Best Guitarist of All Time

http://ccl.northwestern.edu/tisue/jandek-scans/covers/thumb-0751.jpg

http://www.vegas.eclipse.co.uk/images/aussie%20dave%20-%20guitarist%20vocalist.jpg

Dammit, time to rewrite the novel.

and anyone who says otherwise can get fucked.

Maybe. Maybe not.

One of my first ever posts to ILM, before coming here, was to cite Elmore Leonard as my favourite guitarist. My old pal Andrew L responded to say that he was very fond of Elmore James's crime novels. I was very embarrassed, and still don't understand how I wrote such a thing.

(Where do boys with hair like that exist IRL?)

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-11/493172/guitarist.jpg

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8611997.stm

Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante has been voted the best guitarist of the past 30 years.

Frusciante, who left the group in 2008, beat Guns n' Roses star Slash, Muse's Matt Bellamy and Johnny Marr of The Smiths to the top spot.

Prince, Jack White, Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood and REM's Peter Buck were also in the top 10. But Noel Gallagher, The Edge and Kurt Cobain missed out.

Some 30,000 people took part in BBC 6 Music's Axe Factor online poll.
...

1. John Frusciante - Red Hot Chili Peppers
2. Slash - Guns n' Roses
3. Matt Bellamy - Muse
4. Johnny Marr - The Smiths
5. Tom Morello - Rage Against The Machine
6. Kirk Hammett - Metallica
7. Jonny Greenwood - Radiohead
8. Prince
9. Jack White - White Stripes
10. Peter Buck - REM

5. Tom Morello - Rage Against The Machine

poll invalidated

weird, this isn't on ILM

lj is that because you hate ratm or you dont think morello is any good? cuz i would bet he's a better guitar player than matt bellamy.

lol Peter Buck is a terrible guitarist

matt bellamy has pretty good chops - or had, at least

ratm is just too awful to contemplate in any regard, plus dude's guitar-style was so cruddy

the only one who deserves to be in this list is prince and that is truth

I mean he's a decent enough songwriter and everything, but Peter Buck has like zero chops and nothing close to a signature sound wtf

Jack White is a pretty inventive guitar player, he definitely belongs in any list of this kind

really most of this list is okay/understandable but the exceptions are pretty glaring imho

remember its bbc 6 music listeners

Shakey do you agree with lj that tom morello is a crap guitarist with a cruddy style? (and that matt bellamy is better than he is)
No point in arguing that none of them deserve to be in the top 10 guitarists list as that goes without saying.

LJ why not give us a rundown on each guitarist in the top 10 of what you think of their guitar playing?

This should be so simple. Just count raving fanboys and tote up the winner.

John squire's better than peter buck!
Noel's a fucking strum by numbers who can't even play some of his own solo's!

I don't think I could identify a single Muse song/have never paid attention to them so have no opinion about them really.

I wouldn't say Morello's crap exactly - he has some mildly amusing tricks - but I don't really have any time for RATM. they're just a car-crash of bad aesthetic decisions.

agreed that Squire is way ahead of most of these jokers. Noel is also a pretty boring guitarist.

No point in arguing that none of them deserve to be in the top 10 guitarists list as that goes without saying.

dude, fucking Prince

yeah I rate Prince pretty highly even if his recent output is dire

also, where's bernard butler, great sound and style!

lol Peter Buck is a terrible guitarist

― Shamandy Warhol (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, April 9, 2010

wat?

come on lj give us your rundown!
(then give us your top 10 guitarists list)

Peter Buck's playing on the first few REM albums is fantastic: folk-rock jangle energised by post-punk. He's a great example of a guitarist who makes the most of his limitations. Some of the stuff on Reckoning is quite ingenious. He's not a 'great' guitar player though, and he's been fairly lazy in recent years.

