Rolling Stone's "250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time!"

[p90jr]

I have to say that I think the very concept of this list - and it being published by that particular magazine - is incredibly stupid. Since founder Jann Wenner basically said "in my opinion. only white males are intellectually capable of making good rock music" this seems like an attempt at correction... but guitar playing is not a simple sport so ranking players is always a bit ridiculous, and especially when you don't limit it to specific genres. And then there also seems to be an attempt to ram in very recent players to be hip and relevant, on top of making sure it is not just rock and blues and not just males... which, yes, RS does need to get its head out of its own ass and move beyond its 1960s/70s worship, but this is lame...

even seeing some players I love get ranked (Bob Stinson from The Replacements, Johnny Ramone, Mary Timony, Carrie Brownstein from Sleater-Kinney) seems a bit absurd on this list... which states no critieria and just seems to be what the editorial board sat around and assigned numbers to... and, of course, the top 10 is exactly what you would expect anyway...

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-guitarists-1234814010/

[p90jr]

Had the article just been "250 great guitarists in alphabetical order" it would be great... but in what universe does the incredibly influential and recognized innovator and huge selling band-member (whose sound and style became the standard for the decade of the '80s on par with EVH's tapping) at number 250 rank that low?

[Anderton]

I guess jazz and classical guitarists don't exist. If Segovia, Django Reinhardt, Julian Bream, and Wes Montgomery aren't on a list of "The 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time," then they need to change the title.

 

4 minutes ago, p90jr said:

Had the article just been "250 great guitarists in alphabetical order" it would be great.

 

Yeah, that's a good title   It would have been even better if they'd had a different intro, like "The world is filled with guitar players. If you had just landed from another galaxy and wanted to understand the breadth and brilliance of our world's guitar player, this list (in alphabetical order) would be a good place to start."

 

It's also important to remember that these are only guitarists they know about...which makes the original title even more pretentious.

 

[p90jr]

Django and Wes (I think...) and in there... honestly 250 is so many it's hard to remember after looking through it 5 times.

Now, I will actually make a playlist and check out the ones I haven't heard of, and that will primarily be the latin music guitarists...

I did see one young player in a facebook group say "Why did they put Yvette Young as the largest pic in the illustration when she's nowhere near the top of their list?" and the answer is "to get you to click on it!"

[surfergirl]

The worst thing about this list is I actually spent time looking at it. I did stop at 190.

[KuruPrionz]

3 hours ago, Anderton said:

I guess jazz and classical guitarists don't exist. If Segovia, Django Reinhardt, Julian Bream, and Wes Montgomery aren't on a list of "The 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time," then they need to change the title.

 

 

Yeah, that's a good title   It would have been even better if they'd had a different intro, like "The world is filled with guitar players. If you had just landed from another galaxy and wanted to understand the breadth and brilliance of our world's guitar player, this list (in alphabetical order) would be a good place to start."

 

It's also important to remember that these are only guitarists they know about...which makes the original title even more pretentious.

 

Also Carlos Montoya, who was a huge reason why 8 year old me decided that guitar was cooler than piano. Flamenco guitarist par excellence!!!!

I agree with surfergirl that women musicians do not get their due status in the ranks. 

Emily Remler gets little praise overall, "wrong" genre I guess but a stellar player. 

St. Vincent is interesting and unique in her own right. 

Jennifer Batton could surely shred.

Sharon Isbin is first rate as well. 

There are more, I'm certain... 

[Caevan O’Shite]

Ahh, RS- 'Reliably Stupid'...

[Anderton]

10 minutes ago, KuruPrionz said:

I agree with surfergirl that women musicians do not get their due status in the ranks. 

 

Our consolation prize is Joni Mitchell being in the Top 10. She used to open for us and the first time I saw her, I was flat out blown away by her guitar playing. It took me a while to stop concentrating on the guitar long enough to realize she was also a great songwriter and singer 

[Anderton]

And if Vicki Genfan isn't on the list (I also bailed on reading it after a while), they're really missing out. I've seen her in concert multiple times, and it never gets old. BTW in the video, Andy Summers introduces her.

 

 

[p90jr]

22 minutes ago, KuruPrionz said:

I agree with surfergirl that women musicians do not get their due status in the ranks. 

Emily Remler gets little praise overall, "wrong" genre I guess but a stellar player. 

St. Vincent is interesting and unique in her own right. 

Jennifer Batton could surely shred.

Sharon Isbin is first Tate as well. 

There are more, I'm certain... 

