50: Greatest Guitarists Ever

You forgot the man who could outplay them all....
DANNY GATTON!

Any such list that omits Hank Garland or Jerry Reed is incomplete.

And so people can't catch the "listed alphabetically" note?

It's not a matter of Buddy Guy being ranked "higher" than Hendrix; it's a matter of G coming before H in the alphabet.

(I love outraged reactions to these sorts of lists).

For those hung up on the rankings, they're listed in alphabetical order, geniuses (though the lead-in to the article does claim "alphatically"...)

What about Tom Verlaine? Where was James Burton? I can think of countless great guitarists not on this list who should be. It doesn't take any imagination to list all these stars on the list, but to dig a little deeper beyond the surface, & name greats like Verlaine who were an influence on so many others who followed, or Burton who was a session man/back up player on countless recordings, now that would take some work. Billy Zoom? Albert Lee? Rory Gallagher? Dave Edmonds? Cmon guys, you could have done better than this! You call yourselves music experts, it doesn't take much expertise to name Jimi Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughn to a list, (Yawn), everyone knows who they are, how about the unsung heroes who people have heard but maybe not heard of? At least you got Richard Thompson on the list, bravo for that. Oscar Aleman? Carl Perkins? Eddie Lang?.....

While not adding Garcia is an oversite, not including Vai negates the entire list!

Can anybody tell where Rory Gallagher is on this list?

I suppose that most of you commenters can hear music but can't seem to read english.
The list is ALPHABETICAL, not ranked by position.
Idiots!

Where's Brian May?

No Jimmy Bryant, Hank Garland, James Burton ( to name but a few ) ? Shame on you.

People it's listed alphabetically get over it and read more carefully

So
James Burton
Roy Buchanan
Duane Eddy
Luther Perkins
Danny Gatton
Hank Marvin
Cliff Gallup
Scotty Moore
Clarence White and many others - these are just off the top of my head

do not even get in the list

Listen to Ron Wood on Gasoline Alley surely one of the best out there,where is Elvis guitar player James Burton? He is to the Telecaster what Clapton is to the Strat.

What about Slash?

I would include Lenny Breau, Jim Hall, Howard Roberts, Pierre Bensusan, Roy Buchanan, Danny Gatton and Allan Holdsworth. I would also incude the idea that trying to list the 50 "Best" guitarists is a silly thing to do in the first place. Perhaps if you did the 50 best Rock, Jazz, Folk, Bluegrass etc

This list is a joke! Who's Cary Georges? The Rolling Stone magazine list is a lot better.

No Jerry Garcia? Your list is moot and in any case its ranking is ridiculous.

Yo, guitar fans. Get a clue. The list
is ALPHABETICAL. The video clips are great! I'd like to see Jerry Garcia
and John Williams slotted in there.

Where's Alvin Lee, Robin Trower and Johnny Winters? Not practacle to combime acoustic and electric guitars in this way anyway. but of course it was done to incite controversey, which it has, and that sells papers. I might even create a third category for slide guitar.

Jack White is a complete hack. Shouldn't be in the top 500.

uhhh... you guys need to consider that this list is in ALPHABETICAL order and has nothing to do with skill. Please read the header before posting such trite.

Um - the box with the article implies that this is an alphabetical list.

I say it implies that because I think "alphatically" is a typo. :-)

SRV at #45? What a joke. No members of G3 (Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Steve Vai) are on the list, but Jack White is? Tsk tsk tsk. What is the criteria they used in making this list?

Daune Allman? Jimi Hendrix please!!! Has to be number ONE. At least the guys at Gibson.com got it right!

Jeez, people, look at the list! It's in ALPHABETICAL order - it isn't a ranking. Stevie Ray Vaughan is at the bottom because his last name starts with "V" - get it?'

It's ALPHABETICAL, it even says so in the first sentence. Stop complaining about what number people are ranked.

Jack White instead of Matthew Bellamy of MUSE? Come on, now.

How come so few people who comment have read the first paragraph... LISTED ALPHABETICALLY.... or perhaps they don't understand what that means?

Where is Frank Marino on this list?

