Mostly that means the head-bangers who after all have their Web sites. So a flurry of alt lists of the top 100 guitarists were published in the wake of the Stone's list (mostly the 1st time, back in 2003 but some just recently), featuring some of the most obscure guitarists you could ever want on such a list--I mean, like 3 guys from Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, stuff like that. Judas Priest is right!
Still, the fact is that Rolling Stone ignored not just 1 or 2 but 4 or 5 generations worth of guitarists, right up to the present day (no John Mayer). So I surveyed 6 or 8 alt lists, trying not to over or under-represent the head bangers. I probably over-represented them when all was said and done.
So here's my list. It's not just the consensus, it's my list. But it's informed, shall we say, by the other lists out there. If a guy scored highly in the consensus, then the chances are good that I've brought him in. It's sort of a cross-section of the consensus, the Rolling Stone and my list.
Here goes.
1. Jimi Hendrix--Rolling Stone and the consensus and I all agree on this one.
2. Eric Clapton--only #5 in the consensus but that's ridiculous. I haven't yet looked at those lists of the top 100 guitar solos, but if "Layla" isn't on there, it's a crime.
3. Duane Allman--even Rolling Stone only had him #9, what's with that. #17 in the consensus. Seriously, do you guys remember what he sounded like?
4. Jimmy Page--#2 and #3 depending on your preference, and that is exactly right.
5. Jeff Beck--actually scored higher in the consensus (#3) than the Stone (#5).
6. Pat Metheny--wild card #1, which means he did not appear on any of the lists that I saw. I'm not a fan of his current trad jazz stuff. But his fusion stuff from the 1980s is just an incredible body of work. American Garage is perhaps the greatest instrumental guitar record of all-time.
7. Keith Richards--the world's greatest rhythm guitarist. What a riff-meister.
8. David Gilmour--#14 and #16, pretty much invented arena-rock guitar.
9. Frank Zappa--#22 and #27. One of the few who eschewed the Claptonesque blues and developed a different sound. I just happen to be listening to "Hot Plate Heaven" from Broadway the Hard Way right at this instant. It's about his 40th best solo and I have goose-bumps.
10. Mark Knopfler--just #44 in RS, #20 in consensus. So versatile. Yes, his electric guitar work is what gets him here, but there's a large body of acoustic work, too, much of it on some terrific movie soundtracks.
Okay, so far I'm pretty much aligned with Rolling Stone, not in terms of all of the individual choices but in terms of the oeuvre. All of my guys peaked from the mid-'60s to the mid- to late '80s (Knopfler).
11. Chuck Berry--pretty much invented the genre. More of the early guys were piano players than guitarists. Berry pretty much single-handedly made rock into guitar music.
12. Bill Frisell--wild card #2, not on any of the lists, a terrible oversight. Four words: Good Dog, Happy Man.
13. Stevie Ray Vaughan--only #12 and #21, surprising. Wrong.
14. Django Reinhart--wild card #3. Great jazz guitarist of the '30s, He made a couple of lists, obviously the others weren't familiar with him. The process had him at #54, which is a totally ridiculous outcome, so he goes here.
15. George Harrison--#17 and #13 in the Stone and the consensus.
16. Ry Cooder--#31 and #38, way too low. Another original with his own sound.
17. The Edge--only #38 and #26. An original with an unusually strong bent toward supporting the vocal.
18. Peter Green--#58 and #43. Founded the original Fleetwood Mac and made them rock's best blues band long before they became poppy hit-makers. Great great stuff.
19. John Fahey--wild card #4. I'm guessing some of the lists didn't consider acoustic guitarists. so the process had him down in the 60s.
20. Steve Vai--not in the Rolling Stone's top 100, which means they've got no business publishing a list at all. Such ignorance must be called out. #26 in the consensus.
21. Carlos Santana--#20 and #11.
22. Les Paul--#18 and #42.
23. Chet Atkins--#21 and #52. Mr. Country-style Guitar.
24. James Burton--#19 and #46. Played with many of the early hit-makers like Roy Orbison and Ricky Nelson. Great lines.
25. Scotty Moore--#29 and #39. Ditto--e.g. Elvis Presley.
Okay, this is now much more catholic than Rolling Stone or even the general consensus. I'm back to the early days (Les Paul, Chuck Berry, James Burton, Scotty Moore) and beyond (Django Reinhart) and I'm up to the 21st century (Bill Frisell, The Edge).
