I like guitar music. I tend to favor that genre known as 'shred', but my tastes are varied and I don't exclude any style. This is not to say that I like all guitar music or all guitarists. In fact, people often respond incredulously when I tell them that I am not a big fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan or Yngwie Malmsteen. I respect the talents of both these guitarists, but their music just doesn't tend to appeal to me.
The point of this page is to list a bunch of guitarist that I am familiar with and tell you what I think about them... I've broken this down into two lists: My 'A' list is essentially my top ten list. My 'B' list is all the other guitarists that I listen to, but don't make my top ten list.
Stuff in brackets and [this color] are the song titles of my favorite tunes by the artist, though in some cases, it's really hard to say that one song, in particular, is my favorite... These songs tend to be instrumentals, but are not exclusively so. In the spirit of Les Paul's comment (above), my favorites tend not to technical demonstrations, but rather I favor the more emotive selections.
... still, I do love a rip-roaring shred-fest!!!
By-the-way, in some cases I compare lesser known guitarists to better known guitarists. This usually does not mean that these guitarists sound exactly alike, usually it just means that their style of play is similar or that it seems that one is influenced by the other. Also, since I don't have everything ever done by every guitarist, sometimes my opinions may be biased to the style of one particular album or a handful of tunes that I've been able to get my hands on. In other words, don't read too much into these comparisons, they are merely meant to be mildly descriptive.
Guitarist |
Notes |
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Steve Vai is one of an elite few guitarists that were trained by Joe Satriani. Steve got his professional start playing for Frank Zappa. Later he played for Alcatrazz and David Lee Roth. However Steve's greater body of work has been solo. Steve has scored music for several movies and even had a minor starring role as an "instrument" of the devil in a movie called Crossroads. Steve and Joe Satriani team up each year (for the last several years) with one other big name guitarist (and a number of other semi-famous guitarists) to tour as the G3 supergroup. [Blue Powder] is my favorite guitar instrumental of all time! |
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Joe Satriani started a long running fascination with guitar instrumental music for me. Joe has trained a number of influential guitarists (Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett [Metallica], Doug Doppler, David Bryson [Counting Crows], Larry LaLonde [Primus], Rick Hunolt [Exodus], and probably a few others. Joe toured with Deep Purple, but is most well known for his instrumental solo albums. Joe is also known as the founder of the G3 supergroup concept. With Satch, it's hard to choose a favorite, but today, if I have to name just one, it would be [Until We Say Goodbye]. |
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John Petrucci is the guitarist for Dream Theater. Petrucci has ventured out in some side projects like Liquid Tension Experiment and An Evening With John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess. He hasn't ventured too far into the solo path, though he did tour with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai in the second and fourth incarnations of G3 (a guitar-fest featuring a number of well known guitarists). My favorite Petrucci guitar instrumental is [In The Moment] from An Evening With John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess. Rudess gets his time in the light on keyboards, as well, but it all works. |
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Blues Saraceno (that's his real name) started out with a few instrumental solo albums when he was only 16 years old. He then went on to replace Ritchie Kotzen who had replaced C.C. Deville in the band Poison. I really like Saraceno's solo stuff, though. Blues has more recently been focused on production work for other musicians and scoring music for various TV and film. My favorite Blues Saraceno tune is [A Lighter Shade Of Plaid] I love the volume swells - no one has ever done it better! |
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Generally, I'm not a fan of neo-classical, but for Vinnie, I make an exception. No one can put as much feeling into the neo-classical style. This is not to say that Vinnie's style is all neo-classical. Thankfully, Vinnie plays in many diverse styles. Deciding on a favorite tune is tough; [Watching From The Light ] or is it [Rain]? Flip a coin, I could listen to either of these songs a hundred times in a row and I would still get chills! Vinnie also has one of the best covers of While My Guitar Gently Weeps it has been available for free on his website (on his sounds page) - check it out! |
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Eric Johnson is an Austin based guitarist. He has had a number of successful guitar-oriented albums. Eric is less of a shredder than most of the guitarist on my 'A' list. Eric is best known for his trademark bell-like tones. Eric was the third guitarist for the first incarnation of the G3 supergroup. Eric sings in a lot of his tunes, which is just fine by me, but my favorite guitar instrumental from Eric is [Pavilion]. |
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Eddie Van Halen was, by no means, the first guy to wield a guitar, but for many, Eddie was a huge inspiration. Eddie made famous a couple of techniques that, while were known, were not popular until he got a hold of them. These techniques (for you fret-heads out there) were the "right hand hammer-on" and "tapping". These techniques have become the cornerstones for nearly every modern guitarist. Eddie (or Edward, now that he's grown up) performed most of his guitar wizardry along side of David Lee Roth's or Sammy Hagar's or Gary Cherone's vocals, but one of his most impressive and inspirational guitar instrumentals is [Eruption]. |
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Jason Becker had an amazing and an amazingly short career. Jason started out playing with Marty Friedman in a band called Cacophony. He released a solo project called Perpetual Burn which was a critical success. Jason then went on to replace Steve Vai in David Lee Roth's band. Unfortunately, by this time Jason, only 20 years old, was diagnosed with amyotropic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The disease quickly crippled Becker and crushed his promising career. I really like [ Altitudes] from Jason's first solo project Perpetual Burn. |
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Son of Frank Zappa, with guitar teachers like Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, and practically any big name guitarist you could care to mention (not to mention his dad) - how could Dweezil fail to be a great guitarist? Dweezil has done a number of solo projects and guested on many collaborative efforts. Dweezil now plays and tours with his long-time girlfriend Lisa Loeb (yes really). I have pretty much everything Dweezil has ever done, though there are rumors of an unfinished (or is it merely unreleased) guitar bonanza with more than a hundred big name and not-so big name guitarist. This is called, What The Hell Was I Thinking. I've been a big fan of Dweezil's since Havin' A Bad Day, but my favorite tune is [Automatic ] from the album of the same title. |
