Gibson.com's top 50 guitarists: 1. Jimi Hendrix

Gibson.com's top 50 guitarists (this is a net vote)

49. (tie) Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow)

"One of rock?s great riff-masters, Blackmore has always danced to a different muse. Pulling largely from medieval and classical influences while his competitors drew almost exclusively from blues, Blackmore created a musical vocabulary that influenced generations of shredders. In 1968, he co-founded one of the great hard-rock bands, Deep Purple. When he grew displeased with Purple?s post-Ian Gillan direction, he started his own supergroup, Rainbow. Cycling through members at a dizzying pace, Rainbow still managed to record some of the great albums of the period, most notably Rainbow Rising. In recent years, Blackmore has settled into a second career as the Minstrel in Black in Blackmore?s Night. ? Michael Wright"

49. (tie) Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)

"The Nirvana frontman recoiled against technical proficiency but there?s a good reason why people are still trying to emulate the dirty, pummeling riffs of ?Smells Like Teen Spirit? nearly two decades after Cobain first played them. Even though he was a left-handed guitarist who, even after success came fast and hard, adamantly stuck with the junk shop models that would barely stay in tune when he played, Cobain had a totally unique ability to harness power. ?I'm the first to admit that I?m no virtuoso,? he once said. ?I can?t play like Segovia. The flip side of that is that Segovia could probably never have played like me.? ? Aidin Vaziri"

 

Blackmore = some of the greatest riffs you've ever heard.

Cobain's strengths did not lie in the technical arena. But he had strengths. Putting your finger on them is hard and always has been, but it's like Tori Amos said; first time you hear that guitar on Smells Like Teen Spirit, it's like your blood stands at attention. Something archetypal and primative about his guitar work; undeniably moving and evocative.

 

47. (tie) Robert Fripp (King Crimson)

"With a Gibson Les Paul ?Black Beauty? under his arm, this Dorset, England, native burned his name into the history of art rock as the leader of King Crimson in 1969 and then pioneered ambient music with Brian Eno. At age 64 he continues to lead the prog pack with his ?New Standard Tuning,? textural mastery and exploration of effects, as well as a super-ergonomic approach to the fingerboard that gives him hair-raising speed and dynamic control. Fripp is an unmitigated monster. ? Ted Drozdowski"

47. (tie) Andrés Segovia

"Andrés Segovia, El Maestro, the self-taught peerless master of the Spanish classical guitar, singlehandedly made the guitar respectable. Pre-Segovia it was a seedy bar instrument. Post-Segovia it?s a revered staple of the concert hall circuit. The Spaniard arrived in America for the first time in 1928 and audiences were amazed at his interpretation, his virtuosity and musicianship. ? Andrew Vaughan"

 

I'm kind of surprised Robert Fripp made the list. I love King Crimson and Fripp & Eno, but I'm not sure I'd call the guitar work memorable.

Also, there will be a Hendrix/Clapton debate. I'm just going to call it now.

 

that fripp's guitar-ing does not expressly call attention to itself is part of what makes it great.

 

Really? 47th best? Really? I can't imagine 46 better guitarists. Different guitarists, sure, but better at the instrument? Even Hendrix goes behind him IMO and I have everything by Hendrix.

 

Next is a five-way tie among the following:

42. (tie) Hubert Sumlin (Howlin? Wolf, Muddy Waters)

"One of the most revered Les Paul wranglers in electric blues, this shy 78-year-old invented some of the genre?s greatest riffs under the wing of his mentor Howlin? Wolf. ?Killing Floor,? ?Spoonful,? ?Smokestack Lightnin?,? and other classics put the whammy on Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and other blues-rock giants thanks to Sumlin?s voodoo-rific vocabulary of abrupt bends, zippy slides and oddball finger vibrato. And he still tours! ? Ted Drozdowski"

42. (tie) Clarence White (The Kentucky Colonels, The Byrds)

"A flatpicking and electric giant in equal parts, Clarence White died tragically young, hit by a drunk driver in 1973. Like Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Robert Johnson, Eddie Lang, Duane Allman and Jimi Hendrix, White died long before his full impact on the guitar could ever be measured. Starting out in bluegrass, there?s not a flatpicker who doesn?t cite him as a major influence. As a country-rock electric pioneer with The Byrds and others, he wrote the book ? and, of course, gave us the B Bender, giving the six-string guitar a pedal steel sound. ? Andrew Vaughan"

