Five Best Rock Guitarists Ever

The Legends of Rock Play the Best Electric Guitar Music

Jul 9, 2008 Karen Lotter

Electric guitar music arouses high frequency passion, which is why it is a good idea to strap on a flack jacket when you point out the five best rock guitarists ever.

The language of the rock guitar world is filled with words like licks, riffs, bends, hammers, picks, meaty sounds and many other words that almost hide the fact that these legends of rock mostly played their music in the 60’s and 70’s. Maybe they just don’t make people who play electric guitar music like that anymore!

Top Five Rock Guitarists

These five top rock guitarists would most likely be in most people’s Top 25 at least.

Jimi Hendrix – Psychedelic Electric Guitar Music

Besides the virtuoso guitar playing, Jimi had magic. Hendrix headlined the iconic 1969 Woodstock Festival and became one of the ultimate legends of rock. Jimi Hendrix was probably the best exponent of the blues and blues-rock. Hendrix helped develop the technique of guitar feedback with overdriven amplifiers and was influenced by blues artists like B.B. King and Muddy Waters. Rolling Stone named Jimi Hendrix the best guitarist on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2003.

Eric Clapton aka Slow Hand, the Blues-Rock Guitarist

Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE also known as Slow Hand, is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. He is one of the most successful musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries, with an unprecedented three inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (The Yardbirds, Cream, and solo). Clapton, also one of the true legends of rock, was ranked fourth in Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Mark Knopfler of Dire Straights

The Sultans of Swing would put Mark Knopfler on most any list because of that classic electric guitar music bit at the end. Knopfler was the frontman for the English rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977 with his brother David. He is one of the most respected fingerstyle guitarists of the modern rock era. Mark Knopfler was ranked #27 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Dave Gilmour, Pink Floyd's Brick in the Wall

This is one person who is a rock guitar legend, not because he was a virtuoso, but because he knew how to use his talent the best and made Pink Floyd superstars with his inspired guitar playing. Gilmour had a powerful touch with intense upper-octave playing and brilliant vibrato or bending. In his early career with Pink Floyd, Gilmour played a multitude of Fender Stratocasters. One of his popular guitar solos Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 was played on a Gibson Les Paul guitar. In August 2006, Gilmour's solo on Comfortably Numb was voted the greatest guitar solo of all time in a poll by listeners of the digital radio station Planet Rock.

Stevie Ray-Vaughn, One of the Legends of Rock

How many top rock guitarists haven’t been inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughn? This unassuming guitar virtuoso is jokingly regarded as the only white man who could play the blues the way it is supposed to be. One of the true legends of rock, Stevie Ray Vaughn (SRV) the man with rock solid technique, was known as an electric blues-rock guitarist. Classic Rock Magazine ranked him #3 in their list of the 100 Wildest Guitar Heroes in 2007.

The copyright of the article Five Best Rock Guitarists Ever in Rock Music is owned by Karen Lotter. Permission to republish Five Best Rock Guitarists Ever in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Stevie Ray Vaughn Fanclub

Eric Clapton's Official Website

Jimi Hendrix Official Website

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Comments

Sep 8, 2008 1:50 PM

Guest :

Mark Knopfer and Dave Gilmour have given us some great guitar playing, but I will never believe that they deserve to be included in a list of the 5 best rock guitarists ever. Who would I replace them with? Basing my answer on genre and recorded music, and the generally understood greatness of that music, I guess I'd choose Jimmy Page and then Ritchie Blackmore. Page was sloppy, but he wrote, played, produced and recorded some of the very very greatest rock ever, built out of great rock guitar--just a fact. As for Ritchie Blackmore, his technique and intensity probably make up for the limited amount of great songs. It's just my opinion, and I'm sure many would be unhappy with these choices, placing Eddie van Halen and others in the list instead. But to me, beyond Blackmore, rock turned into heavy metal. Angus Young is an incredible hard rock player, and might also deserve to be on this list, but I guess my choices will stand because I consider Page and Blackmore to be undeniably rock players, which is what this list is about--it's not about metal (I think). The other guys who could shred like gods sound like heavy metal to me. So put on Heartbreaker for Mr. Page, and Lazy for Mr. Blackmore, and turn it up! Long may they wail.

Sep 8, 2008 4:26 PM

Guest :

SRV is da best kine guitarist because he created tons of catchy blues riffs and not only did he play good, he also played with da best tone and with da heaviest thickest strings. He also felt his guitar, in other words, he knew the guitar as much as he knew himself. When he played live, he almost never looked at his guitar and he was loose with his hand( which is also a sign of comfortableness). R.I.P stevie #1 inspiration

Nov 6, 2008 9:22 PM

Guest :

Damn guys , Jimi was the best but, dont you ever know about Mclaughlin,Malmsteen,DiMeola,Randy Road,Steve Vai.

Eric Clapton , what a ,,,,,,,are we talkin about Clowns or guitarists.

Gund.

Nov 12, 2008 11:32 PM

Guest :

I would put Mark Knopfler at #1, and switch Jimmy Page with David Gilmore.
Knopfler is still creating the most brilliant music, and his beautiful and unique guitar player is always intensely alive in each song.

Cheers

Nov 16, 2008 9:24 AM

Guest :

People are always making Clapton overated. Personally, my choice for the #1 spot would be Eddie Van Halen. Not only is he an outstanding guitarist, but he is also an amazing song writer. But most of all, Fender, yes Fender, is making replicas of the famous Frankenstrat. Do you see Fender, Gibson, or even Kramer replicating Clapton's guitars or Jimi's guitars?

Jan 2, 2009 4:32 PM

Guest :

what the heck....Jimmy page isn´´t in there he should get atleast second what about Angus young kirk hammet and buckethead?

Apr 7, 2009 3:27 PM

Guest :

excuse me the idiot who badmouthed clapton.............i dont think you know who he is...............you surely cant.................if you only know him for tears in heaven, you dont know him!!!!!!!

ps. hendrix sux, clapton is god

Apr 11, 2009 3:29 PM

Guest :

Interesting views guys. I guess it all comes down to personal taste. I feel that all of the players mentioned are awesome and it's hard to say who's best. They all have their own influence and influences of/in different genres of rock. However, I do feel that at Hendrix's pinnacle he was more or less 'peerless' (although he may not have felt that way, with so much respect for his elder blues favourites and other musicians around him), so for him to push rock music/guitar playing to such an extent (in my eyes, unsurpassed to this day) surely makes him the greatest. Clapton was/is god indeed, but even he admitted 'what he was doing was nowhere with what Hendrix was doing'. Delving deeper into Hendrix's and Cream's music/improvisations (not just the main 'pop' numbers and crowd pleasers)I feel that Hendrix's subtlety, ferosity and inventiveness was something beyond any other rock player mentioned ont his page sp far. Have you really listened to his rhythm work as well?!! man! But by today's lead guitar standards, possibly Clapton, Hendrix and Page were all 'sloppy', but to me, that's what makes them so original. I hail Knopfler too, for his to the point solo's, country style licks in rock, chicken picking and arpeggio work. Buy hey, they all rock .Chords, rhythm and lead rock genius number 1 = Hendrix! Soz, but to me he had the whole shabang.

Oct 7, 2009 9:34 AM

Guest :

You cant forget about Eddie VanHalen! He has contributed so much to music. Besides being and amazing guitarist he introduced amazing technics very difficult to master such as dive-bombing and his famous finger tapping! Im not saying he is the best, but he is DAMN good!!!

9 Comments