Mark Saleski offers us his own unique take on guitarists...
After reading that list of the Rolling Stone Top 100 Guitarists I felt the need to chime in. Not that there's a problem with the list or anything.…
"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
The Top 100 Guitarists According to Mark Saleski - Comments Page 3
Article comments
— go to most recent comments76 - Triniman
What?! No mention of Randy Bachman!!
77 - Watchtower
Randy is great, all i'm saying is Jimi Hendrix is the best guitarist in history, and will always be best.
78 - Watchtower
Hey AngusYoung.... i love ac/dc.. there 1 of my fav. bands of all time, theu kick a$$, but ac/dc, clapton......no1 is nearly as good as Jimi Hendrix.
79 - Sean
I noticed that nobody has Djano Reinhardt on their lists and I was just wondering why the hell not. He was the greatest guitar player in the world in his day and lead the way for many of today's greats. If you haven't heard of him, do it. He is the most amazing gypsy jazz player ever. Not to mention that he only had 2 working fingers on miss left hand.
80 - Sean
I just noticed that I spelled his name wrong. I am an idiot. It is Django Reinhardt.
81 - Watchtower
yea true, one of the best...........but Hendrix is still the greatest of all time.
82 - Watchtower
And for those of yall who said look at a "real list"......the list isnt even worth looking at without hendrix at #1, and for those of u who put punk rock ppl at the front, notice they play 1 chord the whole song. If u didnt have hendrix in the top 10 you need to stop posting forever, he deserves to be at #1 EASILY
83 - Rafael Urbina
umm come on now Hendrix is clearly a god on the guitar and shall always be but my personal favorite guitar player is Page, he had the best solos ever and just played the hell out of that thing
84 - Watchtower
all i am sayin is Hendrix is # 1 of all time
85 - evilmonkey3100
you guys obviously dont listen to enough van halen or rock music to make a good top list:
1.Eddie Van halen
2.Jimmy Page
3.Eric Clapton
4.Stevie Ray Vaughn
5. Allman
6. Slash
7.Hendrix (good defintely not number 1)
8. Carlos Santana
9. Joe Satriana
10. Dave Gilmore
86 - alex
angus is the best hendrix sux all he does is unique shit no good rock bitches u should all die
87 - igor
my list
1 Angus
2 jim page
3 kirk hammet
4 zakk wylde
5 kurt cobain (got murdered didnt kill himself)
88 - Watchtower
alex ... angus is ok, but it shows how stupid u r just saying that all he does is unique stuff, angus young wouldnt exist without hendrix ... all of the artists that u think are good wouldnt exist without him, if he sux..then why were there about over half a million fans waiting to see him preform at wood stock? acdc will never have that many fans,much less at a concert, so u r the 1 that needs to go to hell, u can take the highway to hell
89 - Watchtower
and igor ... how dare u make a list without Hendrix, all the ppl on ur list could easily be out played by stevie ray vaughn
90 - Al Barger
What kind of damnged pinko would come up with a list of the great guitarists that does not include Prince and Richard Thompson?
91 - Mark Saleski
...and a happy new year to you too, mr. barger.
92 - Al Barger
Right back atcha, buddy.
XOX
93 - Al Barger
Also Mark, you may wish to note that decent patriotic Americans have lately taken a strong interest in the guitar kickassery of Jack White, particularly on his 2003 Elephant album, and just as much for his work on Loretta Lynn's 2004 Van Lear Rose album. I note particularly the outstanding introductory guitar statement from her "Portland Oregon."
Then again, there's the undeniable "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground."
94 - igor
i changed my list
1 micheal jackson
2 bon scott
3 page
4 tom petty
5 hendrix just kiddin he sux
watchtower is a fagot alex is right wit his comment and particually about the part where he says hendrix SUX pussy u have no idea no guitarist can out play my new list
95 - Aaman
um, ok
96 - Shaun
Top 3 are as follows
1. Jimmy Page
2. Jimi Hendrix
3. Jeff Beck
97 - Watchtower
haha, there you go cussing again. probably because u are frustrated....because you know hendrix is the best. and you are so clueless that half of the ppl on your list dont play guitar, u shouldnt be allowed to type for disrespecting the greatest of alll time, have a nice day(fag).......
98 - thomas
bon scott dosent play guitar igor, watchtower and almost everyone here is right, u are gay and yes.. Jimi Hendrix is the greatest.
