I would have picked Townsend though then Richards.
KR wrote memorable riffs? He admittedly stole everything from blues records!
Rhoads and Hendrix had short tenures on this mortal coil. Both are still in my top 3. And when I listen to them, they're easily number 1 at that moment.
Nothing stops me in my tracks and demands all of my attention like Frusciante, though. I basically just fucking space out like the "Desperado" weirdo on Seinfeld when I play Frusciante.
RE: Keith, you know Jimmy Page's nickname among his cohort, yes? Difference being that he will never own up to it.
Yeah but show me something KR has done that exceeds bar-band level? Dude doesn't shred. Page shreds. And then there's songs like Over the Hills and Far Away and The Rain Song...there's no plagiarism there lol
Meh, who cares about shredding. Vai and Malmsteen shred but that shit is boring. KR is friggin' awesome. The licks he wrote are so great. If you think Tumbling Dice, Salt of the Earth, Torn and Frayed, Loving Cup, etc. are bar band, you've lost your damn mind or never have dug into the catalog.
I know Allman's probably going out, but some of his work is phenomenal even his career was short. If you listen to Wilson Pickett's cover of Hey Jude, the last few minutes is a fun listen just to hear Duane play it with such soul.
I would have picked Townsend though then Richards.
KR wrote memorable riffs? He admittedly stole everything from blues records!
Rhoads and Hendrix had short tenures on this mortal coil. Both are still in my top 3. And when I listen to them, they're easily number 1 at that moment.
Nothing stops me in my tracks and demands all of my attention like Frusciante, though. I basically just fucking space out like the "Desperado" weirdo on Seinfeld when I play Frusciante.
RE: Keith, you know Jimmy Page's nickname among his cohort, yes? Difference being that he will never own up to it.
Yeah but show me something KR has done that exceeds bar-band level? Dude doesn't shred. Page shreds. And then there's songs like Over the Hills and Far Away and The Rain Song...there's no plagiarism there lol
Meh, who cares about shredding. Vai and Malmsteen shred but that shit is boring. KR is friggin' awesome. The licks he wrote are so great. If you think Tumbling Dice, Salt of the Earth, Torn and Frayed, Loving Cup, etc. are bar band, you've lost your damn mind or never have dug into the catalog.
Keith is great but not one I would think of as the greatest. But one of my favorite musicians would be right there with you in singing Keith's praises- Paul Westerberg.
Post edited by brianlux on
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
I would have picked Townsend though then Richards.
KR wrote memorable riffs? He admittedly stole everything from blues records!
Rhoads and Hendrix had short tenures on this mortal coil. Both are still in my top 3. And when I listen to them, they're easily number 1 at that moment.
Nothing stops me in my tracks and demands all of my attention like Frusciante, though. I basically just fucking space out like the "Desperado" weirdo on Seinfeld when I play Frusciante.
RE: Keith, you know Jimmy Page's nickname among his cohort, yes? Difference being that he will never own up to it.
Yeah but show me something KR has done that exceeds bar-band level? Dude doesn't shred. Page shreds. And then there's songs like Over the Hills and Far Away and The Rain Song...there's no plagiarism there lol
Meh, who cares about shredding. Vai and Malmsteen shred but that shit is boring. KR is friggin' awesome. The licks he wrote are so great. If you think Tumbling Dice, Salt of the Earth, Torn and Frayed, Loving Cup, etc. are bar band, you've lost your damn mind or never have dug into the catalog.
Keith is great but not one I would think of as the greatest. But one of my favorite musicians would be right there with you in singing Keith's praises- Paul Westerberg.
I definitely don't think he is the greatest, and probably not in the top 10. But he's great. Funny, I could never quite get into Westerberg or the Replacements.
Music is in a much better place because of KR and that makes him great, just not the greatest. No reason for anyone to compare him to bar band material though. I think he earned his top ten due to his writing. I could easily swap him out of the top ten with anyone the next ten down, although I think he is better than Berry and Townshend.
I also think James Taylor is a fantastic guitar player, but his style is not meant to make him a great in that aspect, but he is great at it.
There's an old saying that every time you smoke, Richards takes 7 minutes of your life.
I feel like he takes 7 minutes every time I see a picture of him. He stole like a year of my life when they did that appearance on the covid relief show last year.
