The interweb tubes are stuffed with lists heralding the high fallutin' achievements of all those "greatest of all time" type guitar players that the mainstream media throw in your face everyday. Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Kirk Hammett, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Tom Morrello, Slash...they've all done some pretty impressive stuff. But you know what? They aren't the only people that play the damn guitar. In fact, there are several artists who, on any given night, can burn any given venue to the GROUND using nothing more then their guitar shredding abilities. For example...
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7. John Mayer (Live)
Hey, you know what's fun to do? Make fun of John Mayer. What a tool, right! I mean, he's got that dorky blog that everyone likes and that killer sense of humor and he's bedded all those hot chicks and he kicks ass on guitar and...wait. What the hell is going on here? Is John Mayer secretly awesome? While some signs point to a definitive "No" (looking at you, "Your Body Is a Wonderland"), there are even more signs that point to a solid "Maybe?"
One thing that isn't open for debate is this... John Mayer can play the damn guitar. His songs don't go to any great lengths to show it, but it's the truth. YouTube is littered with videos just like the one below if you don't believe me.
6. Kurt Cobain on "The Priest They Called Him"
Kurt Cobain did more with noise, mistakes and catastrophe than most guitarists could with years of training and flawless playing. He once said something along the lines of "I could never play like Segovia, but Segovia could never play like me either." It's debatable whether Segovia would have wanted to play the guitar like Kurt Cobain, really. But thank God someone wanted to. Without the noise filled intro of "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" or the perfectly-out-of-tune strumming of "Polly" and "Something In the Way," the world would be a much lesser place.
If Kurt ever embarked on a "tour-de-force" of guitar work, it would be on "The Priest They Called Him," a William Burroughs' spoken word piece that featured Cobain on guitar. To hear it, check out the video below. Or, if the mood strikes, seek out a copy of the ridiculously cool 10" picture disc release that features etchings of Burroughs' and Cobain's signatures. It's cheaper than you think.
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5. Jonny Greenwood on 'Go To Sleep' (Live)
With their penchant for experimentation, it's easy to forget that at their most basic, Radiohead is a great guitar rock band. But where a lesser person could find themselves disappointed with their primary instrument's diminished role in their band's music, Greenwood rolls with the punches. And by "roll with the punches" I mean he "plays" a portable radio onstage.
But it's not all theremins and didgeridoos for Jonny Greenwood. When it comes time to rock, he's as good as it gets. Employing a Max/MSP patch based guitar setup, Jonny strangles enthralling guitar sounds out of a simple Telecaster every bit as well as the much more heralded Tom Morello. And his lead singer is far less annoying. Kind of. Anyway, to see Jonny Greenwood tear shit down, check the solo at the end of the video below.
3. Lindsey Buckingham on 'Big Love'
How proficient is Lindsey Buckingham on guitar? Consider this. When he bolted Fleetwood Mac on the eve of a world tour, they hired TWO people to replace him. Now compare that to your current station in life. If the majority of us left our day jobs, it's debatable whether they would even bother replacing our shiftless asses at all. But Lindsey Buckingham? It took two mortal men to carry the axe load of this one unsung rock guitar giant.
Choosing a solo acoustic version of a famous Mac song to demonstrate his unheralded guitar abilities may seem like an odd choice. But on this tune, Lindsey leaves no doubt as to why it took a village to replace him.
2. Neil Young on 'Keep on Rockin' The Free World' (w/ Bruce Springsteen)
No guitar player on Earth can possibly sound exactly like Neil Young. That's a big claim, but in his case, it's true. You see, there are a lot of great players out there who use a certain guitar/amp/effects set up with the knobs tweaked to precise positions and, if you can find the info, you can copy them. You may not have the same rhythm or timing or luxurious crotch bulge, but you can have their tone.
Not so with Neil Young. When you see him stomp on that big ass red contraption that sleeps at his feet during every show, understand this, he built that bitch! He wired the circuits, he fashioned the metal casing, he probably sploshed the red paint on it, he did it all. And the sound he gets from it is unspeakably unique. In the video below, it takes about three minutes for Neil Young to steal the show and turn this duet with Bruce Springsteen from 2004's "Vote For Change Tour" into a Neil Young guitar party. If you can't wait that long for the magic to happen, the terrorists have already won.