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Neil's style is sometimes similar to Joe Satriani, yet sometimes totally unique. Neil is a fairly recent discovery for me, so I still have to explore more of his catalogue. One of the interesting things that Neil does is he takes popular Christmas music and 'shreds' them. Neil is another one that makes it difficult to pick a favorite, but I'm going to go with [All My Life...], for now... but I reserve the right to change my mind later! |
My 'B' list is not meant to be a complete list of all the guitarists out there... it's not even all the guitarists that I know... it's really just a big list of guitarists, some big names - some you probably never heard of. I've put a number in the name cell. These numbers are a sort of ranking, with low numbers being my least favorite and higher numbers being my most favorite, except of course, all the guys on my 'A' list are 10's. I don't have the time or patience to have an entry for every guitarist I've ever heard of, so my list is truncated on the low end. In other words, I don't go any lower than 5. Again, don't read too much into these rankings - they probably tell you more about me than they tell you about the guitarists...
This is a work in progress and I will be filling in the gaps ASAP, as well as adding new names as I remember or discover them.
Guitarist |
Notes |
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7
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Also known as Michael Batio or Michael Angelo Batio. Michael plays
in a progressive metal style, but he is more melodic and less
mechanical than the typical metal shredder. Michael plays an
interesting double-neck guitar where the necks aren't parallel,
they diverge at about 90 degree angles. Michael is often regarded
as the fastest shredder in the world. Of course, there are varying
opinions on this (some hold that this title is owned by Chris
Impellitteri, while others believe that Rusty Cooley holds that
honor). These are pointless arguments, since the truth is that
the fastest shredder is probably some 14 year old kid practicing
in his bedroom... I'm with Les Paul (see the quote at the top of
this page). Favorite tune: [2X Again] |
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6
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Fazar has a spacey, progressive sound with subtle neo-classical hints. Favorite tune: [Why] (I really loved the bagpipes at the beginning) |
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6
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Melodic shredder with a similar style to Joe Satriani. Favorite tune: [Eve] |
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6
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Indian born guitarist who's styles vary from instrumental shred to metal to pop. Joy does a lot of session work for various artists. |
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7
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I've been a big fan of Jeff Beck since I was in high school. His song ['Cause We Ended As Lovers] is one of my favorite guitar solos and it just goes to show you that it doesn't have to be incredibly fast to be incredible! |
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8
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Nuno is most famous for his work in the group Extreme. After
Extreme, he tried his hand at a solo project, which I thought
was pretty good - but the rest of the world seemed not to be impressed.
I've heard a few things from his work in The Mourning Widows,
but it just didn't seem to have the same edge. Nuno's current band
is Population 1, but I've yet to hear much of anything from this
venture... except the clips from the web site. One of my favorite guitar instrumentals by Nuno is the incredible acoustic tune named [Midnight Express]. |
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5
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Blackmore was the original guitarist from Deep Purple and is
responsible for one of the most popular guitar songs in history Smoke
On The Water. Later, he went on to found the band Blackmore's
Rainbow. Blackmore now is doing a sort of "world music" thing in a
band called Blackmore's Night, featuring Candice Night. Favorite tune: [Son Of Alerik] |
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7
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Blug has a fantastic cover of Jeff Beck's 'Cause We've Ended As Lovers. Favorite tune: [Blue Valley]. |
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7
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Little known instrumental guitarist with a style similar to Satriani. Favorite tune: [Sleeping]. |
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6
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Tommy replaced Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple, plus he did a
number of solo projects. He is responsible for one of my all-time favorites, [Post Toastie]. He sings on this tune, but that's OK... in this case. |
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5
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Rick has an excellent cover of Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song. Favorite tune: [Honey On Velvet]. |
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5
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I'm a big fan of Alice Cooper. Michael was one of Alice's original
guitarists. He was highly underrated at the time and I still listen
to some of his old work and am impressed. Actually, if you followed
Alice Cooper's career (as I do), you would find that he tends to
attract some really, really good guitarists. While I like Bruce as an artist, I get the impression from several sources that he is not a very nice person. Here is the link from the old "official" Michael Bruce web site http://www.michaelbruce.com/. It seems apparent that Michael has really pissed someone off... That someone is his old manager, Dan Tuttle - who, apparently, still controls the URL... |
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5
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Formula rocker with some decent chops. |
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6
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Stef is one of those relatively unknowns. His biggest break was
with Alice Cooper in the Hey Stoopid days and he played
with a number of greats on that album, including Joe Satriani,
Steve Vai, Vinnie Moore, and more. Favorite tune: [Bayshore Road] |
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8
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If Steve Vai had a clone... I don't mean to say this guy does good covers of
Steve Vai tunes; Sergio plays original compositions with a style, inventiveness,
and sound that would make those with a discerning ear swear that they were
