Best Guitarist

I say Brian May, of course..

but great guitarists are: E. Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Steve Vai, Slash, Jimmy Page, Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani.

For me Brian is always the best ;-)

see you are confused. You think Brian May is the best because of his writing skills, which his writing is the best of the guitarist, but overall Jimmy Page is the best =)

I'm not confused!

It's just my opinion :-)

Best Wishes!!!!!!

Freddie_Jr. wrote:

overall Jimmy Page is the best =)

You really haven't heard a lot of guitar players, then. Have a look at these lists below. Make sure you read the criteria. It's more than just their guitar playing abilities alone. If that were the case, then Jimmy Page wouldn't make the top 1000.

http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_newguitar.html
http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_guitar-spec.html
http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_guitar-all.html

There is no 'Best Guitarist.' On the list Sir GH posted, Brian May is #143, Eric Clapton #24. Brian can rock harder and faster by a mile than EC. His playing is far more versatile, he was one of the first guitarists to tap on record. He's a better guitarist in every way shape or form than Eric Clapton. Of course, Nuno Bettencourt can play circles around both of them, and he isn't on the list.

BHM 0271 wrote:

Brian can rock harder and faster by a mile than EC. His playing is far more versatile, he was one of the first guitarists to tap on record. He's a better guitarist in every way shape or form than Eric Clapton. Of course, Nuno Bettencourt can play circles around both of them, and he isn't on the list.

I disagree, Sir

Sir GH<br><h6>ah yeah</h6> wrote:

Freddie_Jr. wrote:

overall Jimmy Page is the best =)

http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_guitar-all.html

I don't think music should lower itself to "best of"'s, but this list is interesting. It uses criteria like innovation, a word that probably needs to be defined for the hard-of-understanding on this website.

Wank-words like "legendary status" however, do let it down somewhat. I agree that Django, Segovia, and the Mahavishnu, John McLaughlin should be there.

But to rank Steve Vai higher than Brian May in a survey which supposedly brings in innovation, legendary status, style, live energy...?

Surely there's a boo-boo been made here.

And where IS Pete Townshend? Where are Carl and Luther Perkins? Where is Gary Moore? (before anyone cries foul, go and listen to his 80's live album as a sampler, not this rubbish he churns out these days). Where is Michael Hedges, whom I had the pleasure of seeing as support to Suzanne Vega many years ago in the Ulster Hall?

Anyway. I'm just a woman. I shall leave these serious matters to the men-folk...

Maybe I missed this somewhere in the thread, but John Deacon did well.... Placed higher than Phil Lynott!

http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_bassguitar.html



And even Roger gets a mention
http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_drummers.html

I respectfully honour your opinion VoxAC30BM, which is why I have no use for lists. Using my criteria, EC isn't a fast enough player to play the solo for Dead on Time or It's Late (IMHO.) I think Brian is a very emotional player, moreso than EC (IMHO.) I don't think EC has ever created anything as glorious as Good Company on the guitar (IMHO.) If you listen to the new agey, acoustic tour de force on Extreme's Midnight Express, or something like Paint the town red from Mourning Widows, neither BM or EC could play that quick and clean. Does that make them inferior guitarists to Nuno Bettencourt? I don't know. I do know that Nuno can finger pick, shred, play classical and flamenco, all with speed and emotion. IMHO, that makes him a better player than BM and EC. My favourite guitarist by a mile though? Brian May. His stuff hits me like no one before or since, although Nuno is close.

eric clapton
mic ronson
brian may

BHM 0271 wrote:

I respectfully honour your opinion VoxAC30BM, which is why I have no use for lists. Using my criteria, EC isn't a fast enough player to play the solo for Dead on Time or It's Late (IMHO.) I think Brian is a very emotional player, moreso than EC (IMHO.) I don't think EC has ever created anything as glorious as Good Company on the guitar (IMHO.) If you listen to the new agey, acoustic tour de force on Extreme's Midnight Express, or something like Paint the town red from Mourning Widows, neither BM or EC could play that quick and clean. Does that make them inferior guitarists to Nuno Bettencourt? I don't know. I do know that Nuno can finger pick, shred, play classical and flamenco, all with speed and emotion. IMHO, that makes him a better player than BM and EC. My favourite guitarist by a mile though? Brian May. His stuff hits me like no one before or since, although Nuno is close.

Excuse me, "Dead on Time" isn't present in my memory at the moment but I'm asking to myself "Where is a fast part in It's Late?".
I'm sure Mr. Clapton can play it while he is asleep. Even I can !!! (only at the end, with all those downstrokes it's too fast for me...never practiced such things...cause it's meaningless)
Have you seen him playing at Live Aid (1985)?
Don't tell me that he couldn't play as fast as Brian.
I guess you don't know Eric Clapton really.

Anyway...playing fast isnt important at all.
Guitarplaying isnt an olympic sport.

Eric got the blues and can rock too.
Brian rocks.
Nuno mainly does touch-tapping. This isn't guitarplaying in my view. But of course, he can play "normal" too and sure he can play everything from Queen.

You're having a "Best Guitarist Ever" list and no one mentions Les Paul or Robert Johnson, the two who invented and perfected guitar playing?

Dimebag Daryl????? Okay kids, let the adults answer.

At least Chet Atkins was mentioned! What about Larry Carlton? Obviously the best (and most used) player of the 70s.

Shadowlands wrote:

Where is Michael Hedges, whom I had the pleasure of seeing as support to Suzanne Vega many years ago in the Ulster Hall?

Anyway. I'm just a woman. I shall leave these serious matters to the men-folk...

No need to apologize, you obviously know a lot more than a lot of people here. RIP Michael Hedges. $#@!-ing genius.

I realize that guitar playing isn't all fast VoxAC30BM, which is why I don't understand the whole 'Best Guitarist' thing. What's the criteria? I know EC doesn't play Layla at speed anymore because he acknowledged that he has trouble with the opening. I think Brian can play faster, but there's a thousand guys who play faster. Nuno taps once in a blue moon, if people know him from Extreme they may think that, but he plays all styles flawlessly. For my money, Brian plays all styles melodically and beautifully. I think he's more capable as a rock guitarist than Clapton will ever be, although I appreciate Clapton's early work in re-inventing what the electric guitar was, along with Hendrix. For the money, Brian thinks Eddie Van Halen is the best rock guitarist ever. Rolling Stone thinks Jack White of the White Stripes is a better guitarist than EVH so we're all happily right or wrong!

I think a strong reason why Brian plays more beautiful/melodic than Clapton is that Brian uses often major or minor "classic" scales, whereas Clapton restricts himself to the Blues.
I don't know if all people hear music like we do, maybe people with another cultural background find Blues more beautiful/melodic than "classic" Rock.