1. Prince on 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' (Live George Harrison Tribute)
Prince is the greatest guitar player on Earth. There. I said it. I've probably shed a good six years off my lifespan arguing that point with various strangers and associates. It's just a personal opinion, and it's fine if you disagree. I expect that. What else am I going to do while I'm drunk if I'm not arguing about music? You may not agree that Prince is THE greatest six string assassin walking the streets today, but if you know anything about the guitar, you at least know he deserves to have his name mentioned amongst the best. Top five, top twenty, top fifty, whatever. He gets a spot.
That's how I feel anyway. Rolling Stone, apparently, does not. And they said so when they released their list of the top 100 guitar players of all time just weeks before both Prince and Rolling Stone Magazine founder Jann Wenner were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In their opinion, Prince wasn't even in the top 100.
Is there any proof that Prince's molten-hot solo on that hall of fame induction night's all-star jam performance of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" had anything to do with him being snubbed from that list? No. But come on now, this is Prince. He doesn't just show up for no reason. Until it came time to destroy the stage with that solo, most people didn't even know Prince was onstage at all. On this night, Prince was on a mission.
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4. John Frusciante with Red Hot Chili Peppers (Live)
Maybe you can chalk it up to this past history of off stage shenanigans, including once recording a solo album mainly as a means to score drug money, but for some reason John Frusciante's name rarely comes up when the best guitar players of today are discussed.
Maybe it's just because the Chili Pepper's songs don't really extend into jamtastic solo territory on record, lest they ease up on Anthony Kiedis' "wang dang dong ding dong" stream of consciousness rambling. Whatever the case may be, John Frusciante deserves more credit than he receives.
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User Comments
( ADD YOURS )Conrad Gorny October 10th
Haha thanks for these. Really like your writing style .. keep it up. Thanks,
Conrad Gorny
( )Freelance Graphic Designer
http://www.conradgorny.com
Emmett Cooke October 10th
Lol pretty good list – never knew price was that good actually lol
Emmett Cooke
( )http://www.soundtrack.ie
Mibrilane October 10th
Prince is top five in just about any instrument he plays. The man has a gift.
( )revy October 11th
Great picks. Very entertaining! Definitely Prince slayed.
( )mave October 11th
Great post. I completely agree about Prince: he is one of the greatest guitar players alive, and I’m a bit surprised anyone would dispute that.
( )Mike in CO October 11th
Dump Mayer and add Jack White. JW at his laziest mops the floor with Mayer’s best. And he doesn’t have a closet full of shitrock following him around.
( )Tim Roche October 11th
Great article, well written and funny. I was really happy to see Mr. Buckingham up there: the acoustic version of Big Love simultaneuously makes me want to play and quit guitar.
( )Mike October 11th
This is the worst list ever. I am a musician, hence I know how to play guitar. You seem to be amazed by flashy guitar playing and a very skewed view of what you think a great guitar player is. Why don’t you put Dave Matthews on this list at least? He isn’t a shredder, but the guy can play any chord on earth and put together the most amazing songs.
( )Mr. Moustache June 25th
i think your right mike. I am just starting out to play guitar and used to impressed by slash type shredding but many of my musician freinds taught me thats not what good guitar playing is all about. That why I’ve come to appreciate guys like Elliot Smith , Dave Matthews and Kurt Cobain.
( )Joel Falconer June 25th
I find many shredders lack any sort of emotion in their playing (though certainly not all). Slash, however, isn’t really a shredder and he has at least as much emotion in his skilled playing as Cobain (in my opinion, as a fan of both, Slash is probably even more emotive and has the added advantage of the technical knowledge to make the music really come alive — Cobain never really did get past angst and power chords!).
Jeff Sommers October 11th
Yes! Excellent picks indeed!
http://www.anonymity.at.tc
( )DUH October 11th
Has no one ever seen purple rain the movie he shreds several times throughout it.
( )Shea October 11th
FUCK YES! I’ve been watching that Prince video regularly ever since that concert aired. So glad to see it at #1. While it’s incredibly awesome, it’s kinda ironic that it’s at a tribute to George Harrison, an incredibly understated guitarist. Also, he throws his guitar up in the air at the end and it disappears. Ridiculous.
