NEW Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time

[MegaAzharIqbal]

no ace frehley,izzy stradlin, randy rhodes? :(

[paul353]

any one know what song townshend is playing here?

[mrXXrauf182XX]

where's steve vai ?????

[rockon11231]

CLAPTON AND HENDRICKS...ROCK

[xXxDriftingCowboyxXx]

Duane Allman at number 9? lol rolling stone idiots... Allman is without a doubt #2

[Tannequa92]

i want the old list back duane is way to underated and jimmy page is to overrated

[preparedbmxDOTcom]

john frusiante,slash,john mayer ?

[mrXXrauf182XX]

@preparedbmxDOTcom slash sucks dude

[walle672]

john frusciante was is and will always be the most underrated guitarist of all time

[gracekerscher]

@walle672 frusciante kicks serious ass!!!

[etejuanete3]

C'mon!!! the last list was acceptable but this is unbearable!!! Van Halen 8?? and even SLASH is in the list. how lame is that

[mapscannotcontainme]

@etejuanete3

I'd say this list was OK. The top 10 was pretty good. I don't necessarily agree with order. I would have switched Townshend out to 11 and put Vaughn in the top 10, though. Harrison is too high. Trucks is too high, too. Ry Cooder dropped a little too far. Slash doesn't belong on this list I agree, but I'd say it'd be fair to put Van Halen at about 10. Van Halen was a prodigy in his early twenties. He hasn't done much since 80s, but he was the best heavy rock guitarist since Page.

[etejuanete3]

@mapscannotcontainme I agree he must be in the list, but not in the top 10, I mean, yeah he's great but he should be the 70th or I don't know. but not in the top 10. he's not that good

[metallica3604]

this list is based on cultural influences and influences over the instrument ....but stilll....>SRV..., Knopfler....Satriani...(where are they)...

[walle672]

@metallica3604 not in the top 10, thts for sure... screw tht anyw! wheres john frusciante?!?!?!

[jake1052003]

Pete Townsend is 10 times the Guitarist than Keith Richards. "#4"???? Please! No problems with Clapton & Hendrix. RSM has their own little 10 Commandments. Thou shall not....

They are a JOKE!!

[walle672]

@jake1052003 completely agree, but page is better than clapton though

[jake1052003]

@walle672 Probably. But Clapton looks better doing it!

[jake1052003]

None of the Beatles would consider themselves as "Great Guitarists" in the Clapton/Hendrix league. But the Idea that George Harrison & John Lennon are in the Top 100 and McCartney is not even on the list is a Joke. Paul was the Guitarist in that little band from England. John was marginal and George had zero confidence in his abilities.

[walle672]

@jake1052003 mccartney is considered number one bass player of all time because of his great basslines, he is considered to be a bass player, jimmy page also played the bass like a beast, hes not in the list of bass players

[jake1052003]

@walle672 I would die of a heart attack if RSM rated Paul McCartney the Top Bassist of all time. I get you point though. But RSM has had it in for Paul since 1970.

[MattHatter]

WHERE THE HELL IS TERRY KATH OF CHICAGO?!?! Take a look at "Chicago 25 or 6 to 4 Live 1970" here on You Tube and you tell me how in the HELL that doesn't make it to the list (Make sure it's the 1970 one with Terry in the light blue suit). 

[Caveira138]

I'm fine with top 10 except keith Richards shouldn't be in the top 10 in my opinion. Let alone above Jeff Beck.

[carjlp]

Unfortunate choice of videos, no good performances, and lack of some great electric guitarists. In that magazine they have no much idea.

[blookcnizh]

:dwightiseveryone:

[thespecter2]

It was a joke that they put Kurt Cobain at number 13. Kurt Cobain doesn't belong on this list. I think Rolling Stone mixed up "greatest guitarist" with "greatest guys with guitars". 

[Gregorypeckory]

@thespecter2 Kurt wouldn't make that list either, if they had decent judges. Kurt's just a screamer whose fame proves there are millions of people who wouldn't know good music if it bit them on the ass.

