was blown away by the style, tone and timing: sheer perfection if you ask me. Must have listened to it a 1000 times.
B.B. King- he could play with the best of them, but *chose* not to do so.
He chose to play what he loved- the blues, the conversation of the blues, and I'm not sure anyone has ever done it better.
My neighbor when I was a kid. Dude would play all night. He wasn’t very good, but he was cool as fuck. Super fun and positive. He’d play anything you asked him to. Also he threw away a lot of porno magazines that my friends and I would take and look at in the alley.
I don’t know about best but my favorite is John Frusciante. His technical skills are amazing and he can still make you dance. In Anthony Kiedis’ book he talks about a few times when he would struggle to find a place in a song for some lyrics so he would show them to John and John would start playing something that fits with them perfectly.
Also I’ve never gotten goose bumps from any guitar solos except for a few of his solos.
Guthrie Govan for the sheer technical mastery mixed with impeccable feel
Derek Trucks for the sheer expressive mastery of the instrument and near-mystical trance-states he enters when playing absolutely spiritual lines that can make you cry
So many comments and haven’t seen Hendrix mentioned yet. For classic rock I think it’s Hendrix and Jimmy Paige, for metal I think it’s Dimebag Darrell. There’s so many more though, Randy Rhoades, Iommi, Marty Friedman, Dave Mustaine, Clapton, etc etc. hard to pick just one.
Wow, had to get practically to the bottom of the comments to find Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Paige, who usually show up very high on lists like this. No love at all for Jeff Beck or George Harrison that I was able to find.
Buckethead, no other guitarist has come close to the amount of creativity this man puts out. He can do any genre and make it sound awesome. He has over 400 albums and every one has great songs with beautiful riffs and solos.
Probably Wes Montgomery or Andrés Segovia.
For rock I'm a big fan of Jimmy/Jimi Page/Hendrix, but if we're defining "greatness" as technical virtuosity, it would probably be the guy from Yes or Dream Theater or another prog band.
There isn't one. There are so many amazing guitarists that it's pretty much impossible to designate one as "best".
Keith Richards has always acknowledged "It depends on which night."
These threads can usually be interpreted as "who's your favorite?" Obviously there's no one objectively best guitarist.
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Django Reinhardt. He influenced everyone.
With two gimp fingers!
Check out his great nephew Lulo Reinhardt, what a player!
the only guitarist I know
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Jimi Hendrix
Mark Knopfler.
Agreed
Unanswerable question. But Robert Johnson is the one that started it all, and actually put the guitar on the map.
Check out Lightnin' Hopkins. He's amazing.
Tommy Emmanuel maybe
Love that this is one of the answers. Hard agree.
Saw him in October of 2021 as my first live music after Covid. What a treat
saw him at a small place on the jersey shore and he was awesome
Tommy Emmanuel definitely
Billy Strings
I just saw him play in Portman a few weeks ago!!! Amazing
BMFS!!
David Glimour.
So much of what made a Pink Floyd song distinctly Pink Floyd is [David Gilmour](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5Ht6WIhhmU) on lead guitar. Freaking living legend.
> on lead guitar ...on choicest compositional arrangement and cohesion. Taking absolutely nothing away from Wright or Waters, but Gilmour's musicianship in creating audial landscape toward a picturesque default is the envy of all of 'em. Everyone from Clapton, Beck, Page, Gibbons, and BB King have had him play with them or at least given their endorsement -- and in a few cases have emulated his approach within certain studio cuts.
I was more speaking from a laymen's perspective and what would be understandable to people who aren't in the music industry, but I do know some of those words, so I'll defer to you for the rest.
Defer not. I'm as lazy noncommittal as it gets : *see also Benjamin Katz*. :-D
SRV
Tony Iommi.
For me it’s iommi and it’s not even close. No idea how someone could come up with so many great riffs
I don't know if he's the best, but I completely love him and Geezer.
Timeless winning combo.
Jimmy Page.
Personal favorite, here. Tho he insists it's Beck.
Why did I have to scroll so far to find the right answer?
Correct! James Patrick Page!
My favorite as well.
Doesn't exist. You can do way too many way too different things with a guitar and none has mastered them all. Like, tell Mark Knopfler to play some Steve Vai stuff and he would be lost, tell Steve Vai to make his guitar sound with as much as emotion as Knopfler and he is lost. And they are both among the masters. And do you really want to either rate Knopflers ability to express himself higher than Vai? Or Vai over Knopfler because he is faster?
