My Favorite Guitarists Ever

"Best of" lists are always fun for me. I love to read them and I love to come up with my own. Why it's taken me so long to actually submit one for AC is a mystery to me. Feel free to agree or disagree with my choices as these always inspire heated debate from those who care about such things. So here it goes...

1. Joe Bonamassa- Sure I know he's young and isn't a household name but, to my ears he is a tremndously gifted musician who is just scratching the surface of where he is capable of going. He has a masterful understanding of his instrument and can be equally soulful and shredding- sometimes in the same song.

2. Stevie Ray Vaughan- It seems fashionable lately to bash SRV for some reason. Possibly because so many copycats are out there now, some with greater technical skills. But the thing that set SRV apart for me was the emotion and the soul he played with. Also, there was no one ever with the tone he got. He was one of a kind.

3. Eric Clapton- Again, a lot of people seem to downplay EC's guitar playing, probably because he has turned out some really crappy music in the last few years, but his playing is still amazing. When he is at his best he is incomparable. I just wish he'd stop it with the pop music already.

4. Jimi Hendrix- A comment I hear often about Jimi is that so many players today are better than him. That's certainly true, but I rate Jimi in the context of where he stood among his contemporaries. There was no one else of the era that had done the things he did. He innovated a lot of the techniques that are cliche by now. Don't compare him to Steve Vai or Eddie Van Halen, but imagine what they would sound like had he not come along.

5. Robben Ford- One of the things I use as a yardstick when rating these guys is this... If you hear this guy play, do you instantly recognize who you're lsitening to? Once you've heard Ford's jazzy licks and his distinctive tone, you KNOw it's him.

6. Eddie Van Halen- Based on the above reason alone I have to include Eddie. There is no one else in the world who sounds like him, although his playing isn't always my cup of tea. He has come up with some of the most memorable and classic guitar riffs in history though.

7. Freddie King- Mr. Unknown and Underrated to most of the world. Give a listen to Freddie's old Federal label recordings and you will see where Clapton's style was born. His stuff hold's up very well to this day.

8. Scotty Anderson- An amazing jazz/country Telecaster guy. Do a search on YouTube and enjoy. The guy may have the quickest fingers in any style of music. No sweep-picking or trickery- he articulates each note. What's also impressive is that he almost always plays clean with zero effects. It's nice to see someone play with such a pure tone.

9. Billy Gibbons- Has dropped a few spots on my list in recent years, mainly because I have since seen some live performances and have been annoyed at how sloppy he can be when he is thinking more about choreography than playing his guitar. Nonetheless, he is a tone-master who can really play. He has also written some classic and memorable guitar riffs- Lagrange,Tush etc. But his best stuff was on the the first few ZZ Top albums. Pure raw blues/rock.

10. John Fogerty- Maybe not a guy you typically see on a list like this, but based on memorable melodies and riffs, he is hard to match. John is certainly not a great technical player, but that's part of the appeal...the average guy can play his songs. And most of those songs are very memorable. That makes him a legend in my opinion.

11. Albert Lee- The master of chicken-pickin'. Hard to believe a Brittish guy can play country music so well. He is a much-copied player, which is usually an indication of a legend.

12. Buck Owens- The originator of the Bakersfield brand of country guitar playing.

13. Brent Mason- The best country session player in the world. If he have heard a Telecaster on country radio in the last 15 years you know Brent Mason's work.

14. Albert King- Another classic blues player who's sound stands the test of time. Many have called Stevie Ray Vaughan a Hendrix clone. Listen to Albert and then decide where SRV's real influence was.

15. Aynsley Lister- Obscure yes, but he is worth seeking out. A young British blues/rock guitarist and singer, Lister is flat-out amazing. A great player and a very gifted songwriter as well. He draws some comaprisons to Kenny Wayne Shepard and Jonny Lang, but he is in a different league.

16. Albert Collins
17. Eric Johnson
18. Vince Gill
19. Joe Satriani
20. Brian Setzer

Well, there it is. Maybe the order could be switched a bit here and there, but at the top it is more or less where I would rank 'em. Of course, any list like this is fluid and players can pop on to the radar that didn't before- i.e. Joe Bonamassa. I hope you enjoy and I look forward to seeing the comments this list prompts.