 
Annie Clark (St. Vincent) and Jennifer Batten are on the list... the list is diverse, which is very good, it's just that the "ranking" aspect is dumb. No matter how they try to justify it they don't live up to their own description... they assembled a diverse group of writers and then made political decisions about what ranks ("Clapton is angering people with his anti-vax stance so we don't have to put him in the top 10 this time and there probably won't be too much outcry!"*). 

But... should Chrissie Hynde (one of my favorite singers and songwriters) be here and not at least James Honeyman-Scott among her lead guitarists... I'm sure she'll have something to say about that as she praises him and his successors in the band at every chance.

* Don't take that as a claim that Clapton should be in the top 10 one way or the other... it's just amusing that RS of all magazines didn't put him up there as usual for them...

[p90jr]

no June Millington from Fanny (unless I missed it) but Tracey Lamb from Girlschool seems strange to me...

[KuruPrionz]

2 hours ago, Anderton said:

 

Our consolation prize is Joni Mitchell being in the Top 10. She used to open for us and the first time I saw her, I was flat out blown away by her guitar playing. It took me a while to stop concentrating on the guitar long enough to realize she was also a great songwriter and singer 

Joni Mitchell is one of my all time favorite musicians, I wish I'd gone to see her back in her heyday. Yes, her guitar work is unique and entrancing. So are her lyrics, her melodies and her vocals. One of a kind, stands tall on her own mountain. I did notice that she was well up on the list and deservedly so.

 

[KuruPrionz]

1 hour ago, p90jr said:

 * Don't take that as a claim that Clapton should be in the top 10 one way or the other... it's just amusing that RS of all magazines didn't put him up there as usual for them...

I don't take that as a claim. I'm not much of an Eric Clapton fan, as a guitarist he more or less copped Freddie King and called it good. Compared to the other 2 guitarists of the fabled "British Triumvarate", he was way behind in all respects. Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page both carved unique legacies based on original concepts and stellar technique, EC doesn't come close in my book. He came much later but you could swap in Brian May, great player. 

[p90jr]

So you don't have to wade through the article if you don't want to and just for me to keep it straight, here's the list:

250 - Andy Summers (The Police)

249 - Brittany Howard (Alabama Shakes/Thunderbitch/solo)
248 - Robbie Kreiger (The Doors)
247 - Ricky Wilson (The B-52s)
246 - Paul Simon
245 - Leslie West (Mountain)
244- Edilio Paredes (from Dominican Republic, in the Bachata genre)

243 - Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner (from The National... + Bryce - Steve Reich, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jonny Greenwood, and Kronos Quartet. Aaron  - Taylor Swift)

242 - Lindsey Jordan (Snail Mail)

241 - Keith Urban
240 - Erin Smith (Bratmobile)
239 - Duane Eddy
238 - Doug Gillard (Guided by Voices/Cobra Verde/Death of Samantha/GEM)
237 - Jennifer Batten
236 - Greg Sage (The Wipers/solo)
235 - Laura Marling
234 - John McGeoch (Magazine/Siouxsie & The Banshees/PiL)
233 - H.E.R.
232 - David Williams (session player - Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Kenny Loggins)
231 - Etta Baker
230 - Gustavo Cerati (from Argentina... Soda Stereo/solo)
229 - Barbara Lynn ("You'll Lose a Good Thing")
228 - Steve Jones (Sex Pistols)
227 - Glenn Branca
226 - El Kempner (Palehound)
225 - Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith and Wayne Kramer (MC5)

224 - Marv Tarplin (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles/Smokey Robinson)
223 - Joseph Spence (from The Bahamas)
222 - Molly Tuttle
221 - James Blood Ulmer
220 - Courtney Barnett
219 - Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing (Judas Priest)
218 - Lzzy Hale (Halestorm)

217 - Thomas McClary (Ther Commodores) 
216 - Steve Hackett (Genesis/solo)
215 - Kurt Vile
214 - Keiji Haino (from Japan - Aihiyo/solo)
213 - Lucy Dacus

212 - José Feliciano

211 - Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
210 - Kaki King

209 - Gary Clark Jr.
208 - Amadou Bagayoko (from Mali - Amadou and Mariam)
207 - Justin Broadrick (Godflesh)
206 - Hugh McCracken (session heavyweight - Steely Dan, Roberta Flack, Paul McCartney, Paul SImon)
205 - Eric Johnson
204 - Lynn Taitt (reggae/rocksetady session pioneer - Desmond Dekker)
203 - Grant Green

202 - Vince Gill
201 - Garry ‘Diaper Man’ Shider (Parliament/Funkadelic, Bootsy's Rubber Band)
200 - Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram

