Favorite Guitarist
 

Who's your favorite guitarist of all-time????

I'd have to say Slash, followed by Sambora, Angus Young, Kirk Hammett, and Eddie Van Halen.

Rya

Richard Stephen Sambora ~#1!!

These guys are miles behind Richie but I do like:
Vivian Campbell (ALOT! :D)
Tom Keifer
CC Deville
Brian May
Joe Perry

As far as soloing is concerned, Kee Marcello, HANDS DOWN. His solos are always melodic but still have lots of energy and speed to them. It may be a bit too cheesy for some, but oh well.
As far as the guitar work, as in little fills and such, is concerned, Richie was in fact top notch during the 80s.

Oh let me clarify before people rip on some of my choices (i.e. CC Deville) I am not claiming these guys are the greatest, most talented guitar players with the best or most difficult solos... but these are my personal favorites...

George Lynch(Dokken),Slash(Guns N Roses),Kirk Hammet(Metallica),Eddie Van Halen(Van Halen),Paul Gilbert(Mr.Big),C.C Deville(Poison)

I think everyone knows by now that mine is Mark Knopfler. I'm not saying he is the best ever, but he's definately up there. He has a very unique style. He's an old fashioned finger picker like a lot of the blues and classical musicians of the early-mid 20th century. Most rock guitarists tend to use a pick, but his unique style seems to give him his own sound. I love a lot of his complex guitar licks, solos and other compositions. He blows me away with not only the things he plays, but also the stuff he writes. I love his live material either with Dire Straits or as a solo artist because you can gurantee that he will extend the songs wherever he can and add solos and other bits and pieces. He's a genius and to see him play live was great. I just wish I could have been closer to him so I didn't have to watch his fingers through binoculars. :D


As for other players that I admire then see my signature pic, and add to that list Bryan May, Paul Kossof, Joe Perry, BB King, etc, etc. There are as I'm sure many more that are great but I haven't had the chance to experience or discover them yet. I believe Joe Satriani and Steve Vai are worth a listen but I don't really know where to start. If anyone would care to suggest any more....? :)

Both of them have a double CD anthology so start there. I prefer Satriani because his songs are more accessible and melodic.

EVH can do no wrong in my eyes. He's #1. My top 20 (not in order except Eddie is #1) would go something like:

1. EVH (God)
2. Jimmy Page (wrote great songs, cool as hell)
3. Dave Mustaine (writes great riff, incredible rhythm player)
4. Paul Gilbert (the only guitar wizard who replied to my email!)
5. Joe Perry
6. Mick Mars (don't laugh, not for his technical skills, but as far as riff writing goes, he's #2 after EVH)
7. Richie Sambora (the person who made me pick up a guitar!)
8. Angus Young
9. Slash
10. Richie Blackmore (I love both his Deep Purple shred-fests as well as the current folksy/medieval effort)
11. Joe Satriani (chops and melodic sensibilities)
12. Mark Knopfler (I'm not a big Dire Straits fan but just one listen to the outro solo of Sultans Of Swing and I worship the person).
13. Jimi Hendrix (where it all started)
14. Brian May (awesome tone)
15. James Hetfield (killer rhythm)
16. Adrian Smith (the REAL talent in Iron Maiden)
17. Steve Clark
18. Eric Johnson (I'd like to be able to play as cleanly as he can)
19. Keith Richard
20. Eric Clapton

1. Phil Collen - The guy is a genius, ever since Pyromania he has done superb solo's, intro's and riffs, probably one of the best rock players I have heard and seen.

2. Richie Sambora - He gives so much to Bon Jovi's songs, his blues rock style is mesmorising, his live intro's to songs like Wanted Dead or Alive are just pure mastercrafts and his playing on albums like These Days and Undiscovered Soul is just beautiful.

3. Slash - The solo master, all of Appetite and both Use Your Illusions are superb for his soloing and cool intro's, then Velvet Revolver's Contraband he was just pure amazing, rock guitar god in every sense.

4. Eric Clapton - The guitarist I have been most stunned by at a live show, has everything, creative genius and best rhythm player I have heard to date.

5. Joe Perry - Has loads of variety in his playing, creates awesome solo's and puts a hell of a lot of emotion into his playing, seems to have tried just about everything on the guitar and it comes of so damn good.

I suppose this list changes from time to time with guys like Steve Clark, Mark Knopfler, Eddie Van Halen and Joe Satriani all being personal favourites too.

I love Mick Mars based entirely on the fact that he looks like he's been dead for 20 years but watching him play is just amazing. When I saw them he had more energy than anyone on that stage except for Tommy Lee, and his was actually focused on playing rather than running around like a hyperactive ten year old.

Keith Richards, CC DeVille, Richie Sambora, Dweezil Zappa, and Mick are my favorites for various reasons

Keith Urban: the man opened my ears to the guitar. I honestly didn't care about guitar solos until I saw him live. "They're part of the song... that's nice...yawn... start singing again" could have summed up how excited I got about solos prior to seeing his concerts. I was completely mesmerized the first time I saw him because he does things with the instrument that I didn't know could be done. He plays with an intensity and passion that I've never seen from another artist. He makes it look like playing is as natural to him as breathing. He never seems like he's bored or going on auto-pilot or just going through the motions. When I go to his shows, I find myself anticipating what changes he'll make in the guitar parts just as much as I anticipate hearing favorite songs. His work has made me appreciate other guitarists more than I ever thought I would.