42. (tie) Rory Gallagher (Taste, solo)

"The late Irish guitarist may not be a household name, but his incredible ability to master the American blues put him in the company of all the greats, from Muddy Waters and Jerry Lee Lewis to Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Through his band Taste and his rich body of solo work, Gallagher set himself apart as one of the most dynamic blues-rock players in the ?70s and early ?80s. ?Basically, I try to treat the electric guitar like an acoustic guitar,? he said. ?What you have to do is attack the instrument and know that your feelings aren?t controlled by the controls of your guitar.? ? Aidin Vaziri"

42. (tie) John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

"He was just 18 when he was drafted to replace his personal idol Hillel Slovak, who died of a drug overdose, in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But Frusciante didn?t come onboard just to recreate the stuttering punk-funk riffs of the past. He brought melody and depth to the band?s defining multi-platinum releases, 1989?s Mother?s Milk and 1991?s Blood Sugar Sex Magik. And each time he circled back to the group between his various solo flights, the results were always inspirational. As singer Anthony Kiedis once said, ?John is always deeply disciplined and committed to living and breathing his music at all hours of the day and night. That?s pretty infectious.? ? Aidin Vaziri"

42. (tie) Richard Thompson

"The British folk legend has been lauded critically and received numerous industry awards but remains a commercial mystery. One of the great guitar stylists, Thompson easily sits at the English head table alongside Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Where those players took blues as their point of departure, Thompson opted to work within and expand the folk music realm. Throw in the added bonus that he?s also a gifted and much-recorded songwriter (Bonnie Raitt, R.E.M., Dave Gilmour and Elvis Costello are all satisfied customers), his career longevity, and steadfast refusal to sell-out, and Thompson can breathe the rarified air of writer/guitarists like Neil Young and Prince. ¬? Andrew Vaughan"

 

This is the most indecisive list I've ever seen. Can't wait for the thrilling 19-way tie for 1st.

 

yeah abort abort

 

There's no such tie.

The thing that surprises me about the list is the absence of my favorite guitarist, but in all fairness his most famous work is with his home-made guitar, and this is a Gibson list.

 

41. David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)

"Sure, Pink Floyd began as a psychedelic rock band, but there are few riffers with a purer approach to blues than Gilmour, whose stunning Gold Top essay in ?Comfortably Numb? is one of the greatest solos of the modern era. But when put in the context of his 42 years with Floyd, plus excursions with Kate Bush, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend and others, it?s just a brief flight in an epic, lifelong guitar odyssey of unlimited imagination, depth and scope. ? Ted Drozdowski"

(Votes for the Top 50 Guitarists of All Time were included from Michael Wright, Bryan Wawzenek, Andrew Vaughan, Sean Dooley, Arlen Roth, Aidin Vaziri, Russell Hall, Ted Drozdowski, Paolo Bassotti, Dave Hunter, Jeff Cease (Black Crowes), James Williamson (Iggy & The Stooges), Steve Mazur (Our Lady Peace), Martin Belmont (Graham Parker & The Rumour) and the Gibson.com Readers Poll.)

 

Did we seriously get all the way to 41st to get a position without any ties?

Not that I don't love Gilmour's guitar work, because I do, but sheesh.

 

Gilmour is awesome. Maybe he's not as "virtuoso" a player as some of the leaders of this list, but his solos have real soul and character. "Dogs" is my favorite.

 

40. Steve Jones (Sex Pistols)

"Steve Jones exploded on the scene in the mid-?70s ? a one-man Les Paul blitzkrieg. His staggering work on Never Mind the Bollocks ? the Sex Pistols? only album ? alone puts Jones in the elite class. His love of ?70s power pop and old-time rock and roll, combined with the in-your-face anger engendered by Johnny Rotten, resulted in furious chord runs, biting Chuck Berry steals and an overall sound that was as frightening as it was inspired. Post-punk, Jones turned into one of L.A.?s most in-demand guns for hire ? playing with a slew of acts, notably Iggy Pop and Bob Dylan, and making two solo albums in the late ?80s. ? Andrew Vaughan"

 

I should say, since no one else addressed him, that Rory Gallagher is a frigging storm, a force of nature. If you haven't heard his 1971 album, Deuce, do so immediately.