26. Robert Fripp--#62 and #25. 25 years of King Crimson. The early stuff was the heaviest stuff anybody had ever heard. If you're not familiar with it, check out "21st Century Schizoid Man."
27. Steve Cropper--#39 and #28. Played a 1,000 great solos on '60 soul music.
28. Peter Townshend--#10 and #14. Never a great technician, but had an original style and a flair that was unique. The Who, in case you're not sure.
29. Brian May--#26 and #6 in the consensus. Queen. Obviously an original, still, I'm shocked to discover the following that he has. #6 consensus!
30. Ritchie Blackmore--Deep Purple. Another whom I had forgotten but he is still #10 on the consensus list.
31. Prince--only #72 in the consensus, which is much underrated.
32. Jerry Garcia--Grateful Dead
33. Eddie Van Halen--#8 and #4. Not my cup of tea.
And, see, I'm getting some of the headbangers in there as well. Well done!
35. Leo Kottke--wild card #4, not on any of the lists though 1 indicated he was "bubbling under"
36. Mike Bloomfield--Butterfield Blues Band
37. Dicky Betts
38. Cesar Rosas/David Hidalgo--Los Lobos, wild card #5.Sample: "Mas y Mas" on the Clapton Crossroads Guitar Fest video. Wow.
39. Tony Rice--wild card #6, best of the bluegrass players
40. Steve Howe--Yes
41. John Mayer--wild card #7, not on any of the lists, I cannot imagine why, unless it's the chick thing.
42. Rory Gallagher
43. Robert Johnson
44. Joe Satriani
45. Buddy Guy
45. Buddy Guy
46. Billy Gibbons--ZZ Top
47. Gary Moore--Thin Lizzy
48. Danny Gatton
49. John McLaughlin
50. John Frusciante--Red Hot Chili Peppers
51. Robby Krieger--The Doors
51. Robby Krieger--The Doors
52. Jonny Greenwood
53. Charlie Christian--wild card #8, actually gets a vote or 2 but most of the listers probably have never heard of him nor considered his genre. Charlie was the pioneer of jazz guitar as a lead/melody instrument with Count Basie in the early 1940s.
53. Charlie Christian--wild card #8, actually gets a vote or 2 but most of the listers probably have never heard of him nor considered his genre. Charlie was the pioneer of jazz guitar as a lead/melody instrument with Count Basie in the early 1940s.
54. Eric Johnson
55. B.B. King--#6 and #22 but that is just too high. The most over-rated guitarist of them all. He's been phoning it in for decades now.
56. Bo Diddley
57. Yngwe Malmsteen
58. Richard Thompson
59. Phil Keaggy--Hendrix said he was the best.
60. Kurt Cobain
61. Dick Dale
62. Link Wray
63. Derek Trucks
64. Roy Buchanan
65. Joe Walsh--wild card #9
65. Joe Walsh--wild card #9
66. Johnny Winter
67. Wes Montgomery--another guy who probably doesn't get a fair shake as some of the heavy metal-oriented lists aren't considering his genre at all. Still he comes in here.
68. Joe Perry--Aerosmith
69. Eddie Hazel
70. Angus Young
71. Vince Gill--wild card #7
72. Mick Ronson
73. Mick Taylor
74. Clarence White
75. Bonnie Raitt
76. Robbie Robertson
77. Steven Stills
78. John Petrucci
79. Tom Morello--Rage Against the Machine
80. Zoot Horn Rollo--played with Captain Beefheart
81. Leslie West
82. T-Bone Walker
83. Freddie King
83. Freddie King
84. Albert King
85. Nels Cline
86. Lonnie Mack
87. Jorma Kaukenen
88. Trey Anastasio
89. Bert Jansch
90. Albert Lee--wild card #9
91. Steve Morse--Deep Purple
92. Joey Ramone
93. Dimebag Darrell
94. Adrian Belew--wild card #10
95. Adrian Legg--wild card #11
96. Clint Gallup--an early ('50s) guy
95. Adrian Legg--wild card #11
96. Clint Gallup--an early ('50s) guy
97. Alvin Lee
98. Vernon Reid
99. Jan Akkerman
100. Martin Barre
Hey, good list!
Hey, good list!
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