[thespecter2]

@Gregorypeckory Oh ok. So Kurt can write songs the typical layman couldn't even dream up - which includes yourself - but he is just a screamer. Most guitar morons don't understand Cobain. It is usually these same morons who can't write a song or understand chord progressions to save their lives. All they can do is doodliedoo on their guitars. Boring, repetitive, and nothing new.

[MereshcaGuitar87]

eric johnson is better than all of these in technique

[MegaAzharIqbal]

no steve howes ?

[Gonzoidzz]

At least they left out that douche John Mayer, thank god.

[Gonzoidzz]

SRV should be higher than #12 also. If Townsend if better than SRV I'll eat my guitar picks in a pie.

[Gonzoidzz]

Gary Moore, Brian Setzer and maybe Zakk Wylde are big misses in this list although I thought it was a decent list.

[loombaron]

and one more thing: Keith Richards N 4? HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA­HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAH­AHAHHAAHAAH where is Gilmour son of a bitch!!!

[KOTHVETTE406]

All of this is irrelevant for one simple reason. Andres Segovia created the opportunity for the rest of these 100 guitarists to play the way they do. The guitar was a background instrument before Segovia played. Andres is THE GREATEST GUITARIST TO EVER LIVE AND WILL EVER BE. Anyone who actually lives breaths sleeps and eats guitar and listens to intrinsic music will agree. There is no doubt or debate about it. Listen to what he can do on the guitar, he is flawless he made solo guitar what it is.

[Gregorypeckory]

@KOTHVETTE406 Since nobody could possibly disagree, why do you feel the need to shout about it? By the way, thanks for introducing a new genre to the world: "intrinsic music".

[silenta71]

Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Steve Howe, John Petrucci, Slash, Mark Knopfler This list is crap it belongs to a magazine from 1971 not 2011, Eddie Van Halen..........Whaaaaaaaaaaaat­, does anuyone remember him he became history after the 80's his guitar died the list I mentioned has very much alive guitarists performing today and way famous on u tube rather than this shitty compilation with what 800+ views

[Gonzoidzz]

@silenta71

Satriani and Vai are not on the list, rightfully so imo. Van Halen was the progenitor of all that stuff so if very importnat. Malmsteen isn't there either because Richie Blackmore is way more important.

[blookcnizh]

stevie ray vaughan must be on 10's

[Gonzoidzz]

@blookcnizh

Yeah dude, #12 is too low. He's #2 for me actually. Clapton has the cultural impact tho, like Richards and Page.

[robw182]

weres george harrison????????

[Kirkola]

I got heavily into playing because of Ted Nugent's debut album. I guess he's not top 100 because Rolling Stone doesn't agree with his politics.

[Gregorypeckory]

@Kirkola Why would you assume it's his politics? It's supposed to be the top 100 players ever, all over the world. Ted is a decent blues-rock player. As big an asshole as he is, if he was top 100, I'd be the first to give him credit. But there are probably 100 players in every decent sized town that can play better-he's fun, but if you think he's one of the best, you seriously underestimate the pool of guitar talent in the world.

[Kirkola]

@Gregorypeckory Nope. Not only can you go back and point to his history with this magazine but also just compare his playing to, say, the last 20 others on this list and argue he isn't as good. The list is totally debatable aside from 30 or so players.

[Fubarfighter]

It’s always been that way, I suppose, these "top" lists reflect more of the lack of depth of the compilers than the quality of the supposed elite. Nobody is going to argue about the top ten, but from there, it's pretty arbitrary, having more to do with hagiography than greatness. It's the same kind of half-assery that puts people into or keeps them out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Patti Smith and Grandmaster Flash are in there. Steppenwolf and Boston are not. Go figure.

[SeattleLA]

Of course, it is ROCK guitarists. That is to be assumed. But, not surprisingly, their choices are some kind of a political deal. I can accept Jimi as number one, but when I see that Steve Howe is not even in the top 100, it makes me want to dissociate myself further from "Rolling Stone". Numerous other examples, also..