( )olive October 11th
To think these guys are great guitarists (Lindsey Buckingham excepted), you might not be a musician yourself. Sure, some of them have a distinctive style, but are no better than the thousands and thousands of teenagers with a good ear playing 6h a day in dad’s basement.
( )And Neil Young. C’mon. His songs are great, but as a guitarist the fact is HE SUCKS.
cram October 11th
Wait… Prince throws his guitar off at the very last second… where did it go? seriously!
( )phantomzer0 October 11th
Where’s the video of John Petrucci nailing the solo from Lines in the Sand. Comon’!
( )phantomzer0 October 11th
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcadgg6uJkU
( )Peter Saroukos October 11th
This article is rubbish, Jimi Hendrix isnt even included and let alone Malmsteen.. Or Vai…Common The electric guitar wouldnt be the same without they’re input..
( )EmmetC May 14th
its a list of underrated / unexpectedly good guitar performances… everyone know hendrix, malmsteen and Vai can shred… if not then i worry for them!
( )Matt October 11th
IMO one of the all time greatest (and severely underrated), is Roy Clark. Check him out on youtube playing Malaguena. I was never impressed when I heard it on CD. It wasn’t until I saw him him play it and realized it was just one person playing that I was truly impressed.
( )Zen Dog October 11th
I have to agree with you… this was the most viscous playing i have seen in a long time. Prince deserves top ten in my book as well… and based on that performance, on stage with some of the best… he might deserve more than top ten… i was impressed. keep up the rockin’.
( )rich October 11th
Nice picks. Though for the best noise-rock solo ever, look up Talking Heads live in Rome on YouTube. The Adrian Belew parts are not to me missed. Shame the camera work is so lousy, though.
( )MikeC October 11th
I am so glad to see John Frusciante on the list. He does not get noticed enough. The man is so good live it’s sickening.
And Prince. Prince! He too is just too under-rated. That was seriously an awesome clip.
( )RickBlank October 11th
Geezus! I grew up seeing Prince play in Minneapolis – always knew he was a tight guitarist but this was amazing. Made that other guy playing the solos pack his bags and go home (sorry, didn’t recognize him).
( )Kenny Cox October 11th
OMG – Never new Prince was that good!
( )Best solo in the entire selection – hand down.
mr. twan October 11th
you failed to mention jack white.
( )r October 11th
Let us not forget the late-great Frank Zappa, too bad I’ll never get to see him perform on stage, only in videos.
( )MKitn October 11th
My ears have been opened, I never was the sort to listen to Prince’s music for the mostpart, but I have to admit, I did love that solo in the video given. Thanks for an interesting piece and for broadening my horizons a little more.
( )zsasz October 11th
nice, well written article which was pleasingly backed up with vids.
its always subjective…but prince really is a great player – saw him live and he tore the place up.
p.s. listen to his cover of ‘just my imagination’. it was a live recording…and its way way better than while my guitar… (tho i guess maybe thats personal opinion too) it melts the mind just listening to the energy in it.
( )Billy October 11th
Mark Knopfler is the best living guitarist. Sorry, but the fact that Eric Clapton willingly plays rhythm for him is all the evidence I need, and I’d trust Clapton as a critic before anyone else, even myself.
( )Oja October 11th
FYI- The Kurt Cobain/ Bill Burroughs 10″ is a slap in the face to both parties. The record label T/K that put it out released it as a limited edition. All parties were paid. The record label went out of business. The owner of the record label did a very sleazy business move. The owner took the masters and had god knows how many more made up and has been selling them to who ever wants them. Thus, you see the low low price. The said owner is now a drug addict. Every penny counts when you need your speed. RIP Kurt and William drugs mess you up.
( )matt October 11th
Also to add:
Dave Matthews covering Neil Young’s ‘Cortez the Killer’, featuring Allman Brother’s Warren Haynes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCiLCo-LoUg
Warren tears it up in legendary fashion.
( )scott anderson October 11th
Seen prince twice live, and listened to all kinds of bootleg.
He is – hands down, the baddest MF alive.
I’d have to put Jeff Beck second, IMHO.
( )Rob W. October 11th
The Prince clip is amazing. Good call. He is a victim of his own prolificness. If he had simply sat on his huge pile of material and doled out only the best every few years, he’d have been much better off.
