He is good, I just loved the riffwork he did. Most of DK's stuff was what inspired me to pick up a guitar. I agree with you. He isn't great, but he is still good.

Albert Collins
Johnny Lang
Bruce Kulick
Warren De Martini
George Lynch
Buddy Guy
George Benson
Neal Schon
Mick Marrs
Vinnie Vincent
Ace Frehley
Andy Taylor
Steve Stevens


I didnt see any of them listed. Also, no way Billy Corgan should be on that list, thats a huge "stretch" if you ask me...some others are questionable as well.

imo i think greenwood/o'brien should be higher up for there work with effects on guitars

also i think the edge and the dude from ZZ top shouldn't be on the list at all... just my opinion though

Billy Gibbons is an astounding guitarist with a dearth of music to show it. He was primarily influenced by B. B. King, but he took it so much further and incorporated a huge rock ethic in his work. He also uses a quarter as a plectrum. Noice.

ummm some of these dudes are on the list just because they made a name for themself through their band being popular and not because they were supremely skilled as a guitarist. Cobain was a decent guitar player at best who played really slow chords and used basic scales for his solos, buddy holly mostly played chords, lou reed is another example. There are very skilled guitarists that should make rolling stone's and this list but they are not as wideley known because their band didnt sell 1 million albums. Off the top of my head, Thomas Erak of Fall of Troy should be in there, Chris Arp of Psyopus, and at least one of the guitarists from Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza. Those are a few talented musicians that are way more technically proficient than, Cobain, Lou Reed, or Buddy Holly.

It recently occured to me recently that Uriah Heep's Mick Box is incredibly underrated... Well, like the whole band, but still, I'd like to see him make one of these lists some day. I have nothing against your list (except that Dereck Trucks should move a few inches up), and I'm sure you know a hell lot more about quitar players than I do, but can't help but think that Mick is a lot more fun than quite a few guys on the list. Just a personal opinion.

Good list, and holy crap you must be a patient person. You said you wanted recommendations for the next 50, so maybe J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.
He balances technique, and speed with melodic phrases pretty damn well (in my opinion). Check out the solos in "Start Choppin" and "Feel the Pain".

Its a good list...but im not sure about the tendency for people to always put the classic rock guitarists first
was hendrix really any more of a sonic explorer than say colin o'brien and johnny greenwood?
burn at the stake if you will

to be great doesn't mean to be technically proficient...
to me the ilk of Vai do not deserve to be in this list due to their excessive wank and poor melodic sensibilities.
great technique a great guitarist does not make

Why? Justify yourself classicist!

Vai is a great guitarist, he is indeed excessively flashy, but he's better than anyone else in that feld, and his influence is huge. Not a fan of Vai, Satriani and Malmsteen but I do think they deserve a high spot.

I'm half and half on this matter but is that genre even really deserving? Not to mention that technique is pretty damn easy to acquire if you have time and patience
of the three i think satriani is probably better...he has the better melodic sense and much more interesting use of his technique*
*midnight for example, which is a good tune, with an unconventional two hand chordal tapping approach, which also has a killer melody.
vai on the other hand plays fast wanky noise..

I think its a rather uncreative genre, with no restraint and very little emotional depth

AC/DC are just another run of the mill rock band...barring bon scott there was nothing special there
c'mon theyve released the same album about 15 times now