Top Ten Guitarists of All Time?

Yes, its one of those lists again, and I know you’re thinking this has been done a thousand times before- and you’d be right. However, I decided to do this list with a slight twist, I mean, what makes a trully great guitarist? What qualities does a guitarist need to be considered “great”, or even in the “Top Ten” of greatness? These are the questions I will try to answer in this article, and I hope that by reading this, you can trully start to appreciate what makes a great guitarist. Maybe you will be inspired to learn from this for your own playing? Maybe in future I’ll need to revise this list to include one more musician…

10) Slash

Maybe not as technical as the other players in the list, but he certainly deserves a mention. This man is really the king of blues rock, and he has the look to match. That loose, swinging, bluesy feel, fused with the ballsy attitude of rock’n'roll creates grooves that you can’t help but love. He’s been much overlooked in bands such as Guns’n'Roses- which have, especially now, been ruined by Axl Rose’s overly large head. Slash was the reason that band worked, the reason they were successfull, and the key to their sound.

As if these reasons alone weren’t enough, you have to factor in that Slash was almost entireley self-taught. Now, I’m not advocating that you quit your guitar lessons and follow his example, I’m just pointing out that his “coolness” and “musicallity” are not based on study, but on “talent” (read hard-work and the correct attitude, I don’t believe in talent!).

9) James Hetfield

Take a look over the names on this list. What do you notice? What name is missing from the list? Thats right, Kirk Hammet. James is the real guitarist behind Metallica, he wrote those chord progressions, those lyrics. Ok, so we’re not here to discuss lyrics. However, what do you think of when I say “Metallica”, I know what comes to my mind- powerful, agressive powerchords; a tight sounding rhythm section and a kind of rock groove (see Dimebag for more on this!)- thats without the lyrics! All of these things are crafted by the master- James Hetfield. Kirk Hammet simply doesn’t add so much to the band in my opinion, not to say that he is a bad guitarist, no way! He just isn’t good enough for my top ten.

Tony Iommi

If you know anything about guitar, this one requires no explaination. Before Tony became famous (with none other than Black Sabbath- the creators of heavy metal), he chopped the end of his fingers off in an accident in a sheet metal factory. How much more “metal” could you get?! Well, this monster of rock went there. Since the accident his fingers have had metal tips -literally- not a figure of speech, but it so could be. In those early days he ran his guitar through a bass amp (guitar amps didn’t sound heavy enough, apparently), and has continued to write some of the heaviest riffs known to man. He can smelt metal from his frets, the man with metal at his fingertips- he is Iron Man.

7) Randy Rhoads

For those of you that don’t know (where have you been?!), Randy was the first guitarist that Ozzy Osbourne hired for his solo act after leaving Sabbath. Together with bassist Bob Daisley, and drummer Lee Kerslake, they formed what has become known as the “Blizzard of Ozz” band. Sadly, things didn’t last, and after two studio albums and a live album Randy died in a tragic flying accident. If he’d had more of a chance to let his skills shine through, he might be higher on this list. Who knows what he could have achieved given a longer life? We will never know.

If you’ve ever heard a note from this man, you would know, even after only two albums, he deserves to be on this list. In two studio albums, totalling just 16 songs, he managed to not only find the perfect fusion of heavy metal and baroque, but you will find his infulence in just about every modern electric guitarist (including myself) to this day. He is where Black Sabbath meets Bach (as crazy as that sounds), and (being a teacher himself) his technique is flawless. He was going on to study classical guitar, so he might have been even better…

6) Mark Knopfler

This man doesn’t need fancy effects to rock, he doesn’t even need a pick! The music flows right from his fingertips into the strings, giving his music a unique soul. In fact, fingerstyle technique is relatively rare in modern electric guitar music, especially so in rock. So this man should get a mention based on uniqueness alone, but he is more than that. With his fingers, he achieves a tone like no other- at the same time soft and twangy. His sound is bluesy, but also has a jazzy edge, and just simply oozes “cool”. Definitely worth a listen.

5) Jimmy Page

Only number five? Granted, this guy probably deserves to be further up the chart- remember, I will accept your comments. There should be no question that this guy deserves to be in this list, though, and I know you’re probably thinking “guitar solos”, right? He is a great soloist, and a fantastic improviser- you wouldn’t go far wrong by listening to/learning a few of his great licks (a solo in “Stairway to Heaven” comes to mind…). Believe it or not, and despite his awesome leadwork, this is not the main reason I put him in this list.

