One reason why greatest guitarist lists are redundant

[Barking Spiders]

I guess you might've just woken from cryogenic freezing if you weren't aware of Rolling Stone's latest opus of $hyt3, its 250 Greatest Guitarists list 😁. When it comes to these there's only one criterion that should be a qualifying factor, and it's not 'influence', the most overused word when it comes to make any judgement about anything. Adolf was 'influential'. Kim Kardashian's 'influential'. That criterion is how well someone can play which encompasses technique, feel, tone, clarity, fluency, choice of notes in improvisation, the whole kit and caboodle. My own 'mental' greatest players list include the likes of Danny Gatton, Chet Atkins, Leo Kottke, Albert Lee, George Benson, Paco de Lucia and Tommy Emmanuel. BTW Hendrix isn't even in my top 50, which is topped by this guy. In a just world he'd top all greatest guitarist lists but as it is he's not really known outside of country music. 

 

 

 

[TheGreek]

One of my favourite guitarists is Wes Montgomery. 

I don't think I have ever seen his name on a list of greatest guitarists. 

[paul_5]

My personal favourites are Ler from Primus and Vernon Reid from Living Colour, they don’t feature highly in those kind of lists either.

[Doctor J]

A lot of the people on that Rolling Stone list are greatness-challenged which makes their presence on such a list a bit of a puzzle, other than meeting some sort of positive discrimination criteria decreed at boardroom level.

[LowB_FTW]

17 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

One of my favourite guitarists is Wes Montgomery. 

I don't think I have ever seen his name on a list of greatest guitarists. 

#82, 

 

Mark

[LowB_FTW]

17 minutes ago, paul_5 said:

My personal favourites are Ler from Primus and Vernon Reid from Living Colour, they don’t feature highly in those kind of lists either.

Vernon Reid is #42

 

Mark

[Bolo]

Greatest guitar player is like greatest dog owner. Very nice for those directly involved. The broad world could care less but it'd have to put in some effort.

[GuyR]

It’s just meaningless click bait nonsense from an increasingly irrelevant dinosaur publication.

[cetera]

No Terry Kath on the list, no credibility....

[tegs07]

They are just a bit of entertainment rather than being meaningful in any way. The best guitarist is highly subjective and also requires that they are well known so usually rock guitarists.

Carlos Santana is a great (rock) guitarist but I wouldn’t put him on any list as I wish he wouldn’t endlessly widdle over every song. Others may disagree.

Edited November 9, 2023 by tegs07

[Supernaut]

I can't think of another guitarist who had a greater impact on not only the music but the image and influence on the genre. Hendrix is number one for a reason. 

[asingardenof]

15 hours ago, Barking Spiders said:

I guess you might've just woken from cryogenic freezing if you weren't aware of Rolling Stone's latest opus of $hyt3, its 250 Greatest Guitarists list 😁. When it comes to these there's only one criterion that should be a qualifying factor, and it's not 'influence', the most overused word when it comes to make any judgement about anything. Adolf was 'influential'. Kim Kardashian's 'influential'. That criterion is how well someone can play which encompasses technique, feel, tone, clarity, fluency, choice of notes in improvisation, the whole kit and caboodle. My own 'mental' greatest players list include the likes of Danny Gatton, Chet Atkins, Leo Kottke, Albert Lee, George Benson, Paco de Lucia and Tommy Emmanuel. BTW Hendrix isn't even in my top 50, which is topped by this guy. In a just world he'd top all greatest guitarist lists but as it is he's not really known outside of country music. 

 

All "influencers" should really be called "advertisers".

[TheGreek]

16 hours ago, LowB_FTW said:

#82, 

 

Mark

 

I rate him much higher than that....I haven't even heard of some of those above him - the list is meaningless.

[LowB_FTW]

4 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

the list is meaningless.

They always are.

I still like going through them though, more often than not there's people I haven't heard of, which allows me to go and check their stuff.

 

Mark

[Skybone]

16 hours ago, GuyR said:

It’s just meaningless click bait nonsense from an increasingly irrelevant dinosaur publication.

Hitting the nail on the head.

[Barking Spiders]

I've checked out a lot of unfamiliar names outside the top 50 whom I'd never heard of, mostly happened to be indie bands,women and bluesy/folk players from way back in history.  I gave a fair listen to recommended tracks but all those in the indie/punk/alt bands and soul/funk are IMO 100% mediocre. Nothing in their playing made my jaw drop or sit up and think 'wow'. On the plus side I give 👍to Etta James and Molly Tuttle, both of whom are excellent but then there are many other ground breaking fingerstyle and flatpicking players respectively that are even better.

