10 best guitarists in the world, not in order

[marcusorilius]

Apparently playing scales REALLY fast = good? Why is fast good? I'd take someone like David Gilmour over any of these speed players...

[guitarvirtuoso14762]

the most versatile and best in the world was my guitar teacher watch?v=pIJc6n9zKuU

[slayer213shadow]

its obvious nobody here listens to death metal

[MultiAnalRapist]

@slayer213shadow I do but I don't particularly think any of the guitarists are that good?

[slayer213shadow]

wheres chuck schuldinger

[dudedudepopa]

dude what about jimmy hendrix dumbass

[marquettefootball]

Stop ranking them. Just enjoy them.

[Georgebackwards]

A few more: Gene Cornish, Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Carlos Santana..

[BjRomesburg]

My dads jazz teacher

[vexamatic]

I know it's only a top 10 but why does everyone always leave out Johnny Winter?

[SuperDukuman]

Where the fuck is chris broderick

[IBJAMZ]

black nail polish on dude should be automatic disqualification

[TheMancho1995]

@IBJAMZ why? he doesn't play bad:)))

[ConsensusReality]

Nice list but you're leaving out the fellow I think is world's greatest guitarist...Scotty Anderson...check out his youtube videos with Bob Saxton.

[swingitjack]

Interesting choices...

[MrTakmil]

you put Buckethead in the video and then wrote over him that you should have put somebody else. that's a tremendous disrespect to one of the most gifted guitarists in the world.

[silkstringzzz]

I listen to all these guitarist on a regular basis except for maybe page and Emanuel....buckethead is one of the most gifted ive ever seen. If you don't think so you havent listened to enough of his work. He just released his 35th solo album so take your pick. Also paul gilbert, vai, bettencourt will tell you shawn lane was the greatest to ever play. However IMO Jason becker is second to none

[hXcHipHop]

Julian Lage is so god damn good now. Check out some of his YouTube vids

[The123ewq456]

artists who play in recording sessions, (sober) as jobs ,are the best at the craft. Rock band guitarists sound fantasic but many tricks and sounds , are easy for a good musician to do. That is why there are so many. You want a good guitarist that wont be in any of these lists found here...I give you Glen Campbell 60's and 70's.

[xToYSoldller]

Son of a bitch you forgot John Butler ;o

[2000labar]

Cinematar's not on that list. Until you see his videos you have no idea what you're missing.

I kid you not. Watch him play his songs Megadays, R Seven and Earthman if you don't believe me.

[enigmoxical]

You have a good top 9 list (Greg Howe is listed twice), but anyone on this one could easily replace anyone on yours: Steve Morse Jeff Beck John McLaughlin Al Di Meola Paco De Lucia Allan Holdsworth Scott Henderson Kazumi Watanabe Nato Manji Steve Vai And I could also add Larry Carlton, Yngwie Malmsteen, Slash, Mattias Ia Eklundh, Van Halen, Stanley Jordan, Fareed Haque, Carl Eichman, etc, etc. Conclusion: There are many great guitarists in the world today; let's just leave it at that ;)

[Thalos66]

Very good video ! but miss Michael Romeo and Jason Becker :)

[BWPGuy]

Drop Page and Buckethead, although great, and add ERIC JOHNSON and STEVE MORSE and its a great list....IMO of course..

[tool4132]

Where's Michael Romeo?

[TheEssex1234]

GUTHRIE GOVAN =)

[TheShredworthy]

Two words, Kazuhito Yamashita

[forsbored21]

Got your Jimmy's wrong didn't you mean Hendrix and not Page? Plus as mentioned Al Di Meola, Paco, & John. One of the greatest who never gets mentioned is the most recorded guitarist EVER ------- TOMMY TEDESCO who has passed and was a studio guitarist who could sight read most music and have it be recorded on first take!

[akroguy]

I just had an eargasm! Awesome talents! For me, Tommy Emmanuel is da MAN!

[JesseTaylorAudio]

Van halen?

[antropes]

checked out this video...all fine guitarists....but by the end of it

they all sounded the same except for page and buckethead....i suppose im not a million notes per second lover

[TheStephanie362]

DAVID GILMOUR JIMI HENDRIX???? these 2 are inno fuckiing vators

[fingerpickerbeginner]

out of these 10 Tommy Emmanuel is the only C.G.P :P enough said. 