Let me get this straight. Jack White makes the list, but Freddie King, Albert Collins and Roy Buchanan don't? What about Danny Gatton or Rory Gallagher while you're at it?

People, chill. The list is alphabetical.

People, the list is in alphabetical order. Still there are many great players omitted like Jimmy Page.

Where's Neal Schon? C'mon I know all will be screamin, "he's a guitar player for Journey?" Yeah!! He played a big part to Journey w/ Steve Perry...You have to give Neal Schon a place on this list...whatever

Steve Vai & Joe Satriani need to be at the top of this list!

WHAT ABOUT THE MAN THAT CLAPTON AND OTHERS BOW DOWN TO AND WHO THEY GIVE CREDIT TO !!???
WHERE IS ROBERT JOHNSON !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some of you are making the same mistake I first made as far as the rankings go. The numbers are misleading. The guitarists are listed in alphabetical order, so the numbers really mean nothing. Either that or it's a wild coincidence that Duane Allman is #1 and Frank Zappa is #50.

No SLASH!!! Jack White is there but there is not SLASH!!! What the heck!! He has written some of the most recognizable guitar licks in recent years---give me a break!!!

Hey, all you guys complaining about ranking... IT'S ALPHABETICAL!

That said, how can I trust a list that does not include Jerry Garcia? Completely absurd!

I would also include Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and also Bill Frisell (among many others that others have mentioned)...

Don't you people understand? This list is in alphabetical order. They are asking you to vote. For example, Stevie Ray Vaughn just happens to be #45 down on the list BEFORE the voting, Hendrix (H) happens to be #21 because the list is in alphabetical order. Sheesh, calm down and read.

Robben Ford of the Yellow Jackets. He played with Joni Mitchell and Miles Davis when he was still a teenager. He is quite possibly the greatest guitar people that most people have never even heard of-- until now.

A pretty good, varied list, except for the obvious mistakes: Jimi vs Kieth anyone?
At least Django is in there, and so is my favorite Frank Zappa, although
he belongs in the top ten for sure.
Anyone who has delved even slightly into the music he composed, arranged, produced, recorded and performed would have to agree he is one of the most original and technically skilled guitarist of ALL TIME. not number 50.
AAAFNRAA!

LOL! Reading comprehension people, this list is in alphabetical order.

Some players on the list are great guitar players. The others, are just well known guys!
Frank Gambale has the best technique I've ever seen!

It's alphabetical, so all the comments about how somebody whose name starts with a 'B' is CLEARLY not better than somebody whose name starts with a 'T' are kind of pointless, folks...

A list like this should include Danny Gatton, Birelli Lagrene, Adrian Belew, Joe Satriani, Dave Edmunds, Adrian Legg and Eliot Fisk. I'm glad to see that Frank Zappa, Richard Thompson, and Mike Bloomfield were not overlooked.

Strangely enough I agree with your No. 1 pick Duane Allman. But the rest of your list is odd. The Beatles were a great band, but none were exceptional musicians, and George Harrison could barely play. Where are Jim Hall and Carlos Montoya? Have you even heard Andres Segovia? Do you even know who he is? It's an insult to put him that low. Better to have left him off altogether.

Larry Collins of The Collins Kids was playing better than most of these guys by age 9.

This is a more credible list than Rolling Stone put out, however the lack of Warren Haynes, Jerry Garcia and Steve Howe make me wonder what the compiler was listening to the last 40 years. Yngwie and Jack White? Really? I understand being inclusive of other styles, but if Jazz is included, no Al Di Meola? Yikes. Merle Travis over Jerry...wow.

IT'S ALPHABETICAL YOU SCHMUCKS !

Well, since I see the word "ever" there, and all genres are mentioned, I would certainly expect to see -
- Elizabeth Cotten
- Pepe Romero, Los Romeros
- Glenn Campbell (whatever his problems & screwups, he's an outstanding guitarist)

They're ranked alphabetically, geniuses (though the high-quality writers at LAT spelled it "alphatically"), not in order of 'greatness.' Jeez!

As for the omissions, this is what the LAT is reduced to now; a 'feature' that took twenty minutes to slap together, rather than some serious investigation and research.

