Rolling Stone’s new (and always controversial) greatest guitarists of all time list

[rayc]

Lennon was a fabulous rhythm guitarist. Kurt was an idyosyncratic but good guitarist. McCartney was a so so guitarist...that's why he hired them. Summers is a fabulous guitarist but his real style and sound are quite prog really.
Frusciante? Blah, blah boring to my ears PLUS he was in the RHCP which doesn't help.
Harrison...as a Beatle he was okay but his early stuff was very derivative and he didn't get BITE for ages. As a solo artist, until he developed his love of slide & uke, he had a unique sound more than fab playing.
Lists! I probably don't know or care about the music of 80% of the people on the list which prejudices me enormously. I won't even look.

[JD01]

Stupid bloody lists. They should have got me to compile it then it would be right.

[muttley]

Andy Summers is the guitarist from The Police. One of the more original electric guitar players of the last 50 years or so, and creator of the riffs of many an iconic tune.

See this is where personal preference comes in. You clearly seem to appreciate this Andy Summers guy. I can't argue The Police have many big, huge songs. I can't think of a single Police "guitar riff" though. Vocals, bass, drums...sure. To me that's not really a "guitar band" although I don't doubt he's a great guitar player..

Without knowing who he is or being a fan of the band I'd argue that he probably deserves better than dead last just by being in The Police.

He is a wonderfully gifted guitar player and outside of his stuff with the Police he was probably one of the "in demand" session players and engineers in his day. His most iconic and well known riff was probably "Every Breath You Take".

Having said that I agree that these lists are dumb. Music is not a competitive sport. Guitar players cross many genres and time frames and are totally not comparable for that reason alone. How could you compare the merits of the greatest cricket batsman to a Rugby prop or the greatest batter in baseball to a quarter back? All great sportsman and we can enjoy them equally but arguing one over the other is pointless. Even comparing like for like in sport ignores so many points of reference such as time, quality of opposition, laws of the sports evolve, etc. Same with guitar players.

These lists are dumb.

[muttley]

Here's my ranking of greatest guitarists ever.

1) Me

End of list

I agree.

No. 1 = Me for sure.

[CrowsofFritz]

See this is where personal preference comes in. You clearly seem to appreciate this Andy Summers guy. I can't argue The Police have many big, huge songs. I can't think of a single Police "guitar riff" though. Vocals, bass, drums...sure. To me that's not really a "guitar band" although I don't doubt he's a great guitar player..

Without knowing who he is or being a fan of the band I'd argue that he probably deserves better than dead last just by being in The Police.

He is a wonderfully gifted guitar player and outside of his stuff with the Police he was probably one of the "in demand" session players and engineers in his day. His most iconic and well known riff was probably "Every Breath You Take".

Having said that I agree that these lists are dumb. Music is not a competitive sport. Guitar players cross many genres and time frames and are totally not comparable for that reason alone. How could you compare the merits of the greatest cricket batsman to a Rugby prop or the greatest batter in baseball to a quarter back? All great sportsman and we can enjoy them equally but arguing one over the other is pointless. Even comparing like for like in sport ignores so many points of reference such as time, quality of opposition, laws of the sports evolve, etc. Same with guitar players.

These lists are dumb.

On Reddit, I sometimes go on the Beatles subreddit, and the folks there throw out the word “underrated” for songs all the time. When it’s pointed out that it’s the Beatles they rebut, “underrated for their catalogue.”

Anyway, I agree with what you’re saying.

To them, I always reply that there is no such thing as underrated or overrated in music. Such terms mean that society is not valuing the songs as they should be, and it’s weird to make such claims.

There are no metrics one can use to support such claims except sales and public perception (which is tied into sales). Music can’t be underrated or overrated. It simply is.

At least with sports, one can make that claim and have objective arguments. Take baseball. Maybe their WAR stat, their batting average, or their ability to steal bases are better than the teammate’s that is on the field and he’s just sitting on the bench only to be put in as a pinch runner. At the very least, his coach and organization isn’t rating him as high as they should be.

You can’t do that with music.

But going back to your latter point in sports Muttley, it doesn’t work all the time, either. A baseball group on Facebook is always comparing baseball players of different eras (sometimes as much as 70 years!). I sometimes see a post pop up doing the same with basketball players, too. You cannot do that in good faith. The game and other circumstances are way too different over time, and it doesn’t take much time to change those circumstances.

It really only works within a single season, and it gets less effective with each season in the past until eventually, it straight up doesn’t matter.

[Greg_L]

The real #1

[JD01]

Who's that?

[Greg_L]

Kurt Cobain's older brother Dirk Cobain

[CrowsofFritz]

Kurt Cobain's older brother Dirk Cobain

The proportions look kind of funny. First, that guitar, I assume is small at the bottom. Plus, the guy just looks like he’s a big dude even without the guitar. At the same time, his hands look normal—meaning they look small compared to the rest of him.

Wonder how much steroids he takes. I don’t knock anyone who does that as long as it doesn’t change their emotions. I see it the same as facial correction. It’s their body. They should do what they want with it.

Getting that body without steroids isn’t possible (no matter how perfectly you diet and no matter how efficient your routine is for that goal) unless you just have really good genes for the purpose of getting that body.

Seeing this pic makes me want a more toned body. Still don’t want to workout though

[muttley]

...................