Frusciante studied at GIT and it shows. Check out “Under the Bridge” live on SNL.
I love Cobain, but he almost always played the main vocal melody as the guitar solo. My favorite exception is “Verse Chorus Verse”. The noise style he occasionally employed was his favorite way to play. On their last tour, he ended most shows with an extended noise jam, and it was the only part of the show where he seemed to be enjoying himself. It seems heavily influenced by Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Psychocandy” album.
Buckingham’s style is unique, and I rank the solo at the end of “Gypsy” way up there. Jimmy Page even admits he was trying to copy Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well” when he wrote “Black Dog”.
For more unexpected goodness, I would add the schweeeet solo from The Commodores’ “Easy”, and the Cobainish squeals in The White Stripes’ “Icky Thump”.
( )RmanMoney October 11th
Read a guitar mag! these guys get tons of credit!! Why not do an article on amazingly awesome obscure guitarists that you have never heard of and will blow your mind?
( )Davey October 11th
Listened to the Burroughs / Cobain one, and honestly, it is nothing good. It is just garbage noise, nothing out of the ordinary.
( )puffdragon October 11th
Terrible picks, but at least they weren’t too predictable and the write ups are great. Greenwood doesn’t come close to touching Morello. Seriously. Prince at number on is an awesome pick, but I would say his SNL performance of Fury is much more unexpected and awsome than the George Harrison tribute along with all the other guitar superstars…Prince wouldn’t be there if he wasn’t going to display his awesomeness.
( )Russ October 11th
Finally Prince gets some credit
( )Stroker St. Holmes October 11th
Dude!! I totally agree! I’ve been trying to tell people about Prince’s guitar godhood for years. Preach on, Brother!
( )Bruce Vayne October 11th
DAMN! Prince can really let it rip. Amazing fret work.
( )Ron Crowder October 11th
You forgot 2 of the greatest – Eddie VanHalen and Jimmy Page!
( )Andrew Wasson October 11th
Great picks and ya….
( )Prince is one of the top 5 on my list too!
zoob October 11th
You are seriously flawed if you think Prince is in anyway better than David Gilmour who should be number 1 on this list.
( )Mark October 11th
Yeah, Prince is great. A word of advice, Prince videos on YouTube don’t last very long, you’ll probably have to repair that link soon or host it somewhere else.
( )Bryan W October 11th
Right on man. Good list. John Mayer blurb had me cracking up. Keep at it.
( )yellowduc October 11th
I’m in full on agreement about Prince. Yeah, he bugs the crap out of me, but damn that dude can play. The performance in the video above should be testament enough to that truth, but if anyone wants more evidence, look for the video of his performance at The Brit Awards from a couple years ago, tearing it up to Te Amo Corazone.
( )Doug October 11th
Have always said that Prince is the greatest living guitar player, glad to see some one else who enjoys his talent.
Ps.
I’m not really a big Prince fan, just a fan of his guitar skills.
Doug
( )Rob October 11th
Totally agreed. That Prince solo was one of the single coolest guitar solos I’ve ever heard. That man was on a totally different plane of existence that night and I remember being completely speechless for several minutes afterwards. I’ve seen other times when he seems perfectly content to sit back and just be the accompanist and then something hits to make him totally blow it out of the water. He’s amazing.
( )Sean O' Grady October 11th
Matt Bellamy (Muse) at Wembley..
‘Nuff Said
( )Dave Yankowiak October 11th
I couldn’t agree more on the #1 selection. I was at a Lenny Kravitz concert in Minneapolis about 9 years ago, and for the encore Prince walked out on stage and proceeded to jam with Lenny. Blew my mind. Ever since then I totally crave Prince guitar solos.
Two theories on the snub for Prince on the “100 Greatest Guitarists” list:
-There is a height requirement to get on the list
( )OR
-Prince is already the greatest all-around musician of all time, and it wouldn’t be fair to have him on both lists.
arka October 11th
John Mayer may or not be a great guitarist, but the clip posted above is what real guitarists call ‘bluffing’. That was really just empty wandering and box patterns. Nothing to see here, move along.