It's a pretty boring list. People have just chosen their favourite bands. Only Prince really belongs on there. Maybe Jonny Greenwood. I quite enjoy Matt Bellamy's ridiculous playing on a comedy level, but nah. Squier is wanky as fuck and fairly derivative - the rhythm section are the Stone Roses' real.
heroes. Glad the Edge didn't make it on there. Most overrated guitarist of all time.
So who's been missed out? King Sunny Ade, Lee & Thurston, Neil Hagerty, Marnie Stern, Mark Ribot, Andy Gill, Eddie Van Halen, Niles Rogers, Keiji Haino...

1. John Frusciante - Red Hot Chili Peppers - not heard much RHCP (not a great fan) but dude's clearly pretty good - his work with The Mars Volta is genuinely impressive
2. Slash - Guns n' Roses - good flashy hard-rock guitarist, the occasional killer solo, quite perceptive
3. Matt Bellamy - Muse - has had some stellar moments, especially on Muse's 2nd and 3rd albums, but really isn't as good as his fans think. Better pianist than guitarist
4. Johnny Marr - The Smiths - obviously has a fine technique, and a very good grasp of subtlety and cadence. Tends to be a songwriter's dream rather than his own man, though - has never made me fall out of my seat (aside from on 'Good Morning Beautiful')
5. Tom Morello - Rage Against The Machine - baaaaaaaauuuuugh
6. Kirk Hammett - Metallica - sure Metallica are quite good - he can presumably play some mean guitar
7. Jonny Greenwood - Radiohead - good but not great - again, like Bellamy, best found behind a synth
8. Prince - godlike
9. Jack White - White Stripes - plays grunge and hard-rock equally well, and adds a neat personal stamp - not *amazing* though
10. Peter Buck - REM - cba

The White Stripes guitar work doesn't sound anything like grunge or 'hard rock' to me. I guess he gets a rap for aping Led Zeppelin, but it's not like he's playing AC/DC (which is the prototypical hard rock sound to me). He's much, uh, noisier than either of those much of the time.

squire was wanky later on, you can't call shoot you down and bye bye badman wanky, tis beautiful guitaring!
agree with the roses rhythm section, they were solid live, but half credit goes to squire for writing bass lines!

Cheers LJ, cant wait to see your top 10 best guitarists list!
xp

Can't believe Noel Gallagher missed out. And then there's Bonehead, and I think Liam plays guitar on one or two tracks too.

so i guess according to the BBC acoustic guitar doesnt count then.

i hate that list, but i hate most lists like this so

only 2 on there i agree with are Jack White and Prince (people totally sleep on JW by the way, hes one of the only recent guitar players to make me go completely O_O a good percentage of the time)

I should listen to The White Stripes more tbh - JW does some pretty odd things quite often (lol Icky Thump)

yeah watching JW play live is pretty remarkable - he jumps from simple pop hooks to noise to fleet-fingered blues riffing with amazing dexterity

I dont play guitar so have no idea how good guitarists are technically, so it's good sometimes to see who people rate highly that aren't the usual vai,satriani,van halen etc (metal guitarists just only ever seem to rate metal guitarists and ignore everything else "oh but he's a jazz guitarist/drummer etc")
Of course this list, is as someone said above, just people voting for the guitarist in their fave band.

Another vote for Jack White being great. I love Lindsay Buckingham too, but I guess he must be too 70s for this list.

possible ignored peeps:

Leo Kottke
Rodrigo y Gabriela (really just pick one - my choice is Gabriella tho)

xpost Buckingham is a great choice as well

i'm sure i am alone in thinking this, and it's more for a vibe and feeling than technique per se, but i'll mention rodrigo y gabriela. he's amazingly quick and nimble, especially given how he attacks the notes, and her rhythm playing (with all that precussive knocking) is breathtaking.

ugh. . . wow, timing.

and yeah, i'd say buckingham, too.