hearing a new Steve Vai tune... Amazing! Favorite tune: [You're The One Who Taught Me About The Silence] |
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(AKA Buckethead) (AKA Death Cube K) 8
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Wow! Some of his stuff is simply beautiful! Some of it is a little too
avant garde for my taste. Rarely seen without the Michael Meyers mask
and the KFC bucket on his head. He doesn't list Frank Zappa as an
influence, but I find it hard to believe that Zappa doesn't play a
part in his twisted psyche... Favorite tune: [Earth Heals Herself] or maybe [Angel Monster] |
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7
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I recently discovered this guy and bought his album, "One
Zillion Guitars. This was a very good album with some
great electric and acoustic tunes. I'm anxious to hear more of
his stuff. Favorite tune: [Midnight Flyer] |
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5
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I like a few things by Clapton, but it really bugs me that Cocaine sounds so much like Post Toastie by Tommy Bolin. |
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5
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He is incredibly fast. Many claim that he is the fastest. That
may be, but, for me, Rusty just doesn't have that magic that
makes me want to run out an buy his music. He's a little too
mechanical, but not as bad as Yngwie. Recently I heard the tune [Jazzmine's Song], in which Rusty steps out of the mold. I would love to hear more like that... |
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8
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Not a shredder. Al is simply a phenomenon. I'm not a big fan of jazz, but
Al Di Meola makes me forget that. He, of course, can play a wide variety of
styles... probably even shred, if he wanted to... Favorite tune: [Race With Devil On Spanish Highway] |
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9
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Doug is one of the few privileged guitarists to have been trained by Joe
Satriani. Doug sometimes reminds me of Satch, but other times his music
is dark and intense, but I like it a lot. I'm currently enjoying
Nu Instrumetal and I like it more and more each time I
listen to it. I can't wait to get ahold of more of his material! Favorite tune: [Like Father Like Son] (It's very hard to choose just one; Starcrossed Lovers is another great tune and I also like Self Portrait from an earlier effort). |
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7
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This guitarist from Portugal has a sound that reminds me of Satriani
or Vai. He tends to favor chunky rhythms and dark riffage. I like the
guy, even though he overuses the programmable drums... Favorite tune: [Sunset] (I really love the rip-roaring, out-of-control ending of this tune) |
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5
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Danish, progressive shredder with fairly diverse styles. Favorite tune: [About Time] |
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6
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Rock, shred, and edgy jazz. Favorite tune: [It's Coming Back] |
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5
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Carlo is a jazz player who can shred when he wants to. His style reminds me of
Tony MacAlpine at times. I'm not a big fan of funk, but his tune, [Funkcannon] is very nice progressive funk. |
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5
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Firkins' style is reminiscent of Eddie Van Halen at times, but he really is a
virtuoso of various styles... Favorite tune: [Deja Blue ]. |
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6
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Robben has been around for ages... Until recently, I was only familiar with his work
as a blues guitarist. Now I sometimes like the blues, but none of Ford's music
really stood out for me. It wasn't until I heard his work in Jing Chi that I gained
a new appreciation for his guitar work. The new style is more pregressive and more
interesting. Favorite tune: [Aurora]. |
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5
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Best known for popularizing the talk box effect. He didn't invent it - he was just the first to overuse it on several big radio hits. Following the success of Show Me The Way every budding guitarist had to have a talk box including... ummm... well... me. |
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7
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Marty was half of the band Cacophony (with Jason Becker), which
they formed in their late teens. Around that time, Marty also put out
a solo project named Dragon's Kiss, which tended toward the
neo-classical and he contributed to Jason Becker's solo project called
Perpetual Burn. Finally, Marty ended up as the guitarist for
Megadeth (I liked his earlier stuff better). Now (at the time of
this writing) Marty lives in Tokyo Japan and produces, as well as
plays in a Japanese supergroup called Aikawa Nanase. Favorite tune: [Farewell] |
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7
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Australian born guitarist who has a number of solo and collaborative
projects. I first discovered Brett on mp3.com. Favorite tune: [Breathe] |
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5
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Fuzzy guitarist from ZZ Top. Innovative style, but not particularly stunning. |
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6
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Talented shredder from Racer X. Most of his material is a
little too mechanical for my taste. Favorite tune: [I Understand Completely] (a little off-beat, but interesting). |
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7
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Old school guitarist from Pink Floyd. A friend of mine once
made an astute observation: it is not uncommon to hear people
humming, whistling, or singing Gilmour's guitar leads. They tend
to just stick in your head. Gilmour is not technically fast, but
he can really make the guitar sing. Gilmour has produced many great guitar solos in his career. One of the few instrumental-only tunes (from About Face) that I like is [Let's Get Metaphysical]. |
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6
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Govan got his start in the group Asia somewhat after their rise and fall.
He is now doing solo projects and, so far, I like what I hear. Somewhat reminiscent
of early Vai, but with a style all his own. I predict he will move up on my list
as I hear more of his material. Favorite tune (so far): [Hangover]. |
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7
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Another student of Joe Satriani. Kirk is the guitarist from
Metallica. I like Kirk, but he's subtle and never
overstated. However, sometimes he's a little understated.
