B.A.

I showed my brother-in-law the list and besides a few that I mentioned above, that was the first name he said - he couldn't believe it either.

Ergyu

Kirk never writes them either, so in essence, James can probably play everything kirk is being given credit for.

I just got this issue this morning and I knew of course Hendrix would be 1 (love the guy but he is terribly overrated.) There are some guitarists I love on there (Kim Thayil) but don't really deserve to be on there at all. I can't believe Jack white even made it on. He does nothing new or spectacular.

It's an insult to put Gilmour and Iommi so high on the list, while lil punks like Jack White make it into the top 20. Ridiculous, I think that they do this just to get people riled up and don't even care about the actual list itself.

I think Mike McCready and Stone Gossard, and Jerry Cantrell should have made the list before Kim and Kurt Cobain though. They all have an enormous amount of talent, much more than those 2 combined.

Capo2002

What the hell is kurt cobain doing on that list?. Not saying the man wasn't talented but he certainly isn't one of the best guitarists of all time.

demonio

no Zakk Wylde on the list either, only a guitar mag could do a credible top 100 list anyway.

and Yngwie doesn't belong on the list, thats one thing I agree with em on.

Jason Northrup

Where's Joe Satriani?

Capo2002

Eddie Van Halen and David Gilmour should be in the top 10.

wingfan

What about Alvin Lee???? John Fogerty at #40?
Please; no wonder RS is the new 16 Magazine!

B.A.

That's who I forgot earlier! He definitely deserves to be on that list much more so than several of those posers.

Turd Ferguson

Stevie Ray Vaughan is #1 despite what any douchebag, Tiger Beat wannabe magazine has to say about it.

Joeboo835

How is Bob Mould not on this list?

KnightLerxst

I really doubt Cobain could have pulled off any part of La Villa Strangiato, he should not even be on the list.

Hiro11

Thurston and Lee are "hacks", huh? I guess inventing new tunings, chord structures, playing methods and recording techniques daily that have influenced entire generations of guitarists isn't good enough.

wendersfan

Evidently his "aging blues-rock guitar player" credentials are a little weak.

I think we can all agree that this is a pathetic list. The fact there are no jazz players (except McGlaughlin) on the list at all negates it completely. If they wanted to make a list of only rock players, then fine, but why add blues guitarists like BB King? I for one find blues guitar playing to be tedious and repetitive anyway, so I would have only includedd Hubert Sumlin. Cliff Gallup should have been higher up the list, Chet Atkins and John Lennon should have both been on the list. The exclusion of Johnny Marr and John Squire is preposterous, and the top 10 is largely a joke. Hendrix and Clapton might have been impressive circa 1970, but they are two very overrated guitarists.

OTOH, I'm really glad to see Tom Verlaine on the list. he's my favorite rock player ever.

Meatpants

fallow

I agree, but I think credit should be given where it's due. You can trace Ranaldo and Moore back to Glenn Branca (gave them their start, really) and trace Branca back to Rhys Chatham. Still, I think that Ranaldo and Moore's place on the list is perfectly legitimate. They are doing far more interesting things with their axes than most on or off that list.

Kevin Shields should be higher, as well as Tom Verlaine. As wendersfan said, Johnny Marr's absence is criminal.

LurkerDan

Best guitarist, hands down, that I have ever seen or heard is Steve Morse. The guy was Guitar Mag's #1 for a run of years, and he's not even on the list?

majorjoe23

Where's Django Reinhardt? Or the number two guitar player in the world, Emmet Ray?

cactusoly

Kurt cobain ???????????????

Capo2002

Jerry Cantrell should not only be on that list, he should be in the top 10 or 20. He is an amazing guitar player, Rolling Stone is so out of it it's not funny.

Applejack

I thought that myself about Mike McCready.

When I saw Pearl Jam when they came here to town, I was blown away by his solos and playing. Yow don't realize how good he is until you see them live. The albums don't do him justice.

InnocentBlood

i can't believe that slash is not on the list...

sararekuforever

My love filled heart grows sad, David Gilmour can [even today] blow all of these guitarists out of the shining blue water....

monkey

Stevie Ray is #1. End of story. And if we're talking about guitar duos, Strummer/Jones need to be on there somewhere.

nazz

I personally got a kick out of seeing Stephen Stills rated so far ahead of Neil Young. This is long overdue when it comes to their
guitar ability both acoustic and electric.

wendersfan

The issue with Stills and Young is of course that, while Stills is technically a much more accomplished player, there is little about his playing that is distinguishable. Young on the other hand, while technically not that great a player, has forged a very distinctive and unique style, which many people including myself find very appealing. The same could be said for Young's singing, also.

Actually, this exemplifies why polls and lists like this are ridiculous. Numerous people have chimed in with examples of guitar players they feel should be on the list, or higher up on the list if they already appear. Jerry Cantrell, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eddie van Halen, or whomever. The problem with most of these guys is that while they may be very talented players, to the casual listener there's little to differentiate each of them from scores of other guitarists working in the same genre. To their dedicated fans they may be unique, but that is a uniqueness borne of dedication and fanaticism. On the other hand there are guys like Thurston Moore/Lee Ranaldo, Dave Asheton, The Edge, etc., who, while perhaps not technically so gifted, were extremely influential, unique, and highly identifiable players. The problem is what's more important - virtuosity or ingenuity? Clearly some people value virtuosity more highly. They advocate players like Lifeson, van Halen, Satriani, and so on. Personally I couldn't care less about it. I'd much rather listen to a guy like The Edge, who, if other people sound like him at all, it's because they are deliberately copying his style, not because he's working in the same style as thousands of guys before him.