11 Favorite Guitar Players

Back in my youth

Once upon a time, there was something called Guitar Heroes. This was long before the game by the same name so I’m really really old… Anyway, there was this phenomenon with guitar players that was kinda larger than life with their instrument. I don’t think that this phrasing is around anymore but I might be wrong. I don’t buy juvenile publications any more so I don’t know if there’s something like that in there anymore. These days I write, I don’t necessarily read about music in that sense. I don’t claim to know everything but I’m not that into reading what some journalist thinks I should know. I much prefer real people stating their opinions before professional influencers’ views.

Of course, influencer wasn’t a thing back in my youth either. There were nog blogs and there wasn’t even an internet. There were just magazines and since I grew up in Sweden and the most interesting mags were either from US or UK I had to go to a special magazine store which kept the mags I wanted. That means that there was a delay between the news and the time I got to read them in my favorite magazines. Plus, that in those days, everything was indeed new. It still happens that you discover something in the musical realms but there’s almost never a well know Guitar player in the “hero” class that you’ve never heard about before.

Since this is a long-lost phenomenon, I will take the time to list the 11 at the top from my perspective. And since perspective seems to change over time, this is true today, perhaps this week, but not necessarily next month. Keep in mind that I won’t rate the skills of these guitarists in any way. I don’t think I’m competent enough to judge if what they play and their styles are difficult enough. I merely make this lite based on the emotions they’re delivering to me through their playing.

The List

Glen Campbell

11 – Glen Campbell – The most recent discovery to me. I don’t know that much about him. His reputation is very high as a guitar player though. In my preconception mind, a guy known for singing commercial country such as Rhinestone Cowboy, couldn’t be such a great guitarist. But with the help of youtube, I’ve seen this guy play and I am totally blown away. I have also seen Alice Cooper claiming that Eddie Van Halen was looking for guitar lessons from Glen Campbell. That really says’s something about his skill in my book!

Gary Moore

10 – Gary Moore – In my youth, I would probably put him way higher on the list. And I would most probably put another guitar player on this list that I don’t even consider today. He was absolutely one of my first favorites. And I remember hating him for abandoning hard rock and metal for the blues. These days I think the blues work he did in the latter part of his life is the best of his entire catalog. I recently learned that he was actually lefthanded but played right-handed guitar. That makes it even more impressive. Also, Mark Knopfler is said to be left-handed but plays right-handed guitar. And also uses a unique fingerpicking style.

Chet Atkins

09 – Chet Atkins – Also a pretty new acquaintance and I haven’t heard so much of him playing. But what I’ve heard. Oh boy, he did “country-shredding” long before shredding was a word. Sweeps and speed picking but never with any other attempt than to deliver a melody.

BB King

08 – BB King – This blues Guy, king of the blues to many people, might be the most sparse player on this list. He proves above and doubts that you don’t have to play fast or even play that many notes to be a complete hero. BB King was known for short phrases with an amazing amount of vibrato and such a feeling to what he was playing. He was also one of my first heroes. I still remember that vinyl I used to play at least every week in my youth. Can remember the name of it though. I think it was a live recording and, as I remember it. There were just a couple of notes in each break from the vocals. But what a feeling!

Johnny Winter

07 – Johnny Winter – The total opposite of BB King. The more notes the better. I totally loved the first few albums I got with Johnny Winter and when I later learned that this guy was an albino and legally blind I was, of course, even more impressed. That is not a criterion to impress me anymore. There are so many musicians out there which are blind. And I often think it benefits them since their hearing might be a little improved. I think of Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder, but also the Late Jeff Healey if we’re talking about guitar players. Anyway. Johnny Winter was probably my first introduction to the “white” blues just as BB king was my introduction to the “black” blues.

Buddy Guy

06 – Buddy Guy – Speaking of many notes being played. There are few that come close to blues guitarist Buddy Guy. I haven’t actually heard that much from him but what an amazing guitar player. There seems to be nothing he cannot do with a guitar. A lot of really famous guitar players have been totally blown away by hearing him play. There’s no stopping him.

Django Reinhardt

05 – Django Reinhardt – The most impressive thing about this guy is that he only had two working fingers on his fretboard hand. The other two ring finger and pinky were damaged in a fire and was later useless to play with. But he overcome all obstacles and using only his two remaining fingers made amazing jazz music. He isn’t the only guitarist with finger problems though. If you’re a metalhead like me you probably know that Tomy Iommi’s fingertips were cut up in an accident and that he uses whatever-it-called over his fingertips to play. That might also be what give him his sound.

Dave Mustaine

04 – Dave Mustaine – He usually ends up in second place on guitar player lists like this. At least the ones I’ve seen. It’s Usually Dave Mustaine and then Joh Petrucci in the first place. But not on my list. Ok, Dave Mustaine has a knack for creating amazing riffs. And he’s a great guitar player of course. I also think he actually revolutionized the guitar world with his techniques. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he has been in not one but two of the big-four-of-thrash band. Metallica, even if it was in their very early years, and of course Megadeth which is his baby.

James Hetfield

03 – James Hetfield – If you were to compare guitar playing with strong lifting, James Hetfield should be in the finals every time. I’m not sure if he still does it but in the early days, his all downstroke playing has a unique sound that it’s almost impossible to imitate. I’ve seen guitarists try the play the super-fast riffs with alternate picking but it doesn’t really deliver the goods. There is something about that string attack created with the all-down strokes picking style.

Steve Vai

02 – Steve Vai – Speaking of unique sounds, Steve Vai probably has eth most unique sound on the list. I would also say that he’s probably the most skilled guitar player on the list even though I said in the disclaimer that I wouldn’t base any judgment on that. And I don’t I just comment on that statement in my opinion. But there’s no other player that sounds just like Steve Vai. But of course, If you have been credited with playing “impossible guitar parts” on Frank Zappa albums you can’t get much more praise. Just like Zappa, when Steve Vai is at his best, there’s nothing stopping him. But sometimes he gets a little too strange.

Jeff Waters

01 – Jeff Waters – Did you see this one coming? Annihilator founder and guitarist is my absolute favorite. Every time you have given up the chance to hear something that sounds new and fresh in this world where every one copying each other. There is Jeff Waters creating something you haven’t heard before. It seems to be in his blood. And of course, you also get to hear him imitating those other guys. There are sometimes obvious homages in the Annihilator albums where there are riffs that sound like AC/DC or Black Sabbath or whatever. But each time he also has totally his style.

Do you agree with my picks? Did you miss someone? Let your opinion be heard in the comments! 😊