Also, not his fault, but he seems to be constrained by the
song-writing of Hetfield and Ulrich. I've seen the
Metallica documentary Some Kind Of Monster. Kirk
seems to be the most level headed guy in rock and role and
certainly the most sane guy in Metallica... but that's a
dubious honor, at best! I would love to hear a solo
project from this guy, but something tells me he would
rather not have that much spotlight... Favorite tune: [Fade To Black] |
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5
|
Electric blues / jazz fusion. Very fluid, never mechanical. |
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7
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Very diverse shredder. The thing that I find most impressive about Hattingh is his ability to imitate practically any big name guitarist. I don't mean he does good covers of their music; what I mean is he comes up with original compositions that you would swear was the artist he is imitating, except on Old Hemiola he shreds a little too much for Al DiMeola and on Triple Trouble, I like him a lot better than anything I ever heard Stevie Ray Vaughan play... (I know, that's sacrilege to many guitarists). I've figured out everybody except for Fool Shred - can anyone tell me who Chris is parodying on this tune? |
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6
|
Originally with George Clinton and Bootsy Collins from Funkadelic ( Parliment before that). His most famous guitar solo is Maggot Brain, which is very, very soulful. The scuttle-butt is that the whole tune was done in one improvisational take. Very impressive, if true. I've heard a dualing version with Eddie and Mike Hampton that was very cool, however my favorite Eddie Hazel tune is [From The Bottom Of My Soul]. (Oddly enough, I like the soulful vocals that add to the musical content in a moving way) |
|
7
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Hendrix is not one of my favorites, but I respect him for the inspiration that
he has had for other guitarists and I do like a lot of his tunes. I'm more amazed
by the fact that Jimi played right-handed guitars, left-handed. Actually, a lot
of left-handers did this, but few of them did it with the guitar still strung
for a right-hander. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to learn to play
the guitar upside down... it boggles my mind. The first song I learned to play on guitar also happens to be one of my favorites, [All Along The Watchtower] (I'm not sure if it's merely a sentimental favorite or I like it exclusively because of the great riffage... probably a little bit of both. Of course, this is actually a cover; Bob Dylan did the original). |
|
5
|
Respectable jazz fusion, but nothing stands out for me. |
|
7
|
A lot of his early work was 'surf', which I'm not a big fan of, but he did it
with an edge of shred... so some of it is actually pretty good. His later stuff is
a bit edgier and more to my tastes. He has covered a lot of great tunes, and I
think his covers are what I like best.
Favorite tune: [Peace Pipe] |
|
8
|
Much of what I've heard from Holdsworth has a jazz fusion feel. He reminds me of
Stanley Jordan, at times. I have heard a few tunes that are not as jazzy..
these tend to appeal to me more. There's no doubt about it, Holdsworth is a
great guitarist - maybe one of the most fluid I've ever heard. Favorite tune: [San Marcos] |
|
5
|
Formula shredder... I can't think of much to say. Maybe I just need to hear more of his material... |
|
7
|
Progressive metal guitarist, reminiscent of Joe Satriani or Vinnie Moore, but
maybe a little darker. Check out the web site - you can hear several of his tunes.
Another guitarist I discovered on mp3.com. I haven't heard that much, but I've
liked everything I've heard so far. Favorite tune: [Quien] |
|
5
|
Some believe Chris to be the fastest shredder. His style is predominantly neo-classical; cut from a similar cloth as Yngwie Malmsteen. Chris is definitely faster than Yngwie and, I think, more fluid. My problem with Chris is that he's always playing 100 miles per hour, so it doesn't leave much room for expression and emotion... |
|
6
|
Guitarist from Chicago with a Satriani-like style. Great tunes; I wish I
had more of his stuff. Favorite tune: [If I Were King] |
|
5
|
Favorite tune: [Burning Bridges] |
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6
|
OK, so Joan may not be at the top of my list for technical ability, but she's
number one on my list of guitarists I'd like to get personal instruction from! Favorite tune: [Do You Wanna Touch Me] (duh...) Yeah, I know... it's a cover... |
|
7
|
A recent discovery, this guy has a lot of promise and I hope to hear more of
his material. He reminds me of Petrucci, but then he lists Dream Theater
and Liquid Tension Experiment in his influences, so I guess I shouldn't
be surprised. Favorite tune (so far): [Purging The Depths] |
|
6
|
One of the few jazz guitarists that I enjoy. If you want to be impressed
you should see Jordan live, playing two guitars simultaneously! I like Jordan's [Still Got The Blues], which is a sort of jazz-blues fusion piece. |
|
7
|