Everyone looks at a guitarist for the solos, and this tends to lead to millions of aspiring guitar players learning how to “solo” as fast as they can. What results is thousands of players who can pull out a solo, but are clueless to things such as: chords, groove, riff writing, etc. Well, for me, this is the opposite of what Page is about. His strength lies in his overall musicallity, many of the rhythm guitar parts in Led Zeplin songs are actually harder than the lead. Have you ever tried to count the beats in songs such as “Black Dog”, or “Whole Lotta Love”? It’s a popular misconception “Solos are always the hardest part of a song”, and its totally wrong.

We also mustn’t forget Jimmy’s past as a session musician (I.E. a musician that works at a studio recording various instrumental parts on the recordings of songs). It may not be what he’s famous for, but its a job that needs a great deal of skill and proficiancy on the guitar- all of which probably gives him the edge.

4) Zakk Wylde

While I’m doubtless Zakk is also just as versatile is in his guitar playing, it is for his solo work that his greatness really shines. He has shown his musicallity by creating his own band “Black Label Society” after originally becoming famous working with Ozzy. He writes all the songs, and is even the singer for the band. This is still not his most outstanding quality, I think he is great for something much more unique.

If you’ve read any articles I’ve written, or seen any of my videos on YouTube, you will know that there are two main grips we use to hold the guitar neck. The first being the “classical” grip, with the hands parallel to the frets; the second is the “baseball bat” grip, where the thumb is over the top of the neck. They are each good for different reasons, although the latter allows more vibrato- and is therefore perfect for a bluesy feel. I’m not saying that you should use the “baseball bat” grip all the time, this would be wrong. “Classical” grip is the one that should be used for normal “shredding”.

So what has this to do with Zakk Wylde? Well, with the “classical” grip, you can play alot more accurately and faster than with the “baseball bat” style. Therefore, this is the grip that many shredders use exclusively. The result of this is that alot of “shred” music, to me, lacks soul. Zakk has come up with a way to counter this, by using the standard grips he manages to play super fast, but also aggressively. Aggression and feel are two things much overlooked when people discuss guitar technique. I think Zakk Wylde puts them back on the map.

3) Dimebag

Once (wrongly) introduced as “Dimond Bag Darrel”, this unusual name actually results from his habit of buying “dime bags” of weed. He originally came to fame with his band “Pantera” which, although amazingly heavy, were also very musical. There was something about this mans playing that just jumped from the fretboard. The grooves he layed down are somewhere between “swung” and “funky”, and his solos are almost vocal. It’s as if the music bypassed his fingers and the guitar altogether and went right from his brain to the amp. Sadly, after Pantera had split up, he died in 2004- shot by a “fan”. He could have gone on to do so much more.

2) Joe Satriani

“Satch”, as he is known, is not just a great musician in his own right. His technique, especially his legato, is perfect, and thats without mentioning his musicallity or diversity. Every guitarist, even every musician, should own at least one track from this man. I recommend “Surfing with the Alien”, for a taste of what this legend is capable of. I mean this is the man that taught Kirk Hammet of Metalica, and Steve Vai (another man who doesn’t quite make this list). What can you learn from him?

And Finally…

Looking over the list again, you’ll notice another missing name. One that no “Top Ten Guitarists” countdown would be complete without, and this one wouldn’t be either. His name? Jimi Hendrix. He deserves the top spot on this list, simply for the fact that he was probably one of the main influences for every other guitarist on the list. He had the whole package- stage presence, great performances, musicianship…the list goes on. Jimi excelled in every aspect of being a guitarist, everything that makes the other guitarists here “great” Jimi had in abundance. He had the feel and muscial intuition for the blues paired with the fluency of technique to make his guitar “sing”. He could write his own songs and sang for his band. His musical style was varied, showcasing his versatility on songs such as “The Wind Cries Mary” and who could forget “Voodoo Chile”?

As if to top all of that, he played a guitar that was on fire, dropped bombs on the US anthem, and virtually invented whammy bar abuse! None of the above guitarists would be here if it wasn’t for this one man. In fact, I doubt the Fender Stratocaster would be here without this guy! So I don’t really see why this guitarist should be anywhere else in my Top Ten.

In Conclusion…

So what does it take to be a trully great guitarist? Well if Jimi Hendrix is anything to go by it requires great feel, technical fluency, a big dollop of creativity, all wrapped up in great performance skills. If you aim to work on each of these areas then one day, you never know what could happen…

People I’ve missed off the list: Angus Young, Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Steve Vai, Kirk Hammet, Chuck Berry, Many others….

Should I have included any of these others on the list? -discuss.

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September 15, 2009 at 2:09 pm | Music News and Opinions | No comments