99 - mitch
these are the true top ten guitarists
.jimmy page
.slash
.santana
.clapton
.hendrix
.jeff beck
.bb king
.mark knofler
.iommi
.john fruchainta
100 - sumpeoplesamazeme
Whoever did not put Michael Angelo (not the painter or whatever motherfucker) is an idiot. Search for him on google and listen to him play he is good. What about fuckin Scott Ian hes the best damn rythym guitarist on the face of the fucking Earth. The Perfect list is:
1. Zakk Wylde
2. Dimebag Darrell
3. Eddie Van Halen
4. Steve Vai
5. Yngwie Malmsteen
6. Randy Rhoades
7. Ace Frehely
8. Joe Satriani
9. Michael Angelo
10. Kerry King
11. Stevie Ray Vaughan
12. Alex Laiho
13. Scott Ian
14. K.K. Downing (Of Judas Priest)
15. Slash
16. Ted Nugent
17. Mick Mars
18. Toni Iommi
19. Kirk Hammett
20. Mick #7 (Of Slipknot)
101 - Sam
I have many of the lists and many people belive that john fruasantwhatshisname from the chillis is a great player. He is average his playing is average and as for his solo stuff if he weren't a chilli he'd be a noone. His solo stuff sounds like john mayer or ben harper which is crap. who do i think is better Jack White there is no bass or back up guitar for him yet he sounds like a band.
102 - Wa
ho many times must i tell u, if hendrix isnt on ur list, leave, if he he should be at the very top (#1)
103 - Robbie
What pissed me off the most was that David Gilmour was put at 82. How the fuck is Kurt Cobain or Jack White better than David Gilmore. Like seriously...what the fuck? Rolling Stones list is a fucking joke. David Gilmours music has so much feeling and passion. I'm sure this has probably already been said but ill say it again anyway, rolling stones list was simply done to satisfy the public. There are some exceptions however, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaugn, ect.
104 - Robbie
Hendrix Rules!:)
105 - Jesse
All you guys need to Stfu out there because you are all just ranking your favorite bands. I'm sorry, i like Blink 182, but do i think they have the best guitar work in the world...no!
It is very hard to make a list of the top guitar players because no one person is the best at every single aspect of guitar (tone, speed, rhythm playing, rhythmic ability, creativeness, etc...) You can like certain music and certain bands better than others but that does not mean that they are more technically skilled than others. So here a just a few great guitar players that are both technically very skilled and good composers. Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Eric Johson, John Petrucci, Robert Fripp, All of the "Allman Brothers" band guitarists, Steve Morse, Mark Knopfler, Dave Weiner, Tony MacAlpine, Zakk Wylde, Randy Rhoads, Dimebag Darrell, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and many others that i cant think of at the moment but you get the idea. SO everyone just realize that people have different opinions but when it comes to technical ability one has to be objective
106 - Theguy
1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Jimmy page
3. Ritchie Blackmore
4. Eddie Van Halen
5. David Gilmour
107 - BRICKLAYER
Does anyone have Jimi Hendrix's email address?
108 - Bryan
My List
1 Zakk Wylde
2 Randy Rhoads
3 Van Halen
4 Slash
5 Hammett
6 Dimebag
7 Hendrix
8 Page
9 Vaughan
10 Iommi
11 Angus Young
12 Gilmour
13 Cobain
14 Richards
15 Clapton
16 Lifeson
17 Kerry King
18 Mick Thomson (#7 Slipknot)
19 Alexi Laiho
20 Nancy Wilson
109 - sydney
What did zakk wylde do besides those catchy ozzie songs?
110 - jared
wow. noone will ever find the best guitarist because it is all opinion. some people hear a song or solo from one artist and say " that is the best guitarist ever" and some say it for a differnt artist.
and let me say to bryan that just because theyre the fastest, doesnt mean theyre the best. good guitarists need to be good at song writing and music theory as well.
And as for Hendrix, even if he wasnt as fast as other guitarists, he looked at the guitar in a way noone else can. He OWNED the fretboard.
111 - bizzy
1.Vai
2.satriani
3.michael angleo
4.Malmsteen
5.hammet
6.Gimore
7.Clapton
8.Petruci
9.Vinnie Moore
10.Tom Morrello
112 - CJ
1. Kirk Hammett
2. John Fruschiante
3. Santana
4. Tom Morello
5. Toni Iommi
6. Van Halen
7.Dave Evans
8. Randy Rhoads
113 - Mike
im stunned, so few of u have mentioned John Frusciante, i cant belive u have missed him. I would compare him to a genius, once on the verge of going insane but he didnt. When he compile a song, everything just...goes with the flow :).
my top 5
1.Jimi Hendrix
2.Santana
3.Hammett
4.Van Halen
5.John Frusciante
There are alot of good guitarr players out there, lets quit argue about who is the best, i really dont think they care wheter they are the best in the world or not, they wont stop. Might make me sound a bit double minded, but since everyone else is giving their thoughts, i want to join in ^^.