The thing I like best about Phil is his acoustic playing. In 1980, a friend of mine, knowing that I was into guitar music, gave me one of Phil Keaggy's albums, Ph'lip Side. It had some amazing guitar work for that time. Since then, I hear scattered things from Phil and always like what I hear, but I'm not sure if that's not driven by a sense of nostalgia. |
|
8
|
One of the greatest traditional blues guitarists. Ever. Period. I defy any
guitarist of any genre to not love this guy! Favorite tune: [Lucille] (... and what a great story!) |
|
6
|
Very versatile guitarist. His styles vary from shred to jazz and everything in between. Favorite tune: [Playa De Guitar] (Jazz fusion? Neo-classical? Latin rock? I don't know just how to categorize it... but I like it!) |
|
5
|
Very solid and well known acoustical guitarist. Not really my style, but I
can appreciate his skill and compositional style. Maybe one day I'll discover one of his instrumental pieces that speaks to me, but for now I like [Jack Gets Up] |
|
5
|
Similar styles to Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson. Favorite tune: [Fall On Me] |
|
6
|
Guitarist from the progressive band Electrum. This band has obvious
influences from Rush and Dream Theater, however they remind me
more of Liquid Tension Experiment. Kulju is not an equal to John
Petrucci, but he's a fine guitarist. Favorite tune: [The Impudent Piece Of Crockery] |
|
7
|
Independent, solo guitarist. Plays for a band named Aerosonic. He's the only
guy in the band... I knew I liked this guy for some reason... then I looked on his
web site and saw numerous references to Alice Cooper as an influence. VERY COOL! Favorite tune: [Miracles] (Nice Spanish flair) |
|
7
|
Guitarist from Rush. I first became impressed with this guy when I saw him play Trees live. Oddly enough, it was several years later before I heard [La Villa Strangiato]. Alex also put out a solo project, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you're just a big fan. The only two notable tunes are Start Today with Lisa Dalbello (sounding amazingly like Geddy Lee) on vocals and Shut Up Shuttin' Up, which is funny and has some respectable riffage interspersed... |
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7
|
His web site calls his style of music "nouveau flamenco". Many of his tunes remind me
of Carlos Santana, but with a more worldly feel. [Illusion] |
|
6
|
Lead guitarist for Dokken, then the Lynch Mob. His style is mostly
metal. He's got all of the right tools; I'm not sure why he never really clicked
for me. Favorite tune: [Mr. Scary]. |
|
8
|
Tony is an adept musician on many fronts. Not only is he a great neo-classical
guitarist (one of the few I actually like to listen to), he's also a great pianist. Favorite tune: [Porcelain Doll] |
|
5
|
Yngwie (pronounced "ing-vey") is one of the most famous and most popular neo-classical
guitarists. Some think he is the fastest: not that this is an important measurement of
a good guitarists, but he is not the fastest, by any stretch of the imagination. I
find Yngwie to be the epitome of the arrogant rock star. He makes fun of Eddie Van
Halen and criticizes Steve Vai for his technique. Yngwie's signature move is one where
he tosses his guitar so that it swings in a loop around his back (constrained by the
strap) so that it returns to playing position. I have to admit it's very impressive...
actually, it's over-the-top and just the sort of thing that makes me unimpressed... While, I'm not a big fan of Yngwie's guitar work, I do think he is an excellent songwriter. I really like tunes like Heaven Tonight, Forever One, Dreaming, and many others. In fact, I think Heaven Tonight would be much better without the neo-classical guitar solos... I do like Yngwie's [Acoustic Guitar Solo] from the G3 Live In Denver. |
|
5
|
"The Snake"; I'm not sure why he's called that... He's a heavy, old school electric blues guitarist (if there is such a thing). |
|
7
|
Very impressive and very versatile guitarist from Canada. He has some of
the best progressive acoustic tunes around, plus he can rip on the electric
guitar when he wants to... He has this tune, [Demon Fetal Harvest], on his Demon's Dream album, that has this creepy, Native American chant sort of sound... It's mesmerizing... |
|
6
|
Guitarist from Queen. Pretty good guitarist, but I'm most impressed
with the guitar that he built himself. I have no idea how it plays, but it
sounds really sweet. He hand wound his pickups, which takes a lot of
patience and it's really easy to screw up... take it from someone who tried
to build his own pickups... once! Favorite tune: [Bijou] |
|
6
|
Progressive, yet melodic Canadian guitarist. Favorite tune: [On The Way] |
|
6
|
Kind of a dark, crunchy tone... but I kinda like it. Favorite tune: [Midnight] |
|
6
|
Obvious influences Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, etc.. Favorite tune: [It's In The Air] |
|
7
|
Amazing acoustic guitarist! Mostly blues styles. Very energetic... |
|
6
|
Montrose got his start in the 70's and is responsible for the guitar work
on two of my all-time favorite tunes from the Edgar Winter Group,
Frankenstein and Free Ride. I am also a
big fan of Rock Candy with Sammy Hagar. Favorite tune: [Mach 1] |
|
7
|
One of the great blues players, but he also plays a lot of classic rock.
