Great conversation...Thanks for sharing! All these players were left off, but should've been on the list: Andre Segovia, Paco de Luica, Allan Holdsworth, Ted Greene, Michael Hedges, John Williams, Yngwie Malmsteen, Blind Willie Johnson, Tony Rice, Emily Remler, George Lynch, Peter Frampton, Lenny Breau, Joe Pass, Martin Carthy, Buckethead, Fugazi: Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Dave Mustaine, George Benson, Guthrie Govan, Gary Moore, Martin Simpson, and Robbie Basho! Cheers, Buck
Wow. How do you leave off YJM? Like his type of playing or not, he changed electric guitar playing more than anybody since EVH. He raised the bar for technique 10 fold. How do you leave off Holdsworth? He will still be ahead of time time 50 years from now. George Benson?!!! You can’t leave him off of the list. I’m wondering if Shawn Lane made it to the list.
ya gotta realize that RS is all about hipsterism and musical anti heroes who buck 'virtuoso' establishment trends. that's why players who use a lot of notes, like ALL the ones listed, are not on RS's list. They described allan as a 'terrible' guitarist in their review of 'believe it'. They like 'noise' guitarists like St. Vincent (and i'm a fan!) and minimalist player like the guitarist from New ORder (whom, I gotta say, I like better than Allan, and yeah, i can play allan's stuff..), so i think you have to understand that RS might not be trying to appeal to guitar nerds who like lots of notes. More curious would be the omission of the crossover blues artists like bonamassa , robben ford, etc, those cats who don't rely on so many notes, but can deliver them, when needed. @@zenlandzipline
Steve Morse, Danny Gatton, Jason Becker, Al Di Meola, Marty Friedman, Mike Oldfield, Greg Howe, Ritchie Kotzen, Paul Gilbert and about 40 more I can probably think of can also go on that list
And make it alphabetical. An ordered list is never going to be satisfactory. And really… naming any one player as the "best" is ridiculous. Preference is not the same as quality.
Great idea. Their needs to be known, justifiable, criteria, and possibly separate lists. There's a decent case to be made that Tommy E and Charo (who should be on that list) shouldn't be compared against EVH and Tim Henson.
George Benson, Brent Mason, Marty Friedman, Chet, Yngvie Malmsteen, Billy Strings, Paco Di Lucia, Al DiMeola, Pat Matheny, Charlie Byrd, Alan Holdsworth for goodness sake,Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery.
My personal all-time top 5, in terms of who inspired/influenced me and my sound the most 1. Marc Ford 2. Hendrix 3. Duane 4. Jeff Beck 5. Jimmy Herring Honorable mention: Wes Montgomery, Audley Freed, Greg Koch, Dickey Betts
Something tells me that the magazine did this on purpose, so that what is happening right now would happen. People would be all up in arms and talking about it and the magazine will get publicity that way.
We need more of this, i loved hearing y’all hangout and talking shop, this was good, maybe a podcast talking about the rig rundowns y’all do, like a behind the scenes
You guys did a great job of sharing your honest takes while showing respect to everyone on it. This list is designed to deflect criticism, but you didn’t fall into it.
Nail on the head. Rolling Stone is a Lifestyle Magazine now. It's no longer a music publication. Also, Derek Trucks is 80th, and Tim Henson didn't crack the top 100. Derek is a pure virtuoso and a brilliant musician. Tim is changing guitar in front of our eyes. How they both don't make top 25 is insane.
6:49 They gave bluegrass flatpicking one representative with Molly, cited how she was influenced by Tony Rice, and then didn't even include Tony on the list?? 😂
Like these people said, they left off the face of Flamenco, Charo, off the list. Joe Bonamassa has more number one blues albums by a wide margin and he is off the list.
Alright you guys, if you're asking for Rig Rundown suggestions, I'll keep asking: - Spoon. Please. Pretty please. - Saint Motel. ..w/ a cherry on top. - Coldplay- how you can pull this off, I have no idea. But one day, I can dream - Harry Style's guitarist, Mitch Rowland. I'm telling you. He is the Keith Richard's to his Mick Jagger. -Vance Joy. I'm a biggg fan. It seems to have a very practical rig -Sigur Ros. An updated one would be great. -Luke Sital-Singh. a tremendous singer Songwriter - Kacey Musgraves, her lead guitarist, but her band is magnificent. - Arcade Fire...one day. - AJR- They're killer - Novo Amor. He looks like Johnathan Nathan Cordy...but he's not. And his songwriting is a blissful template of tones. - Wilco- they've evolved since. I'd ask for the whole band this time, as opposed to only Nels. They are each complimentary players. They are my generations Beatles. Yes, I said it. Thanks!
Rory Gallagher…. Unbelievably gifted and powerful player- launched Brian May’s tone. Regularly rated above Hendrix, Clapton, etc during his day. Turned down industry money to stay true to the music. Turned down the Rolling Stones to stay true to his music. Brian Setzer…. Monster player, launched an entire subgenre that branches out still today and basically single handedly resurrected several entire guitar styles. Guthrie Govan…. The GOAT in my opinion. Can play anything. Unrivaled technically and creatively.
You are right, controversy gets clicks. No Yngwie, Allan Holdsworth, or the brilliance of some of The Wrecking Crew members to mention but a few. I really like this video format. I enjoy hearing your takes on subjects like this. Keep'em coming guys.
There's a TON of great guitarists who were left off. Check out Rick Beato's video about it, he names a lot of names that I recognized who were left off but should have been included.
A top 100 rock guitarists list (all time & active) would be more interesting. A separate Country, Jazz, Blues, Alt/Punk would expand the intellectual discussion and add exposure to some deserving artists.
As a multi-genre guitarist I think it's ABSURD to try to throw together a list of ALL GUITARISTS in one bucket. No way. You need a genre-by-genre SERIOUS listing system to be of any actual VALUE to other guitarists who are looking for recorded music from guitarists for guidance. To me, that would be the REAL value in a 'list': list the ACTUAL BEST guitarists and provide a bit of guidance as to what they have done that you should listen to in order to 'grow' you as a guitarist. Influence matters.
I believe Rolling Stone got exactly what it wanted from the list, everyone talking about it! I can't remember the last time that Rolling Stone got this much attention. I'm 68 years old and I can remember when you couldn't wait to get the next copy. Now, I can't remember when I bought the last copy of Rolling Stone. Sorry Rolling Stone, but it's true! But I subscribe to Premier Guitar!!