( )Kevin October 11th
Let’s not forget the solo work Prince unleashed on SNL a couple of years back:
http://www.imeem.com/kobegracie/video/LFwtQkXK/princesnlfury_live_tv_video/
( )Andrew October 11th
I agree with most of these, but johnny greenwood?! come on. He may be a good guitarist, but that was one of the shittiest solo’s i’ve ever seen. “Hey! I’m just going to play random shit and randomly loop it, that’ll be awesome!”
( )Prince Halberstat October 11th
I think Prince thought the title of the song was “While My Guitar Screams Uncontrollably”
( )werf October 11th
Prince is extremely underrated. Though his tone and style owe a huge debt to Ernie Isley, he took the fuzzbox sound out of straight rock and proved it’s worth.
( )cpx October 11th
ok while some of these guys are good they are definatly not awesome when I think awesome I think of guys like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Randy Rhoads, and Dimebag Derral Abbot….
Those guys are Awesome!
( )David October 11th
wow…
i would never have pegged prince for an incredible guitar player. Thanks for opening my eyes. I think most people think ‘Oh its just prince’ as he has the flash part of it down pat.
absolutely impressed.
( )chrissy October 11th
nice picks!
( )smiley October 11th
prince knocked me down
( )Guitar Legend October 11th
Jason Becker is a MUST on a list like this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Becker
By the time he was in high school he was playing the hardest guitar songs of his time one handed while playing yo-yo on the other hand. A few years later and he was on track to be the best guitarist of all time by the time he’d be an adult.
A few years later he got a disease that ruined his entire body, leaving him motionless everywhere except his face. So what did he do? He literally wrote a CD, blink-by-blink, one note at a time, with his parents writing the music he instructed them to through a system of blinks. Then he hired an orchestra to play his music for him.
Best. Guitarist. Ever.
( )d00d October 11th
Lindsey Buckingham is the only guitarist to send chills down my spine in my adult life. That live performance was practically transcendent. Wow.
And I totally agree about Prince. He’s a badass and he knows it, which only amplifies his badassness.
( )Fuzzbling October 11th
Freakin awesome list! I agree 100% with you on Prince, he rocks the g harder than most know or can even dream of! I was seriously surprised that John Mayer can rip it up like that!? Crazy … who-da-thunk-it!?
( )JIM O'C October 11th
Please don’t overlook Jeff Healey. Check out this :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6iXeywnWU0&feature=related
R.I.P Jeff Healey
( )Adam October 11th
Gah! Everyone who mentioned Jack White…I had him on the list, write up and everything, and dropped him at the last second for reasons I’m still unsure of. I think because he gets a LOT of cred for his guitar playing of late. But yeah, Jack White should have been on the list. And whoever it was that mentioned Prince’s performance of “Fury” on SNL…right on. That was good stuff. Better than the studio recording. And thanks everyone for the (mostly) nice comments. Glad you all liked the article.
( )Drazen October 11th
Don’t forget about Django Reindhardt, Gary Moore, Santana.
( )Andy Slatter October 11th
I have always said that Prince is a fantastic guitarist, so I totally agree on that point, but I actually found his solo in this clip a bit repetative and messy at times.
( )klang October 12th
While My Guitar Gently .. Flies away at 6:11 …
( )Brad October 12th
Easily the coolest link I’ve stumbled on in a month.
( )guitarlover October 12th
Come on ppl. Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Greg Howe, Robben Ford, Frank Gambale, George Benson, Eric Johnson, I agree on Prince and John Mayer and many more true musicians and guitarist. Curt Cobain, haha, I’m can’t stop laughing.
( )hxzero October 12th
I don’t know why so many of you guys are blathering about WHY DIDNT HE INCLUDE VAI SATRIANI DIMEBAG SANTANA HENDRIX PAGE VAN HALEN BLAH BLAH
You guys completely missed the point of the list. It was the author’s perception of underrated guitarists, players that people don’t think of primarily as guitar virtuosos, but they are. Now, a couple of the clips might not be the best. But you guys completely missed the whole point of the list. Vai, Satch, Dimebag, Santana, etc., are already mainly thought of as guitar legends. The list wasn’t a “greatest guitarists” list. It was a “most overlooked/underrated guitarists” list. Get it straight, go back to 5th grade and learn some goddanged reading comprehension.