[Gregorypeckory]

@SeattleLA The list is totally arbitrary, and they included some non-rockers which begs the question-why not include a lot more? Does anyone really believe the Edge or Neil fucking Young is better than any of the great flamenco players, or Debashish Bhattacharya-the great Indian guitarist, or those guys in Bulgaria that can rip in 17/8 time like it's nothing? RS idiots drool over average guitarists that pose while playing tired licks and dismiss real geniuses.

[SeattleLA]

@Gregorypeckory You are right. It was a good magazine, 30 years ago.

[KOTHVETTE406]

@Gregorypeckory For the same reason you are shouting your opinion about 20 times on this page. It was late and I was on a rant. Sorry I don't perfect my comment before posting it, so if you could kindly not troll that would be marvelous. Do you not agree? If it weren't for Segovia guitar would still be an accompaniment instrument and none of the people you keep mentioning would know what to do with it. You can never be like or better than THE original.

[Gonzoidzz]

@Gregorypeckory

Cultural impact is part of the selection and these guys you mention are nobodies, sorry dude. And phrasing is the key to great electric, not non stop neck shredding or technique. In essence cleverness is not always the best virtue.

[piptort12]

duane allman must be number 1 u.u

[wisesatyr72]

#1 is never surprise to me..

[PopWayne9]

Carlos Santana is da best ok

[Bluz80]

@PopWayne9 ...and he was like 11....what a mess the list is.

[Gregorypeckory]

So, according to Rolling Stone, Keith Richards, Pete Townsend, John Lee Hooker, The Edge, George Harrison, Tom Morello, Angus Young, Chuck Berry, Stephen Stills, and Tony Iommi, are better than Django Reinhardt, Allan Holdsworth, Joe Pass, Guthrie Govan, Debashish Bhattacharya, Steve Vai, Shawn Lane, Herb Ellis, Adrian Belew, Mike Keneally, etc. Rolling Stone is not interested in actual music-just the sideshow of celebrity attached to it.

[mofoman619]

@Gregorypeckory

or maybe to the general populous of people cuz im sure the world knows these guitarists alot better not that im arguing that the list was shit just saying

[gravano2]

@mofoman619 You can have great players and 95% of the population would have no idea who they are

[Gregorypeckory]

@mofoman619 That's no better. A real journalist writing about great guitarists would delight in exposing people to names they might not know, rather than play it safe and just stick to saying what they think the most people will agree with. I'd rather learn something than just have my favorites confirmed by a "journalist". Mainstream pop is shit, and so is the Rolling Stone (when it comes to music-their political reporting is sometimes great).

[Gonzoidzz]

@Gregorypeckory

Most of these guys you mention are guitarist's guitarists, it wasn't just about technique. Style and touch are more important and scarcer commodities. Cultural impact also is zero for a few you mention there, they are nobodies.

[Gregorypeckory]

@Gonzoidzz I'm talking about guitar-musicians not just "guitarist's guitarists", but known greats; not nobodies. If you want to talk about "cultural impact", Django for example, had a far bigger impact on fellow musicians-to this day-than someone like Kurt Cobain. Just because the junkie made millions and is well known, doesn't mean he's impacted music-he hasn't, for the simple reason that he had nothing new to say on guitar, and lacked vocabulary even if he'd thought of something.

[Gregorypeckory]

Interesting that two commentors close below are outraged-not by the inclusion of barely able guitarists like Thurston Moore, Neil Young, Johnny Ramone; but by the fact that two excellent women guitarists, Bonnie Raitt and Joni Mitchell are included. While I agree that neither belong to the top 100, they are certainly 10x more worthy than many of their male counterparts on the same list. Rolling Stone is to music, what US and People mags are to film-interested in only the pop/celeb aspect.

[Bluz80]

@Gregorypeckory Common, Joni Mitchell is a folk guitarist, which doesn't entail much expertise ... except strumming. I too am a woman, and would love to have someone like Samantha Fish or other woman guitarist included...but Joni Mitchell. I play as well as her, and frankly, I'm lousy next to some of the others......Gary Moore was left off.....Mark Knopfler was like 68.,...it's crazy!