114 - JImmy
What About Yngwie Malmsteen, did u forget about him?
115 - Joel Morris
You guys are idiots. If you don't have buckethead on your list, you're a dummy.
Here's my list:
1.Eric Clapton
2.Jimmy Page
3.Buckethead
4.Doug Hopkins
5.Jack White
116 - Joel Morris
You guys are idiots. If you don't have buckethead on your list, you're a dummy.
Here's my list:
1.Eric Clapton
2.Jimmy Page
3.Buckethead
4.Doug Hopkins
5.Oz Fox
117 - Ryan
MY LIST
1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Jimmy Page
3. Jeff Beck
4. Eric Clapton
5. Jerry Garcia
6. Frank Zappa
7. Carlos Santana
8. Chuck Berry
9. Stevie Ray Vaughn
10.Duane Allman
11.Ritchie Blackmore
12.George Harrison
13.Keith Richards
14.Kurt Cobain
15.Johnny Ramone
16.Pete Townshend
17.John Fogerty
18.Robin Trower
19.David Gilmour
20.Jerry Cantrell
118 - Flame
1. Hendrix
2. Wai
3. Steve Ray
4. Alexi laiho
5. Santana
[ if u dunno alexi laiho thenlisten children of bodom and those amazing solos.. btw he's the lead guitar]
119 - Bryan White
fuck hendrix haha please he only was good because he could use a friggin pedal, ANGUS YOUNG IS NUMBER 1 AND HES STILL ALIVE, ROCK ON!
120 - Cory
whys hendrix so overrated i mean he was good but not that good heres my list....
10=wourst
1=best
10.kirk hammett
9.dimebag darrel
9.paul gibert
8.ynwgie malmsteen
7.stevie ray vaughn
6.hendrix
5.angus younge
4.tony Iommi
3.joe satriani
2.steve vai
1.van halen
that the real list baby i know some people like Iommi are plent crappier then malmsteen but these are just who i think are the best
121 - junior jimi
jimi hendrix would always be the greatest guitarist af all time because it is he who started the style of rock soloing, he was the first to do it and jimmy page and others wouldn't be able to solo that great if it wasn't for him. Music moves on and what is happening is that soloists are just building on his style, the style of rock soloing. And remember, speed doesn't matter, it is melody and sound
122 - Greg
hey just about everyone in that whole long ass comment list kept talking about all the classic gods of guitar but what about the new gods 2? no more than one or twice in that whole comment list did i see Alexi Leiho who is insane i think the top 10 list should b
1. jimi hendrix
2. yngwie malmsteen
3. alexi leiho
4. carlos santana
5. randy rhoades
6. jimmy page
7. eddie van halen
8. zakk wylde
9. Lee Richards (godsmack's original guitarist he's not "the best" but his solos are incredible listen to the songs on godsmack's first cd and ull c what i mean)
10. jerry garcia
some of those could easily b switched around to a different order but in general that should b the top 10 list and ya i kno my spelling's fucked up but im used to typing for aim n even for skool work some times i put in shit like that instead of the full or rightly spelled word lol. btw to the ppl that put steve vai on their top 10 lists yes steve vai is incredible and there is no1 like him but i just dont think he's on the top 10 if i had the time id do top 20 n he'd b in the top 15 but for now this is all im doing so fuck off lol
123 - Ryan
THE TOP FIVE BEST GUITARISTS ARE IN MY LIST
HENDRIX
PAGE
BECK
CLAPTON
GARCIA
124 - Ryan
IN MY TOP 25 A FEW POSTS ABOVE I FORGOT TO MENTION TONY IOMMI AND ANGUS YOUNG, I WOULD HAVE PUT THEM IN AT LEAST TOP 15 IF IC OULD FIND ROOM FOR THEM, THEY ARE KICK ASS GUITAR PLAYERS !
125 - bulshit
devin...the one thats 16 the one that said u no more about music than the ppl here...u r soooooo full of shit and as much as i dont like him im not sayin hendrix isnt a great player an he probably did mroe to the music world than any1 else did an its also true like one of the other guy said that some people wundt exist witout hendrixes contribution but that still doesnt mean urnot full of shit wen u say ppl that actualy no music dont no wut therye talkin about from all ive read on ur post is a hack of shit that jus shows u dont no wut ur talkin bout ...liek wtf r u thinkin sayin u no morea bout music than ppl out here an im 14 an i am not even guna say wut i wud say if u were in my face right now