Diversity and politics is a very big big factor in their lists, they care more about “representation” then actual skill, talent and soul in their playing
Here's my top 10 list of my favorite guitarists. 1) Eric Clapton. 2) Jeff Beck. 3) Jimmy Page. 4) Jimi Hendrix. 5) Chuck Berry. 6) Chet Atkins. 7) Scott Gorham. 8) Stevie Ray Vaughan. 9) Carlos Santana. 10) Duane Allman. This is just my top 10 list of my favorite guitarists. There are others that I like too, including Gary Rossington, Rick Derringer, Robin Trower, B.B King, Buddy Guy, Mark Knopfler, Robbie Robertson, Randy Bachman, Alex Lifeson, Nancy Wilson, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Johnny Winter, and others. It's all about who you personally like as your favorite guitarists. These are guitarists that I like a lot. Cheers!
Maybe the RS Magazine left some obvious people out so people could discuss it more and get some publicity :) You guys mentioned clickbait, and I think you're right. Great discussion. Please put out a Premier Guitar Top 250 list! Marty Friedman, Alex Skolnick, Dave Mustaine and Jeff Loomis should be on there! Ritchie Blackmore and Alex Lifeson need to be in the Top 10!
RE: Joni, you could probably argue her alt tunings went on to influence loads of alternative subgenres and really paved the way for the sonic youths of the world Edit: Also a battles rig rundown? Ian is doing some wild stuff these days
@@75YBAthere’s plenty of guitar players who’ve played through stacks that can’t write or play for shit. If you can get a acoustic and make it sound good for whatever you’re doing instead of playing A, E and D you are probably a good guitarist.
The glaring omissions: Tommy Emmanuel, George Benson, John Petrucci, Guthrie Govan, Neal Schon, and Allan Holdsworth. Jack WHite or Neal Schon? Let's see Jack play Separate Ways or the outro solo to WHo's Cryin' Now. No Petrucci? He is a god among us.
Studio players are always the step children in these lists. No Tommy Tedesco, Glen Campbell, Brent Mason. Bad asses all. Of course, the list would be massive and less click baity. 100% with you guys on Emanual.
the problem with all "top musician" lists is that music is not a dick measuring contest. I like hearing Angus Young wank away on simple pentatonic riffs as much as MAB play 400bpm sweeps. It's up to the listener. And just because one guitar player is more technically proficient than another player does not mean they make good music either.
Joe Bonamassa is a talented guitar player AND has the most number one blues albums of any blues artists and is not on the list. There is physical evidence that even Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey have heard his work.
John Squire (of course John Squire should be in the Top 50 (probably). William Reed - if including Kevin Shields (deservedly so), J Mascus, Thurston & Ranaldo in the 250 List, then really William should be there too. Robert Smith & Porl [or Pearl] Thompson - Robert Smith may not be the most technical, but those Guitar Soundscapes... and Porl / Pearl went on to play with Page & Plant, and then with Robert Plant & Strange Sensation. Mick Harvey - not just for his amazing work / collaborative creativity with Nick Cave, all his other projects too. Sarah Lipstate / Noveller - if including Yvette Young (deservedly) in the Top 250, then so probably should Sarah. And, what she did with Iggy was pretty special too. Justine Frischmann & Donna Matthews - from probably the best Brit Pop Band, and of course both well underrated. Gary Moore - how'd they miss Gary, and surely Rory Gallagher should be in Top 10, 20 at least ? Rory was probably Hendrix's favourite Guitarist ? John Martyn - for sure Tommy Emmanuel should be included, and if Tommy should be included, so should Martyn. R.L. Burnside - possibly the greatest Mississippi Hill Side Blues player. Taj Mahal Jeff Buckley Mick Jones & Joe Strummer - if including the Sex Pistols, then surely The Clash too. Marco Pirroni - definitely underappreciated East Bay Ray Pat Smear - Germs, Meatpuppets, Foo Fighters, Nirvana... enough said. Steve Stevens Paul Weller - regularly overlooked ! James Dean Bradfield - to loose your Rhythm Guitarist [and one of your main Songwriters], and to continue as a Three Piece... surely James must be highly underrated. Omar Rodríguez López - it's crazy Omar is not there ? What a career, without a doubt a big deal elimination. Jake Kiszka - should he not be recognised as one of the New Guitar Greats ? Maybe in the next Rolling Stone Top 250. Carlos O'Connell & Conor Curley - okay... I wouldn't expect O'Connell & Curley to be in this Rolling Stone list. But in the revised list in a few years time, when Fontaines D.C. blow-up proper, they should be there. Ren Gill - in the next Rolling Stone list, Ren has gotta be in there. He is actually a superb Guitarist and multi instrumentalist. "Hi Ren" @ #1, no Record Label, no Tour, no Publicity, a Legend...! .
Some people on the list are not known for their guitar playing. Not to dis them. They are amazing, influential singers, song writers and absolutely have the ability to play but Neil Young and Paul Paul McCartney? What? If you polled 10,000 guitar players to list their top 100 those 2 names would never come up. Two guitarist who immediately come to my mind that missed the list are, as mentioned, Billy Strings and Peter Frampton. It makes me wonder if anyone who helped in making the list were guitar players.
Joni Mitchell taught herself guitar while in hospital for polio, and developed a complex tuning scheme to overcome muscle weakness. She grew up flooring celebrated contemporaries, including notable jazz greats, with her mastery of various complicated schemes. When she picked up a mountain dulcimer for Blue she, again, invented a unique technique from scratch. Her innovations applied more to composition than rhythm or solo. Nice to see originality recognized.
While I understand that you can never include every single guitar player who you like or are influenced by, excluding people who have had huge impact for generations is perplexing to say the least. For example: George Benson Pat Martino Joe Pass Kurt Rosenwinkel Mike Landau Guthrie Govan
Setzer doesnt tick boxes. They think they can ignore him because they have Carl Perkins and Scotty Moore, but with a straight face they put Rodgers and Nolan in the top 12.
On point. The RS top guitarist list has been patently ridiuculous for time in memory. It's never about the obvious greats. It's always about the egregious omissions. They're well aware it's controversial click baity bs. I decided a long time ago not to give it any oxygen. It's just dumb. As a former subscriber of the physical rag they lost me a long time ago.
Jim Hall, Tommy Tedesco, Jimmy Bruno, Birelli Lagrene, Bucky Pizzarelli,, Barney Kessel, Larry Coryell, Herb Ellis, Pat Martino,Tal Farlowe. Paul Kossoff, Gary Moore, Joe Bonnamassa,
It's not all about pure talent, it's about what a certain guitarist brings to the table in an all encompassing thing. Some of my favorite players are ones that only play rhythm, or use their effects well or just bring some wtf factor to what they do.