 

39. Frank Zappa

"You might not have expected the man who titled his songs ?But Who Was Fulcanelli?? and ?Theme from the 3rd Movement of Sinister Footwear? to take his job all that seriously. But with Zappa, the absurdity was just a front for his unflinching dedication to his craft. He didn?t swing wildly from nagging doo-wop melodies to improvisational freakouts to be funny, but because he could. Go back and listen to his willful solos or anything he did with Mothers of Invention and discover how bound and determined he was to make music matter. ? Aidin Vaziri"

 

38. Lou Reed (Velvet Underground)

"Though it would be a stretch to call Lou Reed a six-string virtuoso, few guitarists have proven as adept at capturing the essence of rock and roll. With the Velvet Underground, Reed employed imaginative tunings, controlled feedback, and white-hot harmonics to put a wallop in the band?s most adventurous songs. His solo albums ? especially The Blue Mask and New York ? are marked by his dazzling rhythm work and careful attention to tone."
? Russell Hall

 

Reed deserves the spot if only for his work on The Velvet Underground & Nico. Hell of an album.

 

36. (tie) Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)

"I don?t think Tom Petty would argue with this: The band should be called Tom Petty and Mike Campbell and the Heartbreakers. As a co-writer, a co-producer and a phenomenally melodic guitarist, Campbell has as big a claim on that band as anyone. Never showy, every note he plays is in service of the song, whether Campbell is gassing up ?Honeybee? in the garage or keeping ?Free Fallin?? lighter than air. His versatility is further evidenced by his session work, in which he?s played with the Dixie Chicks, Bad Religion, D?Angelo and Bob Dylan. ? Bryan Wawzenek"

36. (tie) Charlie Christian

Modern electric lead guitar starts with this Texas native?s ?30s and ?40s recordings, which elevated the instrument from a jazz time-keeper to a formidable voice equal to that of horn players like Lester Young. Christian, who was only 25 when he died in 1942, used his Gibson ES-150 to develop a style of single-note soloing based on sax lines that cut through the dense layers of the era?s big bands to cast a spell on Les Paul, T-Bone Walker and other innovators. ? Ted Drozdowski"

 

35. Buddy Guy

"It?s hard to find a Chicago blues player with more originality and expression in his playing. Guy is a true innovator with his double-stop style, and an all-time great bender. He?s got great rhythm chops, and has been a huge influence on many top players, most notably and directly, Stevie Ray Vaughan. Buddy was perhaps the main ?second generation? Chicago blues artist who took the guitar to the forefront of the mid-tolate ?60s blues boom. ? Arlen Roth"

 

34. Slash (Guns N? Roses, Velvet Revolver)

"More than 20 years after Guns N? Roses first b*tchslapped the sugary Sunset Strip metal scene of the mid-to-late ?80s, history now holds Slash as the single most influential guitarist to emerge from that highly competitive guitar-hero era. Slash not only played circles around the legion of pretty-boy wannabes wearing their mama?s makeup, but his virtuosity was raw, honest and dangerous ? elements all but void from the rouge-tinted din flailing to hitch a ride on the Chapeaued Shredder?s immense coattails. And he?s only getting better! ? Sean Dooley"

 

Regarding Campbell, I've always loved his retro, rockabilly solo on Even the Losers, maybe my favorite Heartbreakers song.

As for Slash, how can you argue with the guy who played the intro to Sweet Child O' Mine, maybe the most transcendent musical moment of the eighties?

 

Slash is a God, it's offensive he is so low on the list.

 

33. Scotty Moore (Elvis Presley)

"One of the most influential guitarists in history, Scotty Moore backed Elvis Presley through the ?50s and early ?60s, playing on such seminal rock and roll tunes as ?That?s All Right,? ?Hound Dog,? ?Heartbreak Hotel? and ?Jailhouse Rock.? Destiny undoubtedly tapped Sam Phillips on the shoulder when he matched Moore and double bassist Bill Black with a teenaged truck driver poised to conquer the world. The schoolboys who would grow up to become The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and a myriad of other acts were listening and taking notes. ? Michael Wright"