re: Satriani/Vai/Van Halen. that's just genre prejudices in the way. I don't expect JW to whip out any jazz chords or black metal scales but that's beside point. no genre is "more difficult" than any other, they all have rules. it's what you do with those rules that's interesting. I don't rate Satriani or Vai really because their material sucks, it's as simple as that. Its not a question of how many notes per second you can play or whatever, it's not a race...

xp

(also "all time" /= the last 30 years, does it? unless I'm missing something)

jj do you still work in a guitar centre? if so, who are the biggest influences for your customers? I guess Clapton for the oldies but who for everyone else?

oh hahahaha no no no i dont work in a guitar center, i own my own guitar store

clapton is def slipping, let me think about who i hear a lot about and ill get back to you

re: Satriani/Vai/Van Halen. that's just genre prejudices in the way. I don't expect JW to whip out any jazz chords or black metal scales but that's beside point. no genre is "more difficult" than any other, they all have rules. it's what you do with those rules that's interesting.

of course it works both ways, many will look down on metal just as the metal dudes look down on everything else.

ahh ok, I didn't know that, it's just that one time you mentioned working in some guitar centre (think it was the monster cables thread)

Rick Bishop
Tom Verlaine (yes, even today)

Really drawing a blank on who else I could put in my list. Jeff Buckley would be there. Bernard Butler and Nick McCabe too probably. Otherwise the metal dudes can have the rest I guess.

my personal "all time" list would be fairly conventional, I think: Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi, Eddie Hazel, Prince, definitely Hagerty (who's mentioned upthread somewhere - that guy is unbelievable and totally slept on), Joao Gilberto, Django Rinehart, Kevin Shields... I guess it would be a pretty long list actually haha

xp

i may have mentioned how guitar center dudes are by and large clueless and should not be trusted? ive been working in the same store since i was 14 (family business, y'all), so def not a guitar center survivor, thank god. xxxposts

Personal FAVOURITE (electric, Western-style) guitarists (because lol I'm not touching them acoustickers - many of whom are better than anyone I'll mention here) of the last 30 years:

1) Aaron With
2) Tim Smith
3) Grasshopper
4) Trey Spruance
5) Toby Driver
6) Mark Hollis
7) Kim Thayil
8) Chris Olley
9) Kavus Torabi
10) Brian Futter

Guitar Center is such a fucking joke. occasionally I have to buy something from there but god forbid I listen to any of the employees about anything. basically have had to figure things out for myself.

Fair enough. I didn't realise Squire wrote the basslines. That would explain why Mani isn't particularly impressive on Primal Scream records. Then again, he doesn't have a lot to work with!

I was being unfair to Johnny Marr. He certainly deserves to be on there. He's my favourite thing about the Smiths. It's a shame that the indie-pop guitarists who rip him off lack his range or ability to soak up diverse influences - the post-chorus run in Bigmouth Strikes Again shows an African influence, while the dramatic sighs of How Soon Is Now are incredible. And of course there's This Charming Man, which is just perfect.

Who else can we add? Jack Rose (RIP), Sir Richard Bishop, Howe Gelb, Mick Barr, Eugene Chadbourne, Trey Spruance...

no offense intended to guitar center employees, its just that no one with a modicum of knowledge/skill would work for the insanely low wages they pay, but this is all more suited for another thread, so i will shut up now.

xpost oh yuck lj, kim thayil, rlly? trey spruance is amazing tho

so is it like massively unfashionable to say that you still like Joe Satriani

jj, while you compile your customers influences, fancy moving this thread to ILM? I'm sure it would be of more interest over there? Im sure the original poster wont mind (if he's still here)

dan you like joe satriani?

PRESTO!

kim thayil, rlly?

