Jump to content

Rolling Stone Top Guitarists Thread of Clickbait


sidis

Recommended Posts

Seems like this is the highest on such list that EVH has been. Which gruntled me.

Is Willie Nelson on the list?

I think Willie is highly underrated. He’s pretty much single handedly carrying forth the Django Reinhardt torch. The only guys who play that style now are just straight copying, which is fine I guess. But Willie on guitar - especially live even now - is sublime.
  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites


I think Willie is highly underrated. He’s pretty much single handedly carrying forth the Django Reinhardt torch. The only guys who play that style now are just straight copying, which is fine I guess. But Willie on guitar - especially live even now - is sublime.

100% this. Talk about someone who never gets talked about as a guitarist and should.
  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Deej said:

I have a hard time thinking of 95 guitarists better than Mark Knopfler, and the Edge would not be one of them. 

fucking love the edge in a way that most on this site do not.

he's not a better guitarist than mark.

him being 96 may be the stupidest single entry on this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, sidis said:

fucking love the edge in a way that most on this site do not.

he's not a better guitarist than mark.

him being 96 may be the stupidest single entry on this.

I'll buy the "influential" angle on Edge.  If we're talking pure chops?  No.  The only chops I possess are pork, so I'm not gonna criticize the guy.  I like what he plays and the way he built his sound for that band.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, DixonHur said:

I see the pride of Lake Highlands HS, Annie Clark, made the list at 26...

As much as I like her, guitar isn't usually the first thing that comes to mind when I think about her music.

You aren't overcompensating for the remarks of Jann Wenner, though. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/17/2023 at 5:39 AM, G650 said:

You back on the sauce homie

Oh - I was hammered. Apologies to everyone here - I don't know guitar as well as a lot of you and have a misconception of how difficult stuff is.

I just love the sounds he gets and what he writes. And I believe he's a lot more capable than what he typically displays - I maintain that he's a phenomenal guitarist.

I could have just led with a video like this:

Or this:

Dude can fucking play. Not sure where he is on y'all's lists and I could buy that he's overrated and not the 33rd best ever but acting like he's a nobody is ridiculous. He can fucking shred the shit out of a guitar like no one here can. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also... I'm gonna keep defending my guy.

If anyone on this site wants to grab a pick and show us that then go ahead. Let's see it. 

Here's another one because I know a lot of you aren't going to watch the entire song.

Elementary stuff. I could teach my dead dog to do that.  Edited by ztejas
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Not that I can actually tell, but those clips don’t look all that fast or technical from a picking or fretboard standpoint so it wouldn’t surprise me if several posters here could do that. 

Can you play them? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

I’m going to assume for a minute Z that you are serious…

Remind me, are you a guitar player?

I’m not but just from watching and having seen plenty of amazing guitarists play different music, I offered my opinion above about the lack of complexity at both hands. 
 

as a player, what is your assessment?

however, complexity isn’t the only thing to make a guitarist great. For instance the second solo on comfortably numb doesn’t sound all that complex and gilmour looks quite at ease playing it, but it’s great because of the tone and the emotion he puts into it. (and all of the meaning in the lyrics and music leading up to it from the song and the album, plus great keys and drums filling behind it. )

Edited by Pato del Muerto
Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, tbone_ said:

I didn’t even look but I assume I’d be thoroughly disgusted with where they put Dimebag on the list, if he’s even on there.

131.  Not too far behind the guitarists from The Slits (125) and L7 (119).  Steve Howe is at least better than The Slits guitarist at 123.  Stills (140) is evidently worse than all of them and Liz Phair.        

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, ztejas said:

Also... I'm gonna keep defending my guy.

 

If anyone on this site wants to grab a pick and show us that then go ahead. Let's see it. 

Here's another one because I know a lot of you aren't going to watch the entire song.

 

Elementary stuff. I could teach my dead dog to do that. 

i am not in the business of hating when it comes to other people's musical efforts or abilities, but i can assure you that both goredho and celery man can both perform those solos with relative ease if you give them a few days.  i suspect tbone probably could as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think most people are missing the forest for the trees, it really isn't about whether anyone can play it or not. I think most of us here could do it in an hour with a transcription, a day or two at most just listening to it. But that is beside the point. It's the creation and feel that transcend whatever the notes may be. Conversely, there are a ton of guitarists who have amazing technical facility, who say absolutely nothing of substance. And not just the Malmsteens of the world, but there are thousands upon thousands of guys playing in bar bands across the world who can play all sorts of very technical pieces and more to the point play any song you can think of note for note. Yet they are in cover bands. You know why? Because they can't say shit with their instrument. They don't have that kind of understanding, they are just human juke boxes.