Even so, I've heard 8 year old prodigies who are better than some of these people at rhythm guitar. And the thing about effects is, how much was actually created by the player and how much by a producer in the studio?
Everyone goes on about Tommy Emmanuelle (which is very well deserved), but his brother, Phil, was just as talented a player, just more rock based. If you haven't checked him out, do it.
Where is Michael Schenker. Vito Bratta What about Tommy Bolin. Sean Lane! Yngwie! I could go on and onThere was several others left off the list. Love you guys' show. Been watching for years😊
This discussion happens in literature, painting, and movies when they talk about "the canon" - what are the most important things to teach, for example. (Just like me as a guitarist saying, OK I like guitar music, what should I go listen to.) There's a tension between a desire to give room to the diversity and talent within each genre - the argument for having separate lists by genre - and a desire to see all the genres as on equal footing in terms of value as art, rather than split genres into whatever is considered "the main / the true / the real / the most important" genre and then all these side ghettos that thereby seem less central or worthy - which has the effect of displacing some on the older lists because there just has to be a limit to these things, arbitrarily chosen (top 10, top 50, top 100, top 250, top 999, etc.). There's only so many words in an article, so many weeks in a semester, so much wall space at the art museum. So it seems clear that they took the latter approach, which makes sense for their brand - who reads the magazine anymore, and would that audience take time out to look at "top 50 r&b," "top 50 alt-country," or just read the pages with Ye Olde Rock Gods? So if they want to put anyone before their readership they need to integrate the genres. So you can kinda make out the "genres" that seemed to get one vote per "round" that resulted in the rankings - here's the "songwriter/acoustic" slot, the "innovator blues" slot, the "British rock" slot, the "eighties soundscapes" slot, the "funk" slot ... It's trying to cover all their bases and avoid just being "rock from the 70s" that explains why the list is so weird and unsatisfying. When you combine people from clearly disparate genres, you end up with only a few slots for each genre. That makes it hard to ever get past "the originator," "the most recent crossover phenom," and "the critic's darling". So that if you look at the lists over time, two of the figures tend to stay the same while only the soup du jour changes - making for a weird and dissatisfying list.
Such a great discussion. Love that Wata made the list. Boris rule. Bryan Gregory, Lenny Breau, Oscar Moore, Peter Green, Otis Rush, Paul Kossoff, Buddy Miller (Keith in Austin), Sonny Landreth, Blind Willie Johnson, Pops Staples, Ali Farke Toure, Baden Powell, Bola Sete, Michael Hedges, Tuck Andress, Jerry Douglas I Love Rolling Stone is People Mag. Just a whats hot now thing. Cool list. Just creates discussion. Left my dissent for the end. Dont get Tommy Emmanuel or Joe Bonnamosso.
Bonnie Raitt is on the list (deservedly, as you guys point out). So is Ry Cooder. So is Warren Haynes. How can all three be on the list, but Lowell George is not?
I think the valuable part is that they have got people talking about what makes a great guitar player, with 250 examples confronting people's theories. The criteria took a broad view: it wasn't the 250 fastest guitarists. It looked at those who influenced later guitarists; guitarists who play to the song; exclusively acoustic guitarists; female guitarists; more recent guitarists from every genre etc. The rankings are fairly bizarre but they provoke discussion. And there are many glaring omissions, from massively admired guitarists in the trad guitarist comnunity like Joe Bonamassa, Paul Gilbert, Yngve Malmsten, Guthrie Govan etc., to less flashy guitarists like Craig Chaquico, Jorma Kaukonen, Charlie Whitney, Andy York. And what about huge classical guitarists like Segovia? Sure, the rankings seem arbitrary and the omissions are unfortunate, but the inclusivity is great, and the whole has provoked a fascinating discussion, which is why everyone is discussing it.
It doesn't matter if you hate the group Chicago, but to leave out Terry Kath with burning guitar solos, especially on CTA and peppered throughout their first 11 studio albums is a crime. In concert during those years he did many extended jamming. He was the leader of that rhythm section. Jim Hendrix high praise of him was not an accident.
I had the exact thought about Julien Baker not being included. Lucy rules but JB does way more interesting guitar work, particularly on the first two records when she was mostly doing solo performances. I love that Yvette Young and Marissa Paternoster were included but there are so many omissions that are just weird. Where's Nick Reinhart? Omar Rodriguez-Lopez? Julian Lage?Russel Lissack (personal fave)? Daron Malakian? East Bay Ray? Jeff Buckley? And love'em or hate'em, Tom DeLonge has had a huge influence on guitar and deserves a nod.
Some other glaring omissions IMHO are: Peter Frampton, Kenny Burrell, Joe Passalacqua (aka: Pass) Lee Ritenour, Lenny Breau, Larry Coryell, Robben Ford, Alan Holdsworth, Jan Akkerman, Bill Nelson, Martin Barre and Allen Hinds, just to name a "few".
I was going to comment something within the same lines as your statement. The fact that I’ve seen at least 6 videos on TH-cam talking about the stupid list basically gives more importance and relevance to Rolling Stone than what they truly deserve. Just ignore and let it go.
i haven't heard anything about rolling stone in years. i couldn't care less about their list of guitarists. let me guess, they shoehorned in a bunch of "minorities" for woke points
As a Metal fan here are some note 1. Dimebag is too low she should be where metallica is. 2. Dave Mustaine needs to be on the list 3.I'd make an argument that Jim Root and Mick Thimpson from Slipknot should be on there in the top 100 range 4. Where is Misha Mansoor 5.I'd Put Matt Heafy in the 2000s some where 5.I think Brent and Bill from Mastadon should be on the list, 7.Kerry King Over Jeff Hannaman is a crime 8.Mikael Akerfeldt should be on list 9. If Tim (From Polyphia0 and Yvette (From Covet) are on the list where is Plini) 10. Chris Poland or Marty Firedman Should be on the list
I think Polyphia deserves to be represented before some others just because they are more popular than some others. Yvette is there in my opinion because they made an effort to include more women (which is cool with me). Not that she is not good but Petrucci is also very good, has been for many years and Dream Theatre is more popular than Covet. And yeah, Dave Mustaine should be there.
Lists are great!!! Does anyone know every name listed in the 250 list? With the exception of Hendrix, the other 249 can be listed in some other order, any way you want.