199 - Bombino (from Niger)
198 - Jerry Reed

197 - Nuno Bettencourt
196 - James Taylor

195 - Greg Ginn (Black Flag)
194 - Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy)
193 - David Lindley (Jackson Browne/Linda Rondstadt/solo)
192 - Lita Ford

191 - Chalmers Edward ‘Spanky’ Alford (D'Angelo, Mary J. Blige, Total, Rapheal Saadique)
190 - Lightnin’ Hopkins
189 - Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains)
188 - Marnie Stern
187 - Marc Ribot
186 - Steve Lukather
185 - Peggy Jones ("Lady Bo")
184 - Eldon Shamblin (Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys)
183 - Roy Buchanan
182 - Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith (Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Bunny Wailer, Sugar Minott, Jacob Miller, Black Uhuru, Mighty Diamonds, Augustus Pablo, Gregory Isaacs)
181 - Larissa Strickland (Laughing Hyenas)
180 - Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)

179 - Ernest Ranglin (ska/rocksteady/reggae pioneer)
178 - Skip James
177 - Rodrigo y Gabriela
176 - Sadie Dupuis (Speedy Ortiz)
175 - Rory Gallagher
174 - Marty Stuart
173 - Paul McCartney
172 - Chrissie Hynde
171 - D. Boon (The Minutemen)
170 - Phil Manzanera (Roxy Music)
169 - Jessie Mae Hemphill

168 - John Cipollina (Quicksilver Messenger Service)
167 - James Williamson (Iggy & The Stooges)
166 - Johnny Winter
165 - Rokia Traoré (from Mali)
164 - Dave Davies (The Kinks)

163 - Wah Wah Watson
162 - Rosinha de Valença (from Brazil)
161 - Tim Henson (Polyphia)
160 - Kim and Kelley Deal (The Breeders)
159 - John Lennon
158 - Johnny Thunders

157 - Pat Metheny

156 - Carl Perkins
155 - Yvette Young (Covet)
154 - Bill Frisell
153 - Otis Rush
152 - Ani DiFranco
151 - Pete Cosey (Miles Davis) https://www.premierguitar.com/artists/forgotten-heroes-pete-cosey
150 - Marissa Paternoster (Screaming Females/Noun)
149 - Ron Asheton (The Stooges)
148 - Ike Turner
147 - Memphis Minnie
146 - Mike Bloomfield
145 - Dickey Betts
144 - Odetta

143 - Ira Kaplan (Yo La Tengo)

142 - João Gilberto
141 - Fredrik Thordendal (Meshugga)

140 - Stephen Stills

139 - Susan Tedeschi

138 - Teenie Hodges (Al Green/Hi Rhythm Section)
137 - Liz Phair
136 - Joe Perry (Aerosmith)
135 - Roger McGuinn (The Byrds)
134 - Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü/Sugar/solo)
133 - Robert Cray

132 - Nils Lofgren
131 - Dimebag Darrell (Pantera/Damage Plan)
130 - Joe Walsh
129 - Nita Strauss (Alice Cooper/Demi Lovato)
128 - Bob Stinson (The Replacements)
127 - Steve Vai
126 - Kim Thayil (Soundgarden)
125 - Viv Albertine (The Slits)
124 - Mike McCready and Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam)
123 - Steve Howe (Yes, Asia)
122 - King Sunny Ade
121 - Dick Dale
120 - Warren Haynes (Gov't Mule/Allman Brothers)
119 - Donita Sparks (L7)

118 - Adrian Belew
117 - Albert Collins

116 - Ana da Silva
115 - Nels Cline
114 - Robert Quine (Richard Hell & The Voidoids/Lou Reed/Matthew Sweet)

113 - Allen Collins and Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
112 - Rowland S. Howard (The Birthday Party/Crime And The City Solution/These Immortal Souls)
111 - Kelley Johnson (Girlschool)
110 - Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac, solo)
109 - Mick Ronson (David Bowie, Spiders From Mars/Ian Hunter/solo)
108 - Merle Travis
107 - Clarence White (The Byrds)
106 - Peter Buck (R.E.M.)
105 - Slash
104 - Ali Farka Touré (from Mali)
103 - Nancy Wilson (Heart)
102 - Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)

101 - John Fogerty
100 - Kerry King (Slayer)
99 - Tosin Abasi (Animals As Leaders)
98 - Link Wray
97 - Stephen Malkmus (Pavement/Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks)
96 - Mark Knopfler (Dire Strais/solo)
95 - Mary Timony (Helium/solo/Wild Flag/Ex Hex)
94 - Joe Satriani
93 - Leo Nocentelli (The Meters)
92 - Wata (Boris)
91 - Cat Coore (Third World)