 

I played with a guy in high school like this. At the time it seemed amazing, like oh wow he can play Crazy Train flawlessly. You know what he is still doing? Playing cover sets.

  • Hook 'Em 5
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lifeson is probably a top 10 rock guitarist of all time if we're considering skill + ear + style.  I mean, how many blues rock guitarists do we actually need to elevate to Mount Rushmore?  I could go the rest of my life w/o hearing any more Clapton or Santana and I wouldn't shed a tear.

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, G650 said:

I think most people are missing the forest for the trees, it really isn't about whether anyone can play it or not. I think most of us here could do it in an hour with a transcription, a day or two at most just listening to it. But that is beside the point. It's the creation and feel that transcend whatever the notes may be. Conversely, there are a ton of guitarists who have amazing technical facility, who say absolutely nothing of substance. And not just the Malmsteens of the world, but there are thousands upon thousands of guys playing in bar bands across the world who can play all sorts of very technical pieces and more to the point play any song you can think of note for note. Yet they are in cover bands. You know why? Because they can't say shit with their instrument. They don't have that kind of understanding, they are just human juke boxes.

 

I played with a guy in high school like this. At the time it seemed amazing, like oh wow he can play Crazy Train flawlessly. You know what he is still doing? Playing cover sets.

Hey now, let's not drag the cover guys too much.  Just making the girls dance and the guys buy them beer over here, boss. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 3
  • Haha 1
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

Hey now, let's not drag the cover guys too much.  Just making the girls dance and the guys buy them beer over here, boss. 

image.gif.6c2c96066a0f70f5be666ad49120759c.gif

4 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

What he said ^

 

Now yall don't be twisting what I'm saying here.

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lifeson is probably a top 10 rock guitarist of all time if we're considering skill + ear + style.  I mean, how many blues rock guitarists do we actually need to elevate to Mount Rushmore?  I could go the rest of my life w/o hearing any more Clapton or Santana and I wouldn't shed a tear.

This is an interesting point. And is sort of along the lines of my argument as to why Stevie should be at or near the top of any list - he took a style that pretty much every rock guitarist since the beginning of ever has played or tried to play and did it to a level that no one else can even sniff, which to me absolutely puts him at or near the top of the very very short list.

By that same argument, EVH makes the same very very short list for me because of precisely the opposite reasons - he never tried to play anything anyone else had ever played. Easily the most original rock guitarist ever.

Those are my 1 and 2.
  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, tbone_ said:


This is an interesting point. And is sort of along the lines of my argument as to why Stevie should be at or near the top of any list - he took a style that pretty much every rock guitarist since the beginning of ever has played or tried to play and did it to a level that no one else can even sniff, which to me absolutely puts him at or near the top of the very very short list.

By that same argument, EVH makes the same very very short list for me because of precisely the opposite reasons - he never tried to play anything anyone else had ever played. Easily the most original rock guitarist ever.

Those are my 1 and 2.

What he said. ^^^^^

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m in awe of just about any good to great guitar player. I mean it. Playing even moderately well is impressive to me. But I have devised my own scale for how to rank the very best. It’s a an algorithmic formula based on how many times I audibly utter “holy shit,” “got damn,” or “Jesus Christ” when I listen to them play.

Based on this formula my rankings of the top 200 are as follows:

1. SRV
200(T). Everyone else.

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/13/2023 at 6:32 PM, locodos said:

There was beef from White against the Black Keys...  It seems so bizarre to me that he thought they were ripping him off.

tl/dr White seems like an asshole

Wait, so White had a beef with the Black Keys because he thought they were ripping off his sound?

Wouldn't Jon Spencer have a right to claim a similar beef with Jack White?

Edited by ajax
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, ajax said:

Wait, so White had a beef with the Black Keys because he thought they were ripping off his sound?

Wouldn't Jon Spencer have a right to claim a similar beef with Jack White?

Yeah,

I couldn't figure it out, they don't sound the same, but you know 1 guitar and 1 drummer is their exclusive domain evidently.  If only I had known in '88 that House of Pain (no not THAT House of Pain, the alt one) was ripping off the future White Strips, I wouldn't have enjoyed their show so much.

I think it's like the "pilgrams" discovering America type of deal.

Edited by locodos
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...