The best guitarist to ever grace the earth is....

Originally Posted by: SilimtaoI first heard of Vai when Guitar Player magazine put its first (I'm pretty sure)vinyl record recording in an issue...and it was Vai playing...can't remember the tune, but I was impressed. Oh, I think it was the Attitude Song...something like that.

But the best? I dunno- I'm listening and relistening to so many different players right now, I don't even have a favorite anymore.

Bottom line is, whatever floats your boat.

They had a vinyl record for Yngwie Malmstein as well back before anybody had ever heard of him. Must have been the mid 1980's.


I don't think I could specifically name one guitar player as 'best' either.
I can name certain guys that had influences on me over the years like Van Halen, Alex Lifeson, Tommy Tedesco etc...

But for some reason other guys who are considered by many to be 'greats' I've never really gotten into. Like Vai, SRV, Satch, Malmsteen, Clapton, Hendrix. I don't think I've ever listened to any of their publicly released stuff except for a song or two. Probably cause I just don't like the style of music playing in the background. (probably why I like Alex Lifeson, cause Neil Peart is amazing)

Must be a cultural thing or something. Certain kinds of music give me a 'homesick' kind of feeling, like Pink Floyd, Supertramp... even old British theme songs like Dr. Who or The Persuaders give me that butterfly feeling.
But ever since I was a kid I always thought of stuff like Hendrix or the Stones as being too 'dirty' and not meant for me so I never listened to em.

Now though, I gotten into downloading bootlegged home and studio demos off of usenet to hear what those guys sound like when they're just practicing or doing alternate versions of famous songs.
(and I've got positive proof from the studio recordings, that Van Halen's solos in Eruption and Beat it were done in small sections and spliced together from the best takes.)

Anyways...Rambling on...

Probably the most recorded guitar player in history that no one has heard about. I used to enjoy reading his articles in Guitar Player. I used to have every issue of GP magazine. My soon to be ex sh** canned them for the sheer enjoyment of it :mad:

there are so many great guitarist you cant pick just one. id go with Zakk Wylde and Eric Clapton but there is no right answer.

Nuno Bettencourt

The greatest guitarist of all time.... wow..... Probably one of the hardest question I've had to answer... I feel like Randy Rhoads could've easily been the best and then some if he had lived. But.. he wasn't the most technical guitarist out there. I think that buckethead, MAB or Malmsteen have the most technicality out there right now. I would probably say that my favorite guitarist would be Brian May, becasue Queen is the greatest band of all time IMO.

i dont agree. i reckon Tony Iommi is the best. he inspired me to get a guitar(which arrived this morning). i just dont know how he made some of his riffs.

How about the late great Danny Gatton?
Doesn't bear thinking about at what else he could have achieved.

the best guitarists on this planet are urselves if u can be bothered to put the time in. search deep and create!

Originally Posted by: Lao_Tzuthe best guitarists on this planet are urselves if u can be bothered to put the time in. search deep and create!

Very Zen ... Grasshopper appreciates! :)

if you like that you may want to google my name :)

Originally Posted by: Kevin TaylorMust be a cultural thing or something. Certain kinds of music give me a 'homesick' kind of feeling, like Pink Floyd, Supertramp... even old British theme songs like Dr. Who or The Persuaders give me that butterfly feeling.

(and I've got positive proof from the studio recordings, that Van Halen's solos in Eruption and Beat it were done in small sections and spliced together from the best takes.)

Anyways...Rambling on...

i get nauseatingly happy when i listen to bands of my early teens (i'm only 20 so this is all i can truly draw from). i got into playing guitar because of punk rock so bands like the misfits and the circle jerks really take a part of me when i listen to them. too many good memories. pink floyd in particular will make me cry and i can't listen to certain bach fugues or mozart melodies without smiling like a madman and pretending i'm conducting them. embarassing **** you do with the privacy of a lock on your door.


and about EVH on "beat it", i KNEW IT!!!! that **** was almost too meticulously clean and wiped free of bull****. are you sure about eruption though? i read in an interview that the recording we hear is take #2. eddie says he messes up on this ascending riff and it eats at him when he hears the recording.

Vai rules... Need I say anything else?

He's a giant douche bag though.

John Petrucci of Dream Theater, not only is he one of the fastest players ever he also knows when to go slow, he is one of the most technically sound players in existence, he also writes good music if metal and prog is your thing, and even if it isn't you still have to respect his greatness.