Gary's career spans from the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, and he's still
going strong! Favorite tune: [Dunluce (part 2)] |
|
7
|
Guitarist from the Dixie Dreggs and also from Deep Purple. I like his
solo stuff best, but his guitar work on the Deep Purple albums Abandon
and Purpendicular is outstanding. Favorite tune: [Simple Simon] |
|
5
|
Neo-classical guitarist with death-metal vocals... not really my cup of
tea. I have aheard a few tunes that remind me of Alice In Chains,
which I sort of lilked. Favorite tune: [Odyssey], which is a cover of the Dreggs tune. |
|
7
|
Satriani-like shredder who also just happens to be a mild-mannered
engineer by day... Go figure. Favorite tune: [The Best Of One Another] |
|
5
|
Old school rock and roll. Sometimes called the "Motor City Madman",
for good reason. I don't like his politics or his attitudes, but I
liked a lot of his music when I was younger. I saw Ted Nugent live
in the late 70's. He said he had a guitar (1960-ish Gibson Byrdland)
that would blow the balls off a charging rhino at 100 yards... When
Ted hit his first chord, the guy in front of me grabbed his ears in
obvious pain (I may have seen a trickle of blood). The sound was
truly intense... Unfortunately, Ted was invited never to return
to that venue again, due to the excessive noise. I hear that
neighbors complained that they could not hear the jets taking off
from the nearby airport... WARNING: The Nuge's web site has more about hunting than music... |
|
7
|
Guitarist from Led Zeppelin. Often imitated, rarely equaled. Many
fans may not realize that Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck played together in the
Yardbirds. I really like some of Jimmy's early heavy blues work
from that time, but of course, I like just about everything that Zep
did, as well. I know I'm going to catch some flak for being too cliche, but my favorite Jimmy Page tune is [Stairway To Heaven]... but not the typical version. Jimmy did an instrumental version, I've got some footage of the live performance - Jimmy is dressed in a sort of leisure suit with his SG double-neck. I have no idea what show this is, but this is the best version of the song I've heard. |
|
7
|
Palacios reminds me of Steve Vai, at times. Favorite tune: [Upon The Face Of The Waters] |
|
8
|
Dark progressive guitarist. I discovered him on mp3.com. Favorite tune: [Seventh] |
|
5
|
A master and inspiration for many, many guitarists. Most of Les
Paul's music is not really my style, but I can certainly
appreciate his skills. Favorite tune: [Blue Skies] |
|
7
|
Neo-classical guitarist from Portugal. Favorite tune: [Torre De Babel] |
|
5
|
Lead guitarist for Aerosmith. Not much solo work, but I'm a big fan
of his work in Aerosmith. I really like his cover of The Doors
The Crystal Ships from his solo album. Favorite tune: [Twilight] |
|
6
|
Known primarily for his guitar playing and songwriting in the band Yes,
Trevor has also been a prolific producer of albums and film scores. Favorite tune: [BMBBO] (I have no idea what it means...) |
|
5
|
Shred with a jazz/fusion touch. Favorite tune: [The Unconscience] |
|
6
|
Guitarist from In Living Color. Vernon has a new solo project out, which I expect to be checking out very soon - I have high expectations... |
|
8
|
Mostly heavy, progressive style, but Reindel does have a soft side at times
that reminds me of Satriani. Jim is another guitarist I discovered on mp3.com. After listening to Jim again I realized that I had previously scored him too low - I've just bumped him up to an 8! Favorite tune: (hard to choose, but I'm going to go with) [The Margin] |
|
5
|
Neo-classical metal guitarist. Not my style, but I admire Rick's ability to overcome adversity. Rick is severely disabled in both hands, though his disability does not seem to impact his playing ability. |
|
6
|
Originally, founder and guitarist for Quiet Riot, Randy went on to play guitar for Ozzy Osbourne. Unfortunately, he barely got started when he was killed in a tragic airplane accident. |
|
6
|
Old school electric blues. Richman has obvious influences from Robin Trower,
Jeff Beck, and Jimi Hendrix. Richman has a number of great covers of tunes
from great guitarists. My favorite tune is called [Mr. Jimi] which is supposed to be a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, but strangely, has snippets from Robin Trowers' Daydream. |
|
5
|
Lead guitarist for REO Speedwagon, Richrath was a popular guitarist in the 70's
and 80's. He was, in my opinion, underrated. My favorite tune is a little known (mostly) instrumental called [Dead At Last]. |
|
6
|
Progressive French guitarists with a diverse style. Favorite tune: [Blue Ice] |
|
5
|
Neo-classical lead guitarist from the Scorpions. He "invented" his own guitar which is a 7-string variant he calls the "Sky Guitar". Sure, I know, 7-string guitars have been all the rage for the last several years... only, Roth invented his more than 20 years ago. |
|
6
|
Favorite tune: [Sanctifying Grace] |
|
5
|
Swedish guitarist from the band called BOGGIEbreakers. He also
produced a solo album named Blue Fusion (Which should
give an idea of his style of music). Favorite tune: [Deep Sleep] |
|
7
|
Carlos Santana is a guitar legend. He personifies the latin-blues sound. His guitar playing is very fluid and melodic. I've never been a huge fan, but I can appreciate his skill and song-writing abilities. |
|
5
|
Old-school rock with some new-school guitar chops. Savage seems to favor dark,
chunky tones and rhythms to go with it. Favorite tune: [December] A little lighter and more mellifluous than much of his other material. |
|
5
|
Michael got his start at the age of 17 as guitarist for the Scorpions. He went on to make a name for himself in the band UFO. After about 5 years and a few great albums, Schenker returned to the Scorpions for a very short stint. He milled around, created his own band, the Michael Schenker Group, and eventually rejoined UFO. I like his original UFO material best. |
|
7
|
Neal got his start playing backup guitar for Santana. Later he became
the lead guitar for Journey. Neal has also done a number of solo
projects which really show off his guitar skills. Favorite tune: [Moon Dust] |
|
8
|
Serious shredder with heavy riffs and equally heavy rhythms. Favorite tune: [Old Friends] Honorable mention: [Anything For You, Schust] (A party out of control, apparently...) |
|
7
|
Very diverse styles, sometimes reminiscent of Joe Satriani, sometimes Vinnie Moore,
sometimes Stevie Ray Vaughn, sometimes a style all his own. Jeff has some
guitar lessons on his web site. Favorite tune: [Lakota] |
|
6
|
Steeped in the blues of the south; Sheppard is one of the best. I like a lot of his material, but probably my favorite is [While We Cry], a live instrumental from Ledbetter Heights. Also, Sheppard's instrumental version of the Jimi Hendrix classic, Voodoo Child is fan-freakin-tastic! |
|
9
|
If my 'A' list went to 11, this guy would probably be in it. It's hard to pin down who
Alejandro sounds like... sort of similar to Vinnie Moore at times, but at other times,
totally unique. If I have to choose one favorite it would probably be [Chomo-Lunga] (but I have no idea what it means). |
|
9
|
In my mind, Mike Slamer is the most underrated guitarist in the history of music!
