Jimi Hendrix Tops Rolling Stone's Guitar Gods List: Who Is the Greatest Guitarist of All Time?
SLIDESHOW: Greatest Guitarist of All Time?
Jimi Hendrix
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Jimi Hendrix
Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello says Hendrix "exploded our idea of what rock music could be."
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Eric Clapton
Eddie Van Halen says Clapton's early, blues-based sound is "still the core of modern rock guitar."
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Jimmy Page
Joe Perry says "listening to what [the Led Zeppelin guitarist] does on guitar can transport you."
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Keith Richards
Nils Lofgren of the E Street Band says the Rolling Stone guitarist "wrote two-and three-note themes that were more powerful than any great solo."
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Jeff Beck
Mike Campbell of the Heartbreakers says Beck "has the combination of brilliant technique with personality. It's like he's saying, "I'm Jeff Beck. I'm right here. And you can't ignore me."
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B. B. King
ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons says King originated two figures that "never fail to get you moving in your seat -- or out of your seat. It's that powerful."
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Chuck Berry
As a teenager, Keith Richards listened to every lick Berry played. "That cat wrote songs that had so much sense of humor and so much intelligence," Richards tells Rolling Stone.
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Eddie Van Halen
Mike McCready of Pearl Jam calls the Van Halen guitarist "a master of riffs," adding, "you can play the things he's written, but there's an X factor that you can't get."
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"His playing was effortless," Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello says of Hendrix. "There's not one minute of his recorded career that feels like he's working hard at it -- it feels like it's all flowing through him."
Rolling Stone gathered a panel of famous guitarists to weigh on on their peers and influences -- and Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards and Jeff Beck round out the top five guitar gods.
But it's pretty amazing that 41 years after his death at age 27 -- and after only a four-year career as a superstar -- Hendrix still comes out on top. From Hendrix to Eric Clapton to Jimmy Page, click through Rolling Stone's top eight choices and tell us: Who is the greatest guitarist of all time?
Top Opinion
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Stephen Smith 2011/11/23 21:18:43Jimmy Page
+16James Patrick Page - Zozo. In my opinion, Hendrix was too messy & untidy. I'm not talking about jamming. I'm talking about general play.
The only reason i chose jimmy was I had to in order to post (and he was a big influence on in my early years).
They is no "Best". There are too many different styles and genres. The list up there is typical unaware mainstream American choices. Heck...even I can duplicate Eric Claptons signature riffs by ear , on the spot...and i'm no great guitarist. Clapton is over rated.
Where is joe satriani, joe bonamasa,gary Moore, Steve vai, Jeff "Skunk" baxter...oh christ, the list is endless. That list of "poll" choices are merely well knowns who made it big (mostly by commercialization).
Anyone who asks this question and gives those guitarists as choices is most likely an uninformed prepubescent guitar shredder wannabe?
We asked this question in middle school, before we were exposed to the geniuses of the world who were not "well knowns".
To the author of this question...listen to 50 more not so well know guitarists and you will wonder why you ever asked such a subjective question.
For instance..here's one...give it a while...at about 1:56, Steve does things on his guitar jimi hendrix would've simply watched..dropped his jaw.....then put his strat in the closet, and never to touch it again:
With all due respect for his "talent"....I personally can only listen to this for 57 seconds. His lead notes do not blend nor touch on simultaneously with any underlying rhythm melody.
Hmmmm...i cannot embed it...so here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?...
On the other hand...if he strays from the EXCLUSIVE LIGHTNING SPEED SCALE SHREDDING for just a few moments, he can add soul and personality to his leads that do shine through. It's not all about SPEED. It's about speed, versatility, personality style and soul, MATING with the underlying rhythm melody:
Voodoo Child (Satriani, Vai, Malmsteen)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Tough list to make