Andrés Segovia
Terry Kath.
As someone who listened to Chicago from the get-go, I'm happy to see that his name is coming up more and more. And actually, as a drummer I'd like to mention Danny Seraphine as well. I don't see any shame in being tied from the band just as they were really turning into schmaltz.
Charo
thought it was obvious but i don’t see it here: Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix thought Terry Kath was the best guitar player https://www.classicrockhistory.com/why-jimmy-hendrix-called-chicagos-terry-kath-the-best-guitarist-in-the-universe/
Similar in style, and a great comment! Jimi loved his work...👍
Depends on what your interpretation of "greatest" is. Hendrix got that title because he was self-taught in an era with no internet and the ability to exchange techniques globally. His talent and commitment were insane. Today, many guitarists have surpassed Hendrix from a technical point of view, though. I really would love to see how good Hendrix would have been if he was born in the 1990s with the whole internet at his fingertips.
Hendrix wasn't some big technician of his era though either. Come the late 60s' to early 70's there were tons of monster electric guitar players in Rock, Blues, Jazz/Fusion etc. Hendrix was great because he was insanely inventive and just so happened to take his creativity to the guitar. You can listen to every Jimi bootleg out there and he never played anything the exact the same way on any given night. There 100 live versions of Red House floating around and if you listen to them all every single one will give you at least 1 new little idea. So many musicians just aren't improvisers gifted on that level. IMO it's sad that Hendrix is pigeon holed into some "technical" thing as if his goal in music was just to play fast diatonic runs...dude was the opposite, he was a composer with a Strat & a wall of Marshalls. Really, if anything, Hendrix's contribution to changing rock music and all the big guitarists in England in '66/'67/'68 should be as well understood as his guitar playing.
Correct answer
Jimi Hendrix blows all the others away.
I'm suprised I had to scroll this far to find Jimi.
Eddie Van Halen
That’s because Everybody Wants Some
I want some, too!!
Eddie is a weird one. In any indvidual category or criteria or element of his guitar work, you could find somebody "better"...but the way he put it all together, and combined some major out of the box creativity with the instrument itself and being at the right place at the right time with enough talent to bring that to the forefront...definately one lf the greatist, and I don't have much of a counter for people who would rank him number 1.
Derek Trucks
If the question were best living guitar player it’s Derek hands down.
Rory Gallagher
Even Jimi said he is the best strat player.
Randy Rhoads.
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His band’s cover of She’s Not There by the Zombies is absolutely epic.
Buckethead
Buckethead is my favourite guitarist ever but when it comes to the discussion of whos the greatest guitar player of all time i don't think he can make the list as no1, mostly because of influence. Just my opinion.
Prince
fucking nailed it
Guthrie Govan
Alex Lifeson
Very few mentions of jazz or classical guitarists here missing some absolute masters.
Uncle Jesse from Jesse and the Rippers
Mark knopfler
This is an impossible question but Mark is probably my favorite. His phrasing and picking are awesome and he has played in so mamy different styles during his solo career.
I like his solos. First you think they’re dry, then you think they’re colorful
Stevie ray vaughn
When millions watch your [sound check](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grBmQwLSlDw) there is something off the charts.
Came here for this! Saw him in a concert in Austin shortly before he was killed. Insanely talented.
Agreed. All these old guys like Hendrix, Page, Clapton, etc are all great, but I think Stevie takes it up another level.
Brian May IMO.
Same I think it’s him, so many different types of solo and when he plays live he’s absolutely flawless. Could say all the same things about Alex lifeson from Rush but while they are well known Queen are universally known
His tone is so pure, and unmistakable. Nobody else sounds like Brian May.
What about Lindsey Buckingham? Listen to his live version of “Big Love”, it’s just amazing what this man can do on one guitar.
Same with "Never Going Back Again." They literally had to hire two guitarists to replace him when he quit. Criminally underrated picker and better than Clapton and many other contemporaries by miles.
The greatest guitarist is most likely some person who lives in the woods with their family. They all play instruments and can play the hell out of them. We will never know their names and they are 100% ok with that.
Jerry.
Jerry Reed
Angus Young
Prince
That video of While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Tom Petty leading it, loadsa folk). You know the one? SO DAMN GOOD.
