Best Lead Guitarist of All Time..

[Leper_Affinity]

Thought this would be an interesting one.

Who would you vote to be the best lead guitarist of all time? I have tried to include as many guitarists relevant to this as I can, avoiding some of the cliched rock guitarists.

If your favourites not on the list, please tell us which guitarist/artist and a good song that embodies this talent.

 

[zakk_hate_me_666]

which list>? where?

 

[in limbow]

me=confused

 

[Leper_Affinity]

sorry, i took a bit to post up the poll..

Go nuts!

 

[in limbow]

Where is Hendrix on the list?? Whether he's cliched or not, he's clearly the best, most innovative of all time... Listen to "Machine Gun" live at the Fillmore East and it's obvious he rises above Page's penatonic blues sloppiness or Hammet's repetitive fast leads

 

[Jon Snow]

Jimmy Page bitches.

 

[gr1m and tr00]

Jeff Hanneman should not be on the list

 

[Jaxe]

You left two of my all time fav guitarists off the list!

Jeff Loomis (Nevermore)
http://www.jeffloomis.com/sounds/jeff-16.mp3

and

Michael Romeo (Symphony X)
http://www.symphonyx.com/audio.html

If you get a chance to watch Romeo's instructional video you will be blown away. For a dude with fat-as fingers he sure can move.

 

[gatedropper]

Allan Holdsworth
Scott Henderson
SRV
john Mcguahlin(sp)
Alvin Lee
Ted Nugent
Charlie Christian
Tab Farlow
Al Demiola
ect.

 

[Stimuli]

obviously no poll is going to encompass every guitarist all of us think is significant...

there are so many insane guitarists that are arguably better than the people in this poll... out of these choices... i chose John Petrucci... but was about to choose Satch... they are all awesome tho...

 

[KJones]

obviously no poll is going to encompass every guitarist all of us think is significant...

No, but even so you really missed a few here that SHOULD have been on the list. The main obvious guy missing is:

CARL AUGUST TIDEMANN

Although he is not as known as some here, I think anyone who has heard him would argue that he is better than a lot of the ppl on that list.

Oh and if you don't know Carl August Tidemann, check out the older Arcturus releases and every Winds release.

 

[KJones]

Mikael Akerfeldt -> I like his solos, but even so Mikael is NOT the world's best lead guitarist. He's not even in the top 10. I love his playing though, but he's mostly a rhythm guitarist and if you ask him he'll be the first one to admit it.

Kirk Hammett -> Only reason anyone thinks Kirk Hammett is the world's best is because he plays in Metallica. Metallica is (or at least used to be) an awesome band, but Hamster sucks as a solo guitarist. Hetfield, now there's someone who can play.

Dimebag Darrell -> Awesome guitar player, but again mostly known for his rhythm playing, although he did some great leads too. Not world's best.

Slash -> As far as being the world's best, seeing Slash on this list is a joke!

Joe Satriani -> He can definitely play! Among the world's top 10.

Yngwie Malmsteen -> I am not a fan, but he is among the world's top 5 for sure. No one can shred like Yngwie.

Devin Townsend -> Probably learned a lot from Vai, but no lead guitarist.

John Petrucci -> My vote for world's best goes to Petrucci. If you've ever seen him play you'll know why.

Peter Lingdren -> Probably not as technical of a lead guitarist as Mikael but still he plays a nice lead guitar.

Not on the list:
Carl August Tidemann -> Among the world's top 5, hands down.

Not on the list:
Steve Vai -> God of all things shred!

 

[Reveries]

sure malmsteen is fast, but he'll nver have the soul and style of mikael

 

[R0l0]

lol @ akerfeldt and lindgren even being selections on this list.

 

[black_tooth_grin]

You forgot Dave Mustaine.

 

[Reveries]

Dave Mustaine>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Metallica

 

[Brackofthemountain]

I think you guys were missing the point...

It's not about the ability to shred, or blast the pentatonic scales, or whatsoever play like Yngvie Fucking Malmsteen(I actually think that's his middle name now... Fucking), but it's more about the craft of writing and creating music. I listen to Opeth a lot more than I do Steve Vai's work, only because there's a lot more meaning behind Mike's solos. Sure, there's meaning behind Steve Vai, but he's so fucking fast that I can't even catch anything he's playing. It just sounds like he's masturbating to his guitar... which doesn't really mean I don't like him, but I just prefer Opeth over anybody who can "shred" on guitar... You've also got Jeff Loomis from Nevermore who does the same thing as Vai, but he also creates story and doesn't focus on solos being 24/7(good fucking thing Warrel Dane is vocals^_^). I think on part is that a lead is just an accessory of a song. It only adds character to the story that's being portrayed across as music.

Akerfeldt, Darrell and Page are my top 3...

 

[Reveries]

Exactly, i give credit to guys who can make there guitars sound like video games i just prefer a group that vocuses on every band member rather than having a front man.

 

[KJones]

I think you guys were missing the point...

It's not about the ability to shred, or blast the pentatonic scales, or whatsoever play like Yngvie Fucking Malmsteen(I actually think that's his middle name now... Fucking), but it's more about the craft of writing and creating music.

Hey I hear you, and I couldn't agree more. That's why I said I like Mikael's playing, but as far as being the "best" lead guitarist, I don't agree. But then again I don't see him as a lead guitarist at all, he's just an all-round great musician.

But just so you know, there are a lot faster players out there than Yngwie, and the reason why Yngwie is famous is because of his excellent tonality on the lead guitar. This is the same reason why I don't think Satriani is one of my favorites, don't like his style even though he's technically good.

This is the same reason why I really really like Carl August Tidemann, cause of his melodies and the soul in this guitar, although he can compete with the fastest out there for sure.

 

[NFU]

that list is absolutely pathetic. theres only 2 id even consider capable of being on such a list...but not even close to filling that spot. and guess what, mikael and peter arent either one of them.

a list like this should contain at least SOME of the following for starters. and im not even going to get into classical or jazz guitarists, because that would make this thread even more convoluted and ludicrous:

eric johnson
steve howe
michael schenker
andy laroque
jimi hendrix
mattias eklundh
jeff loomis
steve hackett
robert fripp
ritchie blackmore