Rolling Stone publishes the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. The guitar community: WTF?? Rolling Stone publishes the 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. The guitar community: WTAF??? If Rolling Stone made the list to get people talking about them again, well mission accomplished. To put Molly Tuttle on the list WHO DESERVES ALL THE ACCOLADES SHE GETS and not put Doc Watson or Tony Rice, without whom there is no Molly, is just inexcusable. Also how does one leave Joe Pass off the list? It's also notable that no classical pickers like Segovia made it. I do appreciate that Mother Maybelle Carter made it, as well as Charlie Christian and Django. I don't really understand what their criteria was. Some definitely were game changers, but if that's the case then Segovia, Tony, Doc and Joe Pass should be there. So should Tommy E.
I was happy to see some of my friends on it, but would love to see a guitar magazine do a list and maybe open a certain amount for the readers to vote. Great doesn’t always mean shred to me. There are some artist that create such an original sound nobody can sound like them and that is great.
you have to understand that the full, implied title is: "the top 250 guitarists in the context of what rolling stone considers to be cool" - this is not a magazine that is meant for people who actually are interested in guitar technique/innovation. It's a pop culture magazine first and foremost.
Paco DeLucia? Paco Pena? John Williams? Christopher Parkening? Jimmy Bruno? Tony DeCaprio? Cornell Dupree? Eddie Lang? Freddie Green? Travor Rabin? Earl Klugh? Lee Ritenour? Jeff "Skunk" Baxter?
Molly Tuttle's favorite is Roger Tallroth from Väsen (The Tallroth Tuning). He is from Sweden - so he is not on the list - of course not! And Tony Rice should be at least top 50 I think.
The RS list is click-baloney, just shows bias of their current editors. That said, nice to see Bert Jansch on there, but if they're "pairing" artists, how could they exclude John Renbourn?! Renbourn is/was a total virtuoso of finger style across folk-rock, blues, jazz, traditional, and original compositions. An unsung Guitar God.
They have to leave great guitar players off to generate the engagement (clickbait). Its the social engagement model, metrics are judged on it so make people angry they engage bingo lots of publicity ad clicks etc. Its ART! The guitar solos in I wanna be your dog and comfortably numb both float my boat!
They just need to abandon the whole "Greatest" and just do a 250 recommended guitarist or something. It's stupid that were trying to rank guitarists in 2023 a potentially beyond.
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Rolling Stone F'd up were they drunk???
The only reason the Rolling Stone 250 GG List exists is to get you to talk about the Rolling Stone 250 GG List. They succeeded.
I just disregard that mag.
I'm honestly surprised Steve Hackett's on that list, he deserves it though, his melodic sense has few rivals
They push liberal agendas at no end it’s become ridiculous
To quote Razorfist "It pissed Rolling Stone right the fuck off and name one time when that was a bad thing!"
I hear it makes good toilet paper in a pinch (no pun intended)
Great conversation...Thanks for sharing! All these players were left off, but should've been on the list: Andre Segovia, Paco de Luica, Allan Holdsworth, Ted Greene, Michael Hedges, John Williams, Yngwie Malmsteen, Blind Willie Johnson, Tony Rice, Emily Remler, George Lynch, Peter Frampton, Lenny Breau, Joe Pass, Martin Carthy, Buckethead, Fugazi: Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Dave Mustaine, George Benson, Guthrie Govan, Gary Moore, Martin Simpson, and Robbie Basho! Cheers, Buck
Wow. How do you leave off YJM? Like his type of playing or not, he changed electric guitar playing more than anybody since EVH. He raised the bar for technique 10 fold.
How do you leave off Holdsworth? He will still be ahead of time time 50 years from now.
George Benson?!!! You can’t leave him off of the list.
I’m wondering if Shawn Lane made it to the list.
ya gotta realize that RS is all about hipsterism and musical anti heroes who buck 'virtuoso' establishment trends. that's why players who use a lot of notes, like ALL the ones listed, are not on RS's list. They described allan as a 'terrible' guitarist in their review of 'believe it'. They like 'noise' guitarists like St. Vincent (and i'm a fan!) and minimalist player like the guitarist from New ORder (whom, I gotta say, I like better than Allan, and yeah, i can play allan's stuff..), so i think you have to understand that RS might not be trying to appeal to guitar nerds who like lots of notes. More curious would be the omission of the crossover blues artists like bonamassa , robben ford, etc, those cats who don't rely on so many notes, but can deliver them, when needed. @@zenlandzipline
@@jimmythebold589 Uh, they put Tim Henson on the list. The "use a lot of notes" thing doesn't work.
Add Tommy Emmanuel, Pierre Bensusan, Phil Keaggy, Leo Kottke, Glen Campbell. For starters.
Steve Morse, Danny Gatton, Jason Becker, Al Di Meola, Marty Friedman, Mike Oldfield, Greg Howe, Ritchie Kotzen, Paul Gilbert and about 40 more I can probably think of can also go on that list
I'd love to see y'all do your own list. A guitar magazine really should do it
And make it alphabetical. An ordered list is never going to be satisfactory. And really… naming any one player as the "best" is ridiculous. Preference is not the same as quality.
@@BumblebeeElectron good idea also
@@BumblebeeElectronExactly. A guitar mag doesn’t want to play favorites.
JB should be on it for sure!
I think an appropriate list should be put by PG members.
I'd love to see it.
Love you guys.
Great idea. Their needs to be known, justifiable, criteria, and possibly separate lists. There's a decent case to be made that Tommy E and Charo (who should be on that list) shouldn't be compared against EVH and Tim Henson.
George Benson, Brent Mason, Marty Friedman, Chet, Yngvie Malmsteen, Billy Strings, Paco Di Lucia, Al DiMeola, Pat Matheny, Charlie Byrd, Alan Holdsworth for goodness sake,Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery.
Kenny Burrell?
@@littlescootyAbsolutely.
My personal all-time top 5, in terms of who inspired/influenced me and my sound the most
1. Marc Ford
2. Hendrix
3. Duane
4. Jeff Beck
5. Jimmy Herring
Honorable mention: Wes Montgomery, Audley Freed, Greg Koch, Dickey Betts
And you are?
It's unbelievable that Roy Clark and Glen Campbell was not on the list. They are two of the greatest guitar players in the country music genre.
Neal Schon AND Trevor Rabin belong on this list.
I would just list them alphabetically. That would be the closest thing to reality!
Amen to Neal Schon
Half the people on that list aren't even worthy of tuning Neal's guitar...it's an absolute disgrace he's not on there
Terry Kath, George Benson, Frank Zappa, Roy Clark, Al Dimeola, Tom Scholz.
Something tells me that the magazine did this on purpose, so that what is happening right now would happen. People would be all up in arms and talking about it and the magazine will get publicity that way.
