Originally posted by Ugly Toe
There simply is no "best" guitarist, we all are in a little way. The art of creation using a musical instrument is one of the most amazing human endeavors. Those that consider that the instrument is used as an extension of human communication are the ones who know what I mean. Those that can create a piece of music that moves someones emotion in a way that none of the other forms of communication can, can all claim to have achieved the goal. But to try to say that a particular guitarist is the best is pointless.

Theres simply too many "best" guitarists out there.

I'm beginning to see the point about Hammet, and i think the above quote explains why. Hammet is a fairly decent player (IN MY OPINION! I'M NOT SAYING HE'S THE BEST!), but there are two sides to music - the performing and the writing. I think that you have made a good point UglyToe, creating music that moves someone can be seen as another goal besides the talent of actually playing the instrument. The point i am making is that Hammet is good on the performing side, but to my knowledge dosnt write much (if any) of Metallica's music (hetfield & Ulrich do it), and so all round cannot really be classed as the "best" guitarist, especially seeing as such claims have been rendered invalid.