A whole bunch of people missed the fact that your top 50 is in alphabetical and not rank order!

In the classical genre, you totally missed Pepe Romero or his father (both much better than Sharon Isbin). In rock, Mark Knopfler should easily replace Keith Richards.

you've got too many wallbanging wankers on there (and sheesh, how does Buddy Guy fool anybody?), but you have omitted some of the great guitarist who are fabulous at creating music within a band context...most namely: Dominic Miller / Mike Campbell / Pat Stroud / Roger McGuinn / Robbie Robertson / David Lindley / Walter Becker / Mark Orton / Gawain Mathews.....and some other greats as well, such as Jimmy Bryant / Billy Byrd / Keith Urban / Vince Gill / Robert Johnson / Son House / Lonnie Mack / Blind Boy Fuller / Keb Mo' / Lightnin' Hopkins / Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown / Junior Brown....besides, despite what such dreck as American Idol would have you believe, music is not a beauty contest......

People relax. The list is alphabetical!!!!!

"Ah, but the greatest master nobody knows."

A collective mess, no credibility!!!

Missing: Neal Schon, George Lynch, and Andrew Stockdale (blows Mr White away)!!!

Folks, the list is alphabetical...

A lot of people seem to have missed that the list appears to be in alphabetical order, not ranked in order.

What about Robert Johhson?

If any of you even looked at the the way the list was constructed for more than five seconds, you will see that it is in alphabetical order. This is a vote, they would not have already ranked the guitarists before the vote was completed.

Where is Warren Haynes?

Lumping ALL guitarists together is a big mistake. There should be categories, e.g. rock & roll, classical, etc. Perhaps classify in generations. Cliff Gallup was smokin in the fifties....Jeff Beck said so. Also Danny Gatton should be in there.

Did anyone actually read the article? They're listed ALPHABETICALLY.

Outraged commenters,calm yourselves: Haven't you noticed the list is thus far alphabetical only rather than in order of excellence? I take it that's where the voting now comes in. So the voting is crucial. So can someone fix that link so we can vote please?

Hey all, the list as it appears here is in ALPHABETICAL order.

Reading through some of these comments I must say I am surprised how many comments are about John Mayer (he sucks and is a racist that tries to play cheap blues for soccer moms ref. Playboy interview).... if he was on this list i think i would be even more turned off.... same with Jerry Garcia (everyone know Bob "rat dog" Weir was the extraordinary guitarist behind the Dead's sound).

Also you may not like U2 or The Edge but he changed music (on a major pop level) and guitar playing with his post-rock approach to the guitar. I commend him for that but i am not a huge fan of U2.

Also to the guy who said Neil Peart.... he is a drummer not a guitarist!

Also i agree with the omission of Robert Johnson.... he is revolutionary is founding the blues but he is more of a amazing song writer than guitarists. Blues guitarists like Albert King and BB are wayyyyy better at playing.

This list is soooooo much better than Rolling Stone's list! FOR GOD SAKE THEY PUT KURT COBAIN IN THE TOP 20!!!! Shouldn't that say it all! Like Robert Johnson, Kurt Cobain is a song writer first and a guitarist second!

I do agree Mark Knopfler, Slash, Eric Johnson, Blind Blake should be on the list but I commend LA Times for putting together a diverse list that isn't completely Rock centered like Rolling Stone did. There is so much more to music and guitar than just Rock.

And finally.... i cant believe it took like 200 comments for people to get that this list is alphabetical. LMAO!!!

Tom Verlaine should of been on the list.

I bet none of you know who Andres Segovia or Julian Bream is!

I'm presuming this list isn't in any particular order, 'cuz Jack White ahead of Eddie Van Halen? Uh uh.
My votes for those missing:
Steve Vai
Jennifer Batten
Buckethead
Carlos Montoya
Lenny Breau
Leona Boyd
...to name a few.

WHERE IS "KEITH URBAN" ????????..

"KEITH URBAN" HE IS YOUNG, FRESH AND NOT LOUD AND BEST GUITARISTS NOW!!!

