Great Guitar Players

A while ago I was having a conversation with a couple of friends about Eric Clapton. We agreed that Clapton was overrated as a guitar god. Maybe not overrated as a player, but overrated relative to his status as someone who belongs in the pantheon. The reason is simple: if you forget for a second that you are listening to Clapton, you hear some good riffs, a good basic stratocaster single coil tone, and solid but not incredible technique. He's someone who can sometimes play great, but not someone who is always a great player.

As I thought more about this topic I decided it would be a good idea to try to come up with some criteria that could help filter the great players from the merely good. So here's what I've settled upon: distinctive style (you know within a few seconds who you are listening to), distinctive sound (ditto), great technique that always serves the needs of the song (sorry, Yngwie!).

So, here are six names to get us started. I don't necessarily say they all belong in the pantheon (the pantheon is I think reserved for players who actually invent some kind of style or sound), but all score really highly (in my opinion of course) against the criteria. I list each with a link to a CD that effectively struts their stuff.

Ty Tabor (King's X). Maybe the biggest sound in rock and roll. Liquid but still hardcore metal crunch.

Stevie Ray Vaughn. Like Hendrix, incendiary solos that will take the top of your head off but what's really special are the smaller gestures: the quick double-stop fills and connecting riffs that dart in and out during a song.

Leo Kottke. Playing a low-tuned 12-string rigs the game a bit in that right from the start he sounds like no one else, but it's how he utilizes his brilliant technique and sense of humor in service of his playing that makes him instantly recognizable.

Richard Thompson. The acoustic and electric Richard are both awesome but it's his slinky solos on electric that make him sound like no one else.

Lenny Breau. Wow. No wonder he's called the guitarist's guitarist. Anyone who can play double-stop harmonics at lightning fast velocity deserves to be on this list.

Tony Rice. Smooth as silk, even when stretching the boundaries of what bluegrass guitar is supposed to be.

I know, I know, I forgot about 47 other names....will post again on this topic another day!

Update 9-22: I am listening to Jerry Cantrell as I write this....add him to the list!