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Top 10 Guitartists Of All Time


Steve

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http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/amplifier/rolling-stone-greatest-guitarists-list-too-high-too-181042395.html

Here's the mag's Top 10:

 

1. Jimi Hendrix

2. Eric Clapton

3. Jimmy Page

4. Keith Richards

5. Jeff Beck

6. B.B. King

7. Chuck Berry

8. Eddie Van Halen

9. Duane Allman

10. Pete Townshend

 

I remember when I spent my last year and a half of HS in the suburbs the subject of best guitarists was a very heated discussion. I discovered rock for the first time. They were shocked and actually didn't believe I had no idea who Led Zep, Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath were. Each fan of a sub category of rock tried to 'recruit' me. The metalheads v. hair band guys v. hard rock guys, etc. Guitarists were in two categories. There were the ones who though Hendrix was god. Arguing anyone was better was the same as telling a moslem, some other prophet was greater than Mohammed or a Christian that Peter or Paul was better than Jesus. The other group said there were guys as good or better than Hendrix. Oh, the arguments. I watched in wonder at the lunch table. The common rebuttal to any rock group was 'Those guys are fags!' lol. And the final proof that a group deserved no credit at all was 'My little sister likes them!' That made your argument for them null and void. If you liked Slayer you were gay. No guy would admit to liking them publicly or face ostracism or worse. It was okay socially to hit someone who liked them. I still don't know much about that group other than the name and hearing it said with derision.

 

Eddie Van Halen and Jimmy Page were offered as the alternatives to Hendrix. The Hendrix stalwarts were mortified. To a lot of these guys from this upper middle class Republican area Hendrix was the only black guy they looked up to...lol. And the fact that I knew nothing about him except his name completely astonished these guys. Guys spent countless hours trying to master his riffs. I even heard one guy who wasn't exactly the most progressive when it comes to race relations once accuse the van Halen guys of racism for not thinking Hendrix was better. HAHA.

 

I kept it quiet but I liked the '80s new wave stuff and that had no respect amongst the guys who wore the black concert t shirt (had to be Black Sabath or Iron Maiden) with the army jacket and well worn jeans that tore at the knees and the under the butt cheeks. Their hair had to touch their shirt collar.

 

I can't say my neighborhood didn't have similar arguments. Biggie Smalls was better than Tupac and saying Tupac was better made you a jehri curl wearing, west coast wanna be crip. Rakim was our Hendrix. Biggie Smalls was the only person you could get away with comparing him to.

 

Oh, those days!

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Hi,

 

Big Van Halen fan myself, so obviously I like Eddie Van Halen :)

 

A bit surprised not to see Steve Vai in that list.

 

As for Duane Allman, he's the only one in that list whose name I didn't recognize. Had to Google him and finding out he played in the Allman Brothers didn't really turn the light on either as I've never heard of them either.

 

Sanuk!

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The Allman Bros were a top group back in the 1970s. You're just too young to know them.

 

p.s. I'd forgotten the Allman Bros included acoustic guitars. :p

 

 

 

Midnight Rider? Give me a f**kin break. :wanker:

 

Here is Duane. :worship:

 

Real solo with Dicky Betts starts about 5:00. Dicky ain't too shabby either...

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVV3ByMK6g4

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LOL...this thread reminds me of High School. I recall Hendrix held in such high esteem that if you said anyone was better you could not ever criticize Jimi. I remember one guy saying 'Dude, Hendrix played better than Page while stoned on acid'. Even I had to acknowledge the logic in that. He died of an overdose right? So, its logical he played high?

 

I liked the unconventional, Adam and the Ants ("Stand and Deliver"), The Specials ("Gangsters") and I didn't appreciate The Who till after HS. A lot of the stuff sounded the same at first. What made it difficult was I was used to music you could dance to and at school dances they didn't seem to be any rythym to the dance.

 

Also, at every school dance, some guy yelled 'Freebird!' at the band. I had no idea what it meant till about 10 years ago. I thought it was some sort of chant that meant 'you rock'. I worked for a company several years ago that had a talent contest at one of our company parties and some guy from accounting was playing an acoustic guitar and singing folk music and it was not very good. I had one glass of wine too many and yelled 'Freebird!'encourage him, everyone laughed hysterically. I was so embarrassed. Then I heard the remake of that LS song and the name and the story behind and then I knew what it was.

 

PS: Biggie was better than Tupac. No room for discussion. End of story.

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