Absolutely
Agreed. We paid attention 🤷♂️
We need more of this, i loved hearing y’all hangout and talking shop, this was good, maybe a podcast talking about the rig rundowns y’all do, like a behind the scenes
You guys did a great job of sharing your honest takes while showing respect to everyone on it. This list is designed to deflect criticism, but you didn’t fall into it.
If you talk about Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings, you really have to mention Tony Rice, who was clearly an influence on both of them.
And what about Ricky Scaggs? Terribly underated.
Or Doc Watson?
@@danielschaeffer1294Doc influenced all of Bluegrass.
Glen Campbell and, for the love of God, ROY CLARK.
Gary Moore and Neal Schon were two of the many glaring omissions imo.
Nail on the head. Rolling Stone is a Lifestyle Magazine now. It's no longer a music publication. Also, Derek Trucks is 80th, and Tim Henson didn't crack the top 100. Derek is a pure virtuoso and a brilliant musician. Tim is changing guitar in front of our eyes. How they both don't make top 25 is insane.
One notch down and it’s just like NME reviewing the Korn guy’s Adidas 😂
Pretty much a liberals personal diary
Polyphia is a weird combination of tremendous talent coming out really boring
@@greenmanalishi6963 rent free
Its a vile publication for repulsive people…
6:49 They gave bluegrass flatpicking one representative with Molly, cited how she was influenced by Tony Rice, and then didn't even include Tony on the list?? 😂
Like these people said, they left off the face of Flamenco, Charo, off the list. Joe Bonamassa has more number one blues albums by a wide margin and he is off the list.
They needed female representation. But not a knock on Molly; she's world class.
Buckethead, Frank Zappa, Yngwie, Gary Moore, Tony Rice and Gene Ween.
Or Dean Ween? Zappa is on the list.
Bohlinger at the end lightly touching on exactly what everyone was thinking.
Honestly, I would not hesitate one minute not only including Tommy, but putting him at number one. He's basically in a class of his own.
I wouldn't single him out; there's a group of the best of the best. But Tommy is definitely in that group.
Where the hell is Joe Bonamassa at? He's been slaying it professionally since age 12!
He has more number one blues albums than anybody and by a wide margin. Far behind in that category is BB King.
Alright you guys, if you're asking for Rig Rundown suggestions, I'll keep asking:
- Spoon. Please. Pretty please.
- Saint Motel. ..w/ a cherry on top.
- Coldplay- how you can pull this off, I have no idea. But one day, I can dream
- Harry Style's guitarist, Mitch Rowland. I'm telling you. He is the Keith Richard's to his Mick Jagger.
-Vance Joy. I'm a biggg fan. It seems to have a very practical rig
-Sigur Ros. An updated one would be great.
-Luke Sital-Singh. a tremendous singer Songwriter
- Kacey Musgraves, her lead guitarist, but her band is magnificent.
- Arcade Fire...one day.
- AJR- They're killer
- Novo Amor. He looks like Johnathan Nathan Cordy...but he's not. And his songwriting is a blissful template of tones.
- Wilco- they've evolved since. I'd ask for the whole band this time, as opposed to only Nels. They are each complimentary players. They are my generations Beatles. Yes, I said it.
Thanks!
The clickbait observation was spot on. Glad to see Richard Thompson on the list.
All of you out there are the top guitarists. Keep playing no matter the skill level. You rule ! #1
"As a sexuelly fluent Black (with a capital B) women...." - Sir, no more questions. Its not about the guitarplaying. It's politics.
Rory Gallagher…. Unbelievably gifted and powerful player- launched Brian May’s tone. Regularly rated above Hendrix, Clapton, etc during his day. Turned down industry money to stay true to the music. Turned down the Rolling Stones to stay true to his music. Brian Setzer…. Monster player, launched an entire subgenre that branches out still today and basically single handedly resurrected several entire guitar styles. Guthrie Govan…. The GOAT in my opinion. Can play anything. Unrivaled technically and creatively.
This kind of thing needs to happen more often. I'd watch it every week. 30 minutes.
You are right, controversy gets clicks. No Yngwie, Allan Holdsworth, or the brilliance of some of The Wrecking Crew members to mention but a few. I really like this video format. I enjoy hearing your takes on subjects like this. Keep'em coming guys.
Glen Campbell. Wrecking Crew. Top 10. Gave lessons to EVH.
Exactly my thought. They just need to keep those clicks going!
Thank God you guys run a guitar magazine ... you can do your own 250 list as a rebuttal.
The most glaring omission for me is Allan Holdsworth. He's a true musician's musician tho.
I would have added Michael Landau and Dann Huff. The influence of studio guitar was revolutionized by them along with Luke.
There's a TON of great guitarists who were left off. Check out Rick Beato's video about it, he names a lot of names that I recognized who were left off but should have been included.
No Brent Mason, one of the most recorded session guitarists of all time?!?!?
A top 100 rock guitarists list (all time & active) would be more interesting. A separate Country, Jazz, Blues, Alt/Punk would expand the intellectual discussion and add exposure to some deserving artists.
As a multi-genre guitarist I think it's ABSURD to try to throw together a list of ALL GUITARISTS in one bucket. No way. You need a genre-by-genre SERIOUS listing system to be of any actual VALUE to other guitarists who are looking for recorded music from guitarists for guidance. To me, that would be the REAL value in a 'list': list the ACTUAL BEST guitarists and provide a bit of guidance as to what they have done that you should listen to in order to 'grow' you as a guitarist. Influence matters.
Exactly.
I believe Rolling Stone got exactly what it wanted from the list, everyone talking about it! I can't remember the last time that Rolling Stone got this much attention. I'm 68 years old and I can remember when you couldn't wait to get the next copy. Now, I can't remember when I bought the last copy of Rolling Stone. Sorry Rolling Stone, but it's true! But I subscribe to Premier Guitar!!
Never buy a copy or look at their online content.. All they do is lie despite being caught lying on a regular basis.
Mark Tremonti, and Zakk Wylde for me are the two that should have been on the list, and in the top 50 at that. My mind is blown at this.
Rolling Stone just isn't what it used to be, and definitely not a music magazine
Diversity and politics is a very big big factor in their lists, they care more about “representation” then actual skill, talent and soul in their playing
Years ago, they did a Top 100 list and ranked Joni Mitchell ahead of Alex Lifeson. That's all you need to know about Rolling Stone.
Terry Kath !!! Left out ,Unbelievable
Here's my top 10 list of my favorite guitarists.
1) Eric Clapton.
2) Jeff Beck.
3) Jimmy Page.
4) Jimi Hendrix.
5) Chuck Berry.
6) Chet Atkins.