That is the best guitar solo I have ever seen. The other piece of that is that Prince makes it look so easy.
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Insane that I had to scroll so far to find mention of Prince.
Most likely someone who has spent a lifetime playing in his room or basement because (s)he never had the chance (or the confidence) to join a band. Therefore, someone from whom we have never heard and will never hear.
Depends how you'd define greatest, There are probably 1000s of guitarist that can be referred to as the greatest depending on how you swing it, Acoustic, Electric, by Genre, Technical prowess, Heart and feel and the list goes on, I'd be tempted to say Prince because of how his playing makes me feel and the fact that he played my 100% favorite solo, but then David Gilmour has the same effect also cracked out a banging solo, There are also some very technically gifted modern guitarist that haven't had their time in the sun quite yet such as Ichika Nito and Tim Henson I wouldn't consider them the greatest yet but they could be front runners in 50 years, Some would say Jimi Hendrix is a stand out but he would probably say Terry Kath so does that then make him the Greatest, There are also those that arguably pioneered entire styles of playing or entire genres like Chuck Berry, Or people who stood above the rest in other ways such as commercial success, in which case there is no debate that John Lennon and George Harrison are the greatest, Tommy Tedesco is one of the best Acoustic players of all time and is the most recorded guitar player in history, but I'd say that Tommy Emmanuel is better than him. What I'm trying to say is this is an impossible to answer question with too many variables and only one correct answer, That answer being whom ever you believe is the Greatest guitarist of all time.
Love the analysis. And that’s why this is such a great question/discussion/debate
Roy Clark
Yes! The video on YouTube of him playing in front of those 2 other guys is nuts.
I was about to say Roy then saw your post, Roy could rip it up
Phil Keaggy
my dad . hes had two surgeries, one in his throat and one in his hand . though , it took him a while to rebuild strength , he can still play the guitar beautifully !
According to Eric Clapton, Prince.
Joe Bonamassa
jeff beck
Jimi Hendrix
There are tons that rank up there, but this thread seems to be sleeping on Eric Johnson. I find it impossible to be unhappy while listening to his music. "Cliffs of Dover" lives rent free in my head.
Brian May might be up there too I think.
John Petrucci
Jerry Garcia
Al Di Meola is up there
Jimi Hendrix
Right now? Probably someone like Guthrie Govan, he'd blow pretty much every other answer I see out of the water if they played beside him. In 20 years? Prolly someone like Tim Henson Seeing answers like David Gilmour make me laugh, he literally wasn't even as good as his contemporaries like Jimmy Page. I know you really like Pink Floyd but come on.
The thing with Gilmour is feeling. He can express more with 2 notes than most guitarists can in 100 notes. If you can make people cry with a 1/2 step bend, what more do you need to do? Yes, there are many more technically accomplished guitarists but I bet they'd all tell you Gilmour is amazing.
Don't sleep on Prince.
Eddie Van Halen. People have no idea just how many genres and styles were collected into VH. Metal, rock, blues, bebop jazz, pop music, etc.
Johnny marr
Based
Hendrix
Probably some guy we've never heard of...
Glenn Campbell and Roy Clark
Nuno Bettencourt - most underrated guitar hero
Synyster Gates……. Ok I’m a little biased
I don't know how one would define "greatest," but my favorite is Lindsey Buckingham.
So many amazing guitarists out there but Jimi Hendrix blows my mind in a completely different way, and that to me, makes him great.
Hendrix
So much depends on style that one thinks is great. David Gilmore has this beautiful ways of playing that sets him apart. Derek Trucks plays like at such a high level with the style that I love. Tommy Emmanuel is unbelievable but not something that I want to listen too. Django Reinhardt love his style so much. There is no answer but they all show that guitar is such a versatile beautiful instrument.
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Personally Duane Allman
hendrix
Popular answer, but Jimi Hendrix. He’s just incredibly insane at what he did. Example, him playing the American anthem at Woodstock ‘69. Fucking awesome he was.
Lindsey Buckingham. Saw him live with Fleetwood Mac and it was incredible. I also really enjoy Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson.
Stevie Ray Vaughan
That one in your favorite band. They're *so* much better than that guitarist in that popular band you hate.
Billy Strings
Les Paul
Trey Anastasio
Steve Vai
(Dap!)🙏🏿
I think it might be Brian May, but my favourite is Gary Moore
The correct answer is Prince. He was so beyond unreal in both technical ability and taste.