[djziggurat]

Anyone have a link to that guthrie video? Shit was sexy.

[chck5150]

Phil Keaggy



[batmandeltaforce]

& Satch is 2nd tier also.

[batmandeltaforce]

Jimmy Page? ;) hardly

[MrJbinchrist]

I can't knock any of the guitarists here since they could all wrap circles around me anyway...haha....I was kind of surprised that Steve Vai didn't make your cut......If I was going to make one change to your list I would have to put Christopher Parkening in it......

[Rychek22]

Wow really enjoyed your clips. Respect your opinion and your list :)

[PeterDubcek]

Yes, you're right! Very subjective! ... & what about Al di Meola, Paco de Lucia, Steve Lukather, Jimi Hendrix & many, many more?!? Instead of "10 BEST" you better write: "10 GREAT"...

[halogamers]

@PeterDubcek lol jimi hendrix was just a dude who took a lot of drug...

[Mrepidemiological]

zack wylde hellllooooo people

[dethprince6]

Great list

[qtipbluedog]

Kinda surprised that Steve Morse isn't in here. But these are all GREAT guitarists! Nice list

[Rubberbandlandinfo]

Gotta agree with BR1C, any one of the players on this list could have rep'd them all... flying fingers and their scales down pat. If you mention Knopfler you can add Chet Atkins too, and if you have a taste for jazz how about Anthony Wilson.

[BR1C]

Just my two penny opinion: it's not all about flying on chords like hell. This just means we are in front of a great technique but not necessarily in front of a great guitar musician. Inventing a simple but wonderful tune is much more difficult. So, Pat Metheny is OK but don't forget Slow Hand or Knopfler, please!

[121jigawatts]

Great list! I don't know some of the players admittedly, but some were ommitted I must say. Andy Mckee? Antoine Dufour?

[BlckLblBUCKETSTRINGS]

BUCKETHEAAADDD

[elec165]

where is eric clapton , jeff beck, stevie ray vaughn,chet atkins,alvin lee,jimi hendrix, and so on

[jcrobso]

@elec165 And Les Paul, James Burton, the Hell casters, etc.Also the many studio guitarist that never the credit they deserve.

[goreds23]

ALL MIGHTY BUCKETHEAD WHERE ART THOU?

[b1r2a3d4l5e6y]

You've a terrible opinion in music and guitar playing.

[youtubobby]

Yes, you should have put Doyle Dykes instead of Buckethead. And where is Jeff Beck?

[MikeyTipunama]

oh right.... and SHAWN LANE

[MikeyTipunama]

Luis Salinas and Scott Henderson!!!!

[dark14111975]

yesss, but, steve vai? eric jhonson? edward van halen?

[ilcontemanu]

toooooooooooooofaaaaaast!!!!! (but i like them anyway)

[bartenational]

any monkey with fingers can play guitar ... you forgot to put django on here and he only ad two fingers ...

[oscarius100]

He visto en directo a muchos... pero no está el  que debería (si está Emmanuel, ha de estar) PACO DE LUCIA, sin duda alguna, es el que MÄS me ha hecho sentir, disfrutar y hasta llorar con su música. Y también ha sido un renovador de lenguaje musical... sin pajillerismos fútiles

[deathstarr1111]

cant abide satriani plus is it just me or are dream theatre the daftist band in the world

[bigarilla2011]

Tío, ¿tú sabes lo que es tocar bien la guitarra? Si es que algunos no saben ni agarrarla.

[utubedude1111]

uh... John McLaughlin?? Jeff Beck??

[ThShifties]

Yep, speed ain't ultimately what it's about. But if it's speed that excites you, then check out the late great Danny Gatton, 'Notcho Blues' on YouTube.

[TheArtistDLIVAHH]

Altho you chose some very good/great guitarists, here is my list (no order, dead/alive):

Phil Keaggy, Rex Carroll, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Randy Rhoads, Jimi Hendrix, John Petrucci, Carlos Santana, David Gilmour and Ritchie Blackmore. There are certainly others, but these have to be my top 10.

[pochmanpetr]

Where's Zakk Wylde ???? ???? ????

[plujinbeibe]

Satriani sucks.

[keithreeder]

@plujinbeibe

Hard to imagine a more cretinously pig-ignorant comment than that...