I first discovered Mike as the lead guitarist of a group named City Boy.
This was the early 70's about the same time that Eddie Van Halen was busting
on the scene. Mike could hold his own with Eddie back then. Later, Mike went on
to play in the band Streets and he started producing. He was largely
responsible for the early success of Warrant... performing as a 'ghost'
guitarist... until they decided that they would do just fine without him... they
were wrong... Finally, Mike settled into a band named Steelhouse Lane. If
you ever get a chance to check them out, you won't be disappointed. Slamer, like
Eddie Van Halen, tends to dominate with the guitar, but I'm not aware of any
guitar instrumentals. [All I Believe In] from the Steelhouse Lane album Slaves Of The New World is, quite possibly, the perfect blend of vocals and guitar of any song I've ever heard. I could listen to it a million times in a row and not get bored! |
|
5
|
Lead guitarist, originally from Guns 'N Roses, then Slash's Snakepit, and now Velvet Revolver. Slash has a very distinctive lead guitar sound; very high gain, lots of distortion, but otherwise unencumbered by effects. |
|
8
|
Frank's style is sort of a Satriani meets Santana, with hints of
Vinnie Moore and David Gilmour trown in for good measure...
Frank has an excellent instrumental cover of Led Zeppelin's Going
To California. Favorite tune: [Acqua], though Highlands is a close runner up... |
|
7
|
Reminds me lot of Steve Morse. Favorite tune: [Balance of Power], though I really like the acoustic tune [Autumn Dance], too. |
|
5
|
If disco lingered into the 21st century... and had serious guitars, then I suspect
it might sound something like this... Somehow, it's not as bad as it sounds. I
actually like some of Chris's music, but it's a little more swooshy than
I can stand... sometimes... Favorite tune: [Simeon's Song] |
|
8
|
Innovative guitarist. Actually well rounded musician. Jason not only plays
guitar, but practically everything else. At one time, Jason was living in
Austin - I regret that I had not discovered him at that time. Favorite tune: [Once Upon A Time] |
|
7
|
This Italian-born, progressive jazz guitarist is often compared to Alan Holdsworth.
He is, indeed, very fluid and has beautiful tone. Favorite tune: [Koi Koi] |
|
5
|
With a name like "Joe Stump", one might expect a country western sound.
Stump is anything but... Kind of a heavy Malmsteen clone. If you like
neo-classical, you'll probably like Joe Stump... I don't, so I don't. Having said that, I do like [The Jimi Stomp], which I assume is a tribute to Hendrix. |
|
7
|
Summers, for so long, lived in the shadow of Sting... I like the Police
but I really like the solo work I've heard from Summers that came after. Favorite tune: [Big Thing] |
|
7
|
Hungarian guitarist with a Satriani-like style. Obviously a big fan of Joe
Satriani, Steve Vai, and Eric Johnson (based on his covers of Always With
Me, Always With You, I Would Love To, and Cliffs Of Dover). Favorite tune: [Hot Off The Frets] |
|
7
|
Spacy, layered, instrumental guitarist. Very unique and inventive style.
One of this guy's strong points are his live performances. Favorite tune: [Themes] |
|
6
|
AKA Bumblefoot, Ron Thal is nothing if not... interesting... Pretty good guitarists with an undefinable style. He probably has more in common with Frank Zappa than most other guitarists. He has an excellent cover of Joe Satriani's Always With Me, Always With You... except it has a an almost New Age feel and Ron decided to name it Always With You, Always With Me. Favorite tune: [Rinderpest] |
|
7
|
Obviously influenced by Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, but with hints of Vinnie
Moore. Philippe does a great cover of Steve Vai's Sisters. Favorite tune: [Time Out] |
|
9
|
Great electric blues guitarist. This guy knows how to do the blues right! Favorite tune: [Goodbye Friend] |
|
9
|
Very diverse styles. Sometimes Satch-like, sometimes an Eric Johnson feel.
He used to tour with Alice Cooper (which I give bonus points for).
He was with a band named Danger, Danger and he regularly shows up
as a guest guitarist for G3. He has some excellent covers of some
Hendrix tunes, but my favorite cover is Alice Cooper's No More Mr.
