best guitarists ever

Bo Diddly. B.B. King. Slash. Lita Ford.

Tommy Bolin, Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell...

Best for me, in personal terms, and as far as my own musical consumption goes - and not in commercial or conventional History of Music terms - I choose Frank Zappa, Jerry Garcia and John Scofield.

Stevie Ray Vaughan is the best.

Yngwie Malmsteen could beat anyone in this thread though, but he's a douche.

Originally posted by FMF
Best for me, in personal terms, and as far as my own musical consumption goes - and not in commercial or conventional History of Music terms - I choose Frank Zappa, Jerry Garcia and John Scofield.

Zappa was a genius at composing but he was nowhere near to being one of the great guitarists.

Originally posted by generalissimo
eric clapton, jimmy page, jimi hendrix.

It sounds like you are limiting yourself to electric guitarists, ignoring real genius like Andre Segovia, Manitas De Plata, Julian Bream, John Williams, Sabicas, Alexander La Goya, Ida Presti, Christopher Parkening, Bert Jansch, Davy Graham, John Renbourne, Andy Irvine, Dick Gaughan, Duck Baker, Stephan Grossman, Archie Fisher, Tommy Emmanual, Preston Reed, Joni Mitchell, Blind Reverend Gary Davis, D'Gary, George Winston, Bob Brozman, Lightnin' Hopkins, Joseph Spence, John Fahey, Leo Kottke, Blind Blake, Robert Johnson, Rory Block, Josh White, Son House, Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt, Libba Cotton, Sylvia Herold, Pete Seeger, Pierre Bensusan, Tampa Red, Martin Simpson, Martin Carthy, Ralph McTell, Sol Ho'Ipi, Tau Moe, Gabby Pahinui, Kaola Beamer, Backwards Sam Firk (Mike Stewart), Mike Seeger, Sam McGee, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Charlie Patton, Memphis Minnie, Ry Cooder, Ali Farka Toure, Kaki King, Nina Gerber, Patty Larkin, Sharon Ibson, Emily Remler and lots more if I dug into it, those were just off the top of my head. How many of those geniuses have you ever heard of much less actually listened to?

Originally posted by hopscotch
Zappa was a genius at composing but he was nowhere near to being one of the great guitarists.

The only 'greatness' of any relevance to me is how great the pleasure is I have got from his guitar playing over the years. For me, with his unique 'voice' and idiosyncratic patterns, he is one of the great guitarists. If this thread is about me guessing who you think are the great guitarists, then I pass. 😀

Originally posted by FMF
The only 'greatness' of any relevance to me is how great the pleasure is I have got from his guitar playing over the years. For me, with his unique 'voice' and idiosyncratic patterns, he is one of the great guitarists. If this thread is about me guessing who you think are the great guitarists, then I pass. 😀

So is this thread about electric only guitarists? If not, who is you acoustic favorite? Or your definition of what is great in acoustic guitarists.

Originally posted by sonhouse
So is this thread about electric only guitarists? If not, who is you acoustic favorite? Or your definition of what is great in acoustic guitarists.

When you speak of favorite acoustic guitarist then Leo Kottke comes quickly to mond. Another is Charlie Byrd and of course Ry Cooder. Simply because of the pleasure I get from listening to them.

Originally posted by hopscotch
...
Yngwie Malmsteen could beat anyone in this thread though, but he's a douche.

Except Segovia. And yes, Malmsteen is an idiot. Saw him in 1986. There's a story from back then. See, he used to do a solo on a tiny Marshall stack, depending upon the PA to carry the sound. Thing was, he treated his road crew like crap, which you DON'T do on tour. On one performance the sound board killed the PA during that solo. Yngwie was on better behavior after that.

Originally posted by hopscotch
Zappa was a genius at composing but he was nowhere near to being one of the great guitarists.

...and why he hired Steve Vai to play the compositions he wrote for lead guitar.

David Gilmour.

Originally posted by badmoon
When you speak of favorite acoustic guitarist then Leo Kottke comes quickly to mond. Another is Charlie Byrd and of course Ry Cooder. Simply because of the pleasure I get from listening to them.

All three are great ones no doubt. Check out the list of names, a lot of them are on you tube, like Tommy Emmanual, he combines percussion and playing on the same instrument, incredible to watch. Check out Preston Reed, the fingerboard tapper extraordinaire. If you like Ry Cooder, for instance his Diddie Wah Diddie with Earl Fatha Hinds, is a landmark from Paradise and Lunch. If you like modern acoustic blues in a very traditional manner, listen to Rory Block, a real master, she learned literally on the knees of the great ones like Gary Davis, Lightnin Hopkins and others who would hang out at her dad's sandal shop in MYC, see this link:
http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29656

Anyone on that list is worth listening to. Have you heard Christopher Parkening's version of Jesu Joy of Mans desiring? It is the most expressive version I ever heard bar non.

Originally posted by sonhouse
So is this thread about electric only guitarists? If not, who is you acoustic favorite? Or your definition of what is great in acoustic guitarists.

Well, sticking to my emotional/personal criterion, I'd probably cite Bert Jansch, John Martyn, Richard Thompson, Al DiMeola, Ralph Towner and also Jerry Garcia too - like on those great records with Dave Grisman - I'm a sucker for Garcia's exquisite inaccuracies.

Originally posted by epiphinehas
...and why he hired Steve Vai to play the compositions he wrote for lead guitar.

People are welcome to sit and listen to Vai's improvised solos from his solo albums and concert tapes. I am not inclined to. Zappa's 'voice' was, to me, far more emotional, mercurial and distinctive. There are live recordings from Zappa's tours 1980-82 with occasional solos from Steve Vai and Ray White. As good as those efforts were, when Zappa started his solos there was a clear contrast in terms of idiosyncracy and a sense of expectation. That's pretty much why I think of him as 'great' or 'best' for me personally.