[plujinbeibe]

@keithreeder When I see Satriani I only see a guy jerking off. He has no feeling.

[guitarbob63]

Steve Vai runs circles around Nino and any guitarlist that does not include Jeff Beck is a total waste of human thought

[chillichomper]

@guitarbob63 I agree that Buckethead and bettencourt shouldn't be on this list BUT this guy does know a little something about good guitarist anyway. Jeff beck is great too but his rhythm playing is nothing special. Its about 3 things( technical talent, songwriting and soul).

I still think this is a pretty good list.

[guitarbob63]

style does not mean greatness

[keithreeder]

@guitarbob63

What does that even MEAN? Empty, cliched, meaningless soundbites, right up there with "less is more..." and "it's what you leave out that counts..."

[LittleJohnJobhy]

This is a very good list of course...But there are many other excellents guitarists around the world than deserve a place in paradise... Santana, Mark Knopfel, Eric Clapton for exemple e a legion of anonymous guitarists...

[keithreeder]

@LittleJohnJobhy

Like them by all means - but Santana, Knopfler and Clapton aren't even particularly GOOD guitarists, much less "great".

[campion95]

@biscuits4dinner so bending notes and making funny faces does?

[shaolinmasters]

where's trace bundy?

[flashmcnashos]

People shouldn't be able to make top 10 lists if this is the best you come up with.

[TheSlappingDuck]

Jimmy Page...

[Mac88s]

Pretty good for the most part but any list without Lee Ritenour and Larry Carlton loses cred. Jimmy Page? You're not serious there are you?

[Dezeta79]

BUCKETHEAD RULEZ!

[guitardan07]

Holdsworth anyone?

[anahowana]

the list is awesome, but as you probably know there is always someone or a couple of guys to add: Chris Poland, Marty Friedman

[momheinan]

Ewan Dobson "Time 2".

[SambiMusic]

More... Malmysteen, Kiko Loreiro and Jimi Hendrix!!!

[akobudebice]

yes, but there's someone missing. yngwie malmsteen, maybe ? :)

[locochupacerebros]

steve vai maybe is a poser, but he's prety good.

[pobinr]

Male courtship ritual.

[identipass]

Alex Lifeson

[username91ification]

Hendrix beats em all.

[arfurlife]

Ha I just love the controversy vids like this cause. people just hate and condemn you for daring not to pick their faves. V nice collection and a jolly good choice...still think 'I' should have been on it though.

[royzarate1]

falta jimy hendrix el mejor



[4menco]

Wheres Andy Mckee??

[electronikita]

Get a bunch of questionable old farts

Claims that they are the best because he likes them

Betttola

[wiltner]

Scott Henderson, Steve Vai, John Schofield Alan Holdsworth?Your choice is great.But there are so many. That last Metheny clip is amazing. I hadn't seen that. Thanks.

[tenacious645]

@biscuits4dinner I know tell me about it man. such a common misconception. Who are few of you favs?

[tenacious645]

TOMMY EMMANUEL!

[AZIARGROUS]

i agree on almost all of them, would not include buckethead though.

[Dinomyght12]

Buckethead deserves to be on this list more so than some of the others. If you look at his entire body of work hes amazing.

[eyeballpaul123]

he looks like jesus playing a guitar

[michaels2boys]

@eyeballpaul123 Guthrie Govan looks like Jesus and plays like God!

[eyeballpaul123]

@michaels2boys i definately agree, but steve hillage has the edge because he even dresses like jesus, check out the salmon song live

[eyeballpaul123]

check out steve hillage when he was playing in the 70's

[JasonWB007]

I'd have to add Steve Howe and Steve Morse to the list

[MrSmegma89]

This list has a serious lack of Gilmour. You should get that checked out.

[StuckAzz]

i would have put andy timmons too. check him out!

[Theblob516]

This might be the best list I've seen so far because it's not all shredders. Good job mixing it up.

[sanjinator17]

This is the first semi-legitmate list. Rememeber everyone, whether you like it or not, jazz/jazz fusion guitarrists are always gonna be technically better. They actually needed to know a lot of shit to do what they do, its hard to explain, but when you jump into the world of jazz and see people jamming over Giant Steps, you'll get it.

[pmavrin]

You forgot Rithe Blackmore !

He is not the fastest, not heaviest, he is the best. And he's still working ...

