50: Greatest Guitarists Ever

I realize the list is a subjective thing and that many people will have suggestions such as John Scofield or Freddy King. But really, a list that contains Keith Richards and doesn't contain Albert Collins lacks of certain credibility.

You left out Carlos Montoya, who was important in the revival of flamenco guitar.

Mark Knopfler cant crack the top 50 huh?

Where's Mark Knopfler? I think Chet would have voted him in.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Beatles, grew up with them joined their fan club, but George is not one of the 50 great guitarists! Nor is Zappa or Keith Richards.
From a purely guitar playing angle, not that the Beatles & Stones were so influential, but Lindsay Buckingham, Neil Peart, John Mayer, Michael Hedges, Pat Metheny to name a few, are all far superior guitarists!

I also need to add Alvin Lee, over Richards, Zappa & Harrison. And did I not see Carlos Santana on your "list" ? He too is better than the 3 I had listed as not being worthy of the top 50

And from Nashville, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Brad Paisley, to again name a few are all better than GH, KR & FZ.
Lastly the bassist from Iron Maiden is amazing!
Think your panelists, sans Slash, a great guitarist, seemed to simply pick their faves & not the b est.

this is the absolute worst list I've ever seen in my life. Robert Johnson isn't even on the list. ROBERT JOHNSON!

Several wonderful choices on here but I believe Martin Barre, Jerry Garcia,John Abercrombie and Terje Rypdal should have made the list. Malmsteen, Van Halen, Blackmore do not belong here.

Paco Pena?a shadow
Not in the top 20 of flamenco guitarists
Sabicas-1906-1999 Most of Pena's Concert material is taken from Sabicas.and not as well played
Ramon Montoya 1882-1949(uncle of Carlos)
Father of the flamenco guitar
His material combined with Manolo de Huelva's made up much of Sabicas's material.
Diego del gastor 1909-1974 the most Flamenco of all guitarists
Nino Ricardo the maestro of Paco de Lucia ,he recorded solo and hundreds of Cante records.
Melchor de Marchena ditto
Serranito
Juan Maya Morate
et al

I can't believe Prince or Nile Rodgers from CHIC are not on the list...I guess I'll pass on this one

The Edge is the most overrated guitarist ever. Jerry Garcia?

You missed Glen Campbell and Carlos Montoya

You missed Eric Johnson and Hank Garland!

I think you've missed a few and added a few that, while innovative and creative, are not the "greatest". Add Prince for sure. Maybe Mark Knopfler, also. Prince, definitely, though.

I guess it depends what you mean by, "greatest." If you mean those who received the most popular recognition, your panel's selection is OK. If, on the other hand, you mean those who were most proficient at making music on the guitar, you would have to include:

Lenny Breau
Martin Taylor
Clarence White
Ledward Kaapana
Laurindo Almeida

Can"t believe Mark Knopfler was not one of the fifty.

I would add to the list Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, two of the leaders of British folk rock in the 1960's who could play a variety of styles, both acoustic and electric. Hard to not vote for Cooder, who as a teenager would stun the crowd at McCabes in Santa Monica, and would be called from the shop whenever some guitarist was showing off, and Cooder would arrive and blow him away.

Can't believe you missed Barney Kessel and Bruce Forman - shame on you!

The Edge? Jack White? This list a joke. No love for Brian Setzer? He smokes a lot of the guitarists on this list.

Jack White is actually really really good. It isn't all technique. Sometimes a recognizable style is what makes an all-time great. Keith Richards, Jerry Garcia, and Chuck Berry are examples. Joe Satriani ane Malmstein are perhaps the opposite extreme. Blazing fast with great technique, but lacking something ...

I'm a very big fan of Duane Allman...but he AIN'T The Best

Hello,
the Times list is in alphabetical order folks.
Now that we have that clear, it's tough to come up with 50. Especially when you include classical and acoustic only players. But c'mon, you include Tom Morello, Jack White and Johnny Mars and leave out Freddie King, Roy Buchanan and the best of them all Danny Gatton. I protest.

Yes I agree this list is way out of whack! I admit I don't know some of the artists in the B&W pictures but I think Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana and Stevie Ray Vaughan should be way higher than their rated. Everybody has their own preferences, I guess. A couple I'd like to mention are Toy Caldwell and Eric Clapton.

OOOPS, sorry I guess I didn't see Eric Clapton when I browsed the list.