There's an old saying that every time you smoke, Richards takes 7 minutes of your life.
I feel like he takes 7 minutes every time I see a picture of him. He stole like a year of my life when they did that appearance on the covid relief show last year.
I would have picked Townsend though then Richards.
KR wrote memorable riffs? He admittedly stole everything from blues records!
Rhoads and Hendrix had short tenures on this mortal coil. Both are still in my top 3. And when I listen to them, they're easily number 1 at that moment.
Nothing stops me in my tracks and demands all of my attention like Frusciante, though. I basically just fucking space out like the "Desperado" weirdo on Seinfeld when I play Frusciante.
RE: Keith, you know Jimmy Page's nickname among his cohort, yes? Difference being that he will never own up to it.
Yeah but show me something KR has done that exceeds bar-band level? Dude doesn't shred. Page shreds. And then there's songs like Over the Hills and Far Away and The Rain Song...there's no plagiarism there lol
Meh, who cares about shredding. Vai and Malmsteen shred but that shit is boring. KR is friggin' awesome. The licks he wrote are so great. If you think Tumbling Dice, Salt of the Earth, Torn and Frayed, Loving Cup, etc. are bar band, you've lost your damn mind or never have dug into the catalog.
Mike McCready cares about shredding lol
It certainly isn't everything, but you aren't top ten material if you can't.
Music is in a much better place because of KR and that makes him great, just not the greatest. No reason for anyone to compare him to bar band material though. I think he earned his top ten due to his writing. I could easily swap him out of the top ten with anyone the next ten down, although I think he is better than Berry and Townshend.
I also think James Taylor is a fantastic guitar player, but his style is not meant to make him a great in that aspect, but he is great at it.
James Taylor is a fantastic and underrated guitar player for sure! He might not be top ten material overall, but his finger-picking acoustic work is harder for many musicians to emulate than much of the lead work that landed most of these top ten folks on the list.
I would have picked Townsend though then Richards.
KR wrote memorable riffs? He admittedly stole everything from blues records!
Rhoads and Hendrix had short tenures on this mortal coil. Both are still in my top 3. And when I listen to them, they're easily number 1 at that moment.
Nothing stops me in my tracks and demands all of my attention like Frusciante, though. I basically just fucking space out like the "Desperado" weirdo on Seinfeld when I play Frusciante.
RE: Keith, you know Jimmy Page's nickname among his cohort, yes? Difference being that he will never own up to it.
Yeah but show me something KR has done that exceeds bar-band level? Dude doesn't shred. Page shreds. And then there's songs like Over the Hills and Far Away and The Rain Song...there's no plagiarism there lol
Meh, who cares about shredding. Vai and Malmsteen shred but that shit is boring. KR is friggin' awesome. The licks he wrote are so great. If you think Tumbling Dice, Salt of the Earth, Torn and Frayed, Loving Cup, etc. are bar band, you've lost your damn mind or never have dug into the catalog.
Mike McCready cares about shredding lol
It certainly isn't everything, but you aren't top ten material if you can't.
These "Who is the best..." polls are always fun and interesting and I'm a sucker for them. But today, I ran across this perspective that is well worth at least considering. It's in a book that I'm reading that is easily one of the best music related books I've yet to come across called Ascension; John Coltrane and His Quest by Eric Nisenson. It's basically a biography of John Coltrane. but Nisenson covers a lot of ground regarding jazz in general in this most excellent, captivating book. In the second chapter (pages 21-22), the author talks about the emergence in the 1950's of two great tenor saxophonists, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. He says,
"The difficulty is that he [Rollins] was constantly compared with Coltrane, and in the late Fifties jazz fans and critics loved to argue over which one was "better", as if there were some way of objectively determining the relative quality of two men who were clearly both great artists and virtuosos of their instrument. Both men were musical geniuses with very different but equally valid artistic agendas. Here is an aspect of the jazz scene that I truly find regrettable, this spirit of competitiveness engendered by the jazz polls and by too many fans and critics. This most American music could not help adopting certain less fortunate traits of its native land, such as the extreme competitiveness so endemic to the American way of life. In art, competition, though perhaps unavoidable, is basically irrelevant. Both Coltrane and Rollins were ultimate masters of their instruments and the art of improvisation, and the style of each man was so deeply personal that comparisons are fruitless."