7) Scott Gorham.
8) Stevie Ray Vaughan.
9) Carlos Santana.
10) Duane Allman.
This is just my top 10 list of my favorite guitarists. There are others that I like too, including Gary Rossington, Rick Derringer, Robin Trower, B.B King, Buddy Guy, Mark Knopfler, Robbie Robertson, Randy Bachman, Alex Lifeson, Nancy Wilson, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Johnny Winter, and others. It's all about who you personally like as your favorite guitarists. These are guitarists that I like a lot. Cheers!
Maybe the RS Magazine left some obvious people out so people could discuss it more and get some publicity :) You guys mentioned clickbait, and I think you're right. Great discussion. Please put out a Premier Guitar Top 250 list!
Marty Friedman, Alex Skolnick, Dave Mustaine and Jeff Loomis should be on there! Ritchie Blackmore and Alex Lifeson need to be in the Top 10!
Eric Johnson in the 200’s was the point when I realized the list was a joke.
Wow. Unbelievable.
Eric Johnson Steve Vai and Joe Satriani were ranked way too low. All three should of been in at least the top 50.
RE: Joni, you could probably argue her alt tunings went on to influence loads of alternative subgenres and really paved the way for the sonic youths of the world
Edit: Also a battles rig rundown? Ian is doing some wild stuff these days
And never once played through a stack. That’s the adult table. Acoustic guitars are for kids. It takes talent to operate a stack.
@@75YBAthere’s plenty of guitar players who’ve played through stacks that can’t write or play for shit. If you can get a acoustic and make it sound good for whatever you’re doing instead of playing A, E and D you are probably a good guitarist.
Joni Mitchell could not even tune her own guitars. She is a lousy guitarist.
John Fahey and Bert Jaensch influenced people like Joni Mitchell and Page, but Page definitely brought and popularized alternate tunings for rock.
0:42 Rolling Stone is more of a lifestyle mag than a music publication period.
Gary Moore is top 50 player easily, so is Allan Holdsworth as well, Yngwie Malsteem too.
An answer to someone missing (probably I didn’t read) and someone who needs a rig rundown is Ian Thornley of Big Wreck
Couldn’t agree more. Ian is an incredible player. He does talk about gear in his Anderton’s Captain Meets video but PG def needs to get him on.
No gary moore
I wish we guitarists could just finally fking stop pretending that we've actually ever heard ANYTHING by Sister Rosetta Tharpe
i've only ever seen the infamous vid of her at the train station.
Billy Corgan…Billy Strings…Holdsworth…Guthrie Govan…Omar…Marcus King…Adam Jones…
The glaring omissions: Tommy Emmanuel, George Benson, John Petrucci, Guthrie Govan, Neal Schon, and Allan Holdsworth.
Jack WHite or Neal Schon? Let's see Jack play Separate Ways or the outro solo to WHo's Cryin' Now.
No Petrucci? He is a god among us.
and Gary Moore
I think Jack White very much deserves to be in the list, for the relevance of his music and the importance of the guitar in it.
Studio players are always the step children in these lists. No Tommy Tedesco, Glen Campbell, Brent Mason. Bad asses all. Of course, the list would be massive and less click baity. 100% with you guys on Emanual.
truth
You didn't mention the omission of Neal Schon, Joe Bonamassa, Brad Whitford, Steve Morse, Gary Moore,etc.
Tommy Tedesco, Tom Bukovac, Guthrie Govan!! But, it's Rolling Stone magazine...something I never read...
Omitting Glen Campbell was egregious. 🤯
Whoa, cool to see the 3 of you in the same room!
We’re always in the same room! If you John on camera, Perry and Chris are behind the cameras filming!
@@premierguitar Awesome, I had no idea!
I had no idea the Sho-Bud factory was there! PG is literally THE premeire guitar magazine and has been for a while now!
the problem with all "top musician" lists is that music is not a dick measuring contest. I like hearing Angus Young wank away on simple pentatonic riffs as much as MAB play 400bpm sweeps. It's up to the listener. And just because one guitar player is more technically proficient than another player does not mean they make good music either.
Joe Bonamassa is a talented guitar player AND has the most number one blues albums of any blues artists and is not on the list. There is physical evidence that even Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey have heard his work.
John Squire (of course John Squire should be in the Top 50 (probably).
William Reed - if including Kevin Shields (deservedly so), J Mascus, Thurston & Ranaldo in the 250 List, then really William should be there too.
Robert Smith & Porl [or Pearl] Thompson - Robert Smith may not be the most technical, but those Guitar Soundscapes... and Porl / Pearl went on to play with Page & Plant, and then with Robert Plant & Strange Sensation.
Mick Harvey - not just for his amazing work / collaborative creativity with Nick Cave, all his other projects too.
Sarah Lipstate / Noveller - if including Yvette Young (deservedly) in the Top 250, then so probably should Sarah. And, what she did with Iggy was pretty special too.
Justine Frischmann & Donna Matthews - from probably the best Brit Pop Band, and of course both well underrated.
Gary Moore - how'd they miss Gary, and surely Rory Gallagher should be in Top 10, 20 at least ? Rory was probably Hendrix's favourite Guitarist ?
John Martyn - for sure Tommy Emmanuel should be included, and if Tommy should be included, so should Martyn.
R.L. Burnside - possibly the greatest Mississippi Hill Side Blues player.
Taj Mahal
Jeff Buckley
Mick Jones & Joe Strummer - if including the Sex Pistols, then surely The Clash too.
Marco Pirroni - definitely underappreciated
East Bay Ray
Pat Smear - Germs, Meatpuppets, Foo Fighters, Nirvana... enough said.
Steve Stevens
Paul Weller - regularly overlooked !
James Dean Bradfield - to loose your Rhythm Guitarist [and one of your main Songwriters], and to continue as a Three Piece... surely James must be highly underrated.
Omar Rodríguez López - it's crazy Omar is not there ? What a career, without a doubt a big deal elimination.
Jake Kiszka - should he not be recognised as one of the New Guitar Greats ? Maybe in the next Rolling Stone Top 250.
Carlos O'Connell & Conor Curley - okay... I wouldn't expect O'Connell & Curley to be in this Rolling Stone list. But in the revised list in a few years time, when Fontaines D.C. blow-up proper, they should be there.
Ren Gill - in the next Rolling Stone list, Ren has gotta be in there. He is actually a superb Guitarist and multi instrumentalist. "Hi Ren" @ #1, no Record Label, no Tour, no Publicity, a Legend...!
.
Robin Trower, Tommy Emanuel, etc..