Not including Bruce Springsteen among the top 10 guitarists ever would be an unforgivable oversight. Not including him among the top 50 is an insult to those who did. Too often people think of Bruce as a great performer/singer/songwriter, overlooking that he is a guitar virtuoso on electric, acoustic & 12 string.
Inexcusable.

Bob Weir is a better guitarist than Jerry Garcia....

Ever hear of Prince? He has to be the most underrated guitarist. Simply amazing! Adrian Belew is no slouch - definitely better than Jack White, Angus Young, The Edge, etc. Cmon!

It's an alphabetical list, folks. :)

How come nobody here realises that the list is in ALPHABETICAL ORDER. And there is a list of who put it together at the top. Read the article before you start knocking it.

Anyone ever hear of Rory Gallagher? Robin Trower maybe? This list is a joke. Who the heck writes these days for newspapers in this country?

WHERE'S PRINCE?

Here's another one I forgot...Tom Scholz.hmpuw2

This list is weird. I love Jeff Beck and I am glad he gets some recognition here, but to rate him above fellow Yardbirds alums Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page is a little off. There is a reason he wasn't quite as famous as those guys. Chuck Berry and Keith Richard too. They are underated and belong on the list, but not quiteso high. And leaving Jerry Garcia off? Come on now. You could have easily dumped The Edge too.

Don't think you all noticed the list is in alphabetical order. (i.e., #1-50 doesn't reflect the rank -- just alpha order.)

Agree with addition of James Honeyman-Scott, for brief career but brilliant work!

Hey, everybody seems to be missing the point here! The L.A. Times is all about journalism and filling print media space, so folks will ADVERTISE with them.
Boy, does the Times do a great job in the ad department! Then, the reporters get to keep their jobs providing half-baked OPINIONS not facts. They are journalists--NOT musicians.
Oh, on a musical note, the 50 Greatest Guitarists is a great story if ONLY such a topic could be properly researched and determined based upon agreed upon criteria from all movers and shakers in the music world.
Such a thing can only be a question of personal taste and bias. Subjectivity before objectivity is how most people judge great art.

The Edge, George Harrison, David Gilmore, Tom Morello, Jack White, no.

Barney Kessel, Baden Powell, Revernd Gary Davis, Blind Blake, Sonny Landreth, yes.

The list is alphabetical folks, relax.

Hey morons! The list is in alphabetical order. No Jesse Cook?

I don't think that popular vote is a good way to rank guitarists. I was glad to see that John Fahey hasn't been forgotten.

ROFL... Well as least this list is #1 as the worst collective list of the 50 best guitarists..
No Derek Trucks, No John Mayer, No Davey Knowles, No Mark Knopfler, No Robert Johnson???

No Barney Kessel, Clarence White, or Roger McGuinn? Unthinkable in a list that includes below average (albeit popular and influential) players like Keith Richards and Jack White!

Love everybody calling the compilers of an alphabetical list morons for putting cooder, clark, guy, etc ahead of Hendrix. They'd actually be morons if they put them after Hendrix.

Oh My! The comments are almost, no, make that worse, than this feeble attempt to provide content for a reeling Los Angeles Times. The names are listed in ALPHABETICAL order! Although the concept of the list is lame, it does not claim George Harrison is a better guitarist than Frank Zappa, just that H falls earlier in the alphabet than Z.

No Jeff Beck? No Jennifer Batten?

Folks, the list is in alphabetical order! This is not a ranking.

That being said, Roy Buchanan is a notable omission. I'd replace The Edge with Mr. Buchanan.

This listing is obviously biased towards rock guitarists. Two jazz guitarists that absolutely must be included are Herb Ellis and Kenny Burrell.

Obviously, everyone thought everyone else would vote for Hendrix which is why he ended up at 21. This is also why this list is useless, as are all lists that attempt to quantify qualitative things. To say Hendrix is better than Django Reinhart is better than Doc Watson is a silly parlor game. Hendrix IS, however, better than Ritchie Blackmore though...

Hey guys this list looks like it is alphabetical order not ranking order. But the list is lame. No Garcia, Roy Buchanan, etc.

1st, this is an ALPHABETICAL list, it's NOT by ranking.

2nd, Belew, Knopfler, & Garcia, or at least ONE of these uniquely talented axe-men should be on here, replacing Tom Morello or one of the others.

3rd, kudos for Richard Thompson, my fave on this ALPHABETICAL list!

An interesting list of great guitarists, obscure guitarists, and popular choices of good, but most certainly not GREAT, guitarists.
The Edge but not Brian May?
Keith Richards but not Mark Knopfler?
Jack White but not Larry Carlton!!!!!?
Pat Metheny? Steve Lukather?
WTF?

this is an ALPHABETICAL list. NOT A RANKING!!!!