( )Jacob October 12th
Hey assholes,
The list is 7 UNEXPECTED moments of guitar awesomeness, not “7 best guitarists”. That is all.
( )hahaa October 12th
i really dont think people are understanding what this list IS
( )its a list of the most UNEXPECTED guitar greatness
so its really no wonder why jimi hendrix and vai arn’t up here
they do exactly what you’d expect them to do
i had NO idea that prince played that well
Roshan October 12th
Great post. I am a fan of Prince and he is one of the best guitar players out there. Although I like many other but he has his own style. I wish I could play like him someday before I die.
Thanks again for quality post.
Roshan
( )Freelance Developer
http://www.instantshift.com
Me October 12th
Wait no Clapton strap malfunction for The Last Waltz?
( )OM October 12th
…Bah. None of these held a candle to Pete Townshend in his prime, and even when he’s old and crippled.
( )Jim October 13th
These are cool! But….7,2 & 1 suck. Prince used to be better but I wouldn’t put him in the top 100. People I’ve seen and heard that are unknown and not famous could fill half that list IMO, other barely heard of greats and then the well known legends…..but never Prince. John Mayer has a vagina.
( )Curtis October 13th
The Prince clip was incredible, and a lot of the others were really nice. Thanks.
Yeah, I’d agree Prince definitely deserves a spot in the “Top 50.” Top-notch skills. He is such a versatile and prolific all-around musician, and an ingenious and soulful songwriter–one of the most talented people alive.
I like the idea of ‘unexpected’ awesomeness . . . lol. Yep, some surprises here.
( )Kent Sandvik October 14th
Other guitar players worth checking out: Todd Rundgren (yep!), Adrian Belew (funny and complex), Mike Keneally (maybe the best Frank Zappa offspring ever), Dweezil Zappa (yes, he can really play, extremely good).
( )benjermaine October 15th
all i have to say is Scotty Anderson. Prince is an infant compared to Scotty. Youtube that shit.
( )Joe | A New Band A Day.com October 15th
I think Prince deserves to be number one purely for the fact that he’s a tiny, tiny little man, and it’s so wonderful to see him compensating for his diminutive size by making a guitar SQUEAL as loud as he can.
( )Brett October 15th
As blatantly stated in the title, this is all about under-rated or unexpected guitar moments.. So yeah Prince was defiantly something different, I knew he was decent but he knows music pretty well, and knowing that can easily transmute into decent fret work.
the other 6 people on the list are…. well shitty, mayer is just a blues scale whore, using effects isn’t exactly talent, and radio is just god awful.
I’d mention the virtuosos but that defies the purpose of the list….Jason Becker anyone?
( )Erix October 16th
Nice clips, some of these are actually great guitar players, like Prince. You need to dump Kurt though, he’s a good song writer, he had a musical gift, but he never got past the 2 first things you learn when you start playing guitar, which he didn’t even learn right anyway. Cobain’s songs will live on as brilliant classics, but at a certain point folks need to face the fact that he could not play worth shit.
( )David October 16th
So I’ve been on the hunt trying to find a purchasable/down-loadable quality copy of the performance prince did for clip number 1. I’m now aware it was for the 2004 rock and roll hall of fame, but dang if i cant find a place that has it.
Anyone here have any idea where i can buy/get it?
( )favian October 17th
uhhh any list without jack white is kind of a joke, especially with mayer on it (mayer isn’t the guitar god that jack is, but he is better than people give him credit for) if you want a blazing unexpected performance by jack white, try let’s build a home performed on conan o’brian
( )oh yeah and prince is a guitar god but he’ll never get credit for it unfortunately.
EvilRoy October 17th
Nice list. For another suprising solo, check out the cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh, Well” by a band called the Rockets. The solo itself isn’t all that technically amazing, but the tone is gut-wrenching and it’s a great example of a solo with every note it needs and none it doesn’t.
( )Arkz October 17th
god dammit i have to admit prince is a pretty good guitarist
( )J.D. October 18th
Not only does Prince exude awesomeness, but he’s clearly a wizard. His guitar disappears at the end. AWESOME!
( )Shockeye October 18th
How can I say this without causing a riot…
Prince is an excellent guitar player, no doubt about that.
Best ever? Well not so much. Im actually somewhat dissapointed with that solo. It could have been better.
