Two magazines, two very different top guitarist lists

Rolling Stone sought to select the top 100 guitarists by utilizing a panel of guitar players and siginificant others, making a ranking of players based more on signficance and influence rather than just popularity.

Guitar World let their readers decide in a head-to-head tournament type format which basically boils down to a popularity contest and the luck of the draw on who you happen to be facing in what round.

For matters of brevity, and to open things up for discussion, here are the respective top ten lists:

Rolling Stone (rank in Guitar World poll)
1. Jimi Hendrix (6th, lost to Brian May in 6th round)
2. Eric Clapton (28th, lost to Stevie Ray Vaughan in 3rd round)
3. Jimmy Page (6th, lost to Brian May in 5th round)
4. Keith Richards (40th, lost to David Gilmour in 2nd round)
5. Jeff Beck (39th, lost to Brian May in 2nd round)
6. B.B. King (55th, lost to Eric Clapton in 2nd round)
7. Chuck Berry (44th, lost to Angus Young in the 2nd round)
8. Eddie Van Halen (winner, def. Jake E. Lee, Michael Schenker, Slash, Randy Rhoades, Joe Satriani, Alex Lifeson and Brian May)
9. Duane Allman (15th, lost to Stevie Ray Vaughn in 4th round)
10. Pete Townshend (65th, lost to Keith Richards in the second round)


Guitar World (rank in Rolling Stone poll)
1. Eddie Valen (8th)
2. Brian May (27th)
3. Alex Lifeson (99th)
4. Jimi Hendrix (1st)
5. Joe Satriani (not ranked)
6. Jimmy Page (3rd)
7. Tony Iommi (25th)
8. Stevie Ray Vaughan (12th)
9. Dimebag Darrell (92nd)
10. Steve Vai (not ranked)

Just goes to show that significance and influence are much different than popularity among a certain segment of people.

And here's a list of some of the notable guitarists who were in Rolling Stone's Top 100 list that weren't even included in the Guitar World reader's tournament -- Bo Diddley, Johnny Ramone, Scotty Moore, Ry Cooder, Prince, The Edge, Steve Cropper, Mick Ronson, Link Wray, Muddy Waters, Johnny Marr, John Lennon, Albert Collins, Peter Green, Robbie Robertson, Duane Eddy, Kurt Cobain, Dick Dale, Joni Mitchell, Willie Nelson, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Bonnie Raitt, Dave Davies, Paul Simon, Peter Buck and Steve Jones.

Re: Two magazines, two top guitarist lists

I like your analysis of what the polling methods imply for the results. I will at least say I have heard of everyone although I'm not sure I have heard everyone. I note the absence of anyone I think of as an acoustic player or a classical guitarist. Did Jorma Kaukonen, Andres Segovia, or John Williams make the list? I'm not sure any of them should be top ten material but I would hope at last one made top 25. Any jazz players of note?

I agree with Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, and Eddie Van Halen being on the list. They popularized guitar sounds/styles that were new and original to the average listener.

Sadly, Kaukonen, Segovia and Williams were not listed on either magazine list. As far as jazz players go, Les Paul is on both lists and Django Reinhardt, Al Di Meola and Charlie Christian were in the Guitar World tournament.

The Guitar World list doesn't work for me for a number of reasons.

Guitar World has leaned toward 70s and 80s metal forever, and as such, I don't think that Guitar World's readers are a good representative sample of guitarists in general and certainly not representative of music fans in general. It is no surprise to me that the magazine's readers skewed the tournament the way they did.

The list ultimately tells us more about the voting readers than it does about who the best or most influential guitarists are, which means that the entire exercise should be discarded wholesale.

Los Angeles said:

The list ultimately tells us more about the voting readers than it does about who the best or most influential guitarists are, which means that the entire exercise should be discarded wholesale.

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I totally agree with you. There are names on the Guitar World list, and rather high up on the list, that people who aren't fans of, or even familiar with, speed metal or high-octane shredding would never even have heard of unless, of course, you regularly read Guitar World. :wink:

[Editor's note:] I once had a subscription to Guitar World, given to me as a gift by some friends, and I enjoyed it for the most part until my subscription ran out. I didn't renew because of all the articles about shredding and guys who try to play faster than humanly possible.

jmac said:

I agree with Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, and Eddie Van Halen being on the list. They popularized guitar sounds/styles that were new and original to the average listener.