Nice Guy! Favorite tune: [September] |
|
6
|
Devin was responsible for the vocals on Sex & Religion with Steve Vai... and interesting vocals they are. Devin is not satisfied with merely having interesting vocals, he has a very interesting chunky sound on guitar. Not a bad shredder when he wants to be, but maybe a little too pretentiously progressive... |
|
5
|
Axe-man from The Who. When I think of signature guitar stunts, I think of Townshend doing his windmills and the early days of smashing guitars on his amplifiers... but the ultimate classic is the move in the song/video [Won't Get Fooled Again] where the lights go out, the music gets quiet, then suddenly the lights burst on and Pete Townshend hits a chord while flying across the stage and skidding to a stop on his knees! Chills, I tell 'ya! |
|
8
|
Old school rock and blues. Robin was one of the first guitarists that I discovered
and one of the originals that inspired me to pick up the instrument. I dare say
that Robin Trower was probably a hero for most of my guitar heros. Favorite tune: [Bridge Of Sighs] |
|
5
|
Go figure; I like Jimmie Vaughan's playing more than Stevie Ray's. |
|
5
|
I'm probably one of the few fret heads in Austin who is NOT a huge Stevie Ray fan. I certainly respect the skill that he played with, but didn't care for his sound or his style. My favorite Stevie Ray Vaughn tunes tend to be covers of other people's music... |
|
7
|
Excellent guitarist from Italy. Obviously influenced by Joe Satriani and
Steve Vai. Favorite tune: [Universe] |
|
8
|
Another guitarist I discovered on mp3.com. Vince is a very lyrical guitarist
and it wouldn't be fair or meaningful to compare his style to anyone else.
He has a penchant for epic tunes that last for a dozen minutes or more, yet
I always find myself so engrossed that I don't notice that the songs are
that long... I think my favorite is one of the shorter ones, though: [When Angels Cry] |
|
8
|
First the James Gang, then his solo stuff, then on to the Eagles.
Joe is a great guitarist and one of my personal heros. A couple of little known facts are that:
|
|
7
|
Protoge of Steve Vai, Dave is young, but I think he may be one of the
truely great guitarists in the future - especially under the
tutilage of the master... Favorite tune: [Long Run] |
|
5
|
Massive guitarist from the band Mountain. Leslie has lost a lot
of weight and continues to make great rock and blues music. Favorite tune: [Missippi Queen] A CLASSIC! |
|
6
|
Very diverse from jazz to shred. Favorite tune: [Canned Heart] |
|
7
|
Lyle has played for bands such as Frank Black and Beck (the
90's postmodern one). He has also done some solo projects. I sort of like
the guy because I sat next to him on a plane ride back from London once. We
talked guitars and guitarists the whole way back and he didn't once shy
away from the subject or act like a professional musician snob. Also, he
plays guitar on a track named Stand on Alice Cooper's album
Dirty Diamonds and supposedly contributed to Dweezil Zappa's
What The Hell Was I thinking project, and used to be roomates
Stef Burns - those are all very cool things in my book! Favorite tune: [Ithaca] |
|
6
|
Metal guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and concurrently his own band the
Black Label Society. Eddie Van Halen had those taped guitars... Zakk has
a black and white bulls-eye design on his guitars. Zakk is just a bit too...
ummm... noisy for my taste, but he does have a few tunes I like. Favorite tune: [Speedball] (a little neo-classical, acoustic number) |
|
5
|
Excellent Swiss shredder. Daring and innovative, at times (for instance
his tune Club 22 intermixes jazzy sections with progressive
metal sections and more traditional shred interludes - and it works!) Favorite tune: [The Detune] |
|
5
|
Progressive shredder; Brooks is a young guy with a bright future... Favorite tune: [Severing Through Time] |
|
9
|
Zappa's politics and avant garde approach to life tends to turn a lot of
people away. Which is unfortunate. He was one of the most brilliant
composers of the 20th century and a damn smart guy. While he never really
seemed to intend to do guitar instrumentals, he just seemed to fall into
some of the greatest guitar solos of all time. Most of them were
improvisational, which just makes them all the more amazing! It's hard to pick a favorite and I'm not even sure if some of Frank's solos officially had names, but I really like [Variations On The Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression] (I can't really tell if Frank was a fan... but I suspect that he was not...) |
If you found this page interesting, you might also like my Guitar Covers Page.
I've put a lot of time into this page and listened to a lot of music, but I don't pretend that it's definitive. I hope it's mostly factual, but I'm sure a few errors have crept in. If you find one, let me know about it. Also, I tried to find the best web link for each artist, but these are flighty things - old links die while new, better ones pop up all the time. If you know of a better link for a particular artist, let me know about it. If you know of a guitarist that does not appear on this page, let me know. I still have a list of about 40 more guitarists that I intend to add, but the one you're thinking of might not be on that list.
A wise man once said that the most important thing to remember about opinions is that you get what you pay for [oh wait... that was me]. Please keep this in mind in case anything I write enrages you. In spite of that sage bit of wisdom, I myself love to hear other people's opinions; occasionally I may learn that my opinions are wrong. If you've got a contrary opinion about a particular artist, share it with me. Point me at an album or tune that you think might change my mind.
In general, if you like the page, let me know. If you don't like it, let me know. I promise to respond to all feedback.
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