When I read these words, I really had to pause and think about all these "Who is the best..." polls. It became even more provocative when I read on:
"Nevertheless, the competition, engendered by the jazz press and continued in every bar or hangout where jazz fans gathered, became intense enough to force Sonny Rollins into a retirement that lasted about two years. What was worse, it put a crimp in the friendship between the two men."
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
These "Who is the best..." polls are always fun and interesting and I'm a sucker for them. But today, I ran across this perspective that is well worth at least considering. It's in a book that I'm reading that is easily one of the best music related books I've yet to come across called Ascension; John Coltrane and His Quest by Eric Nisenson. It's basically a biography of John Coltrane. but Nisenson covers a lot of ground regarding jazz in general in this most excellent, captivating book. In the second chapter (pages 21-22), the author talks about the emergence in the 1950's of two great tenor saxophonists, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. He says,
"The difficulty is that he [Rollins] was constantly compared with Coltrane, and in the late Fifties jazz fans and critics loved to argue over which one was "better", as if there were some way of objectively determining the relative quality of two men who were clearly both great artists and virtuosos of their instrument. Both men were musical geniuses with very different but equally valid artistic agendas. Here is an aspect of the jazz scene that I truly find regrettable, this spirit of competitiveness engendered by the jazz polls and by too many fans and critics. This most American music could not help adopting certain less fortunate traits of its native land, such as the extreme competitiveness so endemic to the American way of life. In art, competition, though perhaps unavoidable, is basically irrelevant. Both Coltrane and Rollins were ultimate masters of their instruments and the art of improvisation, and the style of each man was so deeply personal that comparisons are fruitless."
When I read these words, I really had to pause and think about all these "Who is the best..." polls. It became even more provocative when I read on:
"Nevertheless, the competition, engendered by the jazz press and continued in every bar or hangout where jazz fans gathered, became intense enough to force Sonny Rollins into a retirement that lasted about two years. What was worse, it put a crimp in the friendship between the two men."
It's just human nature. We love the competition, the strife. It's good old-fashioned fun.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
These "Who is the best..." polls are always fun and interesting and I'm a sucker for them. But today, I ran across this perspective that is well worth at least considering. It's in a book that I'm reading that is easily one of the best music related books I've yet to come across called Ascension; John Coltrane and His Quest by Eric Nisenson. It's basically a biography of John Coltrane. but Nisenson covers a lot of ground regarding jazz in general in this most excellent, captivating book. In the second chapter (pages 21-22), the author talks about the emergence in the 1950's of two great tenor saxophonists, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. He says,
"The difficulty is that he [Rollins] was constantly compared with Coltrane, and in the late Fifties jazz fans and critics loved to argue over which one was "better", as if there were some way of objectively determining the relative quality of two men who were clearly both great artists and virtuosos of their instrument. Both men were musical geniuses with very different but equally valid artistic agendas. Here is an aspect of the jazz scene that I truly find regrettable, this spirit of competitiveness engendered by the jazz polls and by too many fans and critics. This most American music could not help adopting certain less fortunate traits of its native land, such as the extreme competitiveness so endemic to the American way of life. In art, competition, though perhaps unavoidable, is basically irrelevant. Both Coltrane and Rollins were ultimate masters of their instruments and the art of improvisation, and the style of each man was so deeply personal that comparisons are fruitless."
When I read these words, I really had to pause and think about all these "Who is the best..." polls. It became even more provocative when I read on:
"Nevertheless, the competition, engendered by the jazz press and continued in every bar or hangout where jazz fans gathered, became intense enough to force Sonny Rollins into a retirement that lasted about two years. What was worse, it put a crimp in the friendship between the two men."
It's just human nature. We love the competition, the strife. It's good old-fashioned fun.
That's an easy answer and I'm not accusing you of doing this, but it's one that could be used as a cop out. It's human nature to love sugar and salt and saturated fats. How good is it for us to eat nothing but sugar, salt and saturated fats? It's human nature to engage in war. Is that a reasonable excuse to exterminate millions of human lives?
Yes, competition is human nature, but are we not of such high intelligence that we cannot rise above some of our more base instincts when it comes to something as creative as music? Do we excuse bullying because "it is human nature"? Do we shrug off high murder rates in some places in the world because it's human nature to act violently in densely populated areas? Is there not a higher road in some of our human endeavors?