Jimi at #21? Duane Allman at #1 (don't get me wrong, Duane's great -- but not #1). This list is a joke. The only good thing is that Prince is not on it.

Hey everyone -- Duh, the list is arranged alphabetically by last name, not in the order of who's best -- #1 is not any better than #50. Omissions? Glen Campbell, Peter Frampton, Phil Keaggy (Jimi Hendrix said he was the best), and Josh White.

Didn't people notice the rankings were alphabetical and not numerical? I think many of the players on the list would rank Mark Knopfler anead of themselves. If Chuck Berry is included, Bo Diddley has to be there.

dudes...what part of "listed alphabetically" did you miss?

omissions are one thing (where's my boy Jerry Raney???), but these are not rankings.

Pppppfffff! I have to agree with one or more of the others who have commented here regarding the ridiculous and negligent omission of guitarist Mark Knopfler. For anyone to prepare or publish a nonsense list such as this and not include the name 'Mark Knopfler' is absolutely "laughable"! His tastes in playing and his overall flawless playing skills, as well as his uniquely tasty phrasing make him EASILY in the top FIVE guitarists of all-time! But alas, its of no real surprise to me that they've omitted him here. They often do the same thing when naming the top-100 bands of all-time - they'll omit Dire Straits!@#$%^&?. Unbelievable! Um, check with the folks over at Rolling Stone, but the single-most profitable, most widely attended rock and roll music tour of all-time (worldwide) was 'On Every Street' by Dire Straits, yet they're not listed in the top-100 bands of all-time? Someone's drinking too much Drano!

Errrr - they're alphabetical, folks. Not in any kind of rank order....

Can no one read? The list is alphabetical... not "Ranked".

Is no one paying attention -- the guitarists are listed only alphabetically.

I'm amazed at how many indignant posters here have not realized the list is presented in alphabetical order, not in order of greatness.

Wow... What a sexist list. While I will admit that many of those guitarist are phenomenal, the omission of talented women guitarist such as Kaki King, Carrie Brownstien and Joan Jett is a major flaw of this list.

Where is slash? Is he so good to be here? and really? Jimi Hendrix in 21st? are you kind me, right?

Chet Atkins: Good.

But where's the protegės, i.e., Mark Knopfler, Tommy Emmanuel??

This is silly.

Just what is meant by "Great?"
*Popularity?
*Influence?
*Technique?
*Creativity?

So John Fahey might be there for popularity and influence, but certainly would not be based on technique or creativity. And no Blind Blake in acoustic blues/ragtime? Elmore James? Muddy Waters? And following it back, Robert Johnson and Charley Patton?

Almost all (except for Django Reinhardt) are modern (post-WWII). Even amongst these, how could Les Paul be left out (influence, technique, creativit, and probably popularity as well)?

The list is ridiculous. Break it into recognizable genres, or even types of guitars. Then try again.

It's alphabetical you goofballs!

Hendrix and Page in the double digits? You're out of your mind. This list makes absolutely no sense.

What about John Scofield, Lenny Breau and George Benson and Kevin Eubanks. Whoever came up with this list knows little about guitar playing.

All the people on this list are great, some technically more so than others, but, all are influential.

The performances I enjoyed the most are John Fahey, Albert King, Leo Kottke, John McLaughlin, Doc Watson and FZ (with added bonus Adrian Belew).

That drummer with McLaughlin is awesome.

I'm with the others who posted that no Satriani, no Holdsworth, no Eric Johnson, no Pat Metheny, no Adrian Belew, but no STEVE MORSE? No Andy Summers? No Al DiMeola? There were definitely some good choices, but definitely some bad ones as well. Keith Richards, but no Ron Wood, who was better? Eric Clapton, who was/is a terribly OVERRATED player.

Some of y'all need to review the meaning of "listed alphabetically." That said, it's a shame we don't see Dave Davies here.

A few seemingly obvious names are missing; Derek Trucks, Sonny Landreth, Roy Buchanan, Jimmy Herring, Warren Haynes.

Pathetic once again the story is half told , you would think between Slash , Gary Wag Man and Good old Joe they should know whom the King of the Delta Blues and the genius whom laid the foundation for Blues and pretty much popular American music, He's only The Greatest and most copied guitarist of our time . How could he get left off this list ?

Hey guys, notice anything about the list? It's not by rank-it's in alphabetical order!