 

Dare I say it but the list smacks of wokery. E.g there's some non-binary person called El Kempner from some pretty dire indie/punk outfit called Palehound. Not impressive. There are some blind players but then Jeff Healey smokes all of them and he's not included.

 

Unsurprisingly, the list of contributors includes no players of any note. They're just music hacks for an increasingly irrelevant rag that's decades past its sell-by date and clearly are trying to get attention with their clickbait lists. And it's working to some extent though I won't be subscribing. 

Edited November 9, 2023 by Barking Spiders

[Barking Spiders]

5 hours ago, Supernaut said:

I can't think of another guitarist who had a greater impact on not only the music but the image and influence on the genre. Hendrix is number one for a reason. 

 Yeah but mainly because he was active in a  music genre made popular by radio and other music media in English speaking countries. If classical, jazz, folk or country had the same degree of mass appeal then we might be talking about Segovia, Joe Pass, John Fahey or Chet Atkins instead as the GOAT

 

Sort of related in a blues rock vein. I've never much cared for blues rock guitar but I've come across two young guys who've converted me a bit Kingfish Ingram and Gary Clark Jnr. Excellent stuff they're doing.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Barking Spiders

[EliasMooseblaster]

2 hours ago, Barking Spiders said:

 Yeah but mainly because he was active in a  music genre made popular by radio and other music media in English speaking countries. If classical, jazz, folk or country had the same degree of mass appeal then we might be talking about Segovia, Joe Pass, John Fahey or Chet Atkins instead as the GOAT

 

Sort of related in a blues rock vein. I've never much cared for blues rock guitar but I've come across two young guys who've converted me a bit Kingfish Ingram and Gary Clark Jnr. Excellent stuff they're doing.

It probably just further confirms that these list are just a lazy way to fill column inches, but hasn't Rolling Stone been a fairly pop/rock-oriented magazine from the off? So it wouldn't surprise me if they focus chiefly on rock and its subgenres, while paying lip service to Jazz, Country, Blues, Folk, etc - the likes of John Fahey or Davey Graham probably flicker into their peripheral vision only occasionally. Their main crime is being sloppy with the title - "greatest rock guitarists" would probably appease most of us - but then it wouldn't attract as many clicks!

[Rosie C]

No Ritchie Blackmore? 

 

[jgmh315]

Derek Trucks for me.

[Barking Spiders]

3 hours ago, EliasMooseblaster said:

It probably just further confirms that these list are just a lazy way to fill column inches, but hasn't Rolling Stone been a fairly pop/rock-oriented magazine from the off? So it wouldn't surprise me if they focus chiefly on rock and its subgenres, while paying lip service to Jazz, Country, Blues, Folk, etc - the likes of John Fahey or Davey Graham probably flicker into their peripheral vision only occasionally. Their main crime is being sloppy with the title - "greatest rock guitarists" would probably appease most of us - but then it wouldn't attract as many clicks!

And that's the problem with pretty much all 'greatest guitarist/bassist/whatever' lists , that rock and blues are the default genres and others count for pretty much nowt. Even old Rick Beato's channel is largely geared towards rock and blues although there's the occasional article on / interview with a jazzer e.g. John Scofield and Keith Jarrett. I wonder how highly rated rockers like Hendrix, Beck EVH, Vai, Malmsteen and young guns like Abasi and Henson would able to match top jazz, flamenco or country players.

[Paul S]

The whole notion of 'Greatest' anything is complete nonsense.  How can anybody make meaningful comparisons of virtuosity/influence in one genre over another?  One decade from another?  Impossible.

[leschirons]

The greatest guitarist for me personally,

Is the one that DOESN'T, constantly widdle in between numbers, or play far too loud at rehearsals or demand that everything gets done in keys that avoid an Eb chord.

[Baloney Balderdash]

I don't think it exactly is any well kept secret among people who actually knows anything about playing music that these types lists are pure bull crap, and that a more accurately descriptive name for them would be "Most popular [X instrumentalists]".

 

I still think these types of lists still got entertainment value though.

 

Edited November 10, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[Cato]

Might seem slightly odd from someone who's spent a fair chunk of my life both playing with guitarists and as a guitar player myself but a while ago I came to the conclusion that there's only really two guitarists I genuinely enjoy hearing solo for more than about 30 seconds.

 

Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd and J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.

 

Very different players and probably not the most technically profficient but in terms of listenability and 'playing for the song' for me no one else gets close.

Edited November 10, 2023 by Cato