Yes, I know a poll set out to determine who is "the greatest guitar player" may not be as important as some other things, but I think the point Nisenson brought up is at least worth considering. It is for me at any rate, especially because to me how we view and respond to music, especially at it's finest or most impassioned, is worthy of serious consideration.
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
These "Who is the best..." polls are always fun and interesting and I'm a sucker for them. But today, I ran across this perspective that is well worth at least considering. It's in a book that I'm reading that is easily one of the best music related books I've yet to come across called Ascension; John Coltrane and His Quest by Eric Nisenson. It's basically a biography of John Coltrane. but Nisenson covers a lot of ground regarding jazz in general in this most excellent, captivating book. In the second chapter (pages 21-22), the author talks about the emergence in the 1950's of two great tenor saxophonists, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. He says,
"The difficulty is that he [Rollins] was constantly compared with Coltrane, and in the late Fifties jazz fans and critics loved to argue over which one was "better", as if there were some way of objectively determining the relative quality of two men who were clearly both great artists and virtuosos of their instrument. Both men were musical geniuses with very different but equally valid artistic agendas. Here is an aspect of the jazz scene that I truly find regrettable, this spirit of competitiveness engendered by the jazz polls and by too many fans and critics. This most American music could not help adopting certain less fortunate traits of its native land, such as the extreme competitiveness so endemic to the American way of life. In art, competition, though perhaps unavoidable, is basically irrelevant. Both Coltrane and Rollins were ultimate masters of their instruments and the art of improvisation, and the style of each man was so deeply personal that comparisons are fruitless."
When I read these words, I really had to pause and think about all these "Who is the best..." polls. It became even more provocative when I read on:
"Nevertheless, the competition, engendered by the jazz press and continued in every bar or hangout where jazz fans gathered, became intense enough to force Sonny Rollins into a retirement that lasted about two years. What was worse, it put a crimp in the friendship between the two men."
It's just human nature. We love the competition, the strife. It's good old-fashioned fun.
That's an easy answer and I'm not accusing you of doing this, but it's one that could be used as a cop out. It's human nature to love sugar and salt and saturated fats. How good is it for us to eat nothing but sugar, salt and saturated fats? It's human nature to engage in war. Is that a reasonable excuse to exterminate millions of human lives?
Yes, competition is human nature, but are we not of such high intelligence that we cannot rise above some of our more base instincts when it comes to something as creative as music? Do we excuse bullying because "it is human nature"? Do we shrug off high murder rates in some places in the world because it's human nature to act violently in densely populated areas? Is there not a higher road in some of our human endeavors?
Yes, I know a poll set out to determine who is "the greatest guitar player" may not be as important as some other things, but I think the point Nisenson brought up is at least worth considering. It is for me at any rate, especially because to me how we view and respond to music, especially at it's finest or most impassioned, is worthy of serious consideration.
Need a couple more votes, or 4 will be removed in Round 1.
Just eliminate the 4, the 2 that survive would likely lose next round anyway. Speeds up the process so we can get to drummers and bassists sooner.
The bassist one should be a laugh.
Well that would depend on if we're only talking rock bassists. If so, I got John E then JPJ., then Les, then Geddy. If we go deeper, then I've got Scott Lafaro.
Need a couple more votes, or 4 will be removed in Round 1.
Just eliminate the 4, the 2 that survive would likely lose next round anyway. Speeds up the process so we can get to drummers and bassists sooner.
The bassist one should be a laugh.
Well that would depend on if we're only talking rock bassists. If so, I got John E then JPJ., then Les, then Geddy. If we go deeper, then I've got Scott Lafaro.
Larry Graham, Chris Squire, Yauch, Geezer Butler, Steve Harris, Les Claypool, Roger Waters, Simon Gallup, Kim Deal, Bootsy Collins
Comments
I also think James Taylor is a fantastic guitar player, but his style is not meant to make him a great in that aspect, but he is great at it.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
It looks like 4 are tied at 5 votes each...Rounds 1 & 2 at the same time!
No problem, MedozK. Thanks for doing this one.
I quickly scrolled through the list and I didn't see Robin Trower? If so, he's not a TOP 100 guitar player?
I would also throw John Scofield in there.