The list is alphabetical ...

Agree that lack of Adrian Belew and Ralph Towner is unfortunate.

The list is alphabetical!

no Alex Lifeson??

but Jack White is there?

What a joke!

For those who let their emotions get the best of them when looking at the list of great guitarists (and I do not fault you at all for being emotional), the list is based on the alphabet rather than on their greatness.

Yngwie needs to be dropped from the list. There is more to being a great guitar player - thought, sensitivity, quality of sound, etc. - than the ability to shred.

Roger McGuinn should defintely be on this list! He is the best 12 string guitarist on the planet.

No Mick Ronson?

JERRY GARCIA? hello?

Stevie Ray Vaughan at #45???!!!

This list has no credibility whatsoever.

if you guys would bother to read you'd see that this list is alphabetical, not in order of best to worst. it would also tell you who compiled this list. sure, there are some ommissions, but it's pretty good overview of the variety of guitar styles out there.

some people hear didn't get it-that the list of 50 is alphabetical by last name, not be rank. geeze.

Pete Ham was fine damn good guitarist.

are people really not getting this list is in alphabetical order?

Billy Zoom, Legendary guitarist of X

The Edge at #14? Johnny Marr at #27. I love these guys, but they shouldn't be on the damn list ( if you are talking about GREATEST)! Jimi Hendrix shouldn't be below the Edge; shame on you!

Boy, are people stupid. The list is in alphabetical order, not in ranking. That's why Hendrix is in the middle of the list.

How can a list of 50 guitar greats not include Steve Howe?

Prince is an incredible guitarist. And I love Walter Becker of Steely Dan too.

There are many great players of this remarkably expressive instrument. Your article disproves the "one picture equals 1,000 words" adage because a few words about these choices would've been quite helpful and entertaining! What makes a great guitarist? Mike Oldfield, who is one, said it well enough. "It's better to be able to play one note and really mean it than play zillions of notes and not mean it."

The video of George Harrison showed him playing one of his best songs, but not one of the most innovative of his work. Remember his work with Indian ragas and the sitar?

Can't BELIEVE you left out Tommy Emmanuel and Michael Hedges...

This is the worst list ever, a bunch of morons put it together. Jimi H. 21st, Eddie VH in the 40's. Complete joke

Dear people complaining about the order of the list: it says at the top that THE LIST IS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER. Please learn to read. Kthxbai.

Jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd is a glaring omission.
What about Blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa?

Alvin Lee. Where is he? 20+ albums. Break out your old Woodstock album & listen to Ten Year's After's version of "Going Home" to hear the baddest guitar licks ever played. And this was back in the sixties! None of the rest of these axe bums come close.

Commenters do realize this is alphabetical right?

Yes, it is in alphabetical order. That should be obvious. I agree with nearly all those included, but I am not too sure Keith Richards is among the top 50 or even top 100 guitarists. Sure he loves rock and blues and all that but he is not on par as a player with the others on this list. This list must be expanded beyond the top 50. I can think of so many more. Here we go (in no order): Peter Green (John Mayall and early Fleetwood Mac), Mick Taylor (John Mayall, Rolling Stones), Rory Block, Peter Frampton, Jerry Garcia, Albert Collins, Mark Knopfler, Toni Iommi, Coco Montoya (John Mayall), Michael "Hollywood Fats" Mann, Alvin Lee (Ten Years After), Jeff Cotton (w/Captain Beefheart & Mu), Dickey Betts, Derek Trucks, Charley Patton, Joe Satriani, Jimmy Vaughan (SRV's Older Brother), Dave Davies (the Kinks), Robbie Krieger (Doors), Carlos Montoya (classical), Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna), Robert Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, King Sunny Ade', Adrian Belew, Neil Young, Steve Stills, Lindsey Buckingham, Danny Kirwan, Alan Wilson (Canned Heat), John Lee Hooker, Larry Coryell, Emily Remler, Al Di Meola, Ben Harper, Allan Holdsworth, Lightnin' Hopkins, Kazumi Watanabe, Eric Johnson, Doug MacLeod, Memphis Minnie, Bonnie Raitt, Roy Rogers (blues guitarist, not the cowboy actor and singer), Randy California (Spirit), Gabor Szabo, Carl Verheyen, Junior Watson, Stan West, Johnny Winter, Jeff Martin (The Tea Party band), Billy Gibbons, Gary Moore.

Wait, none of you noticed that this list is alphabetical, not ranking them in order? WTF?