BTW John Petrucci is the fastest of all ....

[elli5eu]

Pode parar Steve Vai não esta nesta lista....aff

[19rainbow95]

don't forget Joe Bonamassa and Henrik Freischlader !

[xXxglassgowdreamxXx]

1-John Petrucci

2-David Gilmour

3-Alex Lifeson

4-Steve Vai

5-Paul Gilbert

6-Joe Satriani

7-Dave Murray

8-Adrian Smith

9-Janick Gers

10-Synyser Gates(cant think of anyone else :P)

[jikarpert]

JOHN PETRICCI AND YNGWIE MALMSTEEN

[mavetli]

what about Michael Romeo?!

[DaRQsiDe]

Also Shawn Lane, his soul rest in peace...

[DaRQsiDe]

Sorry, I didn't read the whole thing but I think the reason that "Allan Holdsworth" isn't on this list is he is not of this world, isn't it?

[matt89102]

Only two guys I still listen to on your list is Sco and PM.

But seriously There Is No Greatest Guitar player or musician. Being a musician is not the the same as being an athlete.

Making music is the goal.

[cuda301]

leo kottke vaseline machine gun

[SergeLacrua]

I think that rock guitar players are not cool. my top is: 1 - Joe Pass 2 - John McLaughlin 3 - Pat Metheny 3 - George Benson 4 - Frank Gambale 5 - Mike Stern 6 - Pat Martino 7 - John Scofield 8 - Larry Carlton 9 - Jimmy Bruno 10- Wes Montgomery

[enoboye]

Django?....

[ThinkingDog06]

Robben Ford

[chakalai]

There are others , such as jan akkerman, steve vai, lee ritenour, larry carlton etc....

[whooziss]

Richie Blackmore............. Roy Buchanan, Rory Gallagher, Toy Caldwell, Joe Walsh, Duane Allman, Dicky Betts, Al DiMeola, Santana, John McLaughlin, Clapton, Beck, the Kings, all of them, Glen Campbell (seriously!), Hughie Thomasson, and about a thousand others.......... all are good.

And we get to enjoy all of them ;-).

[Kingding6]

You have quite a lot of technical players, so if you were going for that you should check out Allan Holdsworth, Bireli Lagrene and Scotty Anderson.

[madpulpo]

I agree with your list for the most part. Jimmy Page has no place on it, he's sloppy, repetitive, and has only a historical distinction. Bucket head copies everyone else. You forgot Gary Moore, Michael Schenker, and Eddie Van Halen. I scoff at the suggestions for slash, he was part of a groundbreaking band- nothing more, if anything he belongs on a suck list.

[progrockertom]

@madpulpo haha yeah dismiss LED ZEPPELIN'S song writer in a sentance

[Sylwia111999]

where is Hendrix, Van Halen and Steve Vai?

[Sylwia111999]

u forgot about Slash too:P

[Romess1]

I much agree with your list!

[luchoq77]

Greg howe should be number one, I love the groove and the feel, in my case I´m more of a jazz fusion oriented dude, Gutrie is more edgy but I like more Howe.. My top 10 guitarrist list : 10. Martin Friedman 09. John Petrucci 08. Yngwie Malmsteen or Bekcer 07 Michael Romeo or Paul Gilbert 06. Chris Broderick 05. Tony Macalpine 04 Gutrie Govan 03 George Benson (the guy can sing , play guitar and rollerskate champ) 02 Greg Howe ( he does it all right) 01 Stanley Jordan( out of this world)..

[Datguy594Rada]

JASON BECKER?

[JohnStamosBrah]

John Mayer should be included in this, phenomenal guitarist. Inb4 sh*t storm.

[luchoq77]

@JohnStamosBrah Wow, John Mayer is awesome but not even close to be on the top 1000

[JohnStamosBrah]

@luchoq77 Wow, not sure if srs, have you ever listened to his live/blues performances? He is surprisingly worthy of a top ten. Only 34, buy way beyond his years.

[luchoq77]

@JohnStamosBrah John, He is great, he´s talented and shit but no way near to be on a top 10 I even pulled out people who deserve to be in, Just like Kiko Loureiro 8 finger tapper, bossa nova maestro, and power metal guitar player, Goncalo Pereira, why should I add John Mayer in after I didn´t consider two great virtousos genious ? Please!