Getting that body without steroids isn’t possible .....................

Are you saying I am some kind of freak or fucked up gym junkie?

[Greg_L]

The proportions look kind of funny. First, that guitar, I assume is small at the bottom. Plus, the guy just looks like he’s a big dude even without the guitar. At the same time, his hands look normal—meaning they look small compared to the rest of him.

Wonder how much steroids he takes. I don’t knock anyone who does that as long as it doesn’t change their emotions. I see it the same as facial correction. It’s their body. They should do what they want with it.

Getting that body without steroids isn’t possible (no matter how perfectly you diet and no matter how efficient your routine is for that goal) unless you just have really good genes for the purpose of getting that body.

Seeing this pic makes me want a more toned body. Still don’t want to workout though

Lol ok seriously, that's Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein of The Misfits. He is a freak, barely a guitar player, and frankly he has always pretty much looked just like that. Even as a teenager in the first incarnation of The Misfits he was pretty jacked. He just has good genetics. He's also a strict vegan. He's also seemingly a very nice guy despite his appearance. But surely he partakes in some steroidal enhancement because you can't look like that at 50+ years old naturally.

[vomitHatSteve]

He's also seemingly a very nice guy despite appearing as a member of the misfits

Finished the sentence for you!

(For those who don't follow old punk drama, Misfits (well, mostly Danzig and Only) are notorious for bickering with and suing each other)

[CrowsofFritz]

The proportions look kind of funny. First, that guitar, I assume is small at the bottom. Plus, the guy just looks like he’s a big dude even without the guitar. At the same time, his hands look normal—meaning they look small compared to the rest of him.

Wonder how much steroids he takes. I don’t knock anyone who does that as long as it doesn’t change their emotions. I see it the same as facial correction. It’s their body. They should do what they want with it.

Getting that body without steroids isn’t possible (no matter how perfectly you diet and no matter how efficient your routine is for that goal) unless you just have really good genes for the purpose of getting that body.

Seeing this pic makes me want a more toned body. Still don’t want to workout though

Lol ok seriously, that's Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein of The Misfits. He is a freak, barely a guitar player, and frankly he has always pretty much looked just like that. Even as a teenager in the first incarnation of The Misfits he was pretty jacked. He just has good genetics. He's also a strict vegan. He's also seemingly a very nice guy despite his appearance. But surely he partakes in some steroidal enhancement because you can't look like that at 50+ years old naturally.

Ohhh, I’ve heard of him. Yeah, there was a huge discussion surrounding working out and steroids somewhere and people kept bringing his name up. For most people it’s just not possible. Just super good genes.

[Greg_L]

Finished the sentence for you!

(For those who don't follow old punk drama, Misfits (well, mostly Danzig and Only) are notorious for bickering with and suing each other)

Right but Doyle is not usually part of that drama. He's just a worker-bee. He'll go with whoever is paying him even though he is Jerry's brother and part of the "classic" lineup.

Ohhh, I’ve heard of him. Yeah, there was a huge discussion surrounding working out and steroids somewhere and people kept bringing his name up. For most people it’s just not possible. Just super good genes.

Your genetics matter a ton, with or without steroids. You can take steroids and work hard and get big muscles, but the shape and aesthetic of those muscles is predetermined by genetics. You can be huge and look blocky and stupid, or you can be huge and look like a statue carved by the gods. That's genetics. No amount of drugs or work can change that.

[Bill L]

Getting back to Andy Summers for a moment, I submit this pic of him backstage while holding a bobble head of me.

PXL_20230723_023417811.MP.jpg

I ran front of house for him back in July when he played the venue I work.

PXL_20230723_003343137.jpg

Pic of said bobble head on the front of house desk during the gig.

Nice guy, great player.

I think I recorded the show. Solo guitar playing to backing tracks while his photographs were projected on the screen behind him. Good stuff but definitely not for everyone. The guitar geeks loved it; people that were expecting the best of The Police, well they hated it.

[vomitHatSteve]

Speaking of guitarists on steroids, Austrian Death Machine have a new single, so I found myself saying "Isn't Tim Lambesis famous for something besides his Schwarzenegger parody band?" Then I remembered that he went to jail for trying to assassinate his wife.

Turns out while he was on the inside, they didn't let him have his steroids, so he sued the justice department over his man boobs.

[Armistice]

Getting back to Andy Summers for a moment, I submit this pic of him backstage while holding a bobble head of me.

PXL_20230723_023417811.MP.jpg

I ran front of house for him back in July when he played the venue I work.

PXL_20230723_003343137.jpg

Pic of said bobble head on the front of house desk during the gig.

Nice guy, great player.

I think I recorded the show. Solo guitar playing to backing tracks while his photographs were projected on the screen behind him. Good stuff but definitely not for everyone. The guitar geeks loved it; people that were expecting the best of The Police, well they hated it.

I think you win the internet for the day, Bill!

Nice work.

[WhiskeyJack]

He's also seemingly a very nice guy despite his appearance.

[WhiskeyJack]

Speaking of guitarists on steroids,

You just had to stop at Kevin Frasard really. Kinda the last stop in roided out guitarists.

[vomitHatSteve]

An interesting gender hot take that I heard once is that men who feel the need to take steroids and so aggressively perform their gender like that are basically trans men. They don't feel enough like men in their bodies, so they modify themselves to suit.