90 - Mdou Moctar (from Niger)
89 - Lou Reed
88 - Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
87 - Poison Ivy (The Cramps)
86 - Sonny Sharrock
85 - Larry Carlton
84 - Muddy Waters
83 - Adrian Smith and Dave Murray (Iron Maiden)
82 - Wes Montgomery
81 - Bert Jansch
80 - Derek Trucks (Tedeshi-Trucks Band/Allman Brothers)
79 - Ernie Isley (Isley Brothers)
78 - Charlie Christian
77 - Willie Nelson
76 - Joan Jett
75 - Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple/Rainbow)
74 - J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.)
73 - Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf)
72 - John McLaughlin (Mahavishnu Orchestra/Miles Davis)
71 - Franco Luambo (from Republic of the Cong/Zaire)
70 - Django Reinhardt

69 - Robbie Robertson (The Band)
68 - Les Paul
67 - Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine)
66 - Ry Cooder
65 - T-Bone Walker
64 - Carrie Brownstein (Sleeter-Kinney)
63 - Richard Thompson
62 - Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac)
61 - John Mayer
60 - Scotty Moore (Elvis Presley)
59 - Robert Fripp
58 - Alex Lifeson (Rush)
57 - Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth)
56 - Johnny Marr (The Smiths)
55 - Mick Taylor (The Rolling Stones)
54 - Bonnie Raitt 

53 - Trey Anastasio (Phish)
52 - John Lee Hooker
51 - Tom Verlaine (Television/solo)
50 - Elmore James
49 - PJ Harvey
48 - Curtis Mayfield
47 - The Edge (U2)
46 - Frank Zappa

45 - Steve Cropper
44 - Johnny Ramone (The Ramones)
43 - Jonny Greenwood and Ed O’Brien (Radiohead)
42 - Vernon Reid (Living Color)
41 - Bo Diddley
40 - John Fahey
39 - Chet Atkins
38 - Angus Young and Malcolm Young (AC/DC)

37 - Pete Townshend (The Who)

36 - Elizabeth Cotten
35 - Eric Clapton (Bluesbreakers/Cream/Blind Faith/Derek & The Dominoes/solo/COVID-19)

34 - Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead)
33 - Brian May (Queen)
32 - Jack White (White Stripes/solo)

31 - George Harrison
30 - Neil Young
29 - Eddie Hazel (Parliament/Funkadelic)
28 - David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
27 - Buddy Guy
26 - St. Vincent

25 - John Frusciante
24 - James Burton (Ricky Nelson/Elvis/Emmylou Harris)
23 - James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett (Metallica)
22 - Albert King
21 - Randy Rhoads (Ozzy Osbourne)
20 - Stevie Ray Vaughan
19 - Freddy King

18 - Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave)
17 - Mother Maybelle Carter (Carter Family)
16 - Robert Johnson
15 - Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones)
14 - Prince
13 - Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath)
12 - Jimmy Nolen (James Brown)
11 - Carlos Santana
10 - Duane Allman (Allman Brothers/Derek and The Dominoes)
9 - Joni Mitchell
8 - B.B. King
7 - Nile Rodgers (Chic/Diana Ross/Sister Sledge/David Bowie)
6 - Sister Rosetta Tharpe
5 - Jeff Beck
4 - Eddie Van Halen
3 - Jimmy Page
2 - Chuck Berry
1 - Jimi Hendrix

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RABid]

Paul Simon above Andy Summers? I stopped reading at 246.

[Larryz]

The ranking is rank and the omissions are still yet to be determined.  +1,000 an alphabetical list would be a better way to go...😎

[Scott Fraser]

100% meaningless. 

[Sharkman]

First of all, I am shocked that they put Jimmy Page at 3., because not too many years ago Rolling Stone did a similar ranking of guitarists, and Jimmy was further down the list.  Chet Atkins at 39?  Seriously?  Les Paul at 68?  Steve Howe and Steve Vai aren't in the top 100?  And Ted Nugent, who is a far superior guitar player than most on this list, isn't even on the list.  Most likely due to his political beliefs, which has absolutely nothing to do with guitar playing ability.  This list is a load of dogcrap.  And I have a 70 lb. Belgian Malinois, so I know a lot about dogcrap.

[desertbluesman]

I never cared for The Best Guitarist Ever concept. They are all good in someones opinion. But best ever, I don't think so,

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

20 hours ago, p90jr said:

 
... they assembled a diverse group of writers and then made political decisions about what ranks ("Clapton is angering people with his anti-vax stance so we don't have to put him in the top 10 this time and there probably won't be too much outcry!"*). 