Some people on the list are not known for their guitar playing. Not to dis them. They are amazing, influential singers, song writers and absolutely have the ability to play but Neil Young and Paul Paul McCartney? What? If you polled 10,000 guitar players to list their top 100 those 2 names would never come up. Two guitarist who immediately come to my mind that missed the list are, as mentioned, Billy Strings and Peter Frampton. It makes me wonder if anyone who helped in making the list were guitar players.
Where was Prince on the list? A fantastic guitarist that I knew nothing of until the last couple of years.
Prince was number fourteen and he could have even be higher. Prince was an amazing guitarist.
@@venanciahopkins5035 Overrated. Great performer, pop superstar, etc... But overrated IMO as a player.
Joni Mitchell taught herself guitar while in hospital for polio, and developed a complex tuning scheme to overcome muscle weakness. She grew up flooring celebrated contemporaries, including notable jazz greats, with her mastery of various complicated schemes. When she picked up a mountain dulcimer for Blue she, again, invented a unique technique from scratch. Her innovations applied more to composition than rhythm or solo. Nice to see originality recognized.
She is one of the most inovative guitar players on this list.
Much as I have always loved Joni's music, none of that makes her a great guitarist. Different, yes. A great songwriter, no doubt.
th-cam.com/video/bLKb9Ms68ME/w-d-xo.html @@NmpK24
Love her!! But she is definitely a waste of space on a list like this.
Rolling Stone is about as relevant as the TV Guide.
While I understand that you can never include every single guitar player who you like or are influenced by, excluding people who have had huge impact for generations is perplexing to say the least. For example:
George Benson
Pat Martino
Joe Pass
Kurt Rosenwinkel
Mike Landau
Guthrie Govan
No Brian Setzer. No Tommy Emmanuel. Yet Joan Jett and Lita Ford are on the list. Ridiculous.
Setzer doesnt tick boxes. They think they can ignore him because they have Carl Perkins and Scotty Moore, but with a straight face they put Rodgers and Nolan in the top 12.
The list, the list is what they got wrong. stevie ray vaughan at 20? I would have swapped him with Chuck Berry, put chuck berry at 9, and Joni at 20.
On point. The RS top guitarist list has been patently ridiuculous for time in memory. It's never about the obvious greats. It's always about the egregious omissions. They're well aware it's controversial click baity bs. I decided a long time ago not to give it any oxygen. It's just dumb. As a former subscriber of the physical rag they lost me a long time ago.
Jim Hall, Tommy Tedesco, Jimmy Bruno, Birelli Lagrene, Bucky Pizzarelli,, Barney Kessel, Larry Coryell, Herb Ellis, Pat Martino,Tal Farlowe. Paul Kossoff, Gary Moore, Joe Bonnamassa,
It's not all about pure talent, it's about what a certain guitarist brings to the table in an all encompassing thing. Some of my favorite players are ones that only play rhythm, or use their effects well or just bring some wtf factor to what they do.
For sure.
Even so, I've heard 8 year old prodigies who are better than some of these people at rhythm guitar. And the thing about effects is, how much was actually created by the player and how much by a producer in the studio?
Agreed, there's many factors at play. Improve, Influence popularity ,records sold etc..
Agreed. Tim Henson is tremendously talented. Polyphia songs bore the crap out of me personally. I'd rather hear Johnny Ramone play 4 chords 🤷♂️
Premier Guitar should make his own list. I would love to see!
Everyone goes on about Tommy Emmanuelle (which is very well deserved), but his brother, Phil, was just as talented a player, just more rock based. If you haven't checked him out, do it.
Where is Michael Schenker. Vito Bratta What about Tommy Bolin. Sean Lane! Yngwie! I could go on and onThere was several others left off the list. Love you guys' show. Been watching for years😊
This discussion happens in literature, painting, and movies when they talk about "the canon" - what are the most important things to teach, for example. (Just like me as a guitarist saying, OK I like guitar music, what should I go listen to.) There's a tension between a desire to give room to the diversity and talent within each genre - the argument for having separate lists by genre - and a desire to see all the genres as on equal footing in terms of value as art, rather than split genres into whatever is considered "the main / the true / the real / the most important" genre and then all these side ghettos that thereby seem less central or worthy - which has the effect of displacing some on the older lists because there just has to be a limit to these things, arbitrarily chosen (top 10, top 50, top 100, top 250, top 999, etc.). There's only so many words in an article, so many weeks in a semester, so much wall space at the art museum.
So it seems clear that they took the latter approach, which makes sense for their brand - who reads the magazine anymore, and would that audience take time out to look at "top 50 r&b," "top 50 alt-country," or just read the pages with Ye Olde Rock Gods? So if they want to put anyone before their readership they need to integrate the genres. So you can kinda make out the "genres" that seemed to get one vote per "round" that resulted in the rankings - here's the "songwriter/acoustic" slot, the "innovator blues" slot, the "British rock" slot, the "eighties soundscapes" slot, the "funk" slot ... It's trying to cover all their bases and avoid just being "rock from the 70s" that explains why the list is so weird and unsatisfying.
When you combine people from clearly disparate genres, you end up with only a few slots for each genre. That makes it hard to ever get past "the originator," "the most recent crossover phenom," and "the critic's darling". So that if you look at the lists over time, two of the figures tend to stay the same while only the soup du jour changes - making for a weird and dissatisfying list.
Such a great discussion.
Love that Wata made the list. Boris rule. Bryan Gregory, Lenny Breau, Oscar Moore, Peter Green, Otis Rush, Paul Kossoff, Buddy Miller (Keith in Austin), Sonny Landreth, Blind Willie Johnson, Pops Staples, Ali Farke Toure, Baden Powell, Bola Sete, Michael Hedges, Tuck Andress, Jerry Douglas
I Love
Rolling Stone is People Mag. Just a whats hot now thing.
Cool list. Just creates discussion.
Left my dissent for the end. Dont get Tommy Emmanuel or Joe Bonnamosso.
Bonnie Raitt is on the list (deservedly, as you guys point out). So is Ry Cooder. So is Warren Haynes. How can all three be on the list, but Lowell George is not?
I want to see a Buckethead rig rundown - and I want him on the list.
My favorite virtuoso/shredder guitarist. He should be in the list just for the appearance of Jordan on Guitar Hero 2.
I think the valuable part is that they have got people talking about what makes a great guitar player, with 250 examples confronting people's theories.
The criteria took a broad view: it wasn't the 250 fastest guitarists. It looked at those who influenced later guitarists; guitarists who play to the song; exclusively acoustic guitarists; female guitarists; more recent guitarists from every genre etc.
