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Greatest guitar hero ever?

  1. superkiy
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The NY Times has asked its readers to name the greatest guitarists of all time. There are lots of answers, but Jimi Hendrix and Andres Segovia seem to be universal favorites, with Django Reinhart making a strong showing too.

Hard to pin down the metrics of what makes someone the best guitarist. Is it a question of technique? Artistic contribution? Innovation? All of the above?

My picks: Hendrix and Jimmy Page for influencing the entire rest of rock and blues to follow, Robert Johnson for influencing them, Django for defining the sound of an era and for sheer technique, and Leo Kottke because his music makes my jaw hit the floor every time.

Who would you put on the list?
superkiy

12 responses // Greatest guitar hero ever?

  • Jimi Hendrix all the way
    Ice_cream_Man
  • duh, buckethead.
    pirho338
  • Pirho338, Buckethead is awesome, and so good it makes my head spin, and I just saw him play last week, so he was totally on my mind, but when I saw him, he played a ton (like six or seven) of Hendrix songs in his set.

    Put it this way...if you asked Buckethead who the greatest guitarist of all time is, who do you think he'd say?
    superkiy
  • Django. Always. And forever.
    Oviedo
  • paco de lucia
    carlos santana
    john fahey
    johnny winter
    etc, etc, etc
    c'mon people, get your grey matter working!
    dionis
  • hm, very true, but I do think that he is more innovative than hendrix(jimmi didnt have the luxury of current technology, or the vast array of talent to play with, ie les claypool), and, while hendrix can shred, buckethead plays infinitely more complex riffs, not to mention the fact that he's put out about 5 times more work (not much accoustic work from hendrix out there)...and santanna has soul, but he cant shred like buckethead. my list would include page, hendrix, buckethead (obviously), and tom morello-he does shit with his guitar and effects that no one, NO ONE, could ever even begin to come up with.
    pirho338
  • and let me just say, oysterhead fucking rules.
    pirho338
  • "I do think that he is more innovative than hendrix"

    thems fightin words, pirho ;)

    jk, i totally respect yr opinion, and honestly it warms my heart to see buckethead on this list.

    Dionis-good calls...lots of amazing musicians are bound to get overlooked in an exercise like this. I think Leon Redbone is a phenomenal player, and I've heard that seeing Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) play live is basically a religious experience. Who else are we forgetting?
    superkiy
  • don't forget joao gilberto, yngwie malmsteen, duane allman...really how long can this go on?....the list ids endless, no?
    dionis
  • ever heard of Paul Galbraith and his 8 string guitar?.....You should
    dionis
  • pick one! were at war!

    django reindhart ftw baby.
    RudyRudell
  • what about Stephen Stills, he's terribly underrated
    dionis

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