[guitarreilly]

@JohnStamosBrah hes great but technically hes no where near these guys

[luchoq77]

@JohnStamosBrah Sorry, but I have seen geniouses like that playing and they are freaken scary, their abilities are beyond imaginable, John Mayer is not at their level yet, he´s awesome on what he does, I like the kid don´t get me wrong.

[qwoeiu]

PAUL GILBERT??????????

[musicmonsterdan]

john mclaughlin is up there too!

[dwg116]

Pat methenys crazy hair! reminds me of the crazy Genius look!

[Q8yGodfather]

best guitarist for what genre ?

Do you know Sabicas ? go and really kill yourself mate if you don't know his piece " Arabian Dance " ..

[navigator1944]

Tommy Emmanuel and Pat Metheny are the only two on here to make my list. But then there are hundreds of great guitarists. Some have never recorded anything for commercial sale. But they are good anyway. Some have even played in my very own living room! I guess it boils down to the best guitarist is the one you are hearing live fight now.

[1977BanditTransAM]

Eddie Van Halen is in another catagory...

[lcs2112]

@1977BanditTransAM overrated?

[5150fanMan]

@1977BanditTransAM AMEN BRO!!!!!!!!!!!!

[5150fanMan]

@1977BanditTransAM AMEN BRO!!!!!!!!!!!! Regarding EVH

[paolinom79]

steve vai??????????????? where is???????????

[sweeneythe1]

as far as i recall Joe Pass is still alive, what a nonsense, all of your top ten guitarists would idolise him, you are too influenced by you own taste in music .

[badpdx]

I couldn't put together a list of my ten favorite guitarists, let alone the ten best. There are just too many in too many different genres. How do you compare Derek Trucks and Roy Rogers with Tommy Emmanuel, Leo Kottke and the recently departed Bert Jansch? How to compare Buddy Guy and Hubert Sumlin with John Williams or Eddie Van Halen, not to mention Satriani, Malmsteen and Vai. I mean, I don't like the music of those last three guys, but they're fantastic guitarists.

I couldn't do it.

[guuiddoo]

for all the smartarses here who say its a crap list, read the fuckin description. it clearly says its his pesonal favourite guitarists list

"10 best guitarists in the world in my opinion.

My personal standing not in order:"

[NoIslamThx]

Crap list

[fid65]

did anybody actualy realise that buckethead is joe satriani,look close an you will see

[fretboard89]

who the fuck makes this list bwithout hendrix

[Thurstonmorehouse]

@fretboard89 a racist

[fretboard89]

@Thurstonmorehouse thankyou

[fretboard89]

the firsts ones shredding was to blury

[jahlush]

Jeez! No Jimi Hendrix or Jeff Beck? Both of 'em piss all over these guys.

[The911fella]

where is Phoebe off Friends?

[Andrijeli]

where is Andy McKee? lol

[satrionic1]

crap crap list.

1. Joe Satriani and Tommy Emmanuel are on another level and have nothing to do with others in this list, they're far more superior.

2. If you placed the above, you should have also added ones like SRV, Preston Reed, Jimi Hendrix etc.

[orenuaj]

richie blackmore?

vinnie moore?



[orenuaj]

richie blackmore?

[Rolandscv]

I don't agree with your list other than Tommy but good list none-the-less.

[g3rbl]

you forgot stevie ray vaughan

[bakercool]

Where are Bireli Lagrene, George Benson, Pat Martino, NGuyen Lee..............

[MuXPeHb]

tommy the best

[buageard01]

BB King......

[MrDerake]

The worst list.

[Tapiola2007]

I won't quibble with your selections but I will say that you seem to base them a lot on technique as the defining standard for being a great guitarist. I understand that but what about people like Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, Pete Townsend, Joe Strummer, The Edge, Matt Bellamy, etc. All guitarists who have made a difference through the instrument. Aren't they and their kind great?

[silverseries13]

@Tapiola2007 if you listen to the way jimmy page plays, he is defenitley not one of the best technical guitarists in the world. he make s a huge number of mistakes. but hes pretty tasteful wouldnt you say? and tommy emmanuel, IS one of the best technical guitarists in the world, and also one of the most tasteful. he could play any style he likes, and he chooses jazz on acoustic? what does that tell you? i agree with this list, all of them aer amazing.