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jmac and I are on the same page!

I have always argued the Chuck, Jimi, and Eddie were the most groundbreaking, and therefore influential, guitarist of their respective era's.

Rolling Stone's David Fricke, who was part of the crew that picked the aforementioned Top 100 list, produced his own list of the top 100 guitarists who he felt were influential or whatever in 2003. On that list, at No. 70, was .... Eddie Van Halen.

Here's what he had to say about Mister No. 70: "The sound-obsessed Van Halen makes even simple lines sound like towering chorales and pioneered all kinds of tricks, such as fingers hammering the fretboard. Van Halen sought something different from his rock peers: music that was defiantly arty, but never so much so that it lost touch with devastating hooks."

Mike McCready of Pearl Jam wrote the blurb about Eddie when he was named No. 8 on the more recent Rolling Stone list.

Really? No Carlos Santana?

And Chet gets a whole category all his own.

Carlos was on the lists, just not in the top ten.

I also agree with jmac and Grot, but if it's "influence" then George Harrison should also be in the top ten. How many kids started playing the guitar because of him? It could be argued they started playing because of "The Beatles" and not necessarily George, but there's a fine line there.

Again, for "influence" - where the heck is Les Paul?

And if its "new and original", then you could make an argument for The Edge of U2 - very effects-laden, but certainly a unique style.

I have read many Guitar World's - you are correct their audience is more heavy metal and thrash.

walrus

I would argue for Carlos Santana being in the top ten not only because he's a great player, but he brought a whole new genre of music into the world of Rock & Roll.

Influence is such an ambiguous word. For starters is the poll aimed at who influenced other guitarists, who influenced music in general, who influenced pop culture or some nebulous combination of all of them? Is Sir Paul more influential than Jimi just because his career spanned decades and his music made it into elevators first?

I'm kind of inclined to agree with the Chuck, Jimi and Eddie suggestions because the guitar in popular music was never quite the same after each one hit the scene. But they seem to be 10-15 years apart and end in the 1980's which suggests there is at least one other groundbreaking guitarist who us geezers haven't payed attention to.

I'm also reminded of "best doctor" surveys. You get different results when you ask doctors which specialist they recommend for their patients, ask doctors who they would go to themselves, ask patients who they recommend and look at some kind of statistical model based upon patient outcomes for individual practitioners.

It's pretty clear that in this case there is no Absolute Truth and the point is in the discussion.

fronobulax said:

I'm kind of inclined to agree with the Chuck, Jimi and Eddie suggestions because the guitar in popular music was never quite the same after each one hit the scene. But they seem to be 10-15 years apart and end in the 1980's which suggests there is at least one other groundbreaking guitarist who us geezers haven't payed attention to.

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Maybe not groundbreaking, but certainly influential in the '80s would be Stevie Ray Vaughn. He brought the blues back to prominence like nobody before him.

I'd like to see all the guitarists named in these polls rank their favorite 100, and not in terms of popularity or influence but just playing.

The Guitar World list doesn't work for me for a number of reasons.

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I purchased the Rolling Stone Top 100 last December. Really, for the most part I think it is accurate. These could rank higher:
11. George Harrison
20. Carlos Santana

I believe that a guitarists' admiration from his own peers should weigh in heavily in the ratings.

Some acoustic guitarists in the top 100 are:
52. Clarence White (was sometimes acoustic)
75. Joni Mitchell
77. Willie Nelson
78. John Fahey

I have long been a fan of Joni and Fahey, and play a small smattering of both of their songs.

At least 2 other favorites of mine are in the top 100: 92-Roger McGuinn and 100-Lindsay Buckingham.

I will invest another $4.95 when the next edition of the Rolling Stone Top 100 comes out.

-Craig

IMHO any list of top guitarists, fiddle players, artists, etc, depends on who you're talking to. Beauty is in the eye (ear) of the beholder.