[Gregorypeckory]

@Bluz80 I don't think you've looked very deeply at her style. She is obviously no virtuoso, but with a repertoire of about 50 tunings, she has a lot of interesting chord voicings, which is more than I can say for at least 80% of the men on the list. Of course she doesn't belong-but she's a much better musician (not just player-check out her amazing jazz recordings, where she leads groups with players like Jaco, Wayne Shorter, etc-what other folkie could hold their own with them?).

[Bluz80]

I read the list when I received the magazine....Joni Mitchell????? Common. No Steve Vai, Joe Santriani or most important Joe Bonamassa.....I agree with the first two...then the list slides downhill.

[gravano2]

@Bluz80 How about Neall Schon

[Gregorypeckory]

@gravano2 Ever venture outside the mainstream? There are thousands of players towering above all those you've mentioned-don't get me wrong-I love me some Sultans, and some Gary Moore, but top 100? Not even close. Journey pretty much established Schon as a competent professional with nothing musically interesting to say.

[gravano2]

@Gregorypeckory I like a guitarist that plays great parts in a song , like George Harrison , I can also say a guitarist like Brian Setzer stands out above many on technical ability , and I enjoy listening him more than Steve Vai - just musical preference

[Gregorypeckory]

@gravano2 I can appreciate that, but the mainstream of pop is some of the least evolved music there is. With youtube, there are no more excuses not to discover music very different from American top 40; an ingrown, stunted music on the whole. Now you can check out Bulgarian music, Indian classical, all kinds of stuff. Most of it leaves most pop in the dust. But most westerners just aren't that interested to explore something unfamiliar. It's sad and embarrassing.

[Gonzoidzz]

@gravano2

Setzer should be there, but they probably thought James Burton was in that style although he isn't in the same league as Setzer in truth.

[Gonzoidzz]

@gravano2

Neal Schlong you mean?

[Gonzoidzz]

@Bluz80

Vai and Satriani came after Van Halen, so they are derivative in some senses. Bonamassa is good but hasn't done anything really landmark, Gary Moore is way more worthy but isn't there either.

[Gregorypeckory]

@Gonzoidzz You logic is flawed. Just because one guitarist sold more records earlier than another, it doesn't follow that the latter is "derivative" of the former. Just listening to their earliest know work should show you that Vai and Satriani are definitely not derivative or Ed. Frank Zappa's music is way over Ed's head (don't get me wrong-Ed is cool, just not Zappa-cool), and Vai got his start in that band at age 19, and not by playing Van Halen licks. Hardly derivative.

[heashon2000]

I just looked at this publication in a local department store and was completely flabbergasted by the entries and order of this listing. Rolling Stone continues its onslaught against talented musicians by putting guitar players like Alex Lifeson behind novice rhythm guitar players like Bruce Springstein. Bonnie Frickin' Rait is ahead of Alex Lifeson in this listing. BONNIE RAIT???!!!! Amazing. No John Petrucci, Kirk Hammet? Wow. People need to wake up.

[Mariusz36pl]

Why there is no Kirk Hammet?

[SSSoM3]

@Mariusz36pl LOL

[Gregorypeckory]

@Mariusz36pl Because he isn't a very good player.

[Gonzoidzz]

@Mariusz36pl

Because he's not that original. They put in Darrell Abbott who covers that 80's shred thing.

[kanemetlake8]

It should be greatest rock guitarists of all time, because they exclude great jazz, classical, and world music guitarists. Although I love all these guitarists and they contributed a lot to the instrument, a big chunk is left out of this list.

[Bluz80]

@kanemetlake8 I agree with you. Blues and jazz guitarist are left off the list entirely....

[Gregorypeckory]

@kanemetlake8 It's a pop culture mag-not a music mag, so their list was doomed from the start. You are too kind-most of the players on the list contributed nothing innovative or interesting-they are okay players, but not extraordinary. There are thousands of extraordinary players that are off their radar completely-they only deal in mediocrity and celebrity.