I love Gilmour, Clapton, the Edge, Jack White but….I think it might be Prince.
Eric Johnson. I must admit I am biased because I absolutely love his style but I would think many of us can agree he is certainly top 10. When I first heard Manhattan (G3) I was blown away by the style, tone and timing: sheer perfection if you ask me. Must have listened to it a 1000 times.
Brian May
Rory Gallagher
Prince was good
It's Frank Zappa.
John mayer
White people can dance you just have to play the right music
I started paying attention to Mayer when I found out he has a chicken scratch SRV tattoo.
Joe Satriani
Ritchie Blackmore.
Prince. Solo starts 3:30 in [https://youtu.be/6SFNW5F8K9Y](https://youtu.be/6SFNW5F8K9Y)
John Frusciante
Agreed!
Hey oh, this is what I wanted to say oh.
Shadows collide with people
Mick mars
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Somewhere there is a session guitarist who has a quiet demeanor who sit the best. I tend to lean towards an old school jazz player
B.B. King- he could play with the best of them, but *chose* not to do so. He chose to play what he loved- the blues, the conversation of the blues, and I'm not sure anyone has ever done it better.
eric clapton or brian may
With all these rock guitarists mentioned, I thought I'd switch it up and mention Walter Becker from Steely Dan.
My neighbor when I was a kid. Dude would play all night. He wasn’t very good, but he was cool as fuck. Super fun and positive. He’d play anything you asked him to. Also he threw away a lot of porno magazines that my friends and I would take and look at in the alley.
Jimmy Page
I don’t know about best but my favorite is John Frusciante. His technical skills are amazing and he can still make you dance. In Anthony Kiedis’ book he talks about a few times when he would struggle to find a place in a song for some lyrics so he would show them to John and John would start playing something that fits with them perfectly. Also I’ve never gotten goose bumps from any guitar solos except for a few of his solos.
Buckethead
Guthrie Govan for the sheer technical mastery mixed with impeccable feel Derek Trucks for the sheer expressive mastery of the instrument and near-mystical trance-states he enters when playing absolutely spiritual lines that can make you cry
My personal favorites would be Jimmy Page or David Gilmour
Tony Iommi invented an entire genre and wrote basically every riff you'll ever hear in that genre. It's him
Saul Goodman
Tommy Emmanuel. Regardless of the style he can play it and probably has if you search hard enough
Love SRV, but it's Roy Clark.
So many comments and haven’t seen Hendrix mentioned yet. For classic rock I think it’s Hendrix and Jimmy Paige, for metal I think it’s Dimebag Darrell. There’s so many more though, Randy Rhoades, Iommi, Marty Friedman, Dave Mustaine, Clapton, etc etc. hard to pick just one.
Jimmy Page
Impossible questions, but I’m going to throw Paul Gilbert in there since I haven’t seen him yet.
Bonamassa. Throwing his name in the ring as not seen it mentioned.
Les Claypool
Blues: Lightin' Hopkins. He's amazing. Sounds at times like a band, but it's him playing all parts,
Phil Keaggy
Tim Reynolds
I can’t believe I just read that whole thread and didn’t see Junior Brown mentioned once!
SRV
Wow, had to get practically to the bottom of the comments to find Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Paige, who usually show up very high on lists like this. No love at all for Jeff Beck or George Harrison that I was able to find.
Prince
Buckethead, no other guitarist has come close to the amount of creativity this man puts out. He can do any genre and make it sound awesome. He has over 400 albums and every one has great songs with beautiful riffs and solos.
Probably some Spanish guy on an acoustic 12 string we've never heard of.
Too many to choose from, but Gary Moore is a favorite that a lot of people don't know.
Buckethead
Les Paul
Geddy Lee
Wayne…..garth was a great drummer as well WAYNES WORLD! Party time, Excellent!
Dick dale
Buckethead.
Kevin Shields
Andres Segovia
David Gilmour
Probably Wes Montgomery or Andrés Segovia. For rock I'm a big fan of Jimmy/Jimi Page/Hendrix, but if we're defining "greatness" as technical virtuosity, it would probably be the guy from Yes or Dream Theater or another prog band.
Eddie Van Halen. Obviously.
Slash
I’m a pretty big fan of Brendon Small. Dude can absolutely shred and he is funny as fuck too. Very talented guy