Best guitarists

[Jockey]

It should NOT take until the sixth post for someone to mention Jimi Hendrix.  Really he was incredibly influential and way ahead of his time.

I purposely did not include him. It's like arguing if MJ is the greatest ever. Just a given.

[Babybluejeans]

Some of my faves

Johnny Greenwood
Jeff Tweedy
Jim James
Jack White
Jason Pierce
Zachary Cole Smith
Mac Demarco

Mac Demarco! He has no place in a best guitarist convo but damn if that slacker rock jizz jazz ain't fun listening.

[jficke13]

Buckethead

[Silkk the Shaka]

Mac Demarco! He has no place in a best guitarist convo but damn if that slacker rock jizz jazz ain't fun listening.

Ha fo sho!

Not about what you can do on the guitboard for me, it's about the style  and feel. I like the laid back sloppy vibe he brings to the table, haven't really heard anything else like it.

[T-Bone]

Kevin Shields
Johnny Marr
Ian Williams
J Mascis
Thurston Moore/Lee Randaldo

(I do appreciate the older generation of players, but generally am not in tune with their styles)

[Jockey]

Ha fo sho!

Not about what you can do on the guitboard for me, it's about the style  and feel. I like the laid back sloppy vibe he brings to the table, haven't really heard anything else like it.

Exactly.

That is why I was always a fan of John Lennon's guitar work. Not a "great" guitarist by any neasurement, but I liked the rough, dirty style that he had.

[GOO]

These kind of ranking reminds me of an Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., quote, that I will have to paraphrase:  We are all prisoners of our own experience. 

And that quote applies to me in any thing we do... I always try to remember that... 

I know this is for fun, but the category is way too broad to have a decent discussion.   It probably should be limited to rock and blues as that is what most of us know about/hear/play.

Having played classical guitar, rock, blues, etc, one has to remember that classical and jazz are by far the hardest to play... and you have to know music theory to play these on a level that is not needed for blues or rock.  Not even close... some of the names thrown around on here who play rock guitar know next to nothing and are extremely limited in what they know and can do... extremely limited.  Not even close when comparing a great jazz guitarist to a page or hendrix.  To play rock and blues, classic rock takes very limited talent compared to mediocre classical and jazz players. And, I love page's stuff and appreciate his music and enjoy playing it (but it is easy and really basic 3 finger stuff).  Blues is really the easiest to play by far, unless you are talking about some county singer who strums or hand picks three open cords and sings (which is fine, it is what it is).

So, I'd have to say, if it is across the board, then, Segovia is by far the best gutarist I've heard and had the pleasure to see in person (he was old when I saw him, had to be helped out on stage, sat on this stool and jammed like a 30 year old for a few hours - truly amazing). Someone above mentioned Segovia, and I suspect that person must play guitar and has experience in various genres.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrés_Segovia

Now, if you are taking about influence or ground breaking sounds limited to rock guitar, then Hendrix and Page have to be near the top of the list.  Page's gritty animalistic sound is probably my favorite thing to play along with some Jack White (who is derivative of the guitar rock gods - but still has some cool sounds).   Some of the others guys mentioned in the Van Halen/California 80's and 90's rock style achieved a new sound that is much harder to play then the older rock guys, a lot more advanced techniques, hammer ons with the right hand, a strong pinky no the left that isn't left dangling behind the neck, fast action, etc.

[T-Bone]

Oh and Peter Green.

[Spotcheck Billy]

Oh and pre-1972 Peter Green.

FTFY   

[T-Bone]

FTFY   

Agree.

[rmi210]

Zappa

his noodling is reason #1 of why I don't like the Dead

I dont think Jerry is Number 1 but to be honest, with the exception of the acid test years Jerry was very concise in his playing. 

As Santana said " Most people who play the blues are very conservative. They stay a certain way. Jerry Garcia was painting outside the frame. He played blues but mixed it with bluegrass and Ravi Shankar. He had country and Spanish in there. There was a lot of Chet Atkins in him – going up and down the frets. But you could always hear a theme in his playing. It's like putting beads on a string, instead of throwing them around a room. Jerry had a tremendous sense of purpose. When you take a solo, decide what to say, get there and give it to the next guy. That's how Jerry worked in the Dead."

[Spotcheck Billy]

Like I said YMMV, Jerry does nothing for me but obviously millions of deadheads might have a different opinion.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Surprised no one has mentioned that guy on every college dorm floor trying to impress chicks by playing Dave Matthews songs on an acoustic guitar.

[Hards Alumni]

Buckethead

+1  Technical genius.  Commercial moron.

[Warrior Code]

Surprised no one has mentioned that guy on every college dorm floor trying to impress chicks by playing Dave Matthews songs on an acoustic guitar.

Or "Wonderwall."

[JoeSmith1721]

Hendrix
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Duane Allman
Albert King
Daltrey
Page

+1

I'd also throw Prince and Gary Moore in there.

[Spotcheck Billy]

Hendrix
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Duane Allman
Albert King
Daltrey
Page

+1

I'd also throw Prince and Gary Moore in there.

a lot of love for Roger Daltrey, the Phantom guitarist   

[JoeSmith1721]

a lot of love for Roger Daltrey, the Phantom guitarist   

Ya, minus him, not really sure what he's doing there. I assume he meant to say Townshend.

[BobWildLoyalist]

Jerry was doing things on the guitar that were outside the box of playing guitar. He gave songs soul, he added melodies, he gave an identity to the show and band. There is no one else who took control and painted over the music as a whole other than Jerry. He wasnt the fastest player, but he didnt have to be. He wasnt the most technically skilled, but he didnt have to be. He wasnt the loudest, but he certainly didnt have to be. Jerry carried the spirit of the Dead and the "movement" that followed them. Other than the Beatles, the Dead have a legacy that is untouchable by anyone to date. And Jerry was the forefront of it all.

The music never stopped my friends.

[🏀]

Jerry Garcia?!? HAHAHA

[Anti-Dentite]

The Greatful Dead is elevator music.

[BobWildLoyalist]

If you think the GD is elevator music you have an infantile view of music. They were one of the most successful and highest grossing bands in the last 50 years. Their legacy is still carrying strong. They were/are incredible musicians.

[🏀]

If you think the GD is elevator music you have an infantile view of music. They were one of the most successful and highest grossing bands in the last 50 years. Their legacy is still carrying strong. They were/are incredible musicians.

You should probably fact check this, or make further clarifications to "highest grossing bands in the last 50 years".

[NYWarrior]

Derek Trucks
Clapton (Buddy Guy has said many times that nobody has done more w a guitar than Eric)
Jimi (music sounds completely different pre & post Jimi)
Duane Allman
EVH

[PBRme]

Hendrix
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Duane Allman
Albert King
Daltrey
Townsend
Page

I'd also add Jeff Beck and Alex Lifeson (sp)