 

 

Is EC on the list at all or am I just not seeing him all of a sudden?  I don't see Roy Clark or Glenn Campbell or Buck Dharma or Gary Moore or Gary Richrath either or any other number of players I could think of in about twenty seconds...

[Sharkman]

53 minutes ago, Lou Gehrig Charles said:

 

Is EC on the list at all or am I just not seeing him all of a sudden?  I don't see Roy Clark or Glenn Campbell or Buck Dharma or Gary Moore or Gary Richrath either or any other number of players I could think of in about twenty seconds...

35 - Eric Clapton (Bluesbreakers/Cream/Blind Faith/Derek & The Dominoes/solo/COVID-19)

 

Why is COVID-19 mentioned?  Eric Clapton never played for any band by that name.  I guess his stance on Covid vaccinations somehow deteriorated his guitar playing ability.

[KuruPrionz]

3 minutes ago, Sharkman said:

35 - Eric Clapton (Bluesbreakers/Cream/Blind Faith/Derek & The Dominoes/solo/COVID-19)

 

Why is COVID-19 mentioned?  Eric Clapton never played for any band by that name.  I guess his stance on Covid vaccinations somehow deteriorated his guitar playing ability.

I get why he isn't any higher up, he's pretty boring really. Omitting Roy Clark or Glen Campbell is not good. I don't see Albert Lee on there either, saw him live and he was incredible. Putting Steve Lukather well down the list is also absurd, he's played great guitar work on so many records it's insane. Toto was just one project (although I did see them live as well and Steve L is a monster guitarist). So yeah... foof...

[Anderton]

I would like to have seen Elliot Easton from the Cars in there, but I guess playing well-thought-out, economical solos with the right notes at just the right time and zero self-indulgence isn't of sufficient interest.

 

IIn any case, the term "best" is irrelevant when applied to art.

[Caevan O’Shite]

4 hours ago, Anderton said:

I would like to have seen Elliot Easton from the Cars in there, but I guess playing well-thought-out, economical solos with the right notes at just the right time and zero self-indulgence isn't of sufficient interest.

Elliot Easton is absolutely phenomenal. The solos of his that you refer to there are usually generally perfect.

[Ivan May]

I think Rolling Stone puts out way too many "Greatest Guitarists of All Time" list. Just pick at least five from now on.

[KuruPrionz]

21 hours ago, Anderton said:

I would like to have seen Elliot Easton from the Cars in there, but I guess playing well-thought-out, economical solos with the right notes at just the right time and zero self-indulgence isn't of sufficient interest.

 

IIn any case, the term "best" is irrelevant when applied to art.

One of my all time favorites. His solo on Just What I Needed on the Cars first album is iconic.

[Anderton]

He's kind of my role model for solos. On every one of my albums, I play really fast for a couple measures in one of the songs just to prove I can do it :). But the rest of the time, my attitude is that the solo serves the song. 

[Caevan O’Shite]

8 hours ago, Anderton said:

He's kind of my role model for solos. On every one of my albums, I play really fast for a couple measures in one of the songs just to prove I can do it :). But the rest of the time, my attitude is that the solo serves the song. 

Both can be the case at the same time, too, though... That is, fast and really fast playing can still be serving the song. I bet you've accomplished both that way.

[p90jr]

On 10/16/2023 at 12:21 AM, Scott Fraser said:

100% meaningless. 

 

but rich in clickbait and rage-sharing, which is decidedly the actual goal!

[p90jr]

On 10/16/2023 at 12:51 PM, Anderton said:

I would like to have seen Elliot Easton from the Cars in there, but I guess playing well-thought-out, economical solos with the right notes at just the right time and zero self-indulgence isn't of sufficient interest.

 

IIn any case, the term "best" is irrelevant when applied to art.

 

Elliot Easton is the Larry Carlton of New Wave!!! Meant as the highest compliment. I loved how on clips from Tha Cars reunion tour (I wasn't lucky enough to ever see them live) the crowd went nuts when he played his classic solos... you hear some of the crowd singing along to the licks, which is the coolest thing ever!

When Tom Verlaine is listed (love him) but Richard Lloyd is left out I don't get it... Tom was the "genius" behind the songs and an interesting guitar player, but Richard was a really good guitarist who made the most of the spots he was given to shine. And more people probably heard Richard's playing on Matthew Sweet's hit singles than have heard Television.

James Honeyman-Scott from The Pretenders?

and Jennifer Turner, who auditioned for and won the lead guitarist spot in Natalie Merchant's band (never having played electric guitar before that) and played on Merchant's first solo record... was great... and she took a different path and never again played like that, and these days plays bass and keyboards in bands. But I would rate her highly based on that one record.