What kind of morons complain about the ranking numbers when they are in alphabetical order! READ the article before you complain.

Charo.

The list is alphabetical, not in order of percieved ability.

Jerry Garcia anyone, Morons, George Harrison is good, Church Berry probably deserves it, But Santana, Hendrix, Paige, Vaughn all after 20, You guys are obtuse.

Where's Sabicas?or Ramon Montoya ;the monsters of the 20th century?
Paco Pena?Nice journeyman but How about Nino Ricardo,Manolo de huelva,Diego del gastor,Juan Maya.et.al.
There's youtube to check these guys out.
They are all Flamenco legends not paco penas.

While I was pleased to see John McLaughlin on the list, a huge omission is the fantastic guitarist Neal Schon.

This has got to be either a bad joke or one of those articles that are just designed to make readers reply.
Seriously, Jack White, Johnny Marr and "The Edge" make the list while Johnny Winter, John McLaughlin and Jerry Garcia are omitted?!?
White, Marr and the Edge aren't even fit to carry Johnny Winter's guitar case!

Where's Lenny Breau on the list?

The list is ALPHABETICAL. This is like American politics: no comprehension accompanied by strong, vocal opinions

Come on, folks. Hasn't anyone else realized the names are in alphabetical order? So, everyone with a name starting with A-G is ranked before Hendrix and they're all ranked above Zappa.
So, no more ranking rantings, only omissions, please. Jerry Garcia comes to mind.

Mark Knopfler should be in there.

Haven't ANY of you noticed the list is in alphabetical order, not ranking?

To all of you complainin about Hendrix at 21 and Vaughan at the bottom - too much pot people- the article clearly states alphabetical order.... That means a-b-c order okay? Stupid dopes!

LOL...the list is alphabetical- not rated by greatness.....

You morons, the introduction clearly states that the list is ordered alphabetically. Everyone who is crying about what order who is in needs some serious reading comprehension lessons.

hey morons, this list is alphabetized, not in order of best to worst

The Edge is barely competent. I love U2, and the Edge deserves credit for creating a signature style despite obvious limitations, but his inclusion here is laughable. Dick Dale, George Harrison, Tom Morello, and Keith Richards also have no business being on this list.
Where is Steve Howe?

How soon the very best are forgotten: Where's Charlie Byrd?

Did any of you morons notice that this was in ALPHABETICAL order??

(Despite that, I concur that any list omitting Jerry Garcia, Pat Metheny, Lee Ritenour and others outside the mainstream leaves a lot to be desired… especially if you're including Roy Clark and Leo Kotke. Get real.

Uh, it's alphabetical order, morons, which solves the ridiculous problem was Django better than Jimi etc. But Eddie Lang invented the guitar as a solo instrument and surely belongs (between Kottke and Malmsteen!!).

ERIC JOHNSON!!!!!! Where is he? It should be a crime to leave Johnson, Vai and Satriani out of a list such as this. What kind of individual puts such a list together and fails to include these guitar greats? Obviously NOT a guitar player or guitar enthusiast! YOUR FIRED!!

List are lists, but, no Jerry? Really? and I think Keef is getting short changed by some comments, nobody except maybe Chuck B writes better riffs. He belongs for sure.

Opinions are like a-s---oles

For the reading impaired. the list is alphabetical.

Based on the comments it's obvious that many people thought the order was the ranking rather than alphabetical.

In the classical genre, Pepe Romero (or his father) should replace Sharon Isbin.

In rock, Mark Knopfler should dsiplace Keith Richards.

steve vai is a great guitarist but with awful taste! thank you for not including him.... give it up for Eddie Hazel!!!!

no Robin Trower?

Ever heard of Andy Summers? This is a joke, please tell me it was an oversight.

To those lambasting the order of the guitarists - they're listed in alphabetical order, folks!! They'll be listed in the real order after the people have voted....

Lenny Breau surely should be in there !!

Folks - the list is ALPHABETICAL, not ranked. And, in terms of votes, don't trust them. Jack White is voted ahead of Leo Kottke. (If you are saying "Leo who?" then just don't vote.) Also - no John Scofield or many other jazz greats?