• Watch Out for Scammers!

    We've now added a color code for all accounts. Orange accounts are new members, Blue are full members, and Green are Supporters. If you get a message about a sale from an orange account, make sure you pay attention before sending any money!

rock guitar player survey

mosin46

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Aug 11, 2010
3,559
1,711
77
florida 32621
wondering how people rate here the guitar players from the "rock era",say 1950s to 80s. am leaving out classical,country,jazz,flamenco. my top ten should get opinions. any order except #1: clapton,paige,beck,leslie west,carlos santana,duane allman,knopfler,hank marvin,stevie ray,lindsey buckingham.
 
Jimmy page is pure slop.
Just listen to the mishit notes in (seriously) every Zepplin song.
Lindsay Buckingham....seriously ? pfft, f'n terrible.
Allman couldn't play for shit either.

No Steve Vai ?
No Joe Satriani ?

Sounds like a top 40's from a 2005 listing from Rolling Stone.
Rolling stone magazine isn't even good enough to wipe my ass with.

I could play better than most of the asshats you have listed, when I was 16....and that's a long long time ago.
 
Vai
Satriani
Nuno Bettencort
Robin Trower
George Lynch
Vivian Campbell
Eddie VanHalen
Kirk Hammett
Dicky Betts
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Joe Walsh ❤️
Clapton
Hard to rate them in any order as they all IMO are great All bring their own textures , tonality and emotion . Some play hanging off the edge at times which is quite an experience . Others from their soul . Some have access to that experiential musical higher plain . In my opinion Walsh is plugged into a few areas all at once while still playing from his previously "inebriated" , dirty soul .
Great post OP . Good one to get in touch with .
Edit : Great respect for the technically proficient players who put the time in . It's a long road to get the mechanations of playing that shredding to the point of auto pilot. And still a bit further to let the muscle memory do it's thing and plug into that higher plain .
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Ravenworks
WHERE THE FUCK IS HENDRIX?????!!!!!!!!!??????
There was Hendrix and everybody else. Thats no slur to anyone, just that Jimi was in a class by himself.

After Jimi, in no particular order:

Garcia
Clapton
Santana
Kaukonen
Cipollina
Glmour
Zappa
Green
Betts
Lee
 
Although not in the Era mentioned in the OP, my favorite players (not claiming they're the best) are Zak Wylde, Kirk Hammond, and Sinister Gates. I always know it's them by the way they play even if I've never heard the song before and didn't hear the vocalist.
 
Jimmy page is pure slop.
Just listen to the mishit notes in (seriously) every Zepplin song.
Lindsay Buckingham....seriously ? pfft, f'n terrible.
Allman couldn't play for shit either.

No Steve Vai ?
No Joe Satriani ?

Sounds like a top 40's from a 2005 listing from Rolling Stone.
Rolling stone magazine isn't even good enough to wipe my ass with.

I could play better than most of the asshats you have listed, when I was 16....and that's a long long time ago.
Please put a video up of you playing
 
Richie Blackmore
Frank Iommi
Keith Richards
Alex skolnick
Glen Tipton
Jimmy (either page or Hendrix)
Dimebag
Steve Howe
Alex Leifson
 
  • Like
Reactions: BytorJr
There are plenty out there.
You just have to know who I am.
And....you don't.
Well how would I? Your a dude on a forum who is not revealing who you are. Send me a pm or a search string.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Maggot
The first DT album was released in 1984, so I would add John Petrucci to that list. Although he has gotten better.
Maybe honorable mentions for Richie Blackmore and Brain May (for musicality).
 
Well how would I? Your a dude on a forum who is not revealing who you are. Send me a pm or a search string.
The best thing of anonymity on the internet is ....anonymity.
There's a 'show em' guitar thread on here somewhere and I posted pics of my custom Martin D28.
Newbs don't have Martins let alone spec'd custom ones.
That will have to suffice for you.
No intarwebz stalking allowed.
 
Hank Sherman
Andy LaRoque
Chuck Shuldiner
Jeff Loomis
Jim Matheos
 
For rock, some good ones listed above I‘d consider ‘better’, but Yngwie Malmsteen should be on anyone’s top 10 list. Not my favorite music, but he’s a hell of an axe man.

That said, not rock per-se, but the best living guitar player out there right now IMHO is Phil Keaggy.
 
As we know it’s so hard to choose.

Its a matrix of sorts

Popularity

Albums sold

Type of music (does it allow them to freelance)

Technology at the time (pedals if they were around yet; amps were veeeeery different etc)

Innovative style, like Van Halen…he started the tapping crazy etc

You can really only rate by period…

And truthfully, guitarists “skills” aren’t special.

Every kid in their basement by the time they are 18 can copy all of those guys because it’s a learned skill.

The skill is bringing something new or different to the art.

…that’s why Robert plant is s hero and jimmy page has been bitter for the last 40 years
 
  • Like
Reactions: RUTGERS95
From a cultural standpoint vs musicality is important to clarify.

Culturally most of the previous listed clearly have their place, if even just within their chosen genre. From a talent/creativity/depth of mastery standpoint, its a different discussion.

Slightly outside the suggested timeframe, but Brian Patrick Carroll runs circles around most of those previously listed.
 
no particular order......prince, vai, john5 (a motherfucking BEAST), mustaine, hetfield, SRV, hendrix, bb king, billy duffy, zakk wylde, and i think the best that ever lived....EVH. i'd put Vai and john 5 right behind EVH.

the two i admire the most is hetfield and mustaine-they are also the two who influenced me the most. loads of talented people out there....these are just the top of the heap from my perspective
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Alphatreedog
Les Paul
Chuck Berry
Eddie Van Halen

With enough practice and dedication, anyone can technically play well. It takes a true genius to do that AND innovate such that everyone else imitates you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Alphatreedog
I'm either young or old. I remember Van Halen and Clapton, but Zak Wylde with Black label society is the only one I've been able to be impressed with live.
 
Eric Johnson has some good chops.

Michael Schenker has his place.
 
I could play better than most of the asshats you have listed, when I was 16....and that's a long long time ago.

There are plenty out there.
You just have to know who I am.
And....you don't.

The best thing of anonymity on the internet is ....anonymity.
There's a 'show em' guitar thread on here somewhere and I posted pics of my custom Martin D28.
Newbs don't have Martins let alone spec'd custom ones.
That will have to suffice for you.
No intarwebz stalking allowed.
Oh, for crying out loud. It's just guitar, either Bring It or don't - no chickens allowed. Heck, I'll go, even if it's just crappy cell phone audio (video), and I'm not making any "claims". Sometimes I just suck, others not. Is what it is, and we do the best we can in the moment. (By the way, there are too many guitarists that I consider "great" to list, but my favorites are George Lynch, Stevie Ray, and Jimi).

BB:



Stevie:



Jimi:
 
Last edited: