Who is, or was, the world's best guitarist?

Question

Best guitarist. Amplified ordinary guitar and acoustic, not innovative electrical guitar which is a different instrument. Unless you insist!

Not technical, best music maker.

Answer 1

Jimi Hendrix followed by Joe Satriani and Santana

Answer 2

There is not (one) best guitarist, just my humble opinion, Here is my list of a few of the worlds greatest. In no particular order:
B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, Robbie Robertson, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Jimmy Page, Joan Jett, Al Di Meola, John Mclaughlin, Stanley Clarke,
Keith Richards, Carlos Santana, Richie Blackmore, Slash, Bo Didley, Les Paul, Lightnin Hopkins, T- Bone Walker, Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Gary Moore. The list goes on and on. So I' ll stop right now before I lose the plot.

Answer 3

Though he's rarely mentioned in the group, I would Paul McCartney in there. I've seen the man live in concert, and this was after 15+ years of listening to his music. My jaw about hit the ground when he stood up and did a "battle of the guitars" in a 1990 concert.

Thought he was gonna tear the strings out of it!

I've also seen Peter Frampton live, and he can PLAY. Get a hold of "Frampton Comes Alive" and listen to "Do You Feel Like We Do?"

Back to the Beatles, among the band memebers it was the general consensus that George Harrison was the most gifted guitarist. George could also play the sitar, which is an Indian instrument that is quite difficult to master.

Answer 4

What a sad reflection on todays' music scene! Out of 47, only two people mentioned ANY of the classical guitarists without whom none of the others would have ever become interested - and I'm going back a long way until the usage of the instrument became more acceptable in modern music.
No one ever heard of Rodriguez, for instance?

Answer 5

Jimmy Hendrix
Stevie ray vaughn
Slash
Eddie VanHalen
Nancy Wilson
Joe Perry
Keith Richards
John Lennon
Gary Rossington & Alan Collins
Eric Clapton
Jimmy Page
Jeff Beck

Answer 6

Apart from the 50-odd undisputed greats who are going to turn up all over these answers, there are some as good, if not even better, ones who didn't get hyped up into stars. Check out Eric Bell (only hit Thin Lizzy's Whiskey In The Jar, but that is his minimum level if you catch him live) Jan Akkerman (only hits Sylvia and Hocus Pocus with Focus) Danny Cedrone (12 bars of pure magic that changed the course of popular music in Rock Around The Clock in his only recording) Tim Renwick (British session hack) and more...

Answer 7

Well music is art and art is subjective. The music should be able to tell a story or send a message which is unexplainable or intangible like feelings, memories, moods, etc. It is easier to judge a guitarist by his techniques but within his specific genre (e.g. Classic Rock - Jimmy Page, Progressive Rock - John Petrucci). But this wold also be a touchy subject because each guitarist has their own flavor, chops, styles, licks, gimmicks which others dont possess! Hope this helps! :)

Answer 8

Charlie Christian - was the Hendrix of his time.
Lenny Breau - jazz man had a beautiful style played a seven string acoustic guitar late in his life.
Gary Lucas - NYC based. Fantastic player. I travel to the Big Apple to see him play at least once a year.

Answer 9

Eddie Van Halen
Eric Clapton
Stevie Ray Vaughn
The dude from early YES (Steve Howe)?
Lindsey Buckingham
Joe Walsh

Answer 10

Jimi Hendrix