Who are the greatest guitarists in rock and roll history?

I'd really appreciate some thoughtful, well thought out answers here. Personal preference is great but I'd appreciate it if you could back it up with a logical arguement.

Thanks.Who are the greatest guitarists in rock and roll history?
Jimi Hendrix was a rebel, and a natural, eveything he did came from the gut..he had it all and lost it all, he was used and abused but his playing remains, one of a kind ..nobody could ever play Bright lights big city like he did, not even the guy who wrote it....



Michael Schenker probably one of the most underrated guitarists ever, but what talent this man has.. he can play anything he wants..from the Scorps days to UFO, to MSG, to his acoustic albums and his electric stuff simply amazing, from blues to metal..



Robert Fripp I have no words to begin describing how valueable his imput has, is and will always be for prog rock and any guitarists in general looking forward to expand their horizons..thanx Rob for your frippertronics! and no I still dont fully understand Alan Holdsworth lol



Randy Rhoads too sad we lost him so soon, but he still is one of my faves despite his short carreer, neoclassicl oriented, he was before his time...



Yngwie Malmsteen this swedish virtuoso understands neoclassical and classical music like very few..amazing technique and a non existent sense of humor.."I am a Viking Im going out to war"



Steve Hackett former Genesis guitarist, what can I say about the man who actually invented the finger tapping technique, NO it was not Eddie Van Halen, Eddie went to a Genesis concert when he was very young and saw Mr Hackett doing that strange weird tapping thing on the fretboard, he totally freaked out and practice like crazy, and then he made it famous..from Genesis, his solo carreer, his acoustic work is sublime, one of the very few to record with the London Philarmonic Orchestra..a man of too many faces and they're all good ...check out Sketches of Satie a transcription from piano to guitar and flute (his borther John plays the flute) this album is a treasure...



Ritchie Blackmore another neoclassical oriented guitarist, he actually loved to play around with different modes and scales, he was definetely always looking for answers..and he found quite a few and regaled us with some of the most impressive solos with DP and Rainbow ..hes now playing medieval music..he is that special and talented



Gary Moore the man with the golden tone, if theres a white man besides Slowhand that can play the blues is Mr. Moore he was already a guitar hero in Thin Lizzy but his solo stuff is simply amazing, I wish I could get this tone for 5 minutes.. try "still got the blues" album



Stevie Ray V ok this is the american version of white man who could play the blues and jimi's stuff like no other ...



Eric Clapton... with John Mayall he took my breath away with "Rambling on my mind" with Power trio Cream he proved that 3 guys were more than enough to make one of the best albums in rock history "Disraeli Gears" is a jewel, with Blind Faith ..well we can go on forever...



B B King of blues living legend..



David Girmour the man in charge of replacing the genious of Syd Barrett..well he could never get a note out of a Danelectro, but has been responsible for some of the most dreamy, tripy and wonderfully executed solos..Animals is a guitarcraft...



Al DiMeola he doesnt cease to amaze me...(not rock and roll but every rock guitarist look at this guy as one guitar God thats why he's part of this list) specially when he started playing Piazzolla in a DiMeola fashion, that alone is one of the biggest achievements for a guitarists, transcribe music that was written for Bandoneon.. Genious!!!



Steve Vai well try to put a tag on this guy if you dare, he has no definite style at all, thats what makes him so ALIEN, gotta love it!



Mike Stern he will always be Miles Davis golden boy, he was already a virtuoso back then when Miles took him under his wing, he was sucha young guy back then and got to play with the great Miles, he made a wonderful cover of Hendrix, remember? a full jazz guitarist doing Hendrix WOW..he does some rock besides jazz thats why he belongs to this list as well.. he is so good that can make you sick lol



Pat Metheny some of the most thoughtful jazz melodies came out from this amazing artist, hes not just a guitarist, he's one of the most respected names in jazz worldwide..and very well deserved, to me Pat is in a league of his own without a doubt..not a rock guitarist, but some famous rock guitarist listen and study his music patterns, highly recommended



Jason Becker talent is an understatement, He was borned with such a gift its scary, but unfortunately he was robbed of the most precious thing, his Health, and couldnt play anymore, his solo album "perpetual burn" and his work with Marty Friedman in Cacophony are truly impressive..



Jeff Beck what a sound, tone, I would cite "Blow by Blow"

I dont think Jeff is aware of his influence on most guitar players, but his style which was not a definite one has created a lot of controversy along the years.. always changing and evolving.



And last but not least Frank Zappa..the most incredible weirdo in this freaking world, his music can make you laugh and cry at the same time, another one that was in a world of his own..too many good albums to mention, just pick anything with Terry Bozzio in it and you wont be able to sleep for days...totally histerical



please excuse my long post, but its so hard to choose just 2 or 3 guitarist with so much talent out there, dead and alive..they all count, music is timeless..
carlos santana and jimi hendrixWho are the greatest guitarists in rock and roll history?
cc deville
billy joe armstrong and mike dirntWho are the greatest guitarists in rock and roll history?
Jimi Hendrix

Eddy Van Halen, close second.
JIMI HENDRIX, ALL THE WAY!!!
Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton...
Jimmie Hendrix.