Rlly. If I'd only heard 'Like Suicide' he'd be in.

d boon

I like Kim Thayil.

cheers jj

I used to think Satriani was more than technique, but not anymore. I wouldn't put Van Halen in with the rest of the weedle-weedle crew, because he's too self taught and idiosyncratic. Same as Buckingham, come to think of it, and not coincidentally both of them tend to stump (relatively speaking) my pretty hot shit guitar teacher (who can otherwise figure out everything from Fripp to Carlton to Thompson). He thinks Slash is slop-city, btw, and as much as he loves Prince points out the flashiest stuff he does is a lot of smoke and mirrors. He loves Prince's rhythm playing, though, on stuff like "Lady Cab Driver" and "Controversy."

Esp. for a UK list, Greenwood being MIA is nuts. That dude is so good he doesn't even need to play guitar anymore. Bellamy wishes his sci-fi Meatloaf rock was at that level.

Oh, and those who know would say Robert Quine.

god i hate soundgarden. coloring my reaction prob but srsly god i hate hate hate that fucking band

One of my fave guitarists hasn't been mentioned yet (since thread revival, he may have been mentioned upthread) Michael Karoli.

xps

hehe jj i love soundgarden

oh and dave navarro on the janes albums is godlike

have never heard of like half the guys on lj's list btw

given how much our tastes converge, it is probably the band we disagree on most! altho they're certainly not in my top-rank. or in the ranks immediately below.

SMC, some of them are British and a few of them are pretty obscure indie types who nonetheless wield a finer axe than most

Navarro's pre-reunion Jane's stuff is next level, but he's sorta buried that with the avalanche of shit that is the rest of his career so I can't place him on any "best of" of anything.

didn't even know Mark Hollis played guitar tbh haha

what the hell, I had a post on this thread that vanished

it basically said "I liked Joe Satriani in high school, which was the last time I really paid attention to guitar players"

30 years does not quite extend back to the heyday of Danny Fichelscher, sadly, but dude was awesome.

my list would probably be robert quine and... that's about it. robert quine.

don't mind john frusciante being on the list tho, he's a really great guitar player, very inventive and creative, always a lot going on with relatively simple elements, cool passing chords and a little extra harmonic flavor. not that i like his band very much, mind.

lol xp to SMC...The guitar is so central to the vision on those last 3 TT albums...cdnt rly have been anyone else, although dude was equally adept at keys obv

neither google nor wikipedia are helping me out on Aaron With. who he?

Not sure if this is his best performance (haven't seen it yet!) but this is a great song and it does require some fairly groovy guitar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFKsTn5ul88&feature=related

M Hollis gtr work on those records is awesome and literally inimitable.

Also, ppl, Andy Summers, not kidding. One of my all time faves.

And Kimberly Rew as far as freakout psych-blues in a pop frame.

David Byrne and/or Jerry Harrison - not sure who did what, where

john fahey

Noones talking about the actual list now as the 1st post of the revive is off the page now. So I'll repost it for those who didn't see it while the thread was on ILE.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8611997.stm

Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante has been voted the best guitarist of the past 30 years.

Frusciante, who left the group in 2008, beat Guns n' Roses star Slash, Muse's Matt Bellamy and Johnny Marr of The Smiths to the top spot.

Prince, Jack White, Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood and REM's Peter Buck were also in the top 10. But Noel Gallagher, The Edge and Kurt Cobain missed out.

Some 30,000 people took part in BBC 6 Music's Axe Factor online poll.
...

1. John Frusciante - Red Hot Chili Peppers
2. Slash - Guns n' Roses
3. Matt Bellamy - Muse
4. Johnny Marr - The Smiths
5. Tom Morello - Rage Against The Machine
6. Kirk Hammett - Metallica
7. Jonny Greenwood - Radiohead
8. Prince
9. Jack White - White Stripes
10. Peter Buck - REM

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Friday, 9 April 2010 19:09

Kevin Shields.