The rankings are fairly bizarre but they provoke discussion. And there are many glaring omissions, from massively admired guitarists in the trad guitarist comnunity like Joe Bonamassa, Paul Gilbert, Yngve Malmsten, Guthrie Govan etc., to less flashy guitarists like Craig Chaquico, Jorma Kaukonen, Charlie Whitney, Andy York. And what about huge classical guitarists like Segovia?
Sure, the rankings seem arbitrary and the omissions are unfortunate, but the inclusivity is great, and the whole has provoked a fascinating discussion, which is why everyone is discussing it.
It doesn't matter if you hate the group Chicago, but to leave out Terry Kath with burning guitar solos, especially on CTA and peppered throughout their first 11 studio albums is a crime. In concert during those years he did many extended jamming. He was the leader of that rhythm section. Jim Hendrix high praise of him was not an accident.
I had the exact thought about Julien Baker not being included. Lucy rules but JB does way more interesting guitar work, particularly on the first two records when she was mostly doing solo performances.
I love that Yvette Young and Marissa Paternoster were included but there are so many omissions that are just weird. Where's Nick Reinhart? Omar Rodriguez-Lopez? Julian Lage?Russel Lissack (personal fave)? Daron Malakian? East Bay Ray? Jeff Buckley? And love'em or hate'em, Tom DeLonge has had a huge influence on guitar and deserves a nod.
Some other glaring omissions IMHO are: Peter Frampton, Kenny Burrell, Joe Passalacqua (aka: Pass) Lee Ritenour, Lenny Breau, Larry Coryell, Robben Ford, Alan Holdsworth, Jan Akkerman, Bill Nelson, Martin Barre and Allen Hinds, just to name a "few".
You're right leaving off Jan akkerman is a f u k i n g crime he should easily be in the top five personally he's my number two behind Jeff Beck😮
Rolling Stone wins again. It got you all hot and bothered about “the list”- and in turn, talking about Rolling Stone. Mission accomplished.
I was going to comment something within the same lines as your statement. The fact that I’ve seen at least 6 videos on TH-cam talking about the stupid list basically gives more importance and relevance to Rolling Stone than what they truly deserve. Just ignore and let it go.
i haven't heard anything about rolling stone in years. i couldn't care less about their list of guitarists. let me guess, they shoehorned in a bunch of "minorities" for woke points
@@HIGHHOPES Define “minorities”.
@@hammill444 everyone except white guys
@@HIGHHOPES What a profoundly idiotic response, particularly given the history of guitar. Hardly surprising.
As a Metal fan here are some note
1. Dimebag is too low she should be where metallica is.
2. Dave Mustaine needs to be on the list
3.I'd make an argument that Jim Root and Mick Thimpson from Slipknot should be on there in the top 100 range
4. Where is Misha Mansoor
5.I'd Put Matt Heafy in the 2000s some where
5.I think Brent and Bill from Mastadon should be on the list,
7.Kerry King Over Jeff Hannaman is a crime
8.Mikael Akerfeldt should be on list
9. If Tim (From Polyphia0 and Yvette (From Covet) are on the list where is Plini)
10. Chris Poland or Marty Firedman Should be on the list
I think Polyphia deserves to be represented before some others just because they are more popular than some others. Yvette is there in my opinion because they made an effort to include more women (which is cool with me). Not that she is not good but Petrucci is also very good, has been for many years and Dream Theatre is more popular than Covet.
And yeah, Dave Mustaine should be there.
Lists are great!!! Does anyone know every name listed in the 250 list?
With the exception of Hendrix, the other 249 can be listed in some other order, any way you want.
Rolling Stone publishes the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. The guitar community: WTF?? Rolling Stone publishes the 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. The guitar community: WTAF???
If Rolling Stone made the list to get people talking about them again, well mission accomplished.
To put Molly Tuttle on the list WHO DESERVES ALL THE ACCOLADES SHE GETS and not put Doc Watson or Tony Rice, without whom there is no Molly, is just inexcusable. Also how does one leave Joe Pass off the list? It's also notable that no classical pickers like Segovia made it. I do appreciate that Mother Maybelle Carter made it, as well as Charlie Christian and Django. I don't really understand what their criteria was. Some definitely were game changers, but if that's the case then Segovia, Tony, Doc and Joe Pass should be there. So should Tommy E.
I was happy to see some of my friends on it, but would love to see a guitar magazine do a list and maybe open a certain amount for the readers to vote. Great doesn’t always mean shred to me. There are some artist that create such an original sound nobody can sound like them and that is great.
you have to understand that the full, implied title is: "the top 250 guitarists in the context of what rolling stone considers to be cool" - this is not a magazine that is meant for people who actually are interested in guitar technique/innovation. It's a pop culture magazine first and foremost.
Hendrix said Terry Kath was the Best. No Glen Cambell or Roy Clark. You hit Charo right on the head.
Paco DeLucia? Paco Pena? John Williams? Christopher Parkening? Jimmy Bruno? Tony DeCaprio? Cornell Dupree? Eddie Lang? Freddie Green? Travor Rabin? Earl Klugh? Lee Ritenour? Jeff "Skunk" Baxter?
Molly Tuttle's favorite is Roger Tallroth from Väsen (The Tallroth Tuning). He is from Sweden - so he is not on the list - of course not! And Tony Rice should be at least top 50 I think.
Great discussion! Love these three dudes
The RS list is click-baloney, just shows bias of their current editors. That said, nice to see Bert Jansch on there, but if they're "pairing" artists, how could they exclude John Renbourn?! Renbourn is/was a total virtuoso of finger style across folk-rock, blues, jazz, traditional, and original compositions. An unsung Guitar God.
Brian May should be WAY higher!
Omissions: Tommy Shaw, Yngwie Malmsteen, Al Pitrelli.
Cancelled my RS Sub YEARS AGO
this funky list was intentional, if it made sense ya"ll would not be talking about it. stones mag is dead, who buys mags anymore?
RS accomplished what it wanted, clicks and attention.
I agree with Chris. Put John on the list!
They have to leave great guitar players off to generate the engagement (clickbait). Its the social engagement model, metrics are judged on it so make people angry they engage bingo lots of publicity ad clicks etc. Its ART! The guitar solos in I wanna be your dog and comfortably numb both float my boat!
Pretty sure Adam Jones made a Top 100 list from guitar world years ago. Is he not even on this Rolling Stone list of 250 or did I just miss him?
They just need to abandon the whole "Greatest" and just do a 250 recommended guitarist or something. It's stupid that were trying to rank guitarists in 2023 a potentially beyond.