Innovative, one of a kind, mesmerizing.
hendrix, stevie ray vaughn, hendrix was first to do what he did, i saw him once. played like it was on fire. played with his mouth. effortless and intricate. like making love. stevie ray is technical perfection and incredible fingering. great classic blues riffs. again effortless but intricate.
Eric Clapton %26amp; Carlos Santana are greatly admired by musicians, and both have such distinctive sounds.
this is easy and barely needs explaining. SLASH (Guns N Roses) he is awesome!!! he i think is the best ever! in all of history course there are alot of other guitarists who rock too but no one will ever be like him. and Well my second choice would be Synyster Gates (Avenged Sevenfold) he is like awesome and like i said there are many other ones too those are just two. No one can play EXACTLY like Slash can. no one.... but Synyster Gates is great too tho!
Michael Schenker

Rory Gallagher

Alvin Lee
Pete Townshend

David Gilmour

Randy Rhoads

Angus Young
hendrix,elvis ,mike love,frampton
TED NUGENT , then Clapton , Jeff Beck , and others , including Ace Frehley , Jimmy Page . Santana , Hendrix
Argument? Well, Neil Young has been inducted into the R%26amp;R Hall of Fame 3 times, Buffalo Springfield, CSNY and himself with Crazy Horse.



But Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick is not in the R%26amp;R Hall of Fame, so what the hell do they know? He has been playing with Cheap Trick for more than 30 years, that must count for something. Kurt Cobain said, Nirvana sounds just like Cheap Trick, only the guitars are louder.
I would say Randy Rhodes, Eric Clapton, and Eddie Van Halen
kiko lauriano and michael angelo batio... please just download their videos from morpheus.com or limewire.com and you will see some of the most extreme guitar work I have ever seen... they are up there with the likes of eric johnson or if you like speed then Malmsteen is also a person who you also can have a strong argument for... but watching Michael Angelo Batio play both right and left handed at the same time made him I think one of the best I have ever seen...
jimi hendrix broke down barriers and changed rock and roll



stevie ray vaughn is way faster though, and has some cool songs



and prince is dirt mcgirt, in his own way





but if you're looking for a ridic acoustic guitarist, you need not look further than john butler.
Jimi Hendrix, Robert Fripp and Jimmy Page
Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix are the first two that come to mind.

Not versed enough in the topic to give logial arguments
Stevie ray Vaughn



Neil Young



Slash



Eddie Van Halen



Jimi Hendrix



Alvin Lee



all are personal preferences, but why would I listen to and remember someone who wasn't great (unless I liked the band as a whole). what I mean to say is, if I listened to them %26amp; thought they were great, doesn't it follow that they would become personal preferences? That's my logical argument.
In no particular order here are the BEST!!!

1) Paul Satriani

2) Steve Vai

3) Jimi Hendrix

4) Stevie Ray Vaughan

5) Eddie Van Halen

6) Nuno bettencourt (Extreme)

7) John Pettruci (Dream Theater)

8) Chris Degarmo (Queensryche)

9) Kenny Wayne Shephard

10) Pete Townsend (The Who)
Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Garcia, John Lennon, Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughn...I don't need to argue any points about these great artists...the only thing I can say as a personal reference is...they are all in leagues of their own.....Legends!!!!
The top 15 according to a Rolling Stones Poll,which was extremely controversial at the time....

1Jimi Hendrix

2 Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band

3 B.B. King

4 Eric Clapton

5 Robert Johnson

6 Chuck Berry

7 Stevie Ray Vaughan

8 Ry Cooder

9 Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin

10 Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones

11Kirk Hammett of Metallica

12 Kurt Cobain of Nirvana

13 Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead

14 Jeff Beck

15 Carlos Santana
Way too many to even think about naming one the best. But fairly I'd have to say Jimi Hendrix. He could play guitars upside down backwards and with a few parts of his body. There is no question that he had amazing talent.



Angus Young comes to mind too but that could just be because I loved AC/DC so much. I can't say much for him besides that he was just really good and played great even while he was spazzing out all over the stage in his school boy uniform.



Oh man, I just remembered Jimmy Page. I'm sure you've heard Zeppelin, I shouldn't have to explain. Although in case you've never seen it, during at least their song Dazed and Confused he could play it like a mad man with a bow for a violin. That's a sight to see.
Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Carlos Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eddie Van Halen, Duane Allman, Dicky Betts, Ry Cooder. Each has his signature style and has stood the test of time. Also have great admiration for a number of others mentioned in this thread, but have to make a special mention of George Harrison (John Lennon wasn't the best guitarist in the Beatles).
jimi hendrix
Jimi Hendrix- was %26amp; always will be in a class by himself.

Rory Gallagher- perfect blend of speed, feel %26amp; finesse %26amp; gawd could he play the blues.

Robert Fripp- see Hendrix, no other like him.

Link Wray - listen to metal %26amp; listen to "Rumble", nuff said.

Tony Iommi- listen to the spiraling leads that 90% of all metal guitarists play, they're all doing him.

Eric Clapton- the "Slowhand" thing's gotten old but still an incredible player on those rare occaisions when he wakes up.

They Also Serve (Personal Preference Section)

Beck, Page, John Petrucci, Tony McPhee, Kim Simmonds, Martin Pugh, Zakk Wylde, and a pretty fair country guitar player named Keith Richard.
28 answers and not 1 mention of Frank Zappa. ******* pathetic.
Chuck Berry:almost single-handidly invented r%26amp;r guitar playing

Segovia: classical guitar maestro

B.B. King: quinisential blues guitar player

Hendrix: obvious

EVH: also obvious

Brian May:great sound

Rik Emmit: good classically-influenced rock guitarist



could go on forever...