Andy from Dog Faced Hermans. Would seriously go see any band if he's in it.

http://www.ohrwaschl.de/shop/ProductImages/holden%20pop2.jpg

Paul Leary
Buckethead

Here's a better one of Aaron With (last one, promise):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyQplf_QVPk&feature=related

paul leary and andy from DFH, yes

amazing a thread could get this far without

link wray
dick dale

this revive was for a 'last 30 years' best-of tho

thread pedant

east bay ray

srsly, I wish there was an instrumental version of plastic surgery disasters

lj noone is interested in the bbc 6 music poll, they prefer to list. Its ILM!

i am surprised though that 6music listeners left out Squire & Butler though.

Squire does seem like a weird ommission given the Roses' tendency to win "best album ever" polls in the UK and whatnot

maybe 6music listeners are younger so dont remember the roses, though i doubt it.

Fuck that shit

1. Ted Falconise
2. Paul O Leary Walt
3. Kirt Kirbkwood
$. Kevin Shilediosis
5. Robert Mould
6. Col Ginn
7. Werbert Pajo
8. Andrew ridgeley
9. Nick harper
10. Chris Hersht

Nels Cline

David Shouse

Mark Kozeleck

without the c

Lol btw, where I said "Joe Satriani" could you actually substitute "Steve Vai" because that is who I actually meant

no love for steve stevens, billy idol's guitarist in the 80s?

pretty amazing, iirc, tho i stick with my choices upthread.

Tim Kerr

i will absolutely second andy summers, if you could surgically remove sting from the police you have one of the best duos ever

Depending on criteria -- chops, technique, innovative qualities, the dreaded 'influence" -- you could make arguments for a lot of different guitar players, such as John Martyn, Blixa Bargeld, Neil Young, Steve Howe, etc, etc...

Also, an observation: only dudes seem to get included in these lists and only dudes seem to care.

maybe, but fwiw, my vote was for gabriela, of rodrigo y gabriela.

Nancy fucking Wilson.

manics fella can hold his own, he also did all of the suicide (maybe he did maybe he didn't)(4 real) guys parts in the studio too!

also, nick drake?
technically brilliant, but that was part of his downfall, live shows boring, people lost interest because he's spending time between songs with weird tuning.

Lol btw, where I said "Joe Satriani" could you actually substitute "Steve Vai" because that is who I actually meant

unlike Satriani, Vai has actually played on decent records (primarily early DLR solo) so he gets a little bit of a pass from me

Also, an observation: only dudes seem to get included in these lists and only dudes seem to care.
― Lostandfound, Friday, 9 April 2010 23:31 (9 minutes ago)

Yip, very true, a big circle jerk going on here -- a bit like the "what's yer fave solo" thread.

*unzips trews* ....ahem....

Neil Young

what makes "best guitarist of all time"
song writing skills
technique
sound
originality... etc

Also, an observation: only dudes seem to get included in these lists and only dudes seem to care.

a few women have been cited already but its no mystery that the vast vast majority of guitarists, and particularly lead guitarists, are male. I love plenty of female musicians but most of them don't have any interest in coming off as guitar virtuosos (some exceptions to this, of course, primarily in the metal world - Nancy Wilson, Lita Ford, etc.) All those riot grrrls played lots of loud guitars but the only ones who seemed to really rise above the general squall as far as technical chops go would be Sleater-Kinney, I imagine...? Was never blown away by any of the guitar playing on Bikini Kill or Huggy Bear records.

Joan Jett and Dolly Parton are amazing songwriters/performers but I don't really rate either's guitar picking as all that special, for ex.

Hearty assent to Nick Drake, amazing technique, amazing style. A bunch of guys from that brit pastoral tradition not being mentioned in this thread. Jansch etc.

Have never heard Kaki King but she seems to get the plaudits?

eh never been that impressed by Nick Drake - half the songs on Pink Moon use the same melodic trick over and over for ex. Someone like Jansch is obviously next level but lolz thought this hypothetical listing was strictly electric...?

I was doing the 6 music 30 yr.