( )Peter Pan October 18th
Nice Prince Clip ;o)))
( )RAndy October 19th
look up Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhardt and go from there. – These guys are merey OK by that standard.
( )Infected Daemon October 20th
No-one is saying that Prince is “the best” or “No. 1″, there just saying that he has been underestimated, and that he deserves a high ranking place in Guitar Player Pantheon. I mean really, Jendrix is God and Amen. The reason why Prince is the No. 1 in this list is because he is the MOST underestimated of all Guitar players. Actually I would give him a place in the top 20 or 50. Good solo. Oh, and Jack White IS already recognized as one of the Top guitarists, its not unexpected, thus he does not figure in this list.
( )leftyt berk October 21st
how about the incredible unknown guitarists like Forrest MacDonald of Atlanta and Johnny Barnes of Boston. http://www.johnnybarnes.com
( )Darren October 21st
Another great Prince moment – The greatest performance ever in AMA history – Prince doing PURPLE RAIN – can’t remember that year- but the best ever! The audience was in awe! Jaws dropped. I remember getting chills. AMAZING! I agree Prince never gets the credit he deserves
( )web October 21st
John Mayer is a fucking god.
( )Nouman Saleem October 21st
Chuck Schuldiner should REALLY be mentioned somewhere as an underground guitarist
( )mei October 22nd
prince is fu*kin sick. he can really play with the best of them
( )Batch October 23rd
I have always taken crap for being a Prince fan. I’ve never argued he was the best, but thanks to your video post, I believe I will start!
( )Jordan October 24th
Have any of you idiots mentioning why Steve Vai, Jimi Hendrix and the like are not on the list READ the title of the article? “Unexpected” people…..everybody knows those guys can rip it up. Not many people know that Prince is a freaking god on the instrument.
( )Jen October 28th
Well, Prince blew me away! I was not expecting that at all.
Kudos to the dude who mentioned Matt Bellamy of Muse.
( )Rich October 31st
Totally agree about the Prince one, I caught it prior to seeing it here and… I have to admit… I can’t think of a better guitar player than Prince either. I don’t own a single one of his albums. I don’t even like… need to, I just conjure the memories of seeing stuff… and the fact that I was obsessed with batdance as a child.
Cobain nicked a lot offa SY guitar, I wish more people did!
( )Yardbird November 2nd
Don’t forgot the underappreciated Guitar god David Lindley!!!!!
( )franky November 4th
I think you are leaving out one major person in Roy Buchanan in the song “The Messiah Will Come Again”. If you dont agree that he should be on the list over at least John Mayer then you are full of shit
( )red_star November 6th
Can we have a keyboard list?! Guitarists are so overrated. tsk.
( )haasertime November 8th
I had heard somewhere that Lynn and Petty were upset that Prince upstaged him, but check out Dhani Harrisons face. He fucking loves it.
This isn’t as edgy as Gently Weeps or Fury, but it’s pretty damn amazing for it’s time and place: ‘85 AMA’s – Purple Rain:
http://paris8000.multiply.com/video/item/11/Prince_1985_AMA_Purple_Rain
( )Brian D. November 8th
Loved the Prince clip; excellent choice for #1 – vastly under-rated as a guitarist (but its his own fault for being Prince).
To Rob W., no offence but the reference ‘Jimmy Page even admits he was trying to copy Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well” when he wrote “Black Dog”’ was nothing to do with Lyndsey Buckingham who was not in Fleetwood Mac at that time. Page was playing tribute to the great Peter Green.
( )Aardvarked January 8th
Ugh, most of these comments are awful. The pretentious morons who say, “I actually play the guitar” like fiddling around in their bedroom means they’re some sort of musical expert is pathetic. You’re on a website dedicated to music production, do you think you’re alone in playing the guitar?
And this pretty much sums the rest of the people up:
“Dump Mayer and add Jack White. JW at his laziest mops the floor with Mayer’s best. And he doesn’t have a closet full of shitrock following him around.”
Lol, absolute tosh.
( )Dami Akinyede April 19th
thanks, all my brothers and friend still dont want to understand the fact that you need to play great to make great and creative music even if you have chosen to join the samplers temple. thank for that john mayer’s story. he’ a great guy just as you are. Mr brown
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