Should read thread title

Fahey and Drake without a doubt

Baden Powell (not the Boy Scout guy but the Brazilian bossa nova guitarist named after him). Dude had an such a delicate and soulful touch that listening to it makes me want to cry. I'm generally not a guitar fanatic, but Baden Powell's Canto on Guitar is one of my favourite albums ever.

it's worth pointing out that i'm not really a guitar jock kind of guy. most of my favorite male musicians are not virtuosos, or even guitar players at all

there is a sociological issue/path dependence problem where guitar jock-ism is not a route for young women, tho, it's true.

And Bert J

Right, I'm off to shoot owls

There are a ton of great guitarists, from David Byrne to Wilko Johnson to Link Wray, who were massively influentially, but perhaps better known for a sound or style than actual technique. And in terms of influence alone, yeah, those sorts of would be totally different from "best" lists. So basically ...

It's Clive Langer.

Rick Didjit from da Didjits
Stan Lee Dickies

Stuart Hall

strengthened my pathetique boner

richard lloyd

Richard Lloyd deserves more props. Until I saw Television live, I assumed all the big solos were Verlaine, but no, many of them are Lloyd. Verlaine is great and tends to do the weirder, more angular stuff, but the super-heroic soaring solos are Lloyd.

If this is best guitarist of all time, as opposed to the 6Music 30 years thing, then the possibilities are limitless. But here are a few all time favourites:

Sonny Sharrock, especially when he does the slide freakouts.

Richard Thompson, especially once he switched to a Strat and developed this amazing drone and twang sound. The guitar breaks on When I Get To The Border are incredible, and his solo in Shoot Out The Lights is angular, spiky and vicious.

Eddie Hazel. Funkadelic axe god. Super Stupid, Maggot Brain...

John Martyn, a brilliant acoustic picker, but particularly of note for his inspired use of echo and volume swells. Small Hours is heartbreakingly beautiful. Gotta love his synth guitar experiments too. Smooooth.

The mysterious Nicholas of Love, Cry, Want... INCREDIBLE free jazz/rock from the mid 70s. Dude plays a prototype synth guitar. Completely wild ring mod damaged freakouts over Gallivan's percussion and Larry Young's keyboards.

Neil Young, John McLaughlin, Steve Howe, Ernest Ranglin, Mick Green, Jimi Hendrix, Steve Cropper, J Mascis, D Boon, Carlos Alomar, Mick Ronson, Paul Leary, Tony Iommi, George Harrison, Robbie Robertson, Keith Levene...

^^^only good list in this revive

list pfunkboy posted to start the revive is just a sad fucking commentary on the state of guitar playing in music ppl actually listen to

hey dont blame me!! ;)

lol i didn't, just sayin dogg

like i stan hard for a lot of r.e.m. but buck's guitar rep is entirely based on like one thing he did in the early 80s

muse guy and radiohead guy are insane britisher picks

Larry Coryell, based on his first few solo albums and some of what preceded them. Weird that he doesn't appear earlier in this thread...

Radiohead guy is really good, come on. If we're talking technique, the actual best guitarists are probably noodling behind the counters in guitar stores, or playing lutes in orchestras tbh. The best I ever saw was a young guy playing flamenco in a bar in Jerez, I'll cast for him.

Also Oranthi Panagaris, if you want female virtuosity.

No love here for Michael Timmins?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeaBNAXfHfQ

i dig that clip. also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoq6_2xnQeY&feature=player_embedded

These lists are so frustrating because as noted earlier, they're basically just lists of people's favorite guitarists.

So I'll do the same. If I had to make a short list it would look something like:

John McGeoch (Johnny Marr would rally for him before himself)
Peter Koppes/Marty Willson-Piper (OK I'm biased here)
Ed Kuepper (those who only know him from The Saints really need to listen to Laughing Clowns/solo albums)
Nick McCabe

Forgot Michaels Karoli and Rother! Also, Derek Bailey, Joe Morris, Robbie Basho, Steffan Bash Jungans, Sandy Bull, John Renbourne, Ike Turner, Curtis Mayfield...

Ooh, Ben Chasny.

If I was going to pick best female guitarist, I would say Charo.

This should be so simple. Just count raving fanboys and tote up the winner.

― Aimless, Friday, 9 April 2010 19:34 (4 days ago) Bookmark

the only three people I can listen to play an extended guitar solo are Prince, Eddie Hazel and Frank Zappa, fwiw

There is a lack of Uli Roth on this thread. A sad, sad lack.

wow, horror director, actor and master guitarist; is there anything he can't do?

Har, Har. Ulrich Jon Roth - that better? The link between Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen.

and in the Britpop category, rampaging at the fore are Martin Carr and Graham Coxon

The whole thread premise is kind of dumb. It was a C-Man thread, that should have tipped everyone. Best in a certain style? Proficient in the most styles? It's too broad; confuses "favorite" with "best," which is a crock no matter what xhuxk says.

That said, Whiney's post did prompt me to go listen to "Holiday in Berlin (Full Blown)" this morning. Fantastic solo.

http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/image/George_Formby_2781317.jpg

Got a soft spot for Manuel Gottsching and Gabor Szabo.

Whom, by the way, haven't been mentioned at all on this thread. Shame on you ilx.

I would have mentioned both had I ever heard of either.

Gabor Szabo's pretty amazing, sorta Django Rinehart v 2.0

Thanks for saving ILX from eternal shame, SMC.

love this album cover
http://www.shugarecords.com/images/records/69ed8649-e5ae-4ba5-acdd-4fcc04a97c7e-0.JPG

the answer to this is is, btw, Jonny Greenwood, and idgaf

-is

will anyone high-five me for randy holden?

I like that one Blue Cheer record he's on

i used to be all "i like song structures, nuffa that guitar wank" and then i heard population ii.

Anyone with a bit of oversight care to tell me if Rory Gallagher is ranked up there at all? We make a big fuss of him over here, but then it's really him, The Edge or Tim Wheeler so there's not much option.

I think he used to be

The Edge?

that welsh guy in U2

Johnny Marr

Carlos Alomar
Andy Gill
Jimi Hendrix
Tom Verlaine
Lonnie Johnson

Dave Gregory from XTC is the secret agent man

Charo otm

Randy Rhoads
Robert Fripp
Robert Johnson

though it's really

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBi6hBrpgqQ

Hendrix is the best sloppiest guitar player, beats any other classic rock guitarist for style alone. He played with such soul and feeling that every wrong note he played sounded right. Kinda wish more black people cared enough to get involved in rock music, seems that right after laying the roots of rock they just lost interest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCQBbgb_Lvo

Also:

Bill Frisell
Daniel Lanois
Ry Cooder

Davie Allan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgXHchnQtt8

Hendrix had a direct connection to the Muse

i don't think anyone's mentioned the amazing slate of early blues guitarists, e.g., blind willie johnson; blind blake; scrapper blackwell; miss. john hurt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxovd6tS8mk

Grant Green Classic Or Dud?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E1qCAPJJPE

my favorite noisy guitar album is "Axis: Bold as Love"

electric guitar it's obviously Hendrix, no one comes close

acoustic guitar... I submit Elliott Smith:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBKAADRzqsc

I don't know if I'd say Steve Vai in a walk, but I think you could at least say he's...VAI-ING FOR THE TOP SPOT!

lol psych I hate that guy

As far as guy who astonishes me most while still being enjoyable to listen to, it might be either Django Reinhardt or this guy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqdsiXSfEyQ

like I cannot fathom ever being able to play what he plays no matter how much I practiced

As far as pure musicality and touch, I'd say Jim Hall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZF74lQ0kMs

As far as people who expanded the sonic vocabulary of guitar while also just being awesome players, Hendrix is still it for me.

My favorite fingerpicker in terms of